Socorro to Albuquerque to Santa Fe, NM
Saturday June 28, 2003
3:38am Gretchen has just given me the greatest awakening. Right now we are walking to the gas station where the bus stops at. The bus comes at 3:50am We tried watching a movie last night, but I fell asleep. While I was asleep, Gretchen went out and scored me some weed. She left me a note that said, "Victor, I went to Cap to get some weed." Around 11:45pm last night, she went to the Capitol Bar and Scott, the cool guy from last night who actually listened to me and wanted to hear my story hooked her up with some really good bud. He knew I needed it. It's going to be cool.
4:10am I'm on the Greyhound now. ETA at Albuquerque is 5:30am. About an hour. Here I am on my way to save the world, hehe.
5:53am Oh my god. I was just sitting here on the bus nodding off. We were just coming into Albuquerque. I got the strangest impulse to look out the window and my eyes focused on this billboard on the other side of the highway. It was advertising some camera or something. The caption said, "Take pictures or no one will believe you." Holy shit. I have been ordered.
6:10am I just realized my tape had stopped recording, so I lost a bit of history. I went in the bathroom at the Greyhound station and took a shit. On the toilet, I pulled out my Stinky Cheese Man book and put it on my lap. I got that little bud Gretchen had hooked me up with and broke it all up. It's all ready for my one-hitter now. Anyway, I came outside the Greyhound station to smoke a cigarette and there were these three or four Mexican dudes out here and they asked me, "Hey, what are you doing with that stick?" I told them it helped me walk. They asked me if there was something wrong with my leg and I told them no. They said I looked like Moses and asked me if I was going to part the Red Sea. I had a really good conversation with this other guy. He seemed to know what he was talking about.
Right now I'm going to take a hit of this here weed. Actually, I'm going to put some more butane in my lighter, because I don't have a lighter with a flame on it, which sucks. I'm going to take a hit here at the Greyhound station and go walk around. I'll find Central Avenue and go talk to some hippies. It's a beautiful morning. Oh yeah, did I tell you Gretchen gave me all this food. I have two sandwiches left, some dried cherries, some pudding and some other snacks. Man, she's the coolest. I meant to tell her, "Love ya," because she's my new friend.
6:27am I'm walking downtown Albuquerque. I stopped at this downtown district map. But, I don't want to look at a map. I just want to walk and see what happens.
6:33am This dude just drove by, honked at me and gave me the finger! When I heard them honk, I turned around flashing the peace sign. I saw this Mexican dude wearing this dumb grin on his face holding his finger up at me. Hardee, har, har. Wow, those morons are giving me a great first impression of Albuquerque. Idiots.
6:34am I'm just going to walk down Central Avenue all day long until I run into some hippies or a church or something. I just passed the Gizmo store and there's this big empty concrete slab in front of it. There's a sign that says, "This dinosaur was constructed as a work of art. Please, for your safety, do not touch or climb." It's just an empty slab, though. Maybe it got stolen. I don't know. Why would they leave that empty slab out here?
6:35am The weirdest thing. I'm walking down Central some more and I see some guy walking in the opposite direction, heading towards me on the sidewalk. When he gets close I tell him, "How's it going, brother?" He gives me the finger! It's that same dude who drove by a couple minutes ago! Umm, I'm not liking Albuquerque. I want to get out of here. I should go find a church. Oh wait, there's a big cross up there. Lemme go talk to them.
Okay, I'm at this church. There's this humongous statue of Jesus. It's huge. He's got these little doves flying around him. Jesus is holding up his hand with a peace sign. I don't know what the name of this church is, but it's over by St. Mary's School.
This sucks, the bus pulled up. I went to go get on it. Someone else was in front of me and got on it first. I was almost to the front door and the fucker just pulled off. That sucks. Look at all these signs I'm getting in this town. I need to get out of here. Screw Albuquerque. This town sucks. I'm going to ride the bus as North as I can and keep going. Next town.
6:49am I'm at the bus stop and I'm going to see which one gives me a courtesy ride. I'm talking here with Eddie who's telling me about some resources here in town. He told me about some place where they feed the homeless down by I40 at Train Park.
6:55am Okay, I'm walking down 6th street to Interstate 40. I'm going to go look for Train Park.
