Sunday, December 31, 2017

How did I end up in Columbus, New Mexico

Sunday, December 31, 2017 – New Year’s Eve

It was cold again last night.  Had to turn on the Wave Heater around 1 A.M and then I fell back to sleep till 6 A.M.  It was very quiet and I had a good night’s rest.

When I went to publish my post last night, I found out I had only had one or two bars of Verizon.  Sooo, it took about an hour to finally publish.  It was too cold to set up my internet booster, plus I was too tired to mess with it.

When I woke up and looked outside, I could see it was drizzling again and very foggy.  Temperature was 27 degrees, but there was no ice.  Don’t know why.

We left without eating breakfast around 7 A.M. and got back on I-20 west.  I figured we stop around Van Horn and eat.  It remained foggy and drizzly and at times it got really foggy, but didn’t have and problems with ice. 

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A little before 10 A.M.  just as we crossed over the Guadalupe Mountains and about 25 miles from Van Horn THE SUN CAME OUT!!  First time I’ve seen the sun since starting my journey.

We slid off the end of I-20 onto I-10 and stopped at a rest area near Van Horn to rest and eat breakfast.  It was so nice!.  Stepped out of the MH with my sweatshirt and coat and immediately removed both.  The temperature was 64 and with the sun and no wind it felt great!  I’m now in the southwest!

Don’t those mountains in the distance and that tree shade look marvelous?

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Now I only have El Paso to tackle.  I’ve heard it is a bear with all the traffic.  In fact Al and Kelly took an alternate route they learned from some fellow bloggers and they loved it.  However, since I don’t have a navigator and I can’t remember two things at once, decided to go with my GPS navigator.  Turns out that because it was Sunday and New Year’s Eve, the traffic was not bad at all and I buzzed right through.  It was a maze though.

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Now,  here comes the interesting part.  I noticed my GPS navigator was having me leave I-10 at exit 8.  Like a good fellow, I did as I was told and blindly followed Miss Navigator, knowing full well my destination was on I-10.  I just figured she knew a short cut.

It wasn’t long before I was west of El Paso out in the middle of nowhere.  Miss Navigator had me turn onto Columbus Road and said to follow it for 56 miles.  At this time, I stopped and adjusted my GPS to see where I was headed.       Turns out when I entered a random address in Deming, because it requires and address entry, I picked an address south of Deming, but still a Deming address.  This route must be closer to that address, so this is why it sent me down Columbus Road instead of I-10.

So down Columbus Road I went and then looked at my gas gauge and I had a little less than a quarter tank of gas.  Not any sign of humanity anywhere along the road and i saw very few cars the whole 56 miles. 

Turns out Columbus Road is hwy 9 and goes to the town of Columbus, New Mexico and of all places that is where my friends, Al, Kelly and Pheebs stayed for a couple of days.  In fact, they just left there this morning.  If you want to know a little about Columbus then read their blog – Travel With The Bayfield Bunch.  What a coincidence!

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Got there around 3 P.M. and luckily they have one gas station in Columbus and I got $50 of gas to tide me over.  I decided that I would not go the twenty miles north to Deming, but stay at the RV Camp that Al and Kelly stayed in for the night.  Can’t beat $9. 

Here’s the Columbus water tower at the main crossroad in Columbus.

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It is quiet here now.  Don’t know about midnight.  Al says there may be some shooting going around that time.  Poor Yuma. 

Got my water, ate a little lunch/dinner and finished my blog and the weather is great!.  Can’t get any better than that!

Happy New Year everyone!!

18 comments:

  1. New Mexico is my favorite state !! Lots of sunshine and blue skies. Had a feeling you were going to cross paths with Al and his gang. Hopefully not too much gunfire for poor Yuma tonite. Happy New Year .

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    1. Thanks Moonfly. I'm so glad to be where it's warm. You have a Happy New Year!

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  2. Happy New Year Doug! Hope this detour turns into a lucky accident and all goes well for you and Yuma.
    Gord.

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    1. Thanks Gord. You and Cathie have a Happy New Year!

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  3. Wow! That was quite a coincidence, ending up in Columbus, NM! There are some pretty mountains in the distance.
    I'm glad you finally made it to warm, sunny weather! Hopefully, all will be quiet and poor Yuma won't be scared. Happy New Year from me and Fergie! ❤

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  4. Thanks Dolly. Happy New Year to you and Fergie! Luto

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  5. You had a bit of driving to get out of the grips of winter, it's been fun following along. Having not been to Columbus, NM I enjoyed the Bayfield blog on the little town.
    Interesting that you ended up there too. Happy New Year, enjoy the 'fire works'!

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    1. Thanks Jeff. Not a quiet little town on New Year's Eve. Gunfire sporadically till around 4:30. Yuma slept under the bed.

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  6. Sounds like you and Yuma have made it to the warmer weather, congratulations. Happy New Year and hope the celebration at midnight is not as loud as predicted for Yuma's sake and yours.

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    1. Thank you. Luckily, the gunfire was in the distance,but Yuma stayed in the bathroom most of the night.

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  7. Happy New Year! it sounds like you should meet up with Al and Kelly! :-)

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    1. I may. They wander around without a plan. Happy New Year!

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  8. Happy New Year! Kind of a surprise to end up in Columbus but seems very popular this year for snowbirds. Hopefully your night was not too bad with the locals shooting up the place. Enjoy

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    1. Happy New Year! Lots of shooting and poor Yuma stayed in the bathroom most of the night.

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  9. Happy New Year!

    -Margie

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  10. Thanks Margie. Glad you and Ben are following along.

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