I replanned the day to avoid some construction and see some new places (“virgin roads”). I headed west on K-96 (aka US Bike Route 76) for 50 miles to Tribune, in Greeley County (notice any connection there?), with a gas stop at Leoti, “ A Great Place on the Great Planes,” price $3.09. Leoti is in Wichita County, the barn quilt capital of Kansas. Along the way crossed White Woman Creek; the legend says that a white woman who escaped her captors was never found, and still appears now and then along the creek.
My first “virgin road” is K-27 south. With a tail wind I can make good time and save on gas mileage over this flat dryland crop area. I think the grasses here are native shortgrasses, since few non-natives could stand the climate here. I pass a Bullet and Bow club with a trap range. At Syracuse (another upstate NY name) the road crosses US-50; a Windbreak Club makes one wonder what kind of wind is broken there. The Arkansas River isn't dry, but it's sure low. Syracuse also has a sand dunes park.
Johnson City, in Stanton County, stands at the junction with US-160. Coming into Richfield in Morton County I saw 2 pure white horses shunning their paint pasture mate. Here comes the Cimarron River; New Mexico has two by that name, known as “wet” and “dry.” This one is very dry. It's also part of the Cimarron National Grassland, managed by the Forest Service.
K-27 joins US-56 at Elkhart just a short way from the Oklahoma line. This is part of the Cimarron cutoff for the Santa Fe Trail, and the road would daunt the hardiest traveler – it's just plain bad! I think Oklahoma treats its Panhandle area like an unwanted stepchild when it comes to roads. The truckstop brand name gas in Boise City always has a line, while gas is a dime or more cheaper at the small regional chain station further into town. I switch to US-385 here and head for Texas and better roads.
The Beaver River is dry. Roadside work consists of removing piles of sand from the right-of-way. I am seeing a lot of white trucks with some sort of green mesh-like contraption on top of their tall beds. It seems to contain green vegetative matter. I think it must be alfalfa; nothing else is ready for harvest now. Gas at Dalhart is $2.99, so I top off. I'm running NW on US-87 to TX-102 west. It's a good road, but I'm not about to test the 75 mph speed limit. The land here is typical llano estacado country, with few natural landmarks.
New Mexico line: speed limits drops by 20 mph, and even that is wishful thinking on this well-ignored byway. Adding to the confusion, road numbers aren't the same as Messers Rand & McNally report. Nevertheless, I find that NM-402 (not 102) is recently paved and in much better shape than the barren, overgrazed pastures that border it. I turn off on NM-102 (the real one), heading west on another neglected road.
Cholla and juniper are plentiful roadside. I'm starting to see some volcanic features in the distance. Small puddles in the potholes makes it appear that a sorely-needed rain shower has recently passed. The tiny town of Bueyeros has a stone church, one occupied dwelling, and some stone ruins. Some volcanic buttes and mesas show up, then a definite escarpment.
NM-39 climbs the scarp to reach Mosquero, a small town at 6000 feet. I stop to visit the local storekeeper, with whom Sandra and I had a long chat about 'little towns that could' a number of years ago. Mosquero has murals, a school and courthouse, and the only public toilet in the county.
I headed back down the scarp, took NM-39 to Logan, US-54 to Tucumcari. It's museum visit time:
first the local museum or the Tucumcari Historical Society:
Next, the Mesalands College dinosaur museum, The college has a Paleontology Department ans and Art Department, the latter having just what's needed to make bronze castings of the former's finds.
Cruised Route 66, then checked in to the Holiday Inn Express. Several people I talked with recommended La Cita restaurant, and they were right! Great chile relleno plate!
A bit of replanning for tomorrow to avoid a bridge that's not bridging, and I'll be on my way to Santa Fe via Las Vegas (NM) and Pecos NHP (also site of the Glorieta Pass battle in '62).
Miles for the day: 427.3, for the trip 965.3
Travel time for the day: 8:05
Average gas mileage over three days: 40.7
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