The drive from Las Cruces to Silver City is about two hours, but I was in no hurry since I left around noon and my cousin was at work until later in the day. So I took a few small detours.
Let's start with Akela Flats, a highly advertised (by billboard) place which, as it turns out, is just an Exxon station and tourist trap halfway between Las Cruces and Deming. That is to say, in the middle of nowhere.
In case it's unclear, there is no Telegraph and Assay Service or Postal Center behind these wooden false fronts. There's a combination convenience store/gift shop/fireworks store which accompanies the gas station. (Yeah, the whole "fireworks and gas station" thing makes me more than a little nervous, too.) Their cookies aren't bad, though.
Along I-10, there are signs that say "Zero Visibility Possible - Do Not Stop in Travel Lanes." These seem to refer to duststorms that apparently kick up in the area. (While a good sign, it doesn't rate up there with the "People Have Died Here" sign I saw at Dripping Springs.) Fortunately, Tuesday was a clear day with very little wind so I had no temptation to Stop in Travel Lanes.
Also along I-10 there are signs that tell you not to pick up hitchhikers because there's a state prison nearby. That makes the Border Patrol checkpoint which I encountered (uneventfully) perhaps doubly useful. ("U.S. citizen and not an imprisoned felon, ma'am?") As I was not wearing orange, the agent waved (waived?) me through without any conversation at all.
Beyond that, there is nothing else along I-10:
When I reached Deming I realized that I was less than forty miles from the Mexican border so I decided to take a detour south on Highway 11, the Ike Smalley Memorial Highway. Smalley was apparently a long-time state legislator from Deming, and also an attorney, prospector and miner. Nobody out here seems to only do one thing.
Anyhoo, I stopped in Columbus which is a very, very, very small border town of about three streets. Still, not entirely unattractive when you get off the highway.
The original point of Columbus (in 1891) was as a border station but when the railroad came through three miles away in 1903 the townspeople moved a bit north to be closer to the tracks. In 1916 Pancho Villa attacked Columbus, causing President Woodrow Wilson to dispatch General John J. Pershing (and Lt. George S. Patton) on his historic (and unsuccessful) Punitive Expedition. The purpose of the community today still seems to be that it is the last U.S. town before Mexico. That's what it was for me, as I stopped to get gas and take a quick necessity break.
The border crossing looked like I thought it would, only smaller. Palomas, Mexico, is not a major crossing so there was one narrow lane and one guard. She waved me through without question.
I recall a line from the Orson Welles film noir, "Touch of Evil", that is something like "border towns combine the worst characteristics of both countries." There was nothing I saw in Palomas that would make me argue with that assessment.
The Dental Implants Center is the first building you encounter when you cross into Mexico. I do not believe that this is a random placement. Location, location, location.
Rebecca and Wendy, please note the presence of a Zumba facility which I included specifically for you.
Then I crossed back into the U.S. Given that I was the only, um, customer in sight I got the full attention of the Border Patrol guard. I'm not complaining; it actually was a bit reassuring to be given what seemed to be a thorough inspection. He looked at my passport, asked me my birthday, asked me my occupation (that was a tougher question than he'd thought it would be), consulted his computer, and looked dubiously at the Vue. I offered to let him look in the back but he declined - perhaps it was the presence of the John Gregg sticker on the rear bumper that made him feel I was a low risk. He asked me what I'd been doing in Palomas and seemed slightly perplexed at my explanation ("I was driving from Las Cruces to Silver City and decided to see Mexico") and the length of time of my visit (I told him five minutes, which may have been an overstatement). I had nothing to declare, having spent no money in Mexico ("not even food or drink?" he asked.) I guess I'd have thought more people might just do a little drive-through like I did, but apparently not.
The inspection took a couple of minutes, and then I drove off...to the next Border Patrol Checkpoint, where I encountered two guards. One had a German Shepherd and jovially asked whether I was just getting off work. Whether he had mistaken me for somebody else or used this line as a clever way of questioning people while seeming friendly I will probably never know. His partner paid more attention to the Vue than the other checkpoint inspectors had done (it would have been impossible to pay less) and I rolled down the back window for him to peer inside. I'm starting to get used to these checkpoints, which concerns me a little bit.
Next stop: City of Rocks State Park, which is halfway between Deming and Silver City - about 30 miles south of Silver City. It is very cool - sort of like a natural Carhenge. It's rock formed of volcanic ash and sculpted over the centuries by wind and, I imagine from time to time, rain. There are only six other places on earth with this type of natural formation (seven, if you include Carhenge). They have a lot of astronomy-related programming and I really did wish I could just sleep out under the stars there.
This first picture is from a distance, and I put in the last picture so you can see the size by comparing the rocks to the Vue.
