It is 1651 miles from Green Valley, Arizona to Plymouth, Minnesota. Road Warriors drive it in two days. More typical drivers complete the trip in three days. The Idiots are neither road warriors or typical… they meander. It took them about two weeks and more like 2000 miles in “The Beast”, their 25’ home on wheels.
Closing their winter home in Arizona, they looked at each other and launched their journey with the traditional words “Well… we’re burnin’ daylight! After a grueling 126 miles, they rolled into Chiricahua National Monument and set up camp – for three nights. A good meander must not be rushed!
This was the Idiots third visit to Chiricahua and long-time readers have heard stories and seen many photos, so they will include just a few in this discourse. Chiricahua’s most striking views are the “standing rocks” surrounding Masai Point.
The Idiots did something they hadn’t done in some years – they attended the ranger presentations at the campground amphitheater. Chiricahua is a small, remote park in extreme southeastern Arizona, just a few miles from the Mexican border. The presentations were not very polished or sophisticated… but sitting on the benches below the towering cliffs… watching the setting sun turn the granite pink… the vultures circling the cliff-tops… chatting with the rangers and other campers… it was a most pleasant ending for lazy days.
Idiot She took advantage of one quiet afternoon to put finishing touches on a baby quilt for a dear family friend.
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After Chiricahua, the Idiots visited their extended family in Silver City, New Mexico for a couple of days.
Their visit included two trips to Don Juan’s drive-through burrito shop and The Beast had an emergency visit to Todd, a most amazing mechanic who was able to do an oil change and find and repair an area of hidden damage. Wires chewed by a desert rat during the winter storage took out 2 of the 10 engine cylinders and wiped out the battery charging system and air conditioning. Todd’s garage is too small to handle an RV, but in four hours on his day off, working on the gravel pad outside his garage, he was able to put The Beast back into excellent working order.
Out of respect for the privacy of our Silver City family, no pictures…
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Heading east from Silver City, the remarkably scenic Highway 152 crosses the Black Range. This slow, lonely road has little traffic as it winds its way up through primeval forest and mountain canyons to Emory Pass at over 8200 feet. It is designated the Geronimo Scenic Byway, though nobdy can actually say Geronimo was ever in this area.
Just short of the summit the Idiots spotted in passing an unusual highway sign that they think dedicated a section to “a good cowboy.” Idiot He wanted to turn around and check it out – but Highway 153 is not the kind of road you just turn a 25’ motorhome around on… so He was sent on a mental meander on cowboys and wilderness and life and such…
As they pulled over to stretch their legs, Idiot He thought he heard voices. He found they had no companions except the birds willing to brave the cold mountain winds. The “voices” were those winds working their way through the boughs of the pines, speaking a language older than time. He was reminded of a great song by the great cowboy balladeer, Ian Tyson – “Fifty Years Ago.”
And the sighing of the pines
Up here near the timberline
Makes me wish I’d done things different
Ah, but wishin’ don’t make it so.
But the time passed so quick
The years all run together now
Did I kiss Juanita yesterday
Or was it fifty years ago?
(song at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htbDJBRC6Ag )
Fifty years ago Idiot He was a senior in high school and a lovesick puppy. He’d decided to leave Minnesota for college in Boston… and his girlfriend was heading to South Dakota. He insisted they break up so they could both launch their new lives unencumbered. It was hard – but they were just too young for long term commitment and a long-distance relationship.
So does Idiot He, like Ian Tyson, “wish I’d done things different”?
Naw! Somehow those two silly teenagers stuck together through all the struggles and hard times and they are still listening to the sighing of the pines up hear near the timberline – together.
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In 1929, a young artist from from New York came to New Mexico to escape the summer heat. Georgia O’Keefe fell in love with the wild beauty of the Rio Chama Valley near Taos. In 1934 she spent the whole summer in a cottage at Ghost Ranch. This became her pattern… winters in New York, summers in New Mexico. Eventually she moved full time to the area, dividing her time between the summer place on Ghost Ranch and a year-round home in the small village of Abiquiu.
The Idiots spent three nights camping at Riana Campground on a bluff above Abiquiu Lake, exploring the area. The weather was stormy… and New Mexico storms bring spectacular skies and muted colors.
Night skies…
St. Thomas Church in Abiquiu.
If you can’t find it at Bode’s General Store in Abiquiu, you probably don’t really need it. You will even find some unusual bendable action figures…
Lazy day drives…
A rare Idiot He selfie near the entrance to Ghost Ranch.
Ghost Ranch is now a Retreat Center and has a mixture of facilities surrounded by natural beauty.
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Tourism is light in early May. One can drive the winding wilderness roads of the Carson National Forest without seeing another vehicle for hours.
The Idiots made a brief stop in Ranchos de Taos to visit art galleries and have lunch in the shadow of San Francisco de Asis Mission Church and its ever-present pigeons.
Adobe is made from the earth and makes buildings seem to emerge from the earth… and as they decay, they return to the earth.
The Idiots really like the wood sculptures of Sheldon Harvey, winner of the “Best of Show” award at the 2008 Santa Fe Indian Market. Maybe… if they find a suitcase of money…
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Another week of meandering across northern New Mexico… southern Colorado… Kansas… Nebraska… Iowa… finally home to Minnesota. No more stories and no more pictures. They put away the camera and took it slow… and The Idiots Meander became a memory.
