New Mexico Fun in the Sun?

My Wife and I headed out very happy with expectation on our short 600 mile Motorhome trip through Southwestern New Mexico on what is known as 'the circle'. The first part was great, with an evening stop in a small campground in Datil, in the Southwestern NM mountains. There I met a real 'Trail Rider' actually ridin' the trail. His camp was near ours. My wife really liked his horse, and told me to get his story.

PHIL MOORE. Check him out on http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/42631.html

The horseback traveling Wrangler from Jasper, in Newton county Arkansas. Phil and I discussed horses and six-guns. He packed a Ruger Flat top similiar to one that Blogengeezer once owned. His 15 year old saddle bags are from his old motorcycle ridin' days. Phil was 'ridin the trail' west towards California this trip. As the article in the 'Free New Mexican' stated, his horse is still shiny. It has been a year since the article was written about him. This part of the trail he actually parraleled the old 'Hoof Highway' from Magdalena NM to Sheep Springs, Springerville Arizona. That trail was used from the 1800's until 1971 to drive Sheep and Cattle to the old Magdalena railhead. Blogengeezer worked that area from '65 until it was no longer a railhead destination.

After we talked a while he mentioned being in a film near Santa Fe NM. 'COMANCHE MOON' was the film that Blogengeezer worked on when he started Da Flikkers. Check my archives, right sidebar, about the film. June 2006 the first post, and all comments are about the days on Comanche Moon set. Austin Texas after the Civil war. The book was written by Larry McMurtry. Phil was a 'Townfolk rider' Blogengeezer was a 'townfolk' black long tail coated, businessman in a tall black top hat with a carriage driver and a 'Woman' or two. Sometimes walking the streets, sometimes running around in suspenders after the Indian Raid. November 07 is the release date for TV. It is the 'Prequel' to the 'Lonesome Dove' series.

I had heard about Phil Moore. The entire cast talked about him. He was the rider that got escorted off the set when someone noticed he was packin' a real six-gun. Hollywood does not take kindly to that stuff since a few 'incidents' in the past, claimed a few professional actors who thought they were bulletproof. After a bit more conversation, I left Phil Moore to pack his gear, 'Saddle up' and ride on out. 'Happy Trails' Phil Moore. It was a pleasure meetin' Ya.

The scenery all over NM really is Primitively beautiful. Some 'Pansy Tailed' Eastern Journalists refer to it as 'Desolation'. The Washington Post said so on Tuesday, May 24th Datelined 'Albuquerque'. The latest nonsense blurb about NM atty Gen 'Iglesias' being fired by the Pres. Big Whoop! Every Pres. fires those guys, Clinton fired over a hundred of 'em. They are political appointments. The 'Pansy Tail' that wrote the story is 'Sridhar Pappu', Whadd'yer bet he is another Lib Easterner?

The New Mexico, VLA Radio Telescope on The San Augustine Plain (depicted in the movie 'Contact') was closed at 6 PM so we did not get to really do the interesting Tour. Those rail mounted, Dish Antennas are monsters up close. The smoke from the California fires put a haze over the southern half of NM. The trip was going nicely. The Re-introduced, Mexican wolf likes a ranchers nice Beef from time to time. The always plentiful Antelope and Deer are too hard to catch. Bobcats, Mountain Lions and Bears enjoy this part of the country. Outfitters ranches are along the canyon roads to make sure the commercial 'hunters' get a good workout. We were having a fun trip, So far so good.

The serious driving thing started when I had trouble getting gas due to the Silver City NM, Walmart merchandise card not reading the 200 dollars I had just loaded it with. The busy guy in the kiosk said he would come out and help. He forgot aboout me and I had to go back to remind him. He was no help at all. I had to leave the rig at the pump, walk back to the store, wait in line to get it put on another card. I was a little upset so did not fill up the tank.

I drove on into Las Cruces NM near sunset. The sun was right in my eyes so I unwittingly drove the rig into a dead end street lined with concertina wire. After struggling to get to an area where I could at least possibly turn the rig around, I had to disconnect the Jeep. My Wife turned the MH around by a lot of back and forth maneauvers with me banging on the side whenever she got too close to the wire. I then got in the Jeep and followed her to a gas station.

My wife had seen a campground sign and happily said "lets stop there for the night". That was her last 'Happily'. I started to fill the tank the rest of the way and the old pump with an unreadable display would not give me a receipt so I went inside. After a lot of walking back and forth to get the busy desk guy to turn the pumps on three times, I got the tank full.

One hour after stopping for gas, it was dark and I was getting angry. I did not look for the campground so Peg was now angry. I ended up driving another hundred miles through the darkness, North to the Elephant Butte reservoir and found a sign for camping near Truth or Consequences NM. My wife was back in her sleepless bed ignoring me in anger.

I then drove down this old bumpy street, to run into a road construction area with a very bad, long detour through a narrow little dirt rutted trail, through many little metal signs. I was watching out for the signs to not gouge the paint on the MH. I ended high up on a bluff overlooking the Dam at a 'Dead End'.

The area was only a foot wider than my turning radius with the Jeep and I had fully locked (jacknifed) the entire rig into the turn. My wife finally, angrily came back from her seclusion in the bedroom, and up front to see what I had done and why was I getting outside. The dropoff was over two hundred feet into the reservoir and the turning, side scrubbing, tires would only clear the dirt edge by one foot.

My Wife angrily got into the drivers seat and inched the rig along the edge while I walked along that foot of dirt watching the embankment for signs of catostrophic failure. After that experience I, as well as my Wife were both really, really, angry. I then drove another hundred miles in the middle of the night, toward a town, Socorro NM, that had a Wallmart.

I could not see back there, but after what I believed to be, beatin' the livin' stuffin' out of a couple of stuffed animals she keeps in the MH, During what sounded like holding them by their legs, she hit their heads on whatever was close, about ten times each animal. Lucky they were 'stuffed' animals, they look a little ragged now. Their little ribbons are hangin' pretty loose.

My wife, by then loudly (screaming) reminded me of everything she perceived that I had ever done wrong in our 40 years of marriage. How her life would have been very marvelous had she never met me, as I silently drove on through the night. For my health, luckily I had forgotten to bring the 38. After arriving at the Wallmart and a restless sleep of a few hours, we silently drove back the remaining 80 miles to ABQ without speaking until after the next day.

Today seems sort of back to normal. We are planning another short trip next week :>)