First impression of Alamogordo was a good one. Friendly people, clean streets, a wide main drag: White Sands Boulevard. I found a truck stop with a laundromat, showers, small store for necessities, coffee shop and one of the most peaceful views of the mountains I had seen so far. Going in, a small Native American woman about my age nodded hello with a big smile. Her features were lovely, black almond shaped eyes, hair that once was black as a raven's wing...now, like mine, graying attractively. She was busy cleaning the display cases when I first saw her. An hour later she was cleaning the bathrooms. By that time it was 7PM. I called it a night after walking Danny. There are signs everywhere that read: Beware of Rattlesnakes. I watch where I'm walking, but Danny has to be watched also. With cataracts advancing, he no longer sees well and is feisty enough not to be afraid. At least here there were not so many burrs in the sandy loam to harass him. Early the next morning I went in for coffee and there she was again! Doesn't the woman sleep? This time she was mopping the floors in the common areas. She wore a name tag. "Good morning, Mary!" "Good morning!" Same infectious smile and enthusiasm. I got my coffee and went back to the van. Three hours later I was ready to do my laundry and ship out. The laundry area was clean. Again, Mary was there, cleaning out the dryer filters. We struck up a conversation this time which began with my asking her if there was a grocery store in town. "Wal-Mart." "Well, what about a grocery store that does nothing but sell groceries. It doesn't have to be nearby." "There's Lowe's!" There was a Lowe's hardware next door. "Really! They sell groceries now??" Mary laughed. "It's a different Lowe's, same name, not the same store." She gave me directions. "Have you always lived here, Mary?" "I was born and raised here", she replied proudly."I had never been outside Alamogordo in my whole life until three years ago. My niece asked me to drive to Florida with her and I did! I've always had a dream of seeing the water! I had only seen pictures!" I thought of the plateau I had seen yesterday and I understood her excitement. "We saw El Paso, oh my! That must be as big as New York!! Then we saw Louisiana...there's so much water! But I really didn't like New Orleans too much. We went to Bourbon Street. That's where they say you should go. Then we went to Mississippi and Alabama and when we got to Florida...oh, I've never seen anything so beautiful!! We were on a bridge and at the top of it I saw water as far as the eye can see!! It was my dream my whole life to see water! I was so happy! Now my niece wants me to fly to Chicago with her. I've never been on a plane. I don't think I could do that." "Sure you could, you'd have a wonderful time...Chicago has great food, you'd love it. You should go!" "Maybe a doctor would give me something so I could sleep all the way." "Maybe, anyway, try." "My husband is Puerto Rican. His mother died a few weeks ago. He ran for the airport and took a plane to Puerto Rico right away. I said to him, 'Why did you do that? She's dead. You're too late. You should have gone last year when she could see you." My game plan of eating at grocery stores had suffered a setback after leaving Florida. I was operating under the misconception that I could pick up meals from the salad bar or deli counter anywhere. But I quickly learned that the Eastern US isn't the be-all and end-all. After Pensacola, I saw no grocers in shopping centers, as is the norm from Maryland to Key West. If one doesn't have a grocery store, the next one will. That wasn't true in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana or even Texas. The result has been a somewhat less than satisfactory diet the past few days. Alamogordo is so small I figured I'd get off the beaten path and get something decent to eat. Lowe's turned out to be more than adequate. And what a surprise! They had a full liquor store in there too! I was blown away the first time I went to California as a teen and saw hard liquor being sold in grocery stores. Lowe's Alamogordo also had an impressive array of wines and beers. I picked up a delicious rotisserie chicken for $3.00, less than the cost of one gallon of gas. Later I walked through the Downtown district...all two blocks of it. Twenty five percent of the storefronts are vacant. If the military left this area, they couldn't survive. But it is beautiful. Even the young girls who complain about it will concede that much. I was told that a significant number of Air Force retirees stay in Otero County. Mary and her husband have moved a wee bit north to La Luz now that their children are grown. I decided not to go back through White Sands and followed a route north, then west, then south, which will get me back to I-10 before 10am Friday. What a magnificent country we live in. There aren't words to describe the raw beauty of the Southwest. Driving through the Valley of the Fires was like nothing else I've seen. It does look as though dragon's fire torched the earth for twenty miles. In fact, Valley of the Fires is the result of a lava flow from Central New Mexico. Sadly, when I asked another bystander who knows the area what I would see on Rte's 54, 380 and 25, her answer was: 'Nothing'. I saw my first canyon in that area. Nogal Canyon. Just beyond it was a stretch that cautioned: "Gusty winds may exist." MAY exist??? They literally picked up my van and moved it to the left lane! Lucky for me no one else was in that lane, but it really got my attention. My brother had just told me a similar story a couple of days ago and I had hoped that wouldn't happen to me too. It did, Eduardo. Leaving Alamogordo, I noticed several pistachio farms. A couple of them had retail stores. Also a pecan farm and two wineries. Arena Blanca Winery and Tularosa Vineyard.
Today it was 65 degrees early on. Tonight it will be about 37. I crossed at least 10 dry river beds on the loop back to the interstate. Thinking again about the early settlers, I wondered how they handled the mental anguish of thirsty children looking at dried up rivers. Finally, I crossed the Rio Grande and it actually had water in it...albeit not to capacity. With the sun setting I calculated I'd be spending the night in Truth or Consequences... that well worn trivia question town. Arriving just as a rosy dusk gave way to black night, I'll see how good it really looks in the morning. Good night, all.
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