7:34am I sat down at some bus bench. I ate some food that I had. I was walking someplace to go eat, so I felt I could afford it. After I ate, I didn't feel like finding the park, so I decided to just go back downtown, go to that plaza and hang out there.
7:43am Scored me some Marlboro Miles. They go straight in my pocket.
7:45am I'm walking down 6th street and I'm passing this house that has a big sign in front of it saying, "No war against Iraq." There are three different VW buses in the front of it, too. I am so tempted to go knock on the door and talk to them, but it's still a bit early.
Okay, I'm at the corner of Roma and 5th street. In front of the Bernadillo County Detention Center. It's a big jail. Umm, I'm going to steer away from that place. I'm going to walk the other way. I'm walking down 5th street towards Marquet. This town ain't all that, yet.
Badass, I'm in front of city hall and there's this place you put your bike and it's got a big bike lid over it. Like this big cover that you put over your bike. That's awesome. They don't have those in San Antonio.
Okay, I'm turning left on some street. I didn't catch the name of it. I see a big tower that says, "First Plaza Galleria." I guess that's the mall or something. The plaza should be close to it.
7:55am I just walked into the 711 here. It's like smack dab in the middle of downtown on the last floor of a big building. I asked the cashier if I could use the restroom and she flat out told me no. That sucks. That's just another point against this city.
I walked down 3rd. I'm at the corner of Central and 3rd. Central Avenue and 3rd street. I see a building with a big mural on it. I'm going to go read it.
8:16am I sat down at the bus bench and took a hit of weed. Man, that weed my good friend Gretchen hooked me up with is good stuff. Thank you, Gretchen. ::muah::
Okay, some guy before told me it was a concrete plaza and he wasn't kidding. There's barely any grass anywhere. There's like a small line of trees, but that's it.
8:20am Man, this plaza is huge. It looks right out of that Tony Hawk video game. There's a sign here by this big fountain that says, "Skateboarding and rollerblading prohibited. All bicyclists must dismount their bicycles on the Civic Plaza." Not that anyone cares about that. I'm just saying that so people from here go, "Damn, I've seen that sign, too. This guy is telling the truth."
Before, I walked up to this guy and asked him, "This is the downtown plaza? Where's the grass?" Then I spotted a patch. I'm going to go sit down and smoke me some tobacco. That's exactly what I'm going to do. I need to take a piss. I hope I find a bathroom soon.
In the plaza I asked these guys if they knew where a public restroom was and they pointed me to the convention center. I went in and asked the security guy where the restroom was. He told me to go down the escalator. It's a pretty cool convention center. Wow, I'm sight-seeing. Cool, I'm going to go to the restroom.
9:14am I came back to the Greyhound station and asked what was the next town North. They told me Santa Fe. It's only $10.50 to get there on the bus. I only had four dollars. I needed $6.50.
9:35am I'm outside talking to Crystal. She's waiting for a ride. Damnit, I reminded myself to elaborate on Crystal when I typed it up, but I forgot what happened.
9:42am Man, I'm feeling lazy. I should be up talking to people and getting the money for my bus ticket. Ahh, I don't feel like bumming. I'm just going to sit here and wait until someone initiates conversation with me. I'll tell them about my mission and ease in the fact that I need $6.50 for my ticket. Hopefully someone really cool walks by.
9:57am What are your names? Dana, Samantha and Walter. Walter I was talking to earlier inside. I told them my dilemma and they're giving me some money. Let me count how much it is. I really appreciate this, guys. Walter and Samantha Davis told me that if I am ever in Bullhead City, AZ to look them up. You guys will be in the phonebook?
Whoa, I got five bucks from them. I have $9 total. I need $1.50. Badass. I knew that's all I would need to do. Just sit around and wait and it would just fall in my lap, like it always does.
10:35am I went back inside and asked the black dude, "Hey man, I'm short only $1.50 for my ticket to Santa Fe. I don't suppose you could let it slide?" He was like, "What? Let it slide? It's not up to me. It's up to the driver." Yeah right. Well, the guy who was in front of me was still standing nearby counting out all these bills. I tell him, "Say brother, I am short $1.50 for my bus ticket to Santa Fe. I don't suppose you could spare any?" He hooked me up! I'm just short fifty cents now.
