July 14, 2008 - Monday - Day 14
USA/MEXICO/CANADA
DOUBLE CROSS COUNTRY
& THE TRANSCANADA HIGHWAY
-- OR BUST - SUMMER 2008
Miles Today - 261 - Total Miles - 3595
Average Daily (Travel Day) Miles - 277.8
Plainview,TX- to Santa Rosa,NM
(-staying at a Super8 Motel -)
(TX-NM)
- A MORNING OF GLORY - UP-ENDED CADDIES - AN OFFICER FINALLY GOT ME…
- AN EMOTIONAL END OF THE DAY -
My head was laying on the pillow at 7:30am, and I'm hearing a couple motorcycles ripping down the highway, and I'm thinking, “Hey, why aren't I out there?”
On the run I ran by a truck stop, and a dog popped it's head out from one of the big rig windows. It was one of those big white dogs with a black ring around one of its eyes. And he was barking like crazy at me - and he kept barking until I was way out of sight. No doubt he was doing his guard dog thing while his boss was having breakfast at the nearby eatery. And that dog was in the driver's seat doing a good job.
Looking at the map, and I was heading super slab north on big I-27 instead of northwest on back road Route 60. The distance was a bit further, but the roads, according to Koy were infinitely better and without numerous potholes. But some of the towns that I'd be missing were almost mythical to me on that Route 60… Willard, Encino, Vaughn, and Fort Sumner… It was the exact route I had traveled on my 4000+ mile, three-month, ocean-to-ocean bicycle ride back in 1980. And there were some adventures there, let me tell you….But I've been to these type of places before - the ones where one “can never go back home”, and it's true! There has always been practically nothing recognizable from the years before. But I would be going through Santa Rosa,NM later in the day - and I was hopeful that there would be something there for me because that place has special meaning for me….
Finally got out by 9:30am.
As I was streaking along beautiful empty interstate roadway toward Amarillo this morning, I thought to myself, “Now here's totally empty highway, and the perfect spot for hitting my 100 for the day.” And I'm thinking I'm going about 70mph, and when I looked, it was actually 90mph! So I notched it up, and without any effort at all, the speedometer hit 105! Then I brought it down, of course. Delightful!
This could have been the most beautiful morning - ever - since the world began - for motorcycling down a highway. It was cool, the scenery was magnificent, the roadway excellent.
On most sections of highway this morning I just took it slow to enjoy the breathtaking scenery.
As good as I was feeling this morning, at about the best of it, sure enough there came a town sign proclaiming that the name of the place I was passing was, “HAPPY”…. Happy, Texas.
Vignettes along the way today:
- a lone cow, clearly separated from the herd - clearly oblivious, munching away.
- old rusting windmills, like past-their-prime sentinels, keeping watch in the middle of the prairie (reminding me of the one I put my tent by in the middle of nowhere on one bicycle trip. Its creaking was eerie through the night. In the morning, a couple cows had moseyed up to my tent.)
- driveways off to the distance with no discernible end point
- telephone poles and power lines marching out to the horizon
- lone trees standing tall, perhaps somewhat courageously in the middle of a wide field
- or a bunch of trees buddying up to each other and nestled around a homestead ranch house
- cows grazing peacefully before going off to their ignominious and brutal slaughter (I remember one picture I took on one of my bicycle trips in this area - it was a small contented herd on a extremely hot day. They were in the shade of a billboard that was an advertisement for Burger King! How ironic is that!)
Koy had recommended that I stop by the buried Cadillacs off the road outside of Abilene. It was like a modern day Stonehenge. This is what some travel website notes:
On the west side of Amarillo the place called Cadillac Ranch is a must see. Not really a ranch but a cultural sculpture, ten Cadillacs are buried grill down on the prairie. The cars date from 1949 through 1963 and some say were buried one per year for ten years by the owner who was apparently annoyed with the auto manufacturer. The other story, more likely, is that Texas billionaire Stanley Marsh 3rd wanted to create highway art and did so with the cars. It was once the custom for visitors to add graffiti to the auto monoliths but the custom may have been abandoned since the restoration in 2002. (Joel's Note: It's still the custom!)
I had passed by the place by half-a-mile, as it was on the other side of the road and nowhere to cross over. There were quite a number of folks walking up to the site of the 'burials'…. I came around at a turn, and tooled over to the peculiar scene. The cars were about a football field away, and there was quite a wide and worn dirt path to them where they stood in the midst of a wide empty field. Everyone got pictures, and many were signing the cars with spray-paint or pens. It was a very odd sight.
