Day 43: Deming to Las Cruces , Day 1

I was up early and went across the street to a convenience store for breakfast. I came back, bathed, got packed and was ready for the radio interview. I like talking to Keith Larson because, being an adventurous guy himself, he seems to understand why somebody would do a walk like this. He always asks good questions, so it is fun being interviewed by him. The interview seemed to go fine and in case you didn't hear it this morning, there is a link on the blog.

This morning I will be walking down highway 549. It parallels interstate 10 and keeps me off it for about 18-20 miles. One of the first things I noticed about the road was that there was no shoulder at all. I was worried about that, but there ended up being almost no traffic so it wasn't a problem. I hadn't walked but a couple of miles when I came upon the St. Clair Winery. I resisted the temptation to go in and sample some of the wines, but I will put it on my to do list when I come back out this way. It was a beautiful day today, great day for walking. It wasn't long before I encountered my 7th tarantula. It was small one, but never the less it was a tarantula and fun to watch. I also am starting to see big groves of pecan trees.

Just as I was about to stop for my rest after 3 hours of walking, an old Buick pulled up beside me. The guy inside asked me where I was going. I told him I was going to North Carolina. I asked him his name. He introduced himself as Ivan Thompson ,"Cowboy Cupid"(see picture above).For the past 20 years or so, Ivan has worked in Old Mexico arranging marriages between Mexican women and American Men. He said that it had gotten too risky in Old Mexico, so he left down there and is now working on a horse ranch outside of Deming. Ivan was every bit as much of a real cowboy as Charlie Parker, from his hat and belt buckle to his boots. He just happened to be driving an old Buick instead of a truck. A local film company made a documentary of Ivan's 20 years of match making called "Cowboy Del Amore". Ivan showed me a copy and said it was available for sale online. I'm sure that I could have sat and talked to this man for days, listening to stories of his life.....But Ivan had to get back to the ranch.

I rested for about an hour and then headed up the road. I passed more irrigated fields of cotton and hay, and also more pecan groves. Because the road was parallel to I-10 , I could see in a few miles they were going to merge back together in a little place called Akela. It finally merged back with I-10 at Exit 102, which means I'd come about 20 miles since leaving Deming. There was a nice gas station/trading post there, so I stopped, took a rest, and got some supplies for my cooler.

After resting an hour or so, I set out on I-10 to put in a few more miles today and to find a place to put up my tent for the night. While I walking along I noticed several NASCAR haulers coming back from the race yesterday in California. I found a suitable place that was flat and protected after walking about 3 miles and decided to stop there for the day. Although I got a late start this morning, I still got in 20 plus miles and had a really great day.