My 2020 USA Ride ... "To New Mexico at 63mph".

[Ian in Great Brak River]

I spend the night in Truth and Consequence as I plan on doing the highlight of Southern New Mexico roadway, clearly their answer to the Tail of the Dragon and Deals Gap in North Carolina and Tennessee - US 152. I get going early and it starts off great, no traffic, hundreds of turns and perfect asphalt ... and then the road is closed for an accident. It would take from 8.30 to 11.15am to move a car that crashed down into the ravine a week ago. And NO Uncle Allen, they would not let me through as in SA, here Rules are Rules boet.








The overriding aspect of the US is the people it has attracted to it, the diversity is quite spectacular and that gives it the feeling of being different.




Walking around at the roadblock I come upon this marker about Irishman James Mcnally who came out here to seek his fortune, he fought and died here, receiving the Medal of Honor too. There was newly laid Stars and Stripes flags on the memorial stone. Apologies for the sun shade arm.

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

18 cars would show up in that near on 3 hr wait, 14 turned back but when it opened up it was certainly worth the wait. US 152 runs from Hillsboro to Silver City.

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

I spent the night in Pinetops Arizona, this is also the furtherest I will get to the West on this ride. I hit the road early the next morning, my destination is The 4 Corners Monument, where Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah share a post in the ground and it's a custom to walk through all 4 states in 4 seconds. It's closed of course due to CV ... ?!

The NE corner of NM is quite dry and very different to the rest of the state.








My daily average to now is around 300 miles or about 500km per day, definitely not something I would attempt day after day on a Honda or a Yam in SA and I stay in Bloomfield that night just 275 miles from my actual US destination of Taos Ski Valley. This is the only time other than in Dallas that I do not park The Barge right in front of the hotel entrance.

 

[Odd Dog]

:thumleft: Really enjoying this RR Ian  8)

 

[Amsterdam]

Very nice to read about more than sand and punctures.  Thanks.

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

Having rounded the corner as such I am now heading back towards the East; a very life like metal Cactus starts my day off ...



... this after a very un-life like breakfast which is what one gets in hotels now.



A momentous occasion also happens just after leaving Bloomfield, The Barge turns 50! So that means 3280 miles to date.



I take a detour off the Interstate 64 (all even #'s run E - W, odd run N-S) to Navajo Dam.



Another fantastic roadway meanders along the river leading away from the still to be seen Dam, the autumn colours are spectacular along this route.

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

The earthen dam wall is huge with a two lane roadway across the top. The viewable part of the lake is tiny in comparison to its length as can be seen in the Google Map.





There was around 100 fishermen at the Eastern end on the waters edge.




On the left side the spillway is equally impressive.





On the secondary road 539 back to the Interstate 64, I go through a tiny 20m section of dried river bed, the small 15cm edge encourages the LHS mirror to join its sister in an escape attempt that happened 2000 miles back in Selma Alabama ... the mirrors are push on stud types, a known weak point of the K12 design. I tape it up for the next 2000 miles. The K12 is not an AT.

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

New Mexico constantly impresses with it's changing scenery ... the dry part is gone and it becomes more forested as I approach TSV.

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

4 years ago I had a bit of a speed wobble and needed a new challenge after 9 years on a tiny island, the company had just invested in Taos Ski Valley and the option arose to be involved in a multi year build and renovation project which is still ongoing today. To cut a long story short we dithered and dathered and the option to go dried up ... this entire trip was to remind myself that good options in life come and go real quickly if you do not grab them with both hands.





TSV has a permanent resident count of just 72 as most folks live 8 miles away in the various small hamlets on the 22 mile road up to the valley.




It's a massive project in a tiny village; 22 miles of fiber optic and natural gas lines were laid. The ski runs were improved and a new bullwheel was installed at the highest point of 12480 ft, making it an "A" list ski resort as it has over 3000 vertical ft of runs.






The last time I ski'd Atomic introduced the carving ski, I was stunned at what a world class ski'er I became overnight!






It is certainly not Swiss/Austrian prices, a season pass is $1500.

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

But this is why I am here: The Blake Hotel, an 80 room 5 star hotel that is the heart of the investment and the town.

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

It's also an innovative hotel making use of Geo Thermal heating from 500ft down that has a constant 18'C temperature that is heated further to provide central heating etc.
The RV community spends 6 months a year here too.






I am fortunate enough to spend 3 days in a chalet right at in the middle of it all.

