062303

 

     Walking from Las Cruces to rest stop

Monday June 23, 2003

     4:30am  I just woke up behind the bench. I got some good sleep, I guess. I'm glad no one messed with me while I slept. Hmm, I'll just sit out here until it's light.

     4:51am  I saw these girls pull up in a van. They walked close by and I told them what I was doing. Hehe, they probably think I'm crazy(just like I want them to). I told them about how I ended up in Weed, NM.

     5:17am  I talked to the Frito Lay guy who pulled up. He told me the next gas station is like thirty miles North. So, I'm just going to start walking and see if someone will pick me up.

     5:25am  Mile Marker 10. Interstate 25 North.

     5:43am  Mile Marker 11.

     5:50am  I'm just walking up I25 and I found me a towel. A clean towel. Badass. It's a small towel from a hotel. Someone must've chunked it out the car window, or something. I'm going to keep it and put it in my bag.

     6:02am  Mile Marker 12. I'm going to stop and rest. Every two miles.

     6:19am  The sun has come all the way up. It's a beautiful day in New Mexico. I just took two big hits of weed. I'm all stoned and happy. I'm just going to keep walking. Man, there ain't nothing out here. I might have to walk the whole thirty miles. I'll just find a place to sleep on the side of the road. Later on. Another two miles then I'll rest again.

     6:21am  Walking again.

     6:40am  I don't know. About a hundred feet back I passed Mile Marker 13. I'll rest at the next one.

     6:56am  I'm passing all these crosses someone put here because of a car accident. Damnit dude, they didn't need to die.

     6:57am  Mile Marker 14. I'm going to sit down, take my boots off, rest and air out my feet. And I'll eat some Muscle Blast 2000.

     7:17am  Leaving Mile Marker 14 now. I rested/aired out my feet, ate some Muscle Blast 2000, smoked some weed and smoked a cigarette. I'm all ready to go.

     7:20am  Another cross.

     7:35am  Mile Marker 15.

     7:55am  Weird, I should be passing a mile marker now. It's been 20 minutes and I haven't slowed my pace down any. Maybe this one is missing. That's weird.

                    Okay, well since that mile marker is missing(I guess), I'm going to sit down and rest. I've walked two miles and I deserve it. I'm looking down the road. I can see far and I don't see another mile marker.

                    Oh shit! I just stopped to record right now and you will never believe what I just found. A crisp, new dollar bill! What kind of find is that? I just stopped here randomly on the highway. I had this strange impulse to look down and there it was. A dollar bill. Wow, I wonder if there are any more.

     8:20am  I'm walking again. Now, I'll know for sure that a mile marker had been skipped if I don't see one pretty soon. Or, if the next one says 17 on it. Dude, this is a good resting system I've got. I like it. By the time I smoke and eat some Muscle Blast 2000, my feet are dry and I'm good to go for another two miles.

     8:32am  Mile Marker 17, finally. Hmm, I guess 16 did get skipped. In the distance I think I see a building. Hopefully it's a small town and I can get some water.

     8:43am  I'm passing a sign that says, "Redding Springs 1 mile ahead on Exit 19." Then, even further I see a brown sign that says, "Leasburg State Park." There's a park coming up. Badass.

     8:46am  Dude, all these Corvettes are driving by. A blue one just passed by. Whoa, a black one. There's like 15-20 of them. Okay, a Toyota Tercel just passed by, so I can tell that's the end of the Corvettes.

     8:51am  Break time. Mile Marker 18. I gotta take a leak. I hope I'm not pissing in somebody's front yard, hehe.

     9:14am  I'm finally leaving Mile 18.

     9:33am  The next town North is Socorro, I think. I just saw a big billboard that said, "Contact Socorro." It had all these satellite dishes, so I'm assuming it's a UFO town like Roswell. We'll see. Hmm, that's a sign, damnit. I need to contact Socorro. Something good should happen to me there. That's just too blatant a sign not to follow. There's a sign pointing to the right towards Leasburg State Monument right here. I just saw a sign that says, "Pedestrians and bicycles prohibited." Damn, I can't walk here. I'm going to have to get a ride. Camino Real Marker, hmm, wonder what that is. I'm one mile away from the park.

     9:48am  I'm walking down Fort Selden at Tres Amigos road. Whoa, the wind is kind of strong and I'm having trouble making out the recordings. I'm over here by the Leasburg Dam State Park. Cool, there's a restaurant here called, "Country Cupboard Restaurant. Cafe and Groceries - 527-4732." Hmm, I'm not too hungry now, but I'll hit this place up for food on my way out of here.