10:45am Geez, that guy at the counter is an idiot. I went back in there and just to patronize him I asked him, "Hey, do you think the driver would let fifty cents slide?" He told me, "Listen, this is the fifth time you've come to my counter." I told him, "No, it is not. You can't count." He told me he wasn't going to argue with me and got all pissed off. I told him I thought he was over-reacting just a little bit. He said, "No, if something happens to you..." "What could happen to me?" I asked. He couldn't finish his sentence. Idiot. I walked off to go get fifty cents somewhere.
Dude, that greedy son of a bitch just scored himself a Greyhound bus ticket straight to hell, hehe.
10:54am I went outside and asked a couple people for fifty cents. Like three in a row told me no. So, I decided I was only going to up to hip-looking kids and ask them if they would give me fifty cents for a hit of weed. The first guy I asked, Quinten told me he didn't smoke, but gladly gave me a whole dollar. Badass. Thanks Quinten.
11:00am Okay, I had $11, so I went back up to the ticket counter. I told the black dude, "Santa Fe, 11:30am, please." He processes the ticket in my name, Victor Antonio. He takes his sweet time and when he hands it to me he tells me, "Next time I see you in here . . I'm not even going to ask . . I'm going to call the police. You can't be panhandling my customers." I said, "Hey, since when does it hurt to ask? When I give people the choice to tell me no, helping me out becomes their decision." His stupid ass then says, "That's trespassing!" I told him, "The hell it is, old man. How is that trespassing?" He came back with, "I'll just call the cops and let them explain it to you." What an idiot, eh? I tried to tell him something else, but he interrupted and said, "If you say one more world, I'm calling the cops." I shut up, but when he finally handed me the ticket, I pulled out my tape recorder and told him, "Thanks for making my book so interesting," and walked off. Right before I walked off I heard him say, "Thanks for panhandling my customers." I walked back, told him, "Hey, whatever works."
11:20am I'm on the bus. I'll be so glad to get out of this town. I'm going to listen to my headphones.
11:28am The bus wasn't going to leave for a couple minutes so I'm outside smoking my last cigarette before I leave. I already found a smoking buddy, Tyrell. He's got some high-grade, too. We'll be taking hits on the bus, hehe.
12:07pm I'm on the Greyhound to Santa Fe. Tyrell and me are taking hits on the bus with my smokeless one-hitter. Fuck the system, hehe.
Cool, Tyrell just hooked me up with a little traveling-bud. Badass.
I had told Tyrell about my plan before we left Albuquerque and he just gave me five dollars and a Smirnoff Ice! Holy shit. To the victor go the spoils. Nobody is paying me to do this, so every little bit helps. Thanks, Tyrell. It'll come back to you. Count on that. He's just doin' it for the cause.
12:30pm I'm talking to the bus driver, Terry. I'm telling her my stories.
12:40pm Whoa, they have Warren Inns in San Antonio, too. Cool, Tyrell had given me a Smirnoff Ice. I'm going to get drunk, hehe.
12:59pm I'm in Santa Fe. I just got off the bus about five minutes ago. I walked over to the Allsups. That dude gave me five dollars earlier. I got cigarettes! I have $1.36 in change. While I was walking to the Allsups I passed these bums and they complimented my walking stick. After I bought my cigarettes they hit me up for spare change. I told them sorry, that I didn't believe in money. I told them about my mission. I opened up my pack of cigarettes and hooked them up with one.
1:02pm I came back to the Greyhound station and asked the guy what the next town North was. He said, "Excuse me?" I repeated myself and he told me Las Vegas. A bit confused, I asked him, "Las Vegas, Nevada?" There's a Las Vegas, NM. I asked him how much a bus ticket there was and he told me it was $14.89. So I need fifteen dollars for bus fare. I'll go ask churches.
I walked to this little trail in the woods by the Greyhound station. I'm out on some railroad tracks now. Let's see where I end up. I'll do a little exploring.
1:29pm I found a shady spot underneath the railroad tracks where I rested and smoked. I saw some dude on a mountain bike going back and forth once or twice. Hmm, I see a dirty tennis ball in all the trash and leaves right here. I'm going to go shake it off and see if I can use it.
