On the Road: COVID-19 Unfolding, Part 23: Highway 54, New Mexico: Changes

Stone building, Highway 54, between Vaughn and Santa Rosa, New Mexico. June 2020.

June 2020

Back here, I knew that my first stop after leaving Tucson would be in Las Cruces, New Mexico. But I didn't know where I'd head from there.

Then an important day for one of my descendants popped up, and that event determined my second destination: Central Missouri.

COVID-19 had an opinion about how I was to get there.

Should I take the route I yearned to take - Highway 54 through New Mexico? Revisit past scenic and cultural touchstones, perhaps for the last time, as I have no idea when I might - if ever - return to the Southwest? But knowing it would be a challenge to find a spot to overnight in Chez P because of state and national park closures, and the dearth of rest areas on this route (which weren't open, anyway)?

Or should I drop down to El Paso, then shoot east through laissez-faire Texas and up through Oklahoma, interstates all the way, hopeful of open rest areas and truck stops where I could overnight in Chez P instead of a motel?

Romantic nostalgia won out over clinical practicality. Highway 54 it was to be. 

The first time I traveled on Highway 54 in New Mexico was in 8888. The last time was in 2013.

Things have changed. Some then and now photos below. 

Carrizozo junction

The junction of Highways 54 and 380 in Carrizozo (near Valley of Fires), at my traditional pit stop, where I went to the bathroom and bought a banana.

In 2013, the c-store/gas station was an Allsup's. Next door sat an old building, C&A Stromberg Trading Post.  That giant square of color against the New Mexican sky always cheered me. 

Stromberg's at junction of Highways 54 and 380, Carrizozo, New Mexico. September 2013.

 In 2020, Stromberg's is gone. The refurbished c-store expanded into the space Stromberg's left behind.

Junction of Highways 54 and 380, Carrizozo, New Mexico. June 2020.

 

Eyes of Duran

I saw the eyes for the first time in 2013. 

Eyes of Duran, Highway 54, New Mexico. September 2013.

Here's what they looked like in 2017.

Eyes of Duran, Highway 54, New Mexico. July 2017.

And in June 2020.

Eyes of Duran, Highway 54, New Mexico. June 2020.

You can read a tragic history of the people who used to own this building in this City of Dust story. 

The stone building

This stone building breathed both desolation and life to me each time I met it on Highway 54, between Vaughn and Santa Rosa. 

Here it is in 2013, like a painting.

Stone building, Highway 54, between Vaughn and Santa Rosa, New Mexico. September 2013.

 

And in June 2020. 

 

Stone building, Highway 54, between Vaughn and Santa Rosa, New Mexico. June 2020.

 Crows played about the building, as did the ubiquitous wind. 

 

 

Related posts on Highway 54 in New Mexico

• August 2017: Missouri Flash Trip, Part 4: Come Ride With Me (in videos)
• August 2017: Missouri Flash Trip, Part 5: Duran Duran
• October 2013: New Mexico: Goodbye to Highway 54. (I took a video of that stone building then, too. Yellow flowers bloomed.)
• August 2013: Highway 54, New Mexico: Summer Party
  
• July 2013: The Ride Back Home: Raton to Alamogordo
• February 2013: Magic Between Two Mountain Ranges
• February 2013: Three Rivers Petroglyphs Site
• January 2013: New Mexico: The Freezing Fog

 

Here is a slideshow of  Highway 54 across the years, 2007-present.

###

New Mexico: Lunch and Dinner off the Road

On Sunday, I had lunch here:

Turnout from the Jemez Scenic Trail (Highway 4), between Fenton Lake State Park and La Cueva, New Mexico. 

Turnout from the Jemez Scenic Trail (Highway 4), between Fenton Lake State Park and La Cueva, New Mexico

Joining me were lizards; a chipmunk; some very loud, assertive, flying grasshoppers; and a hawk overhead. 


... and dinner here:

View toward Carrizozo from Valley of Fires, off Highway 380, New Mexico

Dinner was less serene than lunch, as the gnats drove me back into my car so I could eat in peace.

I enjoyed a visual digestif as I completed my drive home on Highway 54 at dusk:

Highway 54, looking east, between Carrizozo and Three Rivers Petroglyphs, New Mexico

The Ride Back Home - Raton to Alamogordo

Went to Raton for the weekend. On the way up, there was rain over the mountains to the west.

On the way back down, I went through the rain. Then later, dust. And a tumbleweed migration.

A pictorial of the ride back home.

