New Mexico - Day 3 - driving to Raton

Raton KOA, Raton

Wednesday, 3 November 2021

During the night last night, the temperature inside the RV got down to 45°.  It was in the 20s outside - much colder than we've gotten used to, and I'm not sure yet how to adjust the indoors temp so it's warm enough the dogs don't freeze (Lily usually sleeps with me when it's cold), yet not make it so warm I can't sleep.  Obviously, last night wasn't the trick. 

The dizziness was greatly reduced overnight, but I was still not at all well.  This morning I still felt a fair amount of dizziness, nausea and headache, though it wasn't at the debilitating levels of last night.

But that health status resolved the question still hanging: which route should I take today?  As I had yesterday, today I had Plans both A and B, with Plan A being the really scenic mountain road route and Plan B being at lower elevations and on some flat ground, though likely taking much longer.  But since my dizziness etc. was still with me, there was no way I was going to try to negotiate a bunch of mountain passes and switchbacks.  So Plan B it was.

today's route

You can easily see where Plan A would have taken me, with much of it AAA-designated as scenic.  But the first part of Plan B was also designated as scenic, and scenic it was indeed.

On the road

The first part of today's route is called High Road to Taos Scenic Byway.  Which I'm guessing is a little joke because I can't see that there's a Low Road to Taos anywhere, designated or not.  They're all high.  Taos itself is just under 7,000', so no wonder.

As I was leaving town I passed signs directing me to "SMU in Taos."  The SMU I know is Southern Methodist University in Dallas, and that didn't make sense.  But it turns out it actually is that SMU.  I ended up driving by the campus where there was an unabbreviated sign that spelled the whole name out.  I have no idea why SMU expanded to Taos.  At first I figured it was art in some way, Taos being known as an artists' community.  But online they say they offer all kinds of classes here, including business and sciences.

You can see all that green on the map that I drove through for the first part of the day.  That's the Carson National Forest again.  Still lots of pines and mountains, and still quite beautiful.  I stopped at a couple of pull-out areas to take photos.

In contrast to yesterday's overcast morning, today was beautiful.

I saw more loose cow signs; more falling rock signs; more elk crossing signs; several that said "ICY ROAD" with chains or 4WD or snow tires required (that didn't increase my confidence); many more s-curve signs plus this one:

This sign is copyrighted and is a sample
from roadtrafficsigns.com.

I also started seeing bicycle signs - sometimes just a picture of a bike and other times a sign saying to share the road, or to leave 3' of distance between cars and bikes (like there's actually 3' to spare in these lanes with no shoulder and constant curves).

I passed a sign saying there's a Buddhist monastery up here.

I passed some small towns: Las Mochas, Tres Ritos; and the Sipapu Ski Area.  I don't know what a mocha is in Spanish, or a rito for that matter, and I can't find them online.  But Sipapu is a word I learned at the Anasazi ruins and means the access by which ancestors ascend to another world (or something like that).

I passed sheep, cows, horses.  I saw a sign to watch for snow plows (though I hope not today).  I saw signs denoting "Historic Land Grants" - in Mora and Taos.

I came to a switchback that didn't have a warning sign.  I saw 2 signs saying "Caution - Use Lower Gear."  But I saw no signs telling me how steep these use-lower-grade hills were.  Instead, the speed limit was increased to 50 mph, higher than any other part of the drive so far.  New Mexico has different ideas than I have about how to post signs that help drivers be safe.

The High Road to Taos Scenic Byway split off from NM-518 and aimed southwest, while I continued southeast.  Still, there was nothing not scenic about the road I was on.  The trees were all pines so I didn't see any bare deciduous trees to spoil the view.

I saw an odd sign at someone's property.  It said "Water - Not Fracking" and had a very large drawing of a cow's head.  Maybe a rancher afraid the fracking process would contaminate the drinking water table his cows depended on?

I passed the towns of Holman - and started seeing tractor signs again; Cleveland - and passed the Cleveland Roller Mill Museum; and then arrived at Mora.  That mill museum, by the way, sounds interesting and I'm sorry I didn't know it was there.  They say from 1860 until 1940 wheat farming and milling were the keys to the local economy.  This mill is an adobe, water-powered mill that operated for about 50 years.  Because its machinery was left intact, it's been renovated and is operated for visitors.  It's a centerpiece for the Cleveland Millfest each Labor Day weekend, except of course this last one because of Covid.  But they're hoping to have it back in action next year.

We stopped for an hour in Mora at a small rest area in the middle of town.  So much in the middle that before we left, one local started selling firewood there and several others had pulled over to eat chicken they'd bought from the convenience store across the street.  This town has about 1,400 residents who all seem to know each other: there were constant honks as people signaled to each other when they drove by.  And when the dogs and I were out, we found this historical marker.

side 1

side 2

I thought both sides were interesting.

It occurred to me that maybe I had altitude sickness.  My symptoms fit that diagnosis though it doesn't make sense.  It's not like I've been down at lower elevations and then suddenly, by going to Taos, soared to new heights.  But I really wanted to know what's wrong with me - and continues to be wrong, since I'm still feeling the symptoms.  I'm not going to be anywhere any time soon that I can consult with a doctor, so in the meantime I'm trying to figure out what I might have.  The internet (always such a reliable source of medical information) said to try to get below 5,000' and stay there until the symptoms wear off, which should happen fairly quickly, and in the meantime carbohydrates may help.  Well, I wasn't going to be anywhere for a while below 5,000', but forcing myself to eat carbohydrates was something I could do.  And they did seem to help.

A few miles farther along the road we came to La Cueva, where I took a different road to head north.  I saw an elk sign - no elk in person but I saw 3 Mule Deer running away from the road.

From about here all the way to Raton, I saw huge swaths of yellow grass that ran from the top of a mountain all the way across the broad valley where the road was and then halfway up the mountain on the other side.  I do love yellow and with the sun shining, it was really pretty.

I passed the alleged towns of Rainsville, Ojo Feliz, Ocate, saw 3 pronghorn and later 4 more, and then got to Wagon Wheel, elevation 6,201'.

At Wagon Wheel, we joined I-25 heading north to Raton.  I saw 12 or 15 pronghorn in a field of all that yellow grass, then later another herd of pronghorn with 8-10 horses.  (I'm trying to remember to call them "pronghorn" instead of "antelope," now that I'm not in South Dakota any more.  They look the same though.)

At Raton, we stopped at the grocery store, and I filled up with propane at the campground since tonight's temp was forecast for 25°.  I had plenty but there's no point in pushing it.

I'm sorry I didn't get to take that northern scenic route but absolutely sure it was the smart thing to do today.  It's such a weird feeling not being my usual self.  But I'll get it figured out.