I had not planned it that way. But when I finally had a chance to get to New Mexico to check out my adobe in Old Mesilla, I would be escaping the coldest southern Wisconsin weather in a long while. Having grown up in Wisconsin and spending over 20 years in Minnesota, I have experienced cold weather, but don’t recall highs of minus eight degrees and wind chills of minus 50.
Prior to the extreme cold, I had driven over to the northwest corner of Iowa to meet my longtime pal, Tom. When we headed south from there to Sioux City, it was around zero, cold enough, but nothing compared to what we would be escaping.
We cross the Sioux River into Nebraska and the temperature is already rising, above freezing. just a few spots of snow cover the ground on this gray, cloudy day.
We head south on U.S. 77 in eastern Nebraska across rolling hills with fields of corn stalks and dry grass, dotted with traces of snow. The countryside is rather colorless on cloudy, midwinter days. But the roads are in good winter driving condition.
At Wahoo, we turn west on U.S. 92, and after 50 miles turn south on U.S. 81. The temperature is rising to the low 40s, not bad for January. We cross into Kansas and the sky starts to brighten, the temperature rising to the high 40s. We take State Route 156 southwest to Great Bend as the temperature reaches the low 60s. We stop to gas up. I comment to a local that it surely can’t always be this warm here in January. He assures me that it’s not, and the wind generally keeps things cold enough.
From Great Bend we head southwest on U.S. 56 that roughly follows the Arkansas River and the historic Santa Fe Trail. Along that route is a gigantic wind farm. Western Kansas is surely the place to turn that wind into useful energy. We soon reach Dodge City, the historic rail head and cow town of lore and legend.
On this short winter day, darkness sets in. We skirt around Dodge City and continue southwest past a series of small towns, each similar to the last, with giant grain elevators on one side of the highway, and small businesses and a few residences on the other. There are six of these towns, Ensign, Montezuma, Copeland, Sublette, Satanta and Moscow. We don’t hit all six towns; just after Sublette we turn south on U.S. 83 to the southwest corner of Kansas, Liberal, where we hang it up for the night.
The next morning dawns bright and sunny, with the air fresh and crisp. We take U.S. 54 diagonally southwest across the Oklahoma Panhandle. Dark clouds soon cover the sky. But toward the southwest, there appear to be patches of blue — that’s where we’re heading.
Then we’re into the Texas panhandle to Stratford, then Dalhart and soon into New Mexico. The temperature remains in the 50s in this high range country. We have passed through the cloudy area and the sunshine is welcome. Scattered herds of cattle, and even a couple herds of antelope, are grazing on the dry winter vegetation. Some cattle are gathered around windmills and water tanks.
We reach Tucumcari, a stopover on old historic Route 66. When in Tucumcari, it’s a must to stop at the Pow Wow Inn on the main drag to have my favorite huevos rancheros. A couple of fried eggs, hash browns, refried beans, and lettuce and salsa, on top of corn tortillas, all covered with sumptuous green chile sauce — simply nothing like it. Tom and I had skimped on breakfast just so we could enjoy those huevos rancheros when we arrived in Tucumcari.
Having temporarily satisfied that craving for green chiles, we take the 50 mile stretch on I-40 to Santa Rosa, another historic stopover on old Route 66. We leave I-40 and travel down Santa Rosa’s main drag. It’s interesting to see the decaying relics of old motels and gas stations that were once frequented by travelers on old Route 66. The remains of these existing relics of the past are becoming fewer in number as they crumble and are replaced by convenience stores and upscale hotels.
We take U.S. 54 south across high range country to the old railroad town of Vaughn. More remaining relics of obsolete gas stations and motels still exist along its long main drag parallel to the railroad tracks. A few miles south is Duran, virtually a ghost town that once was a railroad stop where supplies were distributed to ranchers. The old hotel building and general store are long vacant and decaying, but still standing. The completion of I-25 from Albuquerque to El Paso, paralleling U.S. 54, spelled the demise of Duran that had no doubt seen its best days anyway.
Even though I-25 is the major north/south route between I-40 and El Paso, there is still a substantial amount of traffic between I-40 and El Paso on U.S. 54. It has been much improved since I had first arrived in New Mexico in 1990.
We reach Carrizozo in Lincoln County, site of the Lincoln County Cattle Wars, the famous participant of which was William Bonnie, AKA Billy the Kid. The Outpost, the once heavily patronized bar and eatery that featured the best green chile cheeseburger around, has long been defunct. The failure of some enterprising individual to reconstitute this fine establishment exemplifies Carrizozo’s apparent stagnation. The demise of Roy’s Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor reinforces that contention.
We reach Tularosa, then Alamogordo, and cross the Tularosa Valley, past White Sands National Monument. Then, it’s over the Organ Mountains with the City of Las Cruces and the Mesilla Valley of the Rio Grande basking in the late afternoon sunshine, temperature in the high 60s.
What an opportune time to be away from the Midwestern tundra.
— John Waelti of Monroe can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net. His column appears Saturdays in the Monroe Times.
