Circling the U.S. Chapter 66: Just a Touch of New Mexico

In our youth I'm sure we would have checked New Mexico off our list in two quick days. But the caution, tired muscles, and chronic diseases that come with our elder years made New Mexico a five-day adventure.

Friday, January 3 - Wednesday, January 8, 2020

So much about self-supported bicycle touring is serendipitous. With 90 miles and some hills between Rodeo and Columbus and only a little town with just a convenience store in between, we thought we'd have to take a detour north and ride the interstate to El Paso, not a plan we were looking forward to. But when we checked in to our room in Rodeo, the proprietor mentioned that he'd had a cyclist stay the previous night who was planning to take the rural highway directly east and stay in Hachita, the little town with just a convenience store. Apparently cyclists could stay in the community center. We called the convenience store to confirm. That sounded good enough for us.

Rodeo sits just over the border in New Mexico. The only open business in town was the Mt. Valley Lodge and RV Park. Everything else was boarded up. It was a good thing we'd brought our dinner along.

The proprietor said they didn't have tent camping so we stayed in this tiny cabin that just had a fold-out sofa bed, microwave, and fridge. It was very cozy. There was no bathroom - we had to use the shower and toilet in the laundry room. Not really a bargain for $64, but it was the only game in town. Then when Andrew, a solo cyclist, pulled in, the proprietor gave in and let him set up his tent in one of the RV spots for $20. Frugal me was a little miffed, but it was cold enough that we were glad to be inside. We were doubly glad when we found out that several javelinas visited Andrew during the night. He wound up pitching his tent on top of a picnic table. (I should note that he had food stored in his tent.)

We invited Andrew to stop by our cozy cabin for visit. He'd begun his journey in Florida and was heading west to San Diego. We shared tips on places to stay. He told us there was a Warm Showers host in Columbus who had an incredible setup where he got to sleep in a refurbished school bus. He talked it up so much we decided we needed to check it out. And we found out that we clearly have different ideas of what is the ideal accommodation.

Andrew also raved about riding across West Texas, but when we showed him pictures of where we'd already ridden, he said that maybe West Texas would be more of the same. So we were still on board to rent a car and drive to San Antonio.

When we parted ways the next day, we knew that a tailwind for us would be a headwind for Andrew so we could only wish each other no wind.

After all the hills of the Pacific Coast we were happy for flat riding.

Other than headwinds, no complaints from me about the day. Mountains in the distance, the road mostly to ourselves, cruising along under a giant blue sky with a perfect riding temperature, neither hot nor cold.

Just a little climbing, up and over the Continental Divide.

Without the sign we wouldn't even have known we were crossing the divide. It was pretty cool to think we'd crossed it twice, in the far north and in the far south of the United States.

The headwinds died down on the other side of the divide.

Your tax dollars are working hard. I watched as they cranked up this high-powered camera overlooking our southern border. Not border patrol working here; it was the military.

The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail is fairly new. I took this picture and the following two for my daughter and her boyfriend. They're saving up to through-hike it in a couple years.

Here's to you, Kylee and Matt, the view heading south, with just a few more miles to the Mexican border!

Then again, if you're heading north, cross the road and keep going...

From the top of this rise we could see what looked like a town way off in the distance. Rob thought it was Hachita. I thought it was too close. We still had five miles to go. We were both right. The tiny town actually had suburbs before we arrived at the convenience store and community center.

The Hachita community center had no heat and no shower, but it had a kitchen and we found a futon in the back room that we dragged onto the stage for a cozy night's sleep.

The convenience store in Hachita, New Mexico, has free WiFi (see the sign in the window?) and stays open until 10 p.m. There are old diner booth benches where we could hang out and work, plus a microwave where we could make some tea. We weren't the only ones spending our evening here; a group of Mexican women was also hanging out, visiting with each other. That's Jeff, the owner, in front of the store. He took care of checking us into the Community Center. I got the impression he runs the store as a way to take care of the community, providing a gathering place. I don't think he makes a living running it. We bought packages of bologna and American cheese, Campbell's soup, a dozen eggs, a loaf of bread, and a couple bananas. The bill came to ten dollars. As an interesting aside, last year Jeff rode his mountain bike the entire length of the Continental Divide bike trail.

