NEW MEXICO – WE’RE KNOCKING AT YOUR BORDER

I last left you at the Texas/New Mexico border.  Still traveling on I-40, we entered New Mexico at 10:25 a.m. on Wednesday morning, October 19.  The temperature was 75 degrees and the sky was clear and bright, a sunny day.



Dry River Bed

New Mexico is the 5^th largest state.  The land is a mix of mesas, mountain ranges, canyons and valleys.  The land is also very dry, at least this time of year.  Common throughout the Southwest you will see signs along the highway for areas called a wash.   Each wash usually has a name, like Namba Wash.  According to the Geography4Kids.com site, “a wash is an area or channel that is created when flooding occurs on a desert plain. The ground does not easily absorb water so there is a large amount of runoff. That runoff collects in the area called the wash.”  This happens especially when there are heavy rains called “gully washers.”   What is a gully washer and what can it cause?  This time of year, most of these washes are dry sand with scrubby bushes lining them or in them.  In addition to the wash areas, many of the river beds and creeks are also dry.

The landscape in New Mexico is similar to that of west Texas, dry, brown, sagebrush, cactus and mountains.  One of the notable things about the mountains as you move west is their color – red, unlike those in Texas that were brown to me.   The contrast of the red mountain against the dry, brown landscape was very distinct.  Some of the mountains are striated meaning they have narrow bands of color or stripes. 

Moving goods throughout the United States is done by various forms of transportation – tractor trailer trucks, trains, airplanes, barges and boats.  A prominent mode of transportation in the Southwest is the train.  I’ve seen more trains in the four days we were on the road than I’ve seen in 10-15 years.  While we have trains in Middleburg, they are much smaller than those seen across the Southwest.  In New Mexico, as well as Arizona and southern California, the trains had an average of 100 cars.  Often there were engines both in the front and engines at the rear of the train where we are not accustomed to seeing them.  The trains we saw had no less than three engines in the front, sometimes four, and often in the rear there were at least two engines.   All these engines were necessary to pull the cars through the mountains.

The influence of the American Indians, primarily Pueblo and Apache, is very prevalent or widespread in New Mexico.  The bright colors can be found in clothing, blankets, their pottery, and even on the highway bridges.  Many of these are adorned with Indian symbols or designs and are decoratively constructed.  Regrettably, I didn’t get any pictures of these we were driving so fast down the interstate.  I’ll do my best to take some pictures on the return trip. 

While driving across New Mexico, mid-day, which remember was a bright sunny day, I saw the moon hanging out with a couple of clouds.  You don’t often see the moon and the sun out at the same time.  I managed to get a picture of the moon, while small, you could still see it.   Look close.  It is the tiny white spot, half sphere, to the left of the clouds.



While the scenery in New Mexico can be spectacular, it is still dry and barren.  I am amazed at the number of people who seem to live isolated, all alone, in the middle of nowhere, miles from the nearest town and the nearest neighbor.  I live in the country, 18 miles from town, but I have lots of neighbors around me.  Could you live out in the country all by yourself with no neighbors and no town close by for shopping?  Something to think about.

 

As we approached the Arizona border, we got a close up look at the mountains.  You could really see the striations in these rocks.  Also, there was a little surprise.  Someone had placed statues of elk, deer, eagles, bear, and mountain lions on a ridge.  Also there was a painting, that over time had begun to fade.  You can still see the horse and rider very well. 

 

Painting on Mountain

More to come, but for now, we will stop at the Arizona border.   Will work over the weekend to play catch-up. 

Hope you have a great weekend and talk with you next week.