4/23/2013. - Day 28 - New Mexico, Land of [dis]Enchantment. And I have a bad attitude.

4/23/2013. - Day 28 - New Mexico, Land of [dis]Enchantment. And I have a bad attitude. 

I awake to the warm sunshine in the parking lot of the welcome center, just beyond the New Mexico state line. Not exactly the Ritz-Carlton, but we gypsies can’t be too picky. I go inside to wash my face, scrounge up some breakfast from the supplies in the pickup, and set off. Today’s itinerary includes a brief tour of New Mexico and then a straight shot to Atlus, OK. I was given two main sites to check out in New Mexico, White Sands and Taos. I survey the map and decide on Taos for some reason. Looking back, I’m pretty sure White Sands would have been a much better choice. Next time.

My impression of New Mexico halfway to Albuquerque is not positive. So far I have seen rundown buildings, a scattering of shanty towns, and a handful of junkyards which may be actual people’s yards and I just can’t tell the difference. I drive through Albuquerque without stopping. A girl in San Diego who was from New Mexico told me there is a reason “Breaking Bad” was filmed there, and advised me not to stop unless absolutely necessary. I’m sure there are safe areas, but I’m really not interested in any risk. Clearly I have a bad attitude today or else sleeping at rest stops gives one no option of waking up on the "right side" of the bed.

This is embarrassing, but when I first saw this in the distance, I thought it was a garage sale...
Upon closer inspection, it is in fact a quaint little cemetery with colorful decorations which I found to be very neat. 

Area by Rio Grande

I drive on through more of the same poorly maintained properties, pass through Santa Fe, and point north to Taos.  I wind through part of the Rio Grande, which is pretty neat but the darkness from the clouds is obstructing some of the view. Upon arriving in Taos, I check out the welcome center and am really not sure what the hype is about. Taos is a smallish town in Northern New Mexico, but I’m not seeing any particular points of interest. And it’s starting to rain. I do a drive through and a little exploring of Taos and then aim for Altus.

All the way to Taos and still searching for my unicorn...

Hotel La fonda. I wonder if they have rooms available?
And if so, do they come with complimentary mix tapes?

Watch out for cows being...followed by flying saucers..?
I wonder which would do more damage to the front of the truck?

 Somehow, just out of Taos, I sense I am nearing mountains again. I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the route on the GPS, but now that I am seeing white and watching the temperature indicator on the dash plummet, fear stirs within. Mountains by themselves are not a huge deal, but since “the incident” in Washington State, mountains + snow + slight uncertainty regarding the route = extreme anxiety.

WHY

Within minutes the conditions change from rain, to snow, to whiteout conditions in which the visibility is about 50 feet. Plus switchbacks with less than adequate guardrails, locals who cannot drive in the conditions and fail to turn on their headlights, and temperatures hovering around freezing making everything ice. Thank you God and Ford for four wheel drive.

It takes almost two hours to get out of that mess as I near Las Vegas, New Mexico, a far cry from regular Las Vegas. It continues to rain but I’m not so mad about it now since it’s no longer solid. I leave the “Land of Enchantment” feeling bitter and not planning a return trip. Oregon and New Mexico, you have no one to blame but yourselves. You’re both getting “X-ed” on the map.

I cross briefly into Texas early evening, and hit Amarillo by nightfall.
A shame as I hear Amarillo by morning is much better.




Finally the Oklahoma state line comes into view. Just a few miles more to Altus and rest.  I arrive in Altus by cover of darkness and meet up with my college friend, Steve. The drive took so much longer than expected due to the blizzard and I have just enough energy to hear Steve tell me he disapproves of my hat, say it looks like a hat Ke$ha would wear, and continue with an explanation of why Ke$ha cannot spell her name with a dollar sign. We got all that important stuff in and then I had to get to sleep.