Around 5am this morning, I woke up to one of the most violent thunderstorms I've ever seen. The decision to stay with the Kie's was a good one. Fortunately, by the time I was up and packing to head out, the storm had moved on, and the weather was improving. Except for some fog, it appeared to gonna be a good day. It was still about 30 miles to Artesia, so I didn't plan to do that in one day.......just get most of the miles today, and get into town tomorrow early and try to work on the blog. Diana invited me to join them for breakfast.......it was some Mexican food, not sure of the name, but very good. I talked with her and the children for a while, thanked them for the hospitality, and bid them farewell.......a nice family.
My first goal today is Hope, NM, about 10 miles away. The terrain is mostly flat or rolling, and absolutely nothing along the way except utility poles stretched as far as the eye could see. But, I don't mind that, in fact it's kinda nice occasionally. After a couple of hours, reached Hope and stopped by the store for some supplies. There met Lupe' (loo pay), owner of the store. Ralph, the trooper, had given me a message for Lupe', so when there were several people in the store, I told her I had a message for her. Of course this surprised her, not knowing me from anything. She asked what was the message, and I replied: "you need to keep your shoes on when you're driving!" She immediately knew who told me that, and everyone in the store had a big laugh. In the past, Ralph had worked an accident when Lupe' hit a deer, and noticed she wasn't wearing shoes. He told her he could ticket her for that, so it's been a big joke since. Lupe' even gave me a free slushie because, "I was sweeter than Ralph." Ralph: beware the next time you stop at the store.
After resting and getting supplies, back on the road. (This is the 2nd "Hope" I have passed through.....the first was in AZ, and it was 111 degrees that day.) The terrain continued the same, not much of anything. It's elk season out here, and several trucks passed with their kills. Some of the racks were wider than the bed of the truck. A car passed me, and turned around and came back. A guy got out, introduced himself as Ted Moore, and his sons as River and Travis. They had come out to check about some business interests in the area, and also doing some sightseeing. Ted took some pics with the boys and me, and soon headed off for Las Vegas.
As it was getting later in the day, I decided to get to milepost 100, and then look for a campsite. That would leave just a short walk into Artesia tomorrow. Before long, along came Diana Kie and her children, on their way to pick up Robert in Artesia. They asked if I needed anything from town, and I said a hamburger would be nice. Diana asked where I was going to camp so she could find me on the return trip. She left, but before long returned, saying she had found me the perfect place at mile 99.5. Said she had already asked the owners, and everything was ok. Sounded good to me.
I walked on a couple of miles, found the place, and talked to the owners. Before long, had the tent up, and waiting for the burger. It was getting cool, so I climbed inside the tent to stay warm. Before long, I heard some noises, and something pushing on the tent. Crawled outside and there were 2 horses beside the tent. I "shooed" them away, they went about 50yds or so, and just stood and watched me. This continued.......as soon as I was back inside the tent, they came back. Soon, the burger arrived, and the horses seemed to go away......maybe the car scared them.
I talked a while with the Kies, ate the burger, and settled down for a quiet night.....or so I thought.(that's my campsite in the picture above. A working windmill is in the background.)
My first goal today is Hope, NM, about 10 miles away. The terrain is mostly flat or rolling, and absolutely nothing along the way except utility poles stretched as far as the eye could see. But, I don't mind that, in fact it's kinda nice occasionally. After a couple of hours, reached Hope and stopped by the store for some supplies. There met Lupe' (loo pay), owner of the store. Ralph, the trooper, had given me a message for Lupe', so when there were several people in the store, I told her I had a message for her. Of course this surprised her, not knowing me from anything. She asked what was the message, and I replied: "you need to keep your shoes on when you're driving!" She immediately knew who told me that, and everyone in the store had a big laugh. In the past, Ralph had worked an accident when Lupe' hit a deer, and noticed she wasn't wearing shoes. He told her he could ticket her for that, so it's been a big joke since. Lupe' even gave me a free slushie because, "I was sweeter than Ralph." Ralph: beware the next time you stop at the store.
After resting and getting supplies, back on the road. (This is the 2nd "Hope" I have passed through.....the first was in AZ, and it was 111 degrees that day.) The terrain continued the same, not much of anything. It's elk season out here, and several trucks passed with their kills. Some of the racks were wider than the bed of the truck. A car passed me, and turned around and came back. A guy got out, introduced himself as Ted Moore, and his sons as River and Travis. They had come out to check about some business interests in the area, and also doing some sightseeing. Ted took some pics with the boys and me, and soon headed off for Las Vegas.
As it was getting later in the day, I decided to get to milepost 100, and then look for a campsite. That would leave just a short walk into Artesia tomorrow. Before long, along came Diana Kie and her children, on their way to pick up Robert in Artesia. They asked if I needed anything from town, and I said a hamburger would be nice. Diana asked where I was going to camp so she could find me on the return trip. She left, but before long returned, saying she had found me the perfect place at mile 99.5. Said she had already asked the owners, and everything was ok. Sounded good to me.
I walked on a couple of miles, found the place, and talked to the owners. Before long, had the tent up, and waiting for the burger. It was getting cool, so I climbed inside the tent to stay warm. Before long, I heard some noises, and something pushing on the tent. Crawled outside and there were 2 horses beside the tent. I "shooed" them away, they went about 50yds or so, and just stood and watched me. This continued.......as soon as I was back inside the tent, they came back. Soon, the burger arrived, and the horses seemed to go away......maybe the car scared them.
I talked a while with the Kies, ate the burger, and settled down for a quiet night.....or so I thought.(that's my campsite in the picture above. A working windmill is in the background.)
No comments:
Post a Comment