Southern Arizona to Palomas, January, 2001

Jan. 8, 2001 - Woke up prior to Yuma with a major neck-ache. The dinky ass pillow you get in coach didn't quite do it for me. Breakfast was 7am, with the usual meal mates and the usual meal.

A passenger of note on this trip was a fifty-something woman who boarded in L.A. and sat across the aisle. Prior to Pomona she explained to the conductor that she only had a ticket to Pomona, but had round trip tickets to Tucson that she had left behind at the station, and wanted to repurchase another set with cash.

The next morning prior to Tucson she once again garnered the conductor's attention, and says that now she instead wants to do a round trip to Sugar Land, Texas. The conductor digests her request but can only give her a round trip to Houston, where she can make a connection to get to Sugar Land.

When we finally pull into Deming, our flighty traveler comes down to the lower level where I along with a couple of car attendants are waiting for the stop. She declares that her plans have changed once again, and now she would like to get off here and wait for the westbound train.

Deming is not a station stop. You get thrown off at the old Southern Pacific depot that Union Pacific uses for workspace and your only connection to the rest of the world, besides walking a mile, is a pay phone. She would have done better to ride on to El Paso and wait in the relative comfort of the station there. But instead puts her trust "in the man upstairs" and disembarks.

My interpretation was that she was nuts, enough said.
Jim was waiting and ready to go so we load up and head down the road with a quick stop on the edge of town at Diaz Farms for some ground red chile, ground jalapeno, anasazi beans and onions.

We make it back to the Jim's home at Faywood Hot Springs. It's a nice little trailer, albeit smaller than his place up in Pinós Altos, but it did have more seating room. We fixed up some chile verde burritos, and had an attitude adjustment with Irish whiskey, Pacifico beer and some smooth cigars Jim scored at the smoke shop in Silver City, and afterwards enjoyed a sunset dip in the clothing optional pools with fellow campers.

Evening followed with more Pacifico, a flick on the VCR, and chile rellenos topped with cream of mushroom soup and onions and green chiles. A comfortable sleep soon followed.

Jan. 9 - Rains came early in the dark morning. Between soakings Jim and I rose and took a pre-dawn dip in the steaming pools. Soon the rains returned and I zipped back to the trailer to change into drier clothing.

Jim followed later and fixed up some cowboy coffee, boiled grounds in a pot sans basket. By the time we had finished our caffeine fix and ventured out on the road the rain had turned into a mixture of sleet and snow, which became more prevalent as we drove up to Silver. We hit the Grinder Mill for breakfast burritos, empanadas, and more coffee.

We finished up business in Silver and drove back down to the hot springs. In Silver I was able to acquire some piñon nuts for Al back in Vegas. Hopefully he’s munching on them by now.

At the springs there was a lot more rain, but colder and was turning into sleet as night came upon us. I tried to do a dip before bedtime but the sand beneath my feet had turned into a frozen slush with the properties of thick mud but slippery as well. I was going nowhere fast so I plodded back to the trailer and hunkered down with Raul for the night.
Jan. 10 - The rains abated and the moisture had pretty much soaked down into the ground with the exception of muddy puddles in the low spots. The sand was still quite clingy but not so muddy. I awoke after sunrise and hit the pool. Jim was nowhere to be found so I figured I just missed him along the way and he was already back at the trailer. In fact, Jim had done an early morning dip and then retired for more sleep. It was close to nine before he arose from the back of the truck.

Jim worked on coffee while I fixed up a pan of polenta with onions, green chiles and seasoning.

With soft tortilla it really hit the spot and we persevered to sloth through the morning with dips in the pool and sunnings back at the trailer.

I had brought up the idea of going down to Palomas that day instead of the next, but it did not come to fruition until noon when Jim surmised that the trip was feasible.

We go to Deming first, where I hit the bank and the drop off my stuff at the Deming Motel, and we both polish off some breakfast grub for lunch at the truck stop on Spruce before venturing south.

Our business in Palomas was fairly routine. I hit Farmacia San Jose where I scored some jaw-dropping prices for pharmaceuticals for Walter. Raul scored a case of medium-priced Sol at the grocery, but not before we had a Dos Equis for a buck apiece at the Rodeo Bar.

The ride back to Deming was a visual feast with 'Simpson' clouds dancing shadows and lights across the Floridas. Jim and I bid adieu and I retired to showering, laundry, food and sleep.

Photos from the Picasa Web Album: Southern Arizona & New Mexico