1:31pm Man, that's awesome. I just found a tennis ball. The random path I took in the woods led me underneath these railroad tracks. In this little mound of twigs and leaves I see a dusty tennis ball. I tapped a lot of dirt off of it. I knew it would get all my stuff dirty if I put it in my bag. Oh yeah, I held onto a Ziploc bag not too long ago. Lemme see if I can find it.
Oh yeah, it was just what I needed for the job. I'm going to start walking.
1:37pm I followed another random path. Well, I guess it's not that random because it's following the railroad tracks. I turned left. I turned right at first, but then changed my mind. I'll walk towards those mountains.
Okay, I'm walking down Siringo road.
1:40pm I'm at Siringo and Calle Navidad. I just passed this house with a big brick wall around it.
1:45pm I'm at the corner of Siringo and Pacheco street. I see a post office down the street. Oh cool, there's a bus. I just saw a bus right now. Badass. I could try and get a courtesy ride, but I do have a dollar. I guess I'll try to get it and if doesn't hook me up, I'll pay. I'll tell him, "Hey, you wouldn't make me spend my last dollar, would you?"
1:52pm I just saw a fellow pedestrian walk by. This white girl with a backpack. She's walking too. She's got a destination too. I wish she would look over here so I could throw her the peace sign.
2:05pm I'm still out here waiting for the bus. It might be an hour. Let me rewind and check what time I saw the bus last. Okay, I checked it and I saw that last bus comes at 45. 1:45pm it was. And it's already 2:07. Hopefully, they run every ½ hour and it will come in ten minutes. If not, I have a whole ½ hour to wait. Damn. Oh well.
I'm the worst consumer in history.
2:24pm This guy walked up to the bus stop and I asked him if he knew what time it came. He said at 39. That's not too bad. We have about fifteen minutes to wait.
2:34pm See, there's this tree over my head here. There was a branch right over my head, so since I was bored I started doing pull ups on it. I did three full ones. On the last pull-up, right when I lifted myself to the top the branch broke! It's just hanging down right now, the limb. That's hilarious. Good thing the people who lived there had left. I saw them leave like ten minutes ago. About four minutes to the bus now.
There's Marlboro Miles galore in this town. This is the fourth one I've found and I haven't even been here that long.
Joe driving Route #4 hooked me up with a courtesy ride. Thanks Joe.
2:47pm That cool bus driver Joe hooked me up. I asked him if they used transfers in this town and he told me yeah. I asked him if he could donate one to the cause. He hooked me up. I'm at some mall. There's a college nearby, so I'm going to go check my email. Oh, I can send Gretchen my status. Yay.
2:49pm I'm in front of the Smith's grocery store over on Lujan and Cerillos.
Okay, I jumped over the brick wall over by the college plaza. I'm in front of the Visual Arts Center. The Marion Center for Photographic Arts. Thaw Art/History Center. Tishman Hall/Tipton Hall. Here's a sign that says, "Santa Fe Art Institute." Let me go find a computer. It's a beautiful school. This is the College of Santa Fe, by the way.
2:59pm Cool, there's all these sculptures out here. There's a big purple and blue one out here. It's awesome. I'm going to go read each one.
Here's the William Goodman Mangrove. It's awesome. It's all welded together and shit. Good job. This is a beautiful campus.
Here's another William Goodman one. Coxcomb. He's got another one called Mollusk over here.
Okay, I'm coming up to this building called Torje. It's a little house that doesn't need nails. I'll look it up on the Internet sometime.
Desert Flower by Laura Wilson. It's cool.
3:06pm I'm here at the Fogelson Library Center. I just sat on this bench in the shade and I'm about to load up my little one-hitter. I got maybe like five hits left. Oh yeah, I'm almost out of water.
3:23pm God damnit. I walked all the way around the library and all the doors are locked. I just realized that it's closed on weekends. That sucks. Well now I know that I'll catch my bus for sure, because it's coming at 52.
I came back to that wall I climbed over. I just looked for it and there it was. I'm going to go back to the road where the bus comes.
3:52pm I'm on the #2 bus. I talked to the kids in the back and asked them where all the hippies were. They told me to go to the Summit.
4:14pm I just found out that the transfers on the bus are free! They're only good for an hour, but they're free. I like free. I'm at the plaza, supposedly. Sheridan and Palace.
4:15pm There's an art show here.