Leaving Raton, New Mexico

Interstate 25 South between Raton and Las Vegas, New Mexico

"Water, not fracking." Highway 84 near Dilia, New Mexico

Highway 54, Vaughn, New Mexico

Highway 54 between Vaughn and Carrizozo, New Mexico

This stream did not exist the day before.

Highway 54 between Vaughn and Carrizozo, New Mexico

Highway 54 between Vaughn and Carrizozo, New Mexico

Dust storm ahead? Rainstorm? .... dust.

Highway 54 between Vaughn and Carrizozo, New Mexico

North of Carrizozo, the bikers pondered their game plan, as they were headed toward the dust storm.

Highway 54 between Vaughn and Carrizozo, New Mexico

Valley of Cow Patties, erm, Fires, New Mexico

Cow Patty Hill, New Mexico. No, really, Valley of Fires, Highway 380, New Mexico.

Yes, I get the fire bit .. lava ... volcano ... hot sulphurous fumes .... but visually, it's all a field of cow patties.

Valley of Fires, Highway 380, New Mexico.

 Here is an actual cow patty. Judge for yourself.

Cow patty. Credit: K.A. Lewis

The boardwalk trail at Valley of Fires Recreation Area is wheelchair accessible. Nice. It's a pleasant walk through the lava field. Although it was hot the day I strolled through, there was a lively breeze, so it was very comfortable.
 

Valley of Fires, Highway 380, New Mexico.

Also, it's spring in the high desert, so there were flowers. Because of the intense sunlight, I boosted the color saturation and contrast so you can see the blooms. I need to do some research on how to take photos in full sunlight.

Valley of Fires, Highway 380, New Mexico.

Valley of Fires, Highway 380, New Mexico.

Valley of Fires, Highway 380, New Mexico.

Valley of Fires, Highway 380, New Mexico.

Valley of Fires, Highway 380, New Mexico.

Valley of Fires, Highway 380, New Mexico.

 

Magic Between Two Mountain Ranges

I never would have guessed the magic that occurs when you live between two mountain ranges.

You get two sunrises and two sunsets. Every day that the sun shines.

Yesterday, here are the two sunsets I saw - one on the east and one on the west - within minutes of each other.

Sunset in the east, Sacramento Mountains (maybe), Highway 54, south of Carrizozo, New Mexico

 

Sunset in the west, San Andres (maybe) Mountains, Highway 54, south of Carrizozo, New Mexico

Carrizozo, NM: Another Bite

Carrizozo, New Mexico.

I found a charming section of Carrizozo during my first pass-through of town here.

This past weekend, I saw the more glum aspect. The decaying buildings reminded me of Rustavi. There's still time, perhaps, to resuscitate, maybe not. In theory, Carrizozo is in a fairly good tourist location at the junction of Highways 54 and 380, a crossroads to head toward Alamogordo (and White Sands), Socorro, Santa Rosa (and Route 66), or into the mountains.

But there's nothing at that intersection to draw an impulsive passer-by into the village proper. The intersection looks like any number of highway-junction corners with a gas station and maybe a cafe. If travelers saw something to the south that drew the eye and seduced them into this character town, only yards away, they could be persuaded to spend a couple of hours. Spending money.

Carrizozo, New Mexico.

Carrizozo, New Mexico.

Carrizozo, New Mexico.

Carrizozo, New Mexico.

Carrizozo, New Mexico.

 

Carrizozo, New Mexico: Just a Bite

Carrizozo, New Mexico

I'll return for a longer look in the future, but yesterday I had a chance to take just a bite of Carrizozo.

Funny enough, a couple of years ago, on a road trip with my mother, we touched the edge of Carrizozo at the very point at which we decided to return to Missouri rather than proceed with our itinerary, which included a night or so in Roswell.

So on the spur of the moment, at the junction of Highway 54 and 380, we turned left, or north, onto Highway 54. If we had turned right, we'd have entered Carrizozo proper, which is a pretty little town.

I would have likely just passed through yesterday, making a mental note to come back for a proper review, as I was on my last leg back to Alamogordo from a fall foliage excursion, but I saw a pink motel. It happens that I'm collecting photos of pink houses in New Mexico, so I turned around and went back. This resulted in my entering a little main street that was too colorful to postpone a look-see for another day.

Carrizozo, New Mexico

Carrizozo, New Mexico

Carrizozo, New Mexico

Carrizozo, New Mexico

Carrizozo, New Mexico

Carrizozo, New Mexico

Carrizozo, New Mexico

Carrizozo, New Mexico

Yeah, I noticed those burros atop some buildings, too.