Map of my roadtrip

Here is a map of my roadtrip.

Here are some more pictures.


A fence of many materials.


A piece of pressed tin used as part of the side of a shed.


A stone building in the ghost town of La Manga, south of Las Vegas.


A cat in the window.

365 miles at 33 mpg and gas at $3.90/gal. = 1 day of fun

I'm on vacation this week, and yesterday I went on a roadtrip to Las Vegas, Watrous, Wagon Mound, and points west. I took the frontage roads off I-25 whenever I could and stopped to take pictures, mostly of old buildings and doorways.

Rock outcropping on US 84, south of Las Vegas. Mind your head.

For the first time since I can remember, I stopped in Tecolote. I was admiring the church, and an old gentleman hove up in his pickup and said proudly, "It was built in 1840!"

Tecolote, New Mexico; church built in 1840

In Las Vegas I poked around Old Town, visited one of my favorite independent bookstores, Tome on the Range, and ate at Estella's Cafe. Estella's and I started our lives in the same year. Up the street on the Plaza is JB's, "your chicharrone headquarters."

I went up to Watrous and took a side trip to Valmora. I didn't see anything of the sanatorium there; a lot of buildings all looking pretty much the same were there, and I figured it was a housing development or I was trespassing on somebody's property.

I went to Wagon Mound, which, despite the optimistic tone of the article from Wikipedia, seems to be dying a slow death. Many buildings are boarded up and overgrown, and the school seems to be the only thriving concern. The Wagon Mound Mercantile, a supply store for blacksmiths, moved to Solano years ago. The village has two service stations right off the highway, but if you need groceries, you have to go to Las Vegas, 40 miles south, or Springer, 25 miles north.

Wagon Mound, north toward Springer

Here are some more pictures of Wagon Mound.

Closed cafe on the main street.

Green door

Yellow doorway

Unlocked

I headed west toward Ocate. Back in the 1970's some men robbed the bank in Wagon Mound. They were apprehended a short time later when they were setting 'em up for all the boys in the bar at Ocate. The drive is beautiful: high plains grasslands and the mountains beyond. I saw antelope, and somebody is raising buffalo.

I turned left at Ocate and headed south to La Cueva, where I hoped to lay in a supply of raspberry jam from the Salman Ranch. The store is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Too bad for them. I was prepared to spend big bucks.

I debated briefly about whether I should head home through Mora or go back to Las Vegas. I decided to take a desultory trip back to Las Vegas, so I turned east at Buena Vista and passed through Golondrinas, which, true to its name, is full of swallows. I also saw a big! honkin'! bullsnake in the middle of the road. I drove carefully around it and hoped that he made it safely across. The traffic (me) was pretty light. I saw a lot of raptors along the way, including a huge red-tailed hawk.

At Watrous I got on the interstate and headed home.

Famous men born on May 23

Here's Jack.




Here's Chuckbert, Mr. Spiff.

We can't go forth and multiply! We're adders!

We had a snake demonstration at the store last month. Here are some pictures.

Kiss anything that shines

On Wednesday morning I took Ike to the groomer for an early morning appointment. When I got to the store, armed guards were in front of the Bradbury Science Museum. They were wearing sunglasses, so you couldn't see whom they were watching, and sidearms, so you wouldn't feel tempted to ask. I figured they were there for a training exercise or something.

But then a busload of suits hove up, and the director of Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Great Man Himself, stepped smartly out of the museum, marched over to the bus, and shook hands with each of the suits as they stepped off. Then everyone swept into the museum like the chorus of Aida vanishing into the Egyptian wings.

I went outside and asked a woman, "Distinguished visitors?"

She replied, "Maybe. Are you with the museum?"

"I'm with the bookstore," I replied. "Are you with the museum?"

"I'm with the police force," she said. Nuance is not lost on me in such situations, and I took that as my cue to leave.

So I walked up the street to get a breakfast burrito, and behind me in line was my friend JR, who is in public affairs at LANL. I asked him if he knew who the suits were. He thought a minute and said, "This is Wednesday, right? They'd be from the Department of Homeland Security." Cool! I thought.

I cantered back to the store with my burrito and the news. I told the staff to put away any liquids or gels in containers holding more than three ounces and to keep their hands where the DHS boys could see them.

The staff of Otowi Station kept their hands in view while DHS visited.

But the DHS folks didn't come into the store to enjoy some shopping for souvenirs. They all boarded the bus as an armed guard checked their badges. I had hoped that The Great Man Himself would have raised his hat with a flourish as the bus drove away. I had hoped that someone would have shouted loyally, "God bless the young squires!"

Русские идут! Русские идут!

Yesterday we had a busload of Russian tourists in the store. I asked one gentleman if he needed some help or would like a suggestion. "I want gift for son in Moscow. Must be interesting," he said. I showed him the T-shirts. "Mmmmph!" he said.

"How about a baseball cap?" I asked. "Mmmmph!" he said.

"A shirt with the logo of Los Alamos National Laboratory?"

"How much is?"

"It's $28.98."

"Mmmmph!"

Souvenir stuff was obviously out of the question. So we went over to the books on atomic history. "The book Los Alamos: the Beginning of an Era is very interesting. It has a lot of pictures, and it will pack easily in your suitcase."

"How much is?"

"It's $10.00."

"For little book! With easy pictures! Why so many dollars?"

"Well, you're paying for the knowledge in the book."

"Mmmmmmph!" He sighed heavily. "Well, I take." He went up to the counter, where Michele was waiting on the customers. "Too many dollars for little book with easy pictures!" he said.

"You're paying for the knowledge in the book," Michele explained.

"Mmmmmph! You give change for hundred dollars?" Michele broke the bill for him. He paid with a credit card.

Russian visitor: "Mmmmmph!"

Volunteers on parade!

The front yard is full of volunteers that have started from wind-blown seeds. Here is a member of the family Lonicera, the honeysuckles. It took root near the mailbox.

This lilac apparently grew from a seed that lodged between the wall of the carport and the front step. This is the first year it has bloomed.

Although this iris is not a volunteer, it fights valiantly through the climbing rose next to the carport.