Okay, I'm on West San Francisco street. Crazy, it kind of resembles San Francisco. Coincidence?? Hehe. Cool, it's the weekend.
Wow, this place is hoppin'. People everywhere. The beautiful people, the beautiful people. I like this town. I'm going to walk around here and make my presence known.
4:20pm Time to celebrate.
4:55pm I'm in the Santa Fe Square.
5:30pm It turns out this big gathering of people here is due to this guy running for president. They're having a big rally for Howard Dean. Hmm, this is the wrong place for me to be, but I see a sign that says, "Jail Bush." so maybe it's the right place for me to be.
5:37pm Man, this town is very, very unique. I like it here. It's very nice. There's some really cool shit down here. It's still all controlled by money, but it's all so much cooler. I'm over here by Cathedral Park. I'm going to go see what happens.
5:45pm I stopped at La Posada, this hotel. I asked the guy if he knows where the Summit was. He told me, "I don't know. Are you looking for the place where all the people get together and smoke out?" I told him that was exactly what I was looking for. He actually drew me a map. How cool.
5:53pm I'm at this big hill and I got to this sign that says, "Santa Fe is the oldest capitol city in the United States. A successful blend of 3 cultures and a modern city of over 50,000 residents. A commemorative walkway park constructed in 1986 provides a historical walk of Santa Fe from 500 a.d. to the present. It offers a unique and panoramic view of the city and commemorates those people and historical events which helped form Santa Fe's long and colorful history. Many of the city's landmarks can be identified from the walkway. 20 markers in chronological sequence." It's a big plaque.
"500 a.d. From 500 a.d. onward New Mexico underwent a number of comparatively rapid changes. The people throughout the Western two thirds of the state became increasingly restricted to smaller and smaller areas resulting in the development of many regional differences in architecture, ceramics and other craft. Between 1100 and 1400 a.d. vast areas of New Mexico were abandoned for reasons that are still poorly understood."
"1598 The Viceroy of New Spain appointed Juan de Oñate as New Mexico's first governor and directed him to settle the area along the upper Rio Grande. Accompanied by 200 sailors there were 7,000 head of livestock. Oñate arrived in New Mexico and established his headquarters at San Juan Bautista. A month later moved to San Gabriel at te confluence of the Chema and Rio Grande."
"1610 New Mexico's third governor Pedro de Paralta was instructed to relocate the capitol to a more central location. He founded a villa in Santa Fe or town of holy faith. The villa was named for a city in Spain built by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabelle. Granata, which is now a sister city in 1610. Santa Fe is the oldest capitol city in the United States."
"1680 In the 17th century New Mexico was plagued by drought. Conflicts between civil and church authorities and extreme demands placed by the Spanish settlers on the native population in a lot of situations caused a deterioration so severe that by 1680 the Pueblo Indians, under the leadership of Pope and others revolted against the Spanish and succeeded by driving them completely out of New Mexico. During this revolt 21 Franciscan priest and friars lost their lives. Their monument on this hill commemorates their martyrdom."
"1692 Under the direction of Don Diego de Vargas, the Spanish returned to recapture New Mexico after 12 years of exile in El Paso. In an attempt to encourage settlement of the land on the Rio Grande valley, Don Diego de Vargas issued land grants for agriculture and grazing for Spanish colonists and reconfirmed the property's rights of the Pueblo."
"1712 In order to fill a promise that Don Diego De Vargas made the government leaders of Santa Fe issued a proclamation calling for an annual fiesta to commemorate the peaceful re-entry of the Spanish into Santa Fe in 1692. This annual celebration held in September was the oldest such community celebration in the United States."
"1776 When the Declaration of Independence was signed Santa Fe was already 166 years old. Old English and American explorers and traders were...oh shit, the tape ran out there. Oh well. That's enough boring history. I just logged it to prove I was there. Cool, I have a whole other tape to record over now.
Okay, on a brand new tape:
I was reading the 1776 sign but it ran out, so I'm going to read it again. "When the Declaration of Independence was signed Santa Fe was already 166 years old. English and American explorers and traders were replaced, umm, I can't make the rest of that sentence out. A successful American War of Independence under renewed Anglo-American interests in the Spanish Southwest and series of expeditions sponsored by the new nation triggered and alarm in the Spanish capitol of Santa Fe. Dominguez Escalante's expedition also took place during this year."
