Highs and Lows

In just 3 days we've ventured from the highest point in Texas (Guadalupe Peak) to Carlsbad Caverns (800 feet below) to White Sands (again). Views, views, views AND surreal landscapes! Here are the highlights...

Guadalupe Mountains - High desert scenery with great hiking + cool fossils. Panoramic views from the peak.

Carlsbad Caverens - WOW! I didn't have much expectation for this, but it left me slack-jawed. Spent an ENTIRE day touring through HUGE, high-ceilinged, highly-decorated caves after entering down through the natural entrance (recommmended).

White Sands - Deserved more time, so we went back and spent an intensely-colored sunset, night under the stars + sunrise amidst the dunes

Here's a "link" to more photos

Truth or Consequences

"This place is a vortex!" we repeatedly heard. Truth or Consequences (the locals call it T or C), population 7300, with many more that find themselves coming back again and again. There's Mark, the friendly Manager at Riverbend Hot Springs (www.riverbendhotsprings.com) where we stayed and soaked to our hearts content while gazing out at the Rio Grande + Turtleback Mountain; and Big Dan, a jovial Vietnam Vet who we met during our evening soaks with amazing stories to tell about overcoming post-traumatic stress and finding enlightenment; and Dave + his Wife, the owners of Coffee, Tea and C who are ex-SoCal'ers that escaped the bustle to enjoy an easier life. For such a small town, it offers funky thrift stores + galleries, yoga, chakra balancing, a natural foods store, and MOST of all - Hot Springs. There are many in town, but none with the views + great community that Riverbend offers. Combined with the dramatic landscapes that New Mexico abounds with, it's a recommended escape.

Highway 84, South

Dark Slate Clouds
Loom behind us, Moving closer
Truck stopped, Capturing the moment
In our hands.
In the lens.
We turned this way
and that,
Indecisive of which
Vista
commands the most attention.
Our perception escalated.

Eventually,
we find ourselves
in Vaughn,
New Mexico.
Little crossroads town,
desolate and run-down.
Jenny's Diner - open 24 hours.
Pedro's Burritos - drive-up window.
Classic, Neon Motel signs - burned out.
The Snow is falling,
horizontal stream in high-beam.

Now,
parked in a field
on the outskirts of town,
next to an abandoned building,
Pedro's Burritos in our hands.
I think of this place, Vaughn.
What's it's story?
The image of the Girl
sitting on floor
just out of the snow
talking on the phone,
for hours,
in front of a gas station.

The snow has ceased.
Moon and Stars shine bright,
upon the white,
frozen crust.
Negro Modelo in my hand,
as I write.
Listening to
Barrington Levy,
Tricky,
El Magnifico,
Freestylers,
DJ Nasir,
Buju Baton.
I savor the moment,
and the memories,
before I fall asleep.

Sights, Sounds + Smells

These three have been the underlying, and sometimes overbearing, sensory qualities to my experiences on the road thus far. Living as a vagabond, you get used to the lack of creature comforts, but I also find myself surprised by my own determination to minimize or overcome this. The sights have been amazing - The beauty of the natural World all around, sunrises + sunsets, canyons + buttes, kitchy roadside restaurants + motels, a backcountry road. Sounds have been characterized more by the lack thereof than the abundance. I've found myself sitting on a rock gazing out at a vista with no other sound than my own breathing and maybe that of a flock of birds chittering in a nearby bush. But Smells, now that's a WHOLE other thing. Trust me when I say that I DO love my baths + showers, but I'm also no stranger to having to do without when there's either no facilities or hot water. But NOW I've now been exposed to a new and unfamiliar side of myself. Sleeping in a small, enclosed space day after day and wearing the same clothes because it's too cold to change them both are having a profound impact on my tolerable level of cleanliness and mental well being. Being stinky sucks! I've become obsessed by it - afraid to unzip my coat or take off my shoes KNOWING what offense lies beneath. All my grand schemes of good hygiene have gone down the toilet, because with nights as low as 4 degrees and daytime high's not much over freezing, you're pervading bodily focus is just to stay warm. We're hitting motels once a week to warm up and CLEAN up, but in the meantime, what can I do?!

Big Rocks

And what BIG rocks they are! We began in Monument Valley where the scale is so grand that it's clear why the valley has been a sacred spot to the Navajo for so long. We spent 2 days there first walking the Wildcat Loop Trail around one of the Mittens/Buttes then walking, yes WALKING, the loop portion of the 17-mile drive. THAT was truly amazing and gave me a kind of kinship with the place. Going in the off-season, there were only 6 or so cars to pass us the entire day. Another benefit of off-season is to get the PRIME camping spot. This one happened to be at #25 with THE picture postcard view of the valley (check out the pics to see). Next stop for rocks was Natural Bridges, then up to Canyonlands Utah for a few VERY fun days hiking around, over, across + through crazy rock formations. They're almost like flypaper so you can't even BELIEVE the surfaces you can cover! Can't wait to see what's next!

Here's a "link" to more photos