The section shown here is the closest to the visitor center but also the smallest. There are a lot of other rocks just a bit further away, as you saw from the first two pictures.
The last place I stopped on the way to Silver City was the Fort Bayard National Memorial Cemetery at the old Fort Bayard a few minutes outside Silver City. It's like a small Arlington Cemetery and Wikipedia says that over 3,700 veterans are buried here.
It was a very interesting drive and I made it to Silver City (elevation 5,900 feet, population 10,629) in time for a very fun Trivia Night with my cousin, her husband and their friends.
Let's start with Akela Flats, a highly advertised (by billboard) place which, as it turns out, is just an Exxon station and tourist trap halfway between Las Cruces and Deming. That is to say, in the middle of nowhere.
In case it's unclear, there is no Telegraph and Assay Service or Postal Center behind these wooden false fronts. There's a combination convenience store/gift shop/fireworks store which accompanies the gas station. (Yeah, the whole "fireworks and gas station" thing makes me more than a little nervous, too.) Their cookies aren't bad, though.
Along I-10, there are signs that say "Zero Visibility Possible - Do Not Stop in Travel Lanes." These seem to refer to duststorms that apparently kick up in the area. (While a good sign, it doesn't rate up there with the "People Have Died Here" sign I saw at Dripping Springs.) Fortunately, Tuesday was a clear day with very little wind so I had no temptation to Stop in Travel Lanes.
Also along I-10 there are signs that tell you not to pick up hitchhikers because there's a state prison nearby. That makes the Border Patrol checkpoint which I encountered (uneventfully) perhaps doubly useful. ("U.S. citizen and not an imprisoned felon, ma'am?") As I was not wearing orange, the agent waved (waived?) me through without any conversation at all.
Beyond that, there is nothing else along I-10:
When I reached Deming I realized that I was less than forty miles from the Mexican border so I decided to take a detour south on Highway 11, the Ike Smalley Memorial Highway. Smalley was apparently a long-time state legislator from Deming, and also an attorney, prospector and miner. Nobody out here seems to only do one thing.
Anyhoo, I stopped in Columbus which is a very, very, very small border town of about three streets. Still, not entirely unattractive when you get off the highway.
The original point of Columbus (in 1891) was as a border station but when the railroad came through three miles away in 1903 the townspeople moved a bit north to be closer to the tracks. In 1916 Pancho Villa attacked Columbus, causing President Woodrow Wilson to dispatch General John J. Pershing (and Lt. George S. Patton) on his historic (and unsuccessful) Punitive Expedition. The purpose of the community today still seems to be that it is the last U.S. town before Mexico. That's what it was for me, as I stopped to get gas and take a quick necessity break.
The border crossing looked like I thought it would, only smaller. Palomas, Mexico, is not a major crossing so there was one narrow lane and one guard. She waved me through without question.
I recall a line from the Orson Welles film noir, "Touch of Evil", that is something like "border towns combine the worst characteristics of both countries." There was nothing I saw in Palomas that would make me argue with that assessment.
The Dental Implants Center is the first building you encounter when you cross into Mexico. I do not believe that this is a random placement. Location, location, location.
Rebecca and Wendy, please note the presence of a Zumba facility which I included specifically for you.
The inspection took a couple of minutes, and then I drove off...to the next Border Patrol Checkpoint, where I encountered two guards. One had a German Shepherd and jovially asked whether I was just getting off work. Whether he had mistaken me for somebody else or used this line as a clever way of questioning people while seeming friendly I will probably never know. His partner paid more attention to the Vue than the other checkpoint inspectors had done (it would have been impossible to pay less) and I rolled down the back window for him to peer inside. I'm starting to get used to these checkpoints, which concerns me a little bit.
Next stop: City of Rocks State Park, which is halfway between Deming and Silver City - about 30 miles south of Silver City. It is very cool - sort of like a natural Carhenge. It's rock formed of volcanic ash and sculpted over the centuries by wind and, I imagine from time to time, rain. There are only six other places on earth with this type of natural formation (seven, if you include Carhenge). They have a lot of astronomy-related programming and I really did wish I could just sleep out under the stars there.
This first picture is from a distance, and I put in the last picture so you can see the size by comparing the rocks to the Vue.
The section shown here is the closest to the visitor center but also the smallest. There are a lot of other rocks just a bit further away, as you saw from the first two pictures.
The last place I stopped on the way to Silver City was the Fort Bayard National Memorial Cemetery at the old Fort Bayard a few minutes outside Silver City. It's like a small Arlington Cemetery and Wikipedia says that over 3,700 veterans are buried here.
It was a very interesting drive and I made it to Silver City (elevation 5,900 feet, population 10,629) in time for a very fun Trivia Night with my cousin, her husband and their friends.
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