 

Well rested after our night in the Hachita community center, we rode 50 miles on Route 9 to Columbus, New Mexico, on Sunday, January 5. We had no reason to stop anywhere along the way, because there was nothing along the way. The road was in good shape and traffic was sparse. I stopped every five miles to wait for Rob. Every time I stopped I noticed how quiet it was. 

We met a pair of cyclists coming towards us and stopped to chat. They were a couple of young men (younger than us, at least) out for their first tour, having left El Paso the day before. They told us they'd met an older gentlemen just ahead of us who was cycling around the world. We'd already heard about Bill from Andrew and hoped to catch up to him. They also highly recommended the Los Milagros Hotel in Columbus, said that the owner let them use the kitchen to cook their dinner. We were very happy for that piece of information after we checked into our Warm Showers accommodation.

Here is another example of your tax dollars being put to good use. The border patrol keeps busy with all sorts of tricks to catch drug smugglers and people crossing the border in search of a better life. Here they are dragging truck tires across a dirt frontage road. What a boring job. My guess is they use drones to inspect for footprints. (I was tempted to get off my bike and tramp across. But I didn't.)

The riding was fairly easy and by mid-afternoon we arrived at our Warm Showers destination just north of the main residential part of Columbus in an intentional community called the City of the Sun Foundation. Fran's place was without a doubt the most unique Warm Showers accommodation of our journey.

Fran greeted us warmly, and showed us around her place. She had built her own house and has a number of other building projects partially completed with random building materials, old chairs, and other stuff strewn everywhere around the property. If one person's junk is another's treasure, then I imagine that Fran considers herself as wealthy as the Queen of England.

Fran lives here.

Fran was very specific in explaining the idiosyncrasies of how things worked. She showed us the outhouse and asked that we only use it for number two, and to put the toilet paper in the bucket next to the seat. Habit got a hold of me the next morning and I disobeyed orders. There's also a bucket with dirt, so I poured some of that in to cover up my misbehavior.

She also asked that we pee in a random location outside and drop the toilet paper in the fire pit. The shower was a community shower a couple blocks down the street. (It was actually very nice and mostly clean.)

The community showers and laundry

We were to put a dollar in the box for each shower. I should note that none of this was mentioned in Fran's profile on the Warm Showers website. She just checked "private room & shared bath." We were a little taken aback.

We had several sleeping options, the converted school bus being the one we chose since it provided the most shelter for the cold night. The tires on the right lead to a ladder that provides access to the roof of the bus. The brown metal container in the lower right corner is the fire pit, also where I deposited my toilet paper after I peed. It was pretty full; no need for newspaper to start the next campfire.

The bus had no heat, no electricity, no sink or running water. The running water was an outside hose. There was a wood stove set up inside the bus on a wooden floor. Fran told us that no building codes are enforced in her community. How would you feel about starting a fire in that wood stove? The bed on the bus was comfortable enough, with blankets but no sheets. We slept in our sleeping bags and tried to stay warm.

The bed on the bus was very cozy.

The rest of the bus was a little too cozy for two with all our gear.

This ladder leads to the roof of the bus where we could bring a chair and sit in the sun during the day or watch the sunset or the stars at night. But it was too cold for that and, besides, we weren't staying. Fran's place was just a tad too rustic for us.

These are a couple of Fran's many ongoing projects. The dome on the left was one of our sleeping options. The roof is open to the sky and people have left feedback about how much they enjoy sleeping under the stars. There is a bed inside and several other pieces of furniture. The floor, where it exists, is a metal grate. Half of the floor is nothing but air, dropping down about ten feet to the bottom level. When I asked Fran about how safe that was, she pointed to a bar about chest high that would prevent someone from accidentally stepping down to the basement level. Right. The structure on the right is going to be a room to escape the summer heat.