     10:12am  Damnit, cigarettes are $4.12. Shit. I only remember having three dollars. Then, I looked in my wallet and lo and behold, I had four! Man, if I hadn't found that dollar on the highway earlier I wouldn't have had enough. See how shit happens for a reason? Man, I can't wait to get to this park. There's a huge river, I think. Campgrounds, too. I should be able to take a nap somewhere. I only slept four hours last night.

     10:15am  I'm turning onto Leasburg State Park Road. Historic Marker ahead.

     10:22am  New Mexico State Park. Gates open at 7am, close at sunset. Contact ranger or camp host for lock combination.

                     Here's that historic marker: "Ft. Selden Cemetery. Fort Selden was established nearby in 1865 to help the settlements of the Mesilla Valley and travelers of the Jornado Del Muerto(Deadman's Journey) from Apache raids. The cemetery was located in this field until the fort was abandoned in 1891. Military personnel were reentered at the national cemetery at Santa Fe. A number of unmarked graves apparently still remain."

                     Okay, I stopped right here at the Desert Wildlife Memorial Garden.

     10:40am  I just passed a sign in front of a picnic shelter that says, "Campers only. No day use."

     1:00pm  Well, I never really got to sleep. These flies were bugging me bad. I'm really glad I picked up that towel earlier. I can either roll it up and use it was a pillow, or I can just put it on my face to protect from bugs. But, in the end they started biting my legs, so I got up. I wonder if I got any sleep. This was a pretty private shelter here, so I went ahead and jerked it to help me fall asleep. I'm going to smoke a cigarette/weed now.

     1:21pm  I just took another hit and packed up my shit. I'm going to walk around and find a trail. There's a trail here to the office, comfort station and playground. Cool.

     1:40pm  I smoked a cigarette over here by the bathrooms near the office. On the ground I found a baby shirt with Curious George on it. One good washing and it'd be as good as new. Therefore, I'm going to end up giving it away to someone with a kid. Curious George owns to the bone.

     1:47pm  I came up and talked to the park ranger. I told him, "Hey, I notice there was a sign with a cup of water with a big anti cross over it. Would it be safe to assume the water here is not potable?" The ranger told me, "No, we've tested the water a million times, it just tastes real bad. But it won't kill you." I asked them if there was any bodies of water in this park and he told me yes, there was a river. Rio Grande, I think. I'm going to go get in it. I'm going swimming.

                   Ahhh, I found the water. I'm at this big overlook and there's a dam. There's a couple people down there fishing. I'm going to go swimming. Cool.

     2:40pm  Oh man, I am having the best time right now. I took off all my clothes, except for my gap underwear and I went swimming. The current is real strong and my feet are all tender because I'm always wearing my boots. I feel great. This was as good as taking a shower. I put my underwear up to dry. I'm going to smoke a cigarette and some weed. Oh shit, man. And to think it was all for free. This much fun. Sings Violent Femmes: "Because I'm freeeeee, it was easyyyyyy."

     3:00pm  I dried off and got dressed. I hung up my underwear to dry and put it in my bag. I have everything loaded up and now I am going to brush my teeth. Oh yeah, Sean had given me two almost-empty rolls of toothpaste that he had. Since they're not full, they won't pop in my backpack. I also have my toothbrush which I bought for 64 cents at the Walmart in Ruidoso. I'm going to brush my teeth now.

                   I got confirmation on this river being the Rio Grande. I read a plaque. The Rio Grande goes all the way up I25. It's going to serve as my shower all the way up the highway.

     3:15pm  I'm back at the ranger station and bathroom where I was before. I'm going to walk by that country store and see if I can get a ride since it says pedestrians aren't allowed.

                   I am having the time of my life.

     3:30pm  Okay, I'm going to read the sign for the Leasburg Dam State Park. This is the historical marker: "Built in 1908 the historic Leasburg Diversion Dam channels water from the Rio Grande to irrigate the vast farming areas of the Mesilla Valley. The dam also provides a public spot for fishing, canoeing and kayaks may be used on the river. Picnicking and camping facilities are also available."

     3:46pm  I'm leaving the park. The sign says "Thanks for visiting this New Mexico State Park." The pleasure was all mine, hehe.

     3:51pm  Marcy at the Country Cupboard is being very generous and hooking me up with some gasoline for my stomach.

     4:04pm  Man, I can't believe I scored at that place. I called that. Awesome. To the victor go the spoils, hehe.

