I was up early, rested from a nice, warm night in the trailer......even had an opportunity to get clean and shave. Weston stopped by to talk a while, and told me much about the history of the area. At one time there was lots of mining, both gold and copper. There is also a Lyndon B. Johnson NASA test facility in the area. Another local guy, Steve, stopped by to learn more about the walk. Steve works for the Border Patrol and had some stories to tell about his work. But, it was soon time for the walkingman to get to walking. Before I left, Weston noted that the police had closed the road near the top of the mountain getting ready for a missile launch......a what?
I had about a mile to get o the top of the pass, and struggled my way there. In addition to a shortness of breath due to altitude, I also had a headache......is that caused by altitude? When I reach the top, the US Army police had closed the road. When there is a missile launch, Hwy 70 is closed for 1 hour on both the Alamogordo and Las Cruces end of the road. That gives any en route vehicles time to clear the area before the missile is launched. Then the missile is launched and the road is opened. Just blind luck that I was there and able to see the launch. Not sure what was being tested, but all appeared to go as planned........at least to the casual observer. I think the date/time of each launch is published in the area to allow people to work around the road closing.
From the top of the pass, it was a beautiful view of White Sands and the road was downhill for miles. Nothing out here except occasionally I would see buildings, some partially underground, and of course, the whole area was posted for no trespassing. Just a very big, wide open area. Before long a car pulled up in front of me and out got a nice lady named Sandy. Sandy lives in Aguirre Springs, NM. She had seen me the day before and wanted to find out more about the walk. Sandy brought me water and a banana, and we talked for a while. She offered me a ride, but of course I had to decline.......not what walkingmen do.
The rest of the day was walking and resting. The road was flat or downhill, and the weather was nice. As I walked along, noticed a guy up ahead taking pictures of me walking toward him. Introduced himself as Gene Gutierrez from Las Cruces. Gene owns his own woodworking/cabinet business, and is semi-retired. Said he never wanted to totally retire. He has 6 children, most still in the area, and 8 grandchildren. Gene is doing some type of study of "Americans on Wheels", so I gave him another example for his study. A really nice, friendly man, and very interested in my walk.
It was soon time to find a spot to camp, and I found a good one. It was close to the road, but not a lot of truck traffic along that road. The ground was good for holding tent stakes, and there was a little privacy due to some small trees between me and the road. It was getting cool and before long I was in the sleeping bag for the night, warm and cozy after a good day.
I had about a mile to get o the top of the pass, and struggled my way there. In addition to a shortness of breath due to altitude, I also had a headache......is that caused by altitude? When I reach the top, the US Army police had closed the road. When there is a missile launch, Hwy 70 is closed for 1 hour on both the Alamogordo and Las Cruces end of the road. That gives any en route vehicles time to clear the area before the missile is launched. Then the missile is launched and the road is opened. Just blind luck that I was there and able to see the launch. Not sure what was being tested, but all appeared to go as planned........at least to the casual observer. I think the date/time of each launch is published in the area to allow people to work around the road closing.
From the top of the pass, it was a beautiful view of White Sands and the road was downhill for miles. Nothing out here except occasionally I would see buildings, some partially underground, and of course, the whole area was posted for no trespassing. Just a very big, wide open area. Before long a car pulled up in front of me and out got a nice lady named Sandy. Sandy lives in Aguirre Springs, NM. She had seen me the day before and wanted to find out more about the walk. Sandy brought me water and a banana, and we talked for a while. She offered me a ride, but of course I had to decline.......not what walkingmen do.
The rest of the day was walking and resting. The road was flat or downhill, and the weather was nice. As I walked along, noticed a guy up ahead taking pictures of me walking toward him. Introduced himself as Gene Gutierrez from Las Cruces. Gene owns his own woodworking/cabinet business, and is semi-retired. Said he never wanted to totally retire. He has 6 children, most still in the area, and 8 grandchildren. Gene is doing some type of study of "Americans on Wheels", so I gave him another example for his study. A really nice, friendly man, and very interested in my walk.
It was soon time to find a spot to camp, and I found a good one. It was close to the road, but not a lot of truck traffic along that road. The ground was good for holding tent stakes, and there was a little privacy due to some small trees between me and the road. It was getting cool and before long I was in the sleeping bag for the night, warm and cozy after a good day.
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