Another of Fran's partially completed projects is a wall, made from glass bottles, to serve as a windbreak next to an old clawfoot bathtub sitting outside.

Fran let us know that we could use her kitchen if necessary, but we had nothing to cook and opted for an early dinner at the only restaurant in town that was open. While in town, we checked out the two other lodging options and booked a room for the following night at the Los Milagros Hotel. 

When we returned from dinner, Fran chatted with us a bit but didn't invite us in for a visit. It was still pretty early but getting dark. We had nothing to do but go to our cold school bus and crawl into our sleeping bags for an evening of reading. 

One of Fran's neighbors has built this tinker town structure. Fran didn't believe anyone lives there. It's an interesting community. I think they have a lot in common with the Free Staters moving to New Hampshire.

By this time we'd become obsessed with the wind forecast. We had over 80 miles of riding to El Paso with no place to stop. We knew we couldn't make that in one day if a headwind slowed us to eight miles an hour. The weather forecast predicted an eastern wind for the next two days. Then it would be coming from the west for the foreseeable future. We decided to wait it out. We also decided to bicycle, not drive, to San Antonio. Why not? The wind would help us along.

Monday, January 6, we left Fran's school bus and took ourselves out for breakfast, where we ran into Bill, the 70-year-old cyclist riding around the world. He joined us for a bit, describing his planned route and telling us about his many other adventures. We continue to meet so many cyclists whose travels dwarf ours. Bill was a solitary sole and happy to camp anywhere he could along the side of the highway, so he didn't mind venturing out on the road to El Paso with a headwind. He'd stop whenever he got tired.

After breakfast we went to the library. Like many of the libraries we've visited this year, it had convenient hours and was comfortable and well-equipped with computers. On a lark I sent an email to our local paper in New Hampshire, telling them about our trip. They responded within an hour and the next day a reporter interviewed us. Here's the link to the story: 
https://www.fosters.com/news/20200111/ordinary-seacoast-couple-hoping-to-inspire-compassion-dreams-through-yearlong-us-bike-tour

This charming little hotel would be home for our next two nights in Columbus while we waited for the wind to shift. It had a courtyard in the back and several common rooms inside. The owner had decorated it in a Mexican Victorian style. He always had a variety of snacks and tea available, perfect for hungry cyclists. There were only six rooms. During the week three of them were rented to truck drivers working on the Wall.

There wasn't a whole lot to do in Columbus. After visiting the library we checked into the Los Milagros Hotel, clearly a diamond in the rough. The only grocery store in town didn't have much in the way of anything and we only found one restaurant open which served mediocre Mexican food. But that was all okay. We were happy hanging out at our hotel. Keeping up with this blog takes a lot of time and I am having a lot of fun with it.

We popped into the Columbus history museum where we learned about the March 9, 1916, attack on the community by Mexican outlaws.

After riding around the country and seeing so much of our history defined by men, with women mentioned only as  "madams" or "soiled doves," it was really nice to see this.

On Tuesday, January 7, we bicycled three miles to the Mexican border and walked to Palomas for lunch. The town is filled with dental offices. People travel from all over the United States and cross the border for low-cost dental care. One of the women in the Columbus visitors center said she retired to Columbus so that she could easily go to Mexico for dental care. And we're building a wall? Something here doesn't make sense.

Everyone talked about The Pink Store as the place to go for lunch in Palomas so we had to check it out. It is filled with everything Mexican for sale. I love all the colors. The food was okay.

On Wednesday, January 8, we set out to cover the 84 miles to El Paso, Texas.

The Wall, being built before our very eyes.

With a slight headwind, mostly flat terrain, and nothing along the way to distract us we arrived in Texas and our Warm Showers accommodation after 9 1/2 hours.