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

On a Tuesday morning, with 2'C on the clock I head out, it is a bitter sweet feeling as thoughts of "what if ..." fill my mind.





I go through Eagle Nest and it's lake, another small ski resort 35 miles away.

 

[Vintage_Mania]

But this is why I am here: The Blake Hotel, an 80 room 5 star hotel that is the heart of the investment and the town.

There is a bit of an Alpine look and feel to that little town.  :thumleft:

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

But this is why I am here: The Blake Hotel, an 80 room 5 star hotel that is the heart of the investment and the town.

There is a bit of an Alpine look and feel to that little town.  :thumleft:

That is deliberate as the original Blake family that started it all back in the ‘50’s were German descent and our company decided to keep that theme going. Ernie Blake is quite a character, he hired a helicopter and flew around for days untill he found this spot, its the Southernmost resort in the US at 9000 ft and gets about 3m of snow per year. The local say it is less and less as 5m was the norm a few years ago.

 

[BLK]

Stunning RR.A little different to the sands of Namibia but the same detail made available to all of us to admire.

Looks a great trip.Thanks.

 

[Vintage_Mania]

But this is why I am here: The Blake Hotel, an 80 room 5 star hotel that is the heart of the investment and the town.

There is a bit of an Alpine look and feel to that little town.  :thumleft:

That is deliberate as the original Blake family that started it all back in the ‘50’s were German descent and our company decided to keep that theme going. Ernie Blake is quite a character, he hired a helicopter and flew around for days untill he found this spot, its the Southernmost resort in the US at 9000 ft and gets about 3m of snow per year. The local say it is less and less as 5m was the norm a few years ago.

A character indeed. Spent some time reading up on him.

He was born in Germany, grew up in Switzerland and went to university in Germany and Switzerland before emigrating to the US in 1938. He worked for US military intelligence during World War II, when he assisted in the interrogation of the leading Nazis Hermann Göring and Albert Speer. His code name was Ernie Blake, and after the war, he chose it as his real name.

 

[Sheepman]

I enjoy the trip and detail in the report  :thumleft:

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

"Cadillac Ranch, 1974
In Amarillo, Texas, Ant Farm half-buried a row of 10 used and junk Cadillac automobiles dating from 1949 to 1963, nose-first in the ground, at an angle corresponding to that of the Great Pyramid of Giza. The installation is set up to the west of Amarillo near Interstate I-40 on the famous former Route 66. "





Yeah, the graffiti kind of spoils the effort ...



I had heard of the Cadillac Ranch but did not know it's just 4 miles from Amarillo right on the Interstate ... I nearly drove past but the line of cars parked there drew my attention to it.

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

But this is why I am here: The Blake Hotel, an 80 room 5 star hotel that is the heart of the investment and the town.

There is a bit of an Alpine look and feel to that little town.  :thumleft:

That is deliberate as the original Blake family that started it all back in the ‘50’s were German descent and our company decided to keep that theme going. Ernie Blake is quite a character, he hired a helicopter and flew around for days untill he found this spot, its the Southernmost resort in the US at 9000 ft and gets about 3m of snow per year. The local say it is less and less as 5m was the norm a few years ago.

A character indeed. Spent some time reading up on him.

He was born in Germany, grew up in Switzerland and went to university in Germany and Switzerland before emigrating to the US in 1938. He worked for US military intelligence during World War II, when he assisted in the interrogation of the leading Nazis Hermann Göring and Albert Speer. His code name was Ernie Blake, and after the war, he chose it as his real name.

Great background thanks.

One long time local recons Ernie used to stay in the bottom floor of the original Blake Hotel and used a bull horn to direct staff activities overlooking the main square. 

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

It's been a long ride by now and the weather was again brewing in the Gulf, this time it's Hurricane Zeta threatening to drown things out so I decide not to complete the intended route out to The Great Smokey Mountains and the Blue Ridge Parkway ... that will have to wait for next time. I do stop off in NW Arkansas at a family that gave me my first real break on a yacht back in the late '80, having not seen them in 16 years.

Arkansas is unique in many ways ... the Ozark Forests and penitentiary's.




I should have documented the number of military installations I see on this ride, this being yet another somewhere in AR.




This was in effect the end of the ride as the next few days was straight back to West Palm in Florida and into the 206 for the flight out. Soon to follow will be part 2 of the video on this ride and my thanks to those who followed along.

8)