I've been training myself, even on the lonely highways to use the turn signal, and also to not trust the rearview mirrors. I always use the mirror AND give a head turn sideways look to make sure that no car there creeping up on me as I change lanes. I hate surprises on the highway.After getting gas at around 11:30am outside of Abilene, and just past the half-buried caddies, a fellow with a Life is Good motorcycle cap just like mine came up to me. He said, pointing out my plate, “From Pennsylvania, eh?” I proudly took out my same cap and showed it to him, and we had a friendly conversation. Dennis, from northern California, was in the area for a family reunion. He had begun motorcycling again at 61. He was a wiry in-shape guy with a wonderfully friendly smile. He told me about his bike that he had to leave at home, and we chatted a bit more before he went off to fill his car at the pump. He seemed interested in my travels, so when I went by him on my way out, I gave him a card with the website so he could follow along with the trip.
Speaking of fueling up, it never USED to cost $18-$20 to fill a 5-gallon motorcycle tank! I keep careful track of the gasoline purchases, amounts, types, and costs. Today included the 25th fill up of the tank. As I travel around the country daily hemorrhaging money at the pump, I know it's well worth it, but still it occasionally gives me pause.
I was actually so taken with seeing and chatting with Dennis and his enthusiasm that I began to get back on the big highway by taking the wrong ramp. All of a sudden realized I was going the wrong way, and pretty far along it, on a one-way road. Ooops! I quickly turned around and found the correct ramp. In all fairness, the signage was just not clear though.
By-the-way, to any law enforcement officers who may be reading this: just kidding about the speed…
West of Abilene the stench of the cattle yards came through loud and clear. Ugh. Yuck. Made me gladder and gladder that I've been a vegetarian for so long. (I remember staying at a cattleman's ranch once. The husband was quite animate about meat being okay - after all it was his livelihood. But when he left the little kitchen, the wife turned to me with a knowing look and a quiet whisper, “I don't blame you. I wish I could be a vegetarian.”)
Picked up another hour as I moved past Mountain Time entering New Mexico.
Stopped in at the New Mexico Welcome Center for the motel coupon books around 1pm.
And there an odd thing happened - I seemed to have lost my motorcycle keys. Very odd, I kept thinking. But after searching all my pockets numerous times, and retracing my steps many times from the door of the place to the Nomad, it was getting kinda frustrating. Finally, and with a great deal of relief, I spied them on the pebbles by the little sidewalk area. It was such an odd thing, because I'm sooooo careful with those keys! One good thing about the incident, if one wants to look for a silver lining, is that while searching, I came across my spare key! I had forgotten where that was, so it was good locating it for the future, should the main keys really get lost.
I have spares and doubles of almost everything - keys, documents, computer batteries.
It was a wonderful, but in some ways sloppy day. Not only did I endure that key incident, but I discovered that my beloved Life is Good motorcycle hat had slipped out from where I kept it in my tank bag and was gone, probably along the highway somewhere. I was sad about that, of course. But I immediately called the company and will have them send me out a new one. Had it sent to Clark's place in Kingman, where I'll be in a couple days. That's one thing about inanimate objects. About things - they can be replaced. Unlike departed friends or cherished memories or time - all of which can NEVER be replaced.
Wasn't sure about the gas situation this afternoon. My warning light was on but I had only gone 121 miles since the last fill up. Usually got to 150 or so before the warning light comes on. A number of folks in the know said I shouldn't trust the sensors on the motorcycle gas gauge. So in little Cuervo I pulled over for the only pumps there. Ancient pumps they were. Had to be careful on the gravel there, too. And an old unsmiling, clearly bitter-about-life old crone came out after about 5 minutes and said she'd turn the pumps on. I could only get regular so I just squirted in two gallons. When I popped my head in the woman's little office area, there were quite a few huge, stuffed and taxidermied animal heads on the walls. They looked grotesque to me. A place of death it seemed.
It wasn't too much further down the road that I came to Santa Rosa, NM. I could have gone further. It was, after all, still relatively early in the day at about 3pm. But I had a special mission in Santa Rosa. It was here almost exactly 28 years ago that a great kindness was bestowed on me, and one of my favorite little adventures began.
I arrived here in April of 1980. This cross-country bicycle ride was my first trek out across the country. I was 33! I had begun in San Francisco, traveled south down the coast, dipped into Mexico, and was at about 1,400 miles when I got to this then, little New Mexican town. At the time I wouldn't even consider a motel (that whole trip in lodging cost less than $5!), but there seemed to be no place for my little tent. And a storm seemed to be approaching.
I poked around the little town and eventually ended up in front of the Santa Rosa de Lima Catholic Church on Lake drive. A big old imposing building. The front door was open, but no one seemed to be around. I had often thought along the way that churches would be a good resource.