"1821 When Mexico declared it's independence from Spain in the year, New Mexico was no longer under Spanish protection and was open for international trade. Merchants set out from the East following the recently-developed Santa Fe Trail."
"1848 In May of 1846 U.S. President James K. Polk ordered the invasion of Mexico by U.S. troops, thus beginning the Mexican War. 3 months later, General Steven Watts Kearney led a victorious U.S. army unopposed across Northern New Mexico and into Santa Fe. Kearney's conquest was formalized by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo under which the U.S. paid Mexico $15 million dollars for New Mexico, Arizona and California. New Mexico became a territory of the U.S. in 1850."
So the U.S. just bought/stole this land. Evil money.
"1862 Shortly after the civil war began, the Confederacy turned its attention to the Southwest and in February 1862 3,300 troops under the command of Confederate General Sibley defeated the Union troops of Velarde, raised the Confederate flag and occupied Santa Fe. The confederates were defeated two weeks later in the Battle of the Glorieta Pass."
"1876 While the nation was celebrating its centennial, Santa Fe was into it's 266th year. Although the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo guaranteed the property rights of his Spanish and Indians, problems in interpretation of Spanish and Mexican land-laws worked to the disadvantage of 3 landholders. Many of their claims continued to appear in courts into the 1980's."
Ha, Okay, enough. I got to the top and there are shitloads more of these signs. There's 1912, 1926, 1945, 1960, 1976, 1985 and through the future.
6:12pm It's beautiful out here. I have an awesome view of this city. It's badass. I'm just walking around right now. I went through this trail into some woods. I'm going to walk all the way up to the hill, walk back in the woods and make my way back downtown.
I spotted a badass mountain out in the distance with the sun shining on it. I feel like climbing it. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow.
I'm at Hyde Memorial State Park. Whoa, there's camping here. Sweet.
Damn, it's like 7½ miles. Oh shit. It's 6:15pm. Let's see how long it takes.
Now passing Estancia Primera, South entrance. Oh shit, the whole neighborhood is just those old-looking clay houses. That's awesome.
Hmm, I might walk to the woods, camp out and come back here in the morning.
Okay, I'm over by Hyde Park Rd and Prim Primera. Estancia Primera, North entrance now. I'm going to keep walking, since I have seven miles to the campout place. So, I'm going to sit here and rest, smoke.
6:37pm I just realized this might be a seven mile nature hike. There's a trail running alongside the road. That would be so awesome.
6:51pm Passing the Santa Fe Institute Cowin Campus.
6:56pm Mile Marker 3
Man, there's some beautiful houses out here. It's heaven. Wow, I'm impressed.
Dude, this is really pretty. I feel like I'm in the mountains. This is a great walk. This place is so different than San Antonio.
Now passing Hyde Park road and Sierra Del Norte.
7:31pm This VW bug just pulled over. I thought he was going to wait for me and give me a ride.
7:32pm Approaching Rancho Elisa. Wow, there's some badass houses out here.
7:36pm Hmm, I don't think there are any more mile markers anymore. I walked a long time and didn't pass one. I'm stopping to rest. I'm not going to take my shoes off and air out my feet, because I have so many socks. Hopefully something cool will happen soon. I'm going to eat some of this Muscle Blast 2000 stuff. Yeah, that's what I'm going to do. Hmm, I might just eat some more cherries, too. Umm, maybe on the next break I'll eat, because I'm not really that hungry. Actually, I do need the nutrients, so I'm going to do it now.
7:52pm I'm up walking again. I'm trying to guess which direction I was going because I'm not sure if I crossed the street. Ahh, I'll notice if I'm backtracking.
7:57pm Mile marker #5. It's beautiful down here.
8:03pm This road is awesome. It's a long, windy road up to the top. Man, what a view.
8:05pm This cute girl just jogged by and told me hi. Why is she in such a hurry?
Holy shit, man. I wish I had a camera so bad. Man, the view is spectacular. The billboard is right(5:53am). No one is going to believe me.
8:14pm I'm still walking up this road. The scenery is just beautiful. I love it. Oh yeah, some blue truck with a camper pulled over. It looked like a camper they use to transport horses. I just kept walking past it because it was empty. Then, all of a sudden, I hear this guy behind me and he has these two llamas that he was going to put in the trailer. That's cool, he took his pet llamas out for a walk in the mountain.
