It's
only 150 miles from Carrizozo to Albuquerque and we stopped at the Valley of
Fires Nat'l Recreation Area early in the day. There we farted around with KJ,
took some fun pictures, and said our goodbyes.Click thumbnail pictures for large version.
19 JULY (from journal on 22 July)
It's
only 150 miles from Carrizozo to Albuquerque and we stopped at the Valley of
Fires Nat'l Recreation Area early in the day. There we farted around with KJ,
took some fun pictures, and said our goodbyes.
When we were getting gas outside Carrizozo, I heard a guy speaking German, so I went over and talked to him. Just a guy from Germany, touring the US southwest with his wife. They saw some special on TV about Arizona and decided it looked like a cool place to visit. Nice! I used a little German, but luckily the guy spoke pretty good English.
Above, L-R: Wes & KJ at Valley of Fires; cactus at VoF; Wes goofing
off at VoF
After that, we went to Magdalena, which is the town nearest to the Very Large Array or VLA. We holed up at the gas station in Magdalena for about 45 minutes while an absolute deluge of a storm peltered us. We got there before it really got started, so we didn't get very wet, but boy was it a hellacious storm. Flash floods started within 5 minutes of the beginning of the downpour.
The whole time we were at the gas station, which was being run by a 16 year old girl, only 2 cars stopped. One was somebody lost (we gave them directions back to I 25) and the other was a Navajo tribal policeman. Fascinating conversation with that guy. He says the #1 problem on the reservation is alcoholism, which creates the #2 problem - drunk driving. This gas station we were at is actually the only gas station within 30 miles of the reservation - and the nearest convenience store as well. If you want a grocery store, you have to go another 15-20 miles up the road. So in this town that has one gas station/convenience store, there are 3 liquor stores. Go figure.
Above, L-R: Jason's flash flood/monsoon pic; Wes talking to the tribal policeman;
Wes goofing off... again
The VLA was just as cool as I hoped it would be, it was a GREAT stop. We couldn't go in any of the science buildings, but there's a nice visitor center with plenty of stuff on the walls to read and you can take yourself on a good walking tour. You're not allowed to touch any of the radio telescopes, but you can get pretty close to them. I think I shot an entire roll of film just there alone.
At one point, we got tracked down by VLA security, who came looking for "the guy with the black bike". Seems Jason left his lights on somehow (turned the key too far?), so the guy gave him a ride back to take care of that. Good thing, too, because I have no idea how to jump start a bike! The security guy told the story of how his youngest son got a bit part in the movie Contact, way at the end when Jodie Foster is talking to the group of children.
Somehow I got my calendar here mixed up, because we had (and enjoyed) a full day off in Albuquerque, but there's no note of that in my journal here and that's what I get for trying to write things down days after they happen. Anyway, we checked over our bikes, adjusted & lubricated the chains, washed them, and got everything repacked. I mailed some stuff home - film, maps, park brochures, and some other stuff.
The time off at Annie's was well spent just hanging out. We got some film developed; I discovered that my hand is steady down to about 1/30 and 1/45 and I got some GOOD indoor pictures at Graceland.
After we sourced the metal for it, Annie made me a very cool ring, made ever more cool because we got to watch her do it. The jewelry shop she works out of is next door to a rather large snake "museum", which we toured. Kind of cool and kind of icky at the same time. I can see why Indiana Jones is afraid of these beasts.
Gas Log - 13 July - 14
July - 15 July - 17 July
18 July - 19 July - 20
July - 21 July - 22 July
23 July - 24 July - 26
July - 27 July - 28 July
29 July - 30 July - 31
July - 1 Aug - 2 Aug
3 Aug - 7 Aug - Wrapup