Well, as I said, no one was around in authority. But someone, and I can't recall who, said that, in fact, I could stay at that church for the night. And so I think I brought my bike in, and made myself as comfy as I could on the very last pew of the immense church. It was a little eerie when it got dark. I was wrapped so comfy in my sleeping bag on the hard bench, and the enormous stained glass windows with the colorful designs were peering down on me, and it was quite the situation! There were strange big building noises, but the most interesting, most unsettling, and most annoying (for someone trying to sleep after bicycling more than 50 miles AND who would be bicycling more than 50 the next day) was the stained glass window right beside me rattling in the night wind.
It all made quite an impression on me, and it was a looooooong night!
As usual though, I awoke refreshed and eager for the next day's ride - BUT - when I stepped out the door for my morning run there was about a foot of SNOW on the ground!!!! I ran through it, and then came back to decide what to do. I had a place to stay in Fort Sumner, NM, which was about 50 miles away. (It was Roy Martin's folk's farm (Roy and Janet were visited on Day 4, you may remember.) So I chatted with some friendly neighbors and left my bike here in Santa Rosa while I hitchhiked to Fort Sumner. Out on the highway there were very few cars tempting the treachery of the snow-filled highway. A trailer did eventually pick me up and all that occurred after that - one of my most memorable, dangerous, and exciting memories - is surely a story for another time and place. But suffice it to say, Fort Sumner, at a lower elevation had no snow. After visiting there for two days, I hitchhiked back to Santa Rosa, collected my bicycle, and continued across the country, along the aforementioned Route 60 and those other little towns.
Fast forward to today… I was now on a motorcycle on another little epic jaunt, and I asked about that church in a couple motels I considered staying in.
(I miss camping. I used to spit on people who stayed in motels back in those younger days. I consider three reasons that attitude might be changed now - it MIGHT be because I have more money now…. or it just MIGHT be because I'm older now….. or, it just MIGHT be because I'm SMARTER now!!! Not sure which of those it is, but I do look back on those days - an aggregate of over a year of bicycle camping days in my little tent in all kinds of conditions - with a blend of awe and warm reminiscing.)
Sure enough I was directed to the location of the church, the only Catholic Church in town. And I promptly motorcycled there. And there it was. I didn't recognize too much of the surroundings. The side doors were locked, but the main front door was unlocked - as it was 28 years ago - and I walked right in, and then the emotion of the wonderful recollections overcame me and I teared up and cried like a baby. (And even as I write this tears splash on my cheeks!)
I wonder why the tears? Heart-felt emotion of some kind? Recognition of good luck enjoyed. A time thing in some way? A realization of time passed and looked back upon happily.
I couldn't reach Ellie, so I called my friend Tom Rudolf, and shared some of the emotion with him. It was just too much to handle on my own…
I poked around the insides of the cavernous church - and took a bunch of pictures. The old stained glass windows were still there - and the one that rattled during the night was boarded up with a wooden framework scaffolding against the outside of it - clearly in the middle of a restoration process long delayed, probably because of lack of funds.
I walked around the outside and finally went to my Super8 room a few blocks away. But this was too much of a human interest story to keep to myself - and so I called the local paper. A reporter met me at the church about 20 minutes later.
Jesus told me he was a police officer as well as the newspaper guy in town. He asked me a number of questions, and that was when… an officer finally got me… to tell him the story about my trip….
We walked inside the place as we each peppered the other with questions. Jesus took a number of pictures of me in and around the place. A couple on that same bench where I spent the night so long ago.
Jesus has lived here all his life and knew about everything and everybody. He said that the neighbor who kept the bike for me so long ago was one of the only ones still living here. We went over to the place but she wasn't home yet from work. (I also went back after my supper at a local restaurant, but she still wasn't there.) What a hoot it would have been to shake her hand again! When I get home I'll dig out the old pictures I have of her and her daughter and send them to Jesus to pass along.Eventually I had enough. And I wandered to dinner (where a bright young lad of about 12 waited the tables) and enjoyed a superb taco salad - and treated myself to a wonderful slice of cherry pie! Mmmmm….
Then, and it was now about 7ish when I went back to the Super8.
Hadn't cleaned the motorcycle in a few days so it took a little longer than usual. But I got it pretty much up to it's newness shine! I had it under the Super8 portico and covered. I felt bad for the three Harley scoots that had been left by their owners out in the storm uncovered, now getting spattered by rain.
I was up way too late planning, and writing and rewriting about this magnificent day.
Note:
To view many of the photos from today (including many from the Cadillac Ranch and the Santa Rosa Catholic Church) and the whole trip, you can visit
http://www.photostockplus.com/home.php?tmpl=45&user_id=42473&event=196141. Some folks have reported trouble with this link, but most find that it works. Sometimes it takes two tries… Also, you can check out the past day journal entries by going to joelperlish.com, and clicking on the appropriate trip down at the bottom on the left hand corner or just going to http://www.joelperlish.com/blog/blog.html.)
