Nomad Life - Day 69

Since I didn't have to work today, I slept as late as I have been able to during the last few weeks.  As a result, I wasn't out of bed until almost 0730!  I then took my time getting ready and packing up for my drive to the west.  At bit later, I ate breakfast in the lobby of the Econo Lodge and then caught up on some correspondence.  At 1000, I departed the hotel and drove a short distance to Bonnie's home.  I found many of my cousins there and was able to talk to most of them during the course of the next few hours.  I tried some of the Russ & Daughters Bagels (from Brooklyn) that Merritt's family had sent the family - they were good!  Later, I spent about 45 minutes contemplating in Bonnie's garden - it's one o the most peaceful places at someone's home that I've ever found.  There were some interesting birds nearby and I got some new ones for my birding "Life List".  The day was, again, nice for Hobbs: mid-70s and partly cloudy.  At about 1245, I said goodbye to my cousins and reluctantly got on the road, westbound again.  My relatives had suggested I get some lunch at a place called Blake's Lottaburger and I was able to find it on the North Lovington Highway (1310).  After ordering one of their signature burgers (including green chilis), I ate inside the restaurant and made lodging reservations for the coming evening.  By 1345, I was back in my car and, after making a stop at the Pilot on the edge of Hobbs' city limits (1350), I continued my drive on US-62/US-180.  Later, I changed to NM-529 and cut across to US-82.  While I still had cell service, I made a few calls, including one to my sister, Katie.  We were still talking by the time I rolled into Artesia, the home of my (recently deceased) cousin, Chuck.  I was thinking about some happy memories of him there when I arrived at a railroad crossing and found a train stuck there.  After waiting for about 10 minutes for it to clear, I decided to take my chances with some roads that paralleled the tracks.  Heading south, initially, I felt better as I noticed several other cars doing the same thing.  Only one block later, I found a different crossing (open) and got around the obstacle - whew!  Continuing on US-82 and the Permian Basin, I passed through fields of oil pumps and cattle, the flat land stretching off in every direction for as far as the eye could see.  To pass the time, I listened to audiobooks. Eventually, though, I reached a more interesting landscape, characterized by winding roads through a deepening ravine.  Later, I noticed signs that said I was in James Canyon, following the Rio Penasco.  There were almost no cars going in the same direction during this stretch - that was good because I had to focus on my own driving.  I made one stop - to listen to birds - but didn't find any interesting ones.  Temps were pleasant (mid 60s) and it was sunny with a light breeze.  Reaching the town of Cloudcroft, which appeared to be a ski resort area, the conditions of the driving changed dramatically, with a steep (10% grade at times) descent from the high ridge on the Sacramento Mountains.  The hair-pin turns and constant downhill made me concerned about my brakes - I figured out how to use my cruise control to limit the heating, though.  Still, the higher speeds and bumper-to-bumper driving that resulted was not easy!  The end result, though, was that I soon found myself in widening (and, ultimately, vast) prairie as I approached Alamogordo.  What a difference!  During this time, I changed to US-54 and then US-70.  Even though the roads got wider, the speeds increased and the conditions improved, it took a LONG time to cross the valley.  Along the way, I passed close to the White Sands National Park (1715).  The park entrance was closed but and I saw people playing in the dunes along the road.  Gradually, the terrain started to climb again and I soon found myself in the San Andreas Mountains.  Like before, my crossing of a mountain range required a subsequent steep descent - after the San Augustine Pass, I could see the wide open prairie of central New Mexico.  Since the weather was good, there were amazing vistas!  Exiting the Interstate at Baylor Canyon Road (on the eastern edge of Las Cruces), I drove south in search of a National Park Unit called Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument.  The views of the beautiful mountains to the east would have been enough but I eventually found the Dripping Springs Recreation Area (1745), which was located at their base.  I did a little snooping around there (good trails for walking and mountain biking) before returning to my westward journey.  Using some additional canyon roads (with Open Range risks), I drove into Las Cruces near Tortugas Mountain and the Monte Vista (Hiking Trail) Recreation Area.  Following the resulting routing (from Google Maps), I made my way through the campus of New Mexico State University before getting on I-10.  By now, the sun was setting in the west and it made driving, especially with the rapidly increasing speeds of the Interstate, more difficult.  Eventually, though, the sun was blocked by clouds and it got easier to keep pace with the other traffic (75-80 mph).  There were no towns for miles - lots of cows, though.  A bit before I reached Deming, I had to pass through an Immigration Inspection Checkpoint (easy).  When I finished with that, though, I realized it had gotten almost pitch black because of the increasingly nasty clouds on the horizon.  This factored in my next adventure of the day: passing through Deming, I got a Google Maps alert about "obstacle in the road" and I started watching for whatever it might be.  The immediately situation was quite difficult, though, because I had a jersey barrier to my left and a Tractor Trailer Truck to my right - added to this was the road curves I was passing through.  This didn't give me a lot of options, therefore, when I suddenly (miraculously?) spotted a "road gator" (stripped tire tread from an 18-Wheeler) in the middle of my lane - yikes!  Somehow, I managed to pull a Mario Andretti pass (right, left, recover) without losing control in the turning.  I'll admit that my heart almost stopped beating and I drove in silence for about 15 minutes before things seemed "normal" again.  Thoughts of "wouldn't hitting THAT have sucked" kept going through my head for the rest of the drive.  Meanwhile, I got back up to good speeds and enjoyed rejoining the nigh-time-Trucker culture (trucks flashing lights to report "clear" to passers).  At times, the darkness was broken by a hole in the clouds - I saw high plains and mesas on the horizon (like a painting).  After reaching the town of Lordsburg (my destination), I checked into my room at the Econo Lodge (2000).  The staff were very nice to me and even gave me a room on the first floor and a late checkout.  There was almost no other cars in the hotel parking lot but the owner said he had some CDT hikers staying there (he also had CDT signs and post cards from Completers on his walls).  I picked the right place to stay!  After checking the Internet and ensuring I was ready for a new work day, I took a walk near the hotel.  From previous research, I'd figured out that the CDT passed right in front of the building on Main Street so, followed a map I'd found online, I walked north.  During the next hour, though, I found ZERO indications that there was a long distance trail in the town of Lordsburg.  There were no signs, no blazes, no hints on buildings - nothing.  Confident that I was on the CDT, though, I continued north (under I-10) and made my way to the Business Loop 10 intersection.  Along the way, I passed other people walking (some of them rather sketchy) but none of them were hikers.  The weather was good (temps in low 70s and breezy).  Hesitant to try to cross that busy road in the dark, I backtracked (past the hotel) and walked south until I reached the Pyramid Heights neighborhood near the edge of Lordsburg city limits.  By that point, it was clear that the town was the only sign of civilization in that remote area - I saw lots of trailers and had many, many dogs get annoyed by my passing.  Back near my hotel, I finished out my walk (over three miles total) and returned to my room.  Once inside the hotel, I did a lot of reading (to catch up on the several days I'd missed).  I was disappointed to learn that my year-long Amazon Kindle streak had ended on October 7 - oh well...  At 2315, I turned out the lights and went to bed.  Not a bad day of driving but I'm still frazzled from my near-catastrophe on the highway... CDT Today = 1.2 miles / Grand Total CDT = 33.0 miles