     4:12pm  Leaving the Country Cupboard. Hopefully somebody will pick me up. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do about that damned "Pedestrians Prohibited" sign. Ahh, fuck it. Maybe a cop will give me a ride, hehe.

     4:30pm  Okay, I'm over here by Mile Marker 19 on 25. Ahh, I'm going to hitch-hike for the first time in my life. I never hitch-hike. Maybe I'm just using this whole pedestrians prohibited malarkey as an excuse. Let's see how long it takes.

     5:14pm  I saw a car pull over ahead. Lemme see if he needs any help. He had his hazard lights on, but he just took off. Oh well. I guess it wasn't that big of a hazard. Lemme keep walking.

     5:21pm  Another cross on the side of the road. It says: In loving memory of Gene M. Sanchez. Poor guy.

     5:28pm  About 22 miles to Hatch. 137 miles to Socorro.

     5:34pm  Mile Marker 20.

     5:47pm  A cop just pulled over. He took my ID and he's going to check me out. Somebody told him I was hanging out by a bridge earlier.

     5:51pm  The cop let me go. He ain't got nothing on me. Cool, there's a rest area two miles North. Perfect.

     5:57pm  Mile Marker 21.

     6:24pm  I rested, smoked and drank. I'm almost out of water, but the rest stop is like 1½ miles ahead. The rest stop should have water.

     6:37pm  Rest area 1 mile.

     6:42pm  Mile Marker 22.

     6:56pm  Got to the rest area. Lemme find a water fountain. Whoa, there's a sign that says, "Remaining in this area or facility for more than 24 hours is a violation of law subject to fines not to exceed $100." Oh, so I can't..err not supposed to stay here for over a day. I should get a ride. I'll have to work fast.

     7:10pm  I came over and talked to Joe at the rest stop. I told him about my ideas and mission. Joe's girlfriend came up to us with a scolding look. She was probably wondering what her man was doing talking to some homeless drifter. It's Okay, toots. There's plenty of rides in the sea. I don't need you! Hehe.

                   I'm reading another historical marker: "Jornado Del Muerto on the Camino Real. This stretch of the Camino Real leaves the Rio Grande and cuts across 90 miles of desert with little water or shelter. Despite its difficulty, the dreaded Journey of the Dead Man was heavily used by Spanish, Mexican and Anglo travelers between El Paso and the Northern New Mexico settlements."

     7:26pm  Oh shit. I'm taking the journey of the dead man. Crazy. I'm going to hang out at this rest stop until somebody gives me a ride. I'm not taking off walking again. Right after the rest stop I can see Mile Marker 23.

     8:20pm  I hit this Mexican guy up and he told me, "No, no, I'll get in trouble with immigration."

     8:29pm  Like four other people told me no. That Mexican guy who was all paranoid before called me over and offered me a soda. Then his wife asked me if I was hungry and gave me a donut. Don't you people see how this works yet? We don't need money..

     8:40pm  I have this weird calling. My next destination is Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. I need to go to that town. Look at the name. Either the truth is going to come out, or we will have to face the consequences. Good things will happen to me there, just watch.

     9:00pm  I've got my headphones on and I'm all jamming out in front of the rest area. I play a mean air-guitar with my walking stick, hehe. As cars go by I'm flashing the peace sign. Not my thumb. This way, if a cop stops and tells me shit, I'll tell him, "I wasn't hitch-hiking, I was telling everyone peace."

     9:55pm  Dude, right when I got really tired, I found me a place to sleep at the rest stop. It's quite ingenious, if I don't say so myself. All the picnic shelters were all lit up and if I crashed out underneath one of the tables, I would be clearly visible. I got to thinking. I realized that if I could somehow climb up on top of one of the shelters, that I would be totally concealed. I scanned all the shelters and found one with a tree growing up the side. I waited until some people left and tried to climb up it. After I realized I could do it successfully, I climbed down and got my bags. With my walking stick, I put my bags up on the roof. Then I went to the tree and climbed up into it. I took out my poncho/blanket and made my bed. It's at a perfect angle to where absolutely no one can see me. Perfection. Now, I wasn't that tired yet, so I put my bags at the edge of the roof. I got back down and went to go ask people for rides. I figured if I found a ride, I could just go pull my stuff off the edge of the roof with my stick. And, if I never got a ride, I could just go crash up there.

     10:20pm  I left my stick and bags still up on the roof. I went to the bathroom and tried to take a shit, but alas, it would not come out. Argh. When I came outside there was like a big party out here! Three families, each in their own RV had gotten there. None of them told me yeah, but right now another 18 wheeler pulled up and I'm going to hit him up.

 

Next day..