Desolation (Las Cruces, Alamogordo, Alamo: house, moving, farm)

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by mike0421

This is a great topic. I am from New Jersey,so the initial shock was quite memorable for me as well. I am used to it now and wouldn't want it any other way. However, when family/friends come to visit, they can't reconcile it, and we are in one of the more 'crowded' regions of the state (Las Cruces area).

First experience to NM desolation was out of El Paso, where I landed for the very first time.

Google Maps

It's funny how others find this eerie or spooky....is it the landscape, the isolation or what? Would you feel the same if the country were rolling hills and trees instead of desert/arid landscape?

R_Rankin5milesout.jpg - Image - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

This is about 70 miles from where I grew up, not far from Midland. I drove this road home and to other places for 35 years....and it would never occur to me that it is scary...

[domino]

The most solitary road I can remember is the highway from the Grand Canyon to the 4 Corners area in late afternoon as the sun is going down. It feels like another planet.

[chilegal]

And how do you think the settlers felt? They lived in little sod houses, no phone, internet, elec or running water... My DH said I would never make a pioneer...LOL
I have friends, a young couple with a baby that live on a ranch 12 miles outside of Corona. Not sure I could do it.

[keeperk]

I sell land in remote places that have not been "improved" upon yet.

Yesterday I was looking for some remote pieces of land a guy wants to sell. Way the heck out there. It was just beautiful country! Driving along with my forest map, looking for his land, studying the topo maps for canyons and arroyos to find these pieces, I was with my honey and said, oh look honey! a crapped out pickup truck here in the middle of nowhere. Boy did that old truck bring me back to reality. I would have much rather just seen the country. It was not desolate, it was heaven until the crapped out truck in a field. I knew I was close to "civilazation"! I'm so used to the unimproved spaces now, when I see anything a human has left it just sticks out like a sore thumb.

[xwideopenskyx]

The vast uninhabited lands of the southwest area are great examples of eyecandy. I am in awe of the wide open sky and incredible stargazing. On my first trip to the southwest the vastness wasn't disturbing or scary. In fact, it was liberating. It felt great to be away from the traffic and crowds. It was peaceful. I enjoyed it so much that I made it my home. A bit of advice, when you take less traveled roads especially at night, be prepared. Always carry extra water, cooler, food, appropriate clothing, etc. and drive safe.

[Huckleberry3911948]

Originally Posted by james57

My first experience in Arizona and New Mexico introduced me to the concept of desolation. Not in a negative way, but as a shock!!!!!!!

For someone like me from Illinois, my first experience was driving outside the Phoenix area in Arizona. Later on a trip to New Mexico , I experienced the same thing.

There is really nothing between towns and cities in either state. Here in Illinois no matter where you go there will be farms and small settlements between towns and cities. So at night there will always be lights in the distance at least to tell you that civilization is close at hand. So help on the way in case of emergency. Just use your cell these days.

But in the SW, it truly is different. I was spooked to say the least driving at night in the absolute darkness. No lights of a farm or whatever to signal that there were people out there in the wilderness. Just darkness.

So for me it was an adjustment to get used to this sort of thing. Someone from the eastern part of the country can experience real shock at the openness and yes desolation of the country.

But for me it is now something I look forward to. Am hoping to see these sights again soon. But I just wanted to share this experience with others who are thinking of moving to NM. You will feel OK in the cities or towns, but be prepared for the nothingness in between.

Jim

i like it i love it i cannt get nuf of it.
stephen s
san diego ca

[catman]

I love it too. I like driving on a lonely road, with no other traffic, unless I don't trust the vehicle I'm using to get me where I want to go. Then it's not fun. And as an amateur astronomy buff, I love those New Mexico night skies (away from the towns, of course).

[GregW]

I once rode a motorcycle at night in the desert. Wonderful! There were no other lights and, as there was a waning moon, I turned off the cycle's lights. Absolutely unforgettable! Just the slight engine noise (BMW) and the wind. After a while I could see stars right down to the horizon.

[catman]

I hear ya! A motorcycle is how I usually get to NM. I stopped about 20 miles north of Ruidoso one night and turned off the key. That was the darkest sky I have ever seen. I couldn't see the bike at all for about ten minutes, until I could see starlight reflecting off the mufflers. The stars were as bright at the horizon as overhead. The only thing other than stars that I could see was a line of thunderheads far off on the eastern horizon, flashing like a string of dim Xmas lights (they were so distant that they didn't affect the Stygian blackness of the sky). I was definitely enchanted!

[mortimer]

catman went over my tiny little brain:

> .... Stygian ....

I had to look that up. For others, ashamed to admit that they don't know:
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Etymology: Latin stygius, from Greek stygios, from Styg-, Styx Styx
1 : of or relating to the river Styx
2 : extremely dark, gloomy, or forbidding <the stygian blackness of the cave>
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