Mayhill, New Mexico: A Bend in the Road

Mayhill, New Mexico

Mayhill, New Mexico, is almost literally a bend in the road.

On the day I stopped in Mayhill, I was on my way back to Alamogordo from Artesia. It was August, I think. Maybe September.

The distance between Artesia and Alamogordo, all on Highway 82, is 110 miles.

In that 110 miles, I passed through:

• Roswell Basin
• Pecos Slope
• Sacramento Mountains
• Chihuahua desert

This always amazed me.



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Anyway, one day, after a particularly hot day in Artesia, as I approached Mayhill, I saw there was a small concert.

Mayhill, New Mexico

Right in the middle of town. Which is to say, right along the side of the road.

I parked the car, pulled out a camp chair from my trunk, and ambled across the road to the grassy lot and listened to some good country music.

Presently, I continued on my way to Alamogordo. The concert in shady-cool Mayhill was like an icy drink on a hot and sweaty day.

New Mexico: A Drive Home

Highway 82, between High Rolls and Alamogordo, New Mexico. October 2012.

Whenever I drove home to Alamogordo down from Cloudroft or other parts east on Highway 82, I'd think, when I got to this spot: Wow, I live here.

Highway 82, between High Rolls and Alamogordo, New Mexico. October 2012.

It was always uplifting to see the White Sands. 

Karr Canyon, New Mexico: Reprise

Last October, I followed a scenic road sign through Karr Canyon, near High Rolls, off of Highway 82.

This September, my last month in New Mexico, I revisited the Karr Canyon drive. The trees weren't in their autumn dress, but the sunflowers were in radiant bloom, there was a mist lowering into the valley, and a cool rain fell.

Karr Canyon, near High Rolls, New Mexico

Karr Canyon, near High Rolls, New Mexico

Karr Canyon, near High Rolls, New Mexico

Karr Canyon, near High Rolls, New Mexico

Karr Canyon, near High Rolls, New Mexico

Karr Canyon, near High Rolls, New Mexico

Last October's post:

Cloudcroft, NM: Karr Canyon and the Mystery of Binoculars 58

Karr  Canyon, near Cloudcroft, New Mexico

AKA: New Mexico: Fall Colors, Part 3


After I emerged victorious from imaginary mountain lion attacks, I made my way back through High Rolls and headed to Cloudcroft proper. 

But almost as soon as I got onto Highway 82, I saw a sign with a graphic of binoculars and the number 58, pointing right.


58 Binoculars

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, and why not? So I turned right onto Karr Canyon Road in search of what I presumed to be a scenic viewpoint a few hundred yards away.










The beginning held so much promise, with a spectacular vision of tall columns of leafy sunshine.












And after rounding some pleasant curves, I approached a postcard-beautiful meadow at the foot of the mountains, filled with multi-colored, waving grasses and shrubs in medieval-tapestry colors like claret, champagne, and ivory. Alas, I knew my camera was not going to be able to overcome the still-strong sunlight to recreate how gorgeous this scene was. It's worth returning to this area during a different time of day to try to capture it. In the meantime, this was the best I could do:

But where was this scenic view #58? I pushed on. I seemed to be climbing, and soon I entered a forest. Then yay! Another sign with the binoculars and the 58!

(What was the 58? The name of the road? The mile marker? The 58th scenic view in NM? I didn't know, but I was guessing a mile marker, but weren't the mile markers ascending rather than descending? I didn't know.) 

I kept going, even when the pavement stopped.

The forest pressed in closer. I passed an area with picnic tables and even a vault toilet structure. The road was pretty rough, and I kept climbing.

I saw a trio of deer over on the left, and they bounded away.

Occasionally, sun pushed through the dense canopy and I thought I might be cresting the mountain, where I'd arrive at the view.  But then I'd climb some more.

My wuss side kept talking to me about vehicle breakdowns, heavily-armed mountain-living survivalists, methheads, and I had no whistle to defend myself.

But I kept going.

Until. I realized, no, it was just too late in the day, this first day of not-daylight-savings time. So I turned around and came back, with a plan to find out what this 58 business was so I could visit it another day. I got to see the lovely yellow columns again on my way out.

Highway 82: Stone Faces

Stone head, Highway 82, near Artesia, New Mexico

Not far from Artesia, New Mexico, is a house with stone faces at the end of its driveway.

Stone head, Highway 82, near Artesia, New Mexico

Damned if I know what it's about.

Where the Sunset Draws a Crowd

On Saturday, I drove back to Alamogordo from Artesia on Highway 82. Doing this meant driving from a high, flat plain, then rising gently into the Sacramento Mountains, peaking at about 9000 feet, then starting a more precipitous descent down the western side of the range, onto the high desert.

The cumulative effect of passing through so much beauty of different forms can be overwhelming.  

In the mountains, the smell of pine saturated the air.

Where it had been stifling hot in Artesia, it became almost chilly in Mayhill, where I stopped for dinner and became an audience member at a roadside summer concert. 

I left at dusk, continuing west on Highway 82, toward Alamogordo. As I passed High Rolls, a spectacular sunset began to emerge.

After going through the Lincoln tunnel, it was imperative that I stop at the adjacent scenic overlook. Just to watch the sunset. I wasn't the only one. There were people already there when I arrived, and more pulled in after me, just to see the orangey-pink-yellow-red streamers over the San Andres Mountains on the west side of the Tularosa Basin.

A woman standing next to me said, "It makes you believe in God just to look at it."

Sunset over the San Andres Mountains, across from Tularosa Basin, New Mexico

 

Hope and Zombies

Highway 82, Hope, New Mexico

Hope, New Mexico, is the future-history site of the Battle of Hope, in which humans prevail over zombies, according to World War Z.

Highway 82, Hope, New Mexico

Located on Highway 82, Hope, New Mexico, is about 20 miles west of Artesia.

Highway 82, Hope, New Mexico

I saw neither humans nor zombies. There is a post office.

What caught my attention was what seemed to be the imprint of a fire on the side of what seemed to be the firehouse. What?

Highway 82, Hope, New Mexico

It's almost supernatural.

Highway 82: A Purple and White Flower

On my way from Alamogordo to Artesia, I saw this stand of flowers by the road.

 

Turned around and came back for a closer look-see.

Between mile markers 44 and 45, not too far east of Mayhill. 

 

A summer flower new to me.

The Rain Came

Lady in the mountain, Alamogordo, New Mexico. A rainy day in July.

Until today, it had been hot, hot, hot in Alamogordo. And then the rains came. First to the mountains and then the Tularosa Basin.

The rain brought cool air.

I was up in Cloudcroft in the morning. On my way back to Alamogordo in the afternoon, it was so good to be in the rain. The air was sharp with the scent of pine.

The above video is Highway 82 east and west of the tunnel in Lincoln National Forest. You can see how the White Sands gleam in the distance about :57. It's days in New Mexico like this when I am amazed: I live here.

Driving into Alamogordo, the rain continued.

Delicious.

Cloudcroft, New Mexico: A View of White Sands

Cloudcroft, New Mexico, is a village in the Sacramento Mountains, surrounded by the Lincoln National Forest, on Highway 82.  (The old commercial road is on Burro Road, off of 82.)

There are plentiful forest trails nearby, some walking distance from the village. Below is a photo of White Sands - 40 miles away - from one of the trails.

It was a gorgeous spring day yesterday, and two acquaintances and I met for coffee in the village, took a walk, and then had lunch. The road and the village were alive with like-minded folks, including a large contingent of motorcyclists, all out to get the warm sun on skin.