8:20pm I'm at this really tall rock. There's some crosses in the road where people have died in car accidents. One says, "Eric. C. Garcia", a little kid. 1987 - 1999. He was twelve years old if I'm calculating that right. Here's another one. Well, despite the deaths that have occurred here, this seems like a pretty safe place. Let me sit down and rest.
8:41pm I'm up walking. I took that hit of weed at the end of my cigarette.
8:47pm Now entering the Santa Fe National Forest. It's getting dark now.
9:00pm I'm walking down this road to the campsite. I see a truck pulled over here. I'm out of water so I ask this guy, his name is Armando, for water and he gives me a 20oz bottle. That's very generous of you, Armando. I appreciate it. It will come back to you.
9:08pm I'm walking again. Two or three miles, that guy told me. Badass, I got water.
9:38pm Damn, I'm walking through this pitch-black forest. I'm letting cars pass by. Man, it's dark in this forest.
9:40pm Whoa, I hear people talking. I see flashlights nearby. Awesome.
It's like a family-camping. I don't want to interrupt them. I'll probably freak them out.
9:45pm I'm on the National Forest Scenic Byway, Santa Fe.
9:47pm I'm at the Santa Fe National Forest campground. Black Canyon. Oh shit, I hear music over there, to the left. Man, it's all dark. I'm going to go follow that music.
9:50pm I'm at where the party is. The historical marker says it's Hyde Memorial State Park. "This park is named after Benjamin Talbot Hyde, a devoted educator of America's youth. His family donated 350 acres to constitute the park to the state of New Mexico in 1934. Situated at an elevation of 80,500 feet in the scenic Sangre de Cristo mountains. It is one of the oldest state parks in New Mexico. The facilities include a picnic area, campground, skating pond and sliding area." Wow. This is perfect. It's all I need. What a reward. It's a state park. It's not going to cost anything. I won't get kicked out.
10:08pm After my seven mile walk, I just stumbled onto a party! I'm getting some badass catered free food. Badass.
10:30pm Man, this is a pretty swinging party. This one guy was badass. He hooked me up with lots of stuff. The food was all good and spicy. It was gourmet shit. Hmm, I wonder where I'm going to sleep tonight. Wish someone would invite me to the after-party, hehe.
10:45pm Whoa, these two girls came up to me and started talking to me. I busted out with my ideas and told them my California story. They were all impressed and Stephanie hooks me up with a five dollar bill, without me even asking her. How very generous of her. She knows it'll come back to her.
11:15pm Eric, Marko and me are speeding around in the car going 90 in a 45.
11:30pm We are standing outside here at the after-party. I'm going to smoke a cigarette and then I'll go inside.
Hmm, I didn't log the after-party and I can't remember much from it now that I'm finally typing it up. I remember not having that much fun. It was all packed with ignorant alcoholic teenagers. That dude Eric was a crazy driver. He would speed everywhere he drove. Way excessively. It was a bit scary. That night I got a ride back into town. Eric took me to this hostel to crash. Before I got out, he slips me another $5. Shweeeeet.
12:30am That sucks. They won't let me stay at the hostel. The hostel is closed. That's dumb. It should be open 24 hours. I know what street I'm on. I'm going to find a gas station and buy some cigarettes. Stephanie gave me five dollars.
Okay, I'm walking down Cerrillo street. I'm crossing Navajo. Eric told me that's the main strip of the town.
The weirdest thing. I went around this building to take a piss, behind the State Beauty Supply building. When I get back, there's this homeless guy walking around holding a bag. He sees me and he holds it out to me. I take it, he doesn't say anything and keeps walking. I tell him thank you, look in the bag and there's a McDonald's burger in it. Awesome. I'm going to eat. That was really cool.
12:57am I finally found a gas station. It's a Giant. It's open. I bought me a pack of cigarettes with the five dollars Stephanie gave me. I'm going to eat this burger.
Cool, at the Giant place the cashier came outside and asked me, "Hey, do you smoke herb?" I told him, "As much as I can." He then asks me if I want to smoke a bowl! He smoked me out! Some girls pulled up, so he's going to go take care of them and he'll be right back.
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