Perhaps it also seemed longer because at one point I drove right past The Middle of Nowhere:
Well, you can't read it, but that yellow sign along the top of the building? Says, "Middle of Nowhere" and the name on the sign next to the mailbox out front says "Nutt, NM"
I drove north a few miles on I-25 until I reached the village of Hatch, where I regretted not stopping for groceries before I'd left Las Cruces. I did get ice, though, and then headed west on a two-lane out through the desert. "In about 20 miles I headed north on what turned out to be a state scenic byway, and it was definitely scenic." In a dry, desolate way:
Those mountains, way off in the distance? Are a lot bigger than they look from here
After a bit, I turned west again "on a highway that thought it was a Slinky. Fifteen mile an hour curve after fifteen mile an hour curve." I swear I thought the front end of my car was going to rear end the back end of my car. Or vice versa. Or something. "And climbing. I was absolutely astonished when I hit a 9,000 foot pass. Up into the ponderosa pines. It was really beautiful, but the drive took more than twice as long as I thought it would."
Eventually I did arrive in Silver City:
The approach to Silver City lined with yellow cottonwoods
Which is a very nice small college town out in the middle of absolutely nowhere in southwestern New Mexico. I did my grocery shopping and hit a lovely little quilt shop where, among other things, I bought a quilting stencil that looked like a cluster of chili peppers.
I found a hostel in the basement of a bed and breakfast, which was very nice. And I brought my travel guides and my maps in with me, because I was hitting the point on this trip where I absolutely didn't know where to go next.
No comments:
Post a Comment