5/22/17, “Finishing Up”
Albuquerque International Sunport, New Mexico (ABQ)
I suppose it could be said that this day was spent almost
entirely to take that one picture. It’s
not even a particularly good picture or of tremendous cultural or historic
significance. However, it was a
necessary picture to take, and it it was in an out-of-the-way location that
could really only be visited in this manner.
It is one of the 15 units of the National Park Service located in New
Mexico, and it was the last one for me to visit, due to the remote nature of
its location (two hours from the highway, which also meant two hours from the
nearest gas station). However, I have
now seen it, along with the other 14 National Park Sites in New Mexico and the
State Capitol in Santa Fe. That means, I
was able to say, “New Mexico Complete.”
It feels weird that I am now finishing up my five-year mission, I have
completed 8 of my 17 Goals, and I am 83% of the way towards the other 9. Every trip I will take this summer will
slowly get me closer to that goal, until I finally complete my mission at
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii.
When I set out to the see world, I did not expect the five-year mission
to become this comprehensive, but it has, and it now in the home stretch. I am just finishing up now, and it feels
odd.
After I closed last night, I almost
fell asleep while I was publishing. I
slept later than I wanted to, waking up at 9:45 AM, 8:15 AM having been a
little too early to get up. I rushed to
get ready, as I had a long day ahead. I
stopped at the same McDonald’s from yesterday, getting the same breakfast, and
was very careful to keep hold of my McGriddle as I made that same turn. I was safely on the highway, and it was 10
AM. My destination for the day was Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. Google Maps said that the drive was close to
five hours, but it was only 250 miles.
Something seemed off. It was 150 miles
on the Interstate, which would take two hours, and then 100 miles on the side
road, which they said would take almost three hours. That couldn’t be. Was the speed limit really less than 40 MPH
for that whole 100 miles? That would be
torture.
I was on a bit of a tight
schedule for getting back to the airport, since we wanted to go to El Pinto for
dinner, but I had no risk of missing my stamp.
Worst case scenario, I could get dinner at a Dairy Queen and forget El
Pinto. With a few brief stops, including
gas, since there would be no gas for quite a distance around the site, I turned
off the highway onto the side road around 12:30 PM, smoking an Oliva followed
by an Illusione. If my reader does some
basic math, he or she will realize that the earliest I could conceivable be
back at that spot was 4 PM, and likely much later. I had had a big breakfast, and 4 PM (or
later) would be way too late for lunch.
I was aware that this would become an issue, but I set it aside.
It turned out that the next 100 miles were
steep and winding mountain roads. It was
supposed to take close to three hours, but I did it in slightly over two hours,
smoking a Graycliff when I was done with my Illusione. I arrived at the VC slightly before 3
PM. They told me I needed an hour to
walk the trail. That was out of the
question. I asked the shortest I could
walk to see one cliff dwelling. A
quarter mile. That was good. I took care of my business at the VC and also
got a large cookie and bag of chocolate-covered pretzels, which would serve as
lunch.
I then headed to the trail head,
lit up a Vegas Robaina Canada Exclusivo, and walked the quarter mile. I saw the cave, took my ceremonial picture, and
announced, “New Mexico Complete.” That
was it. Seriously. Nine hours of driving just to take that one
picture. It was not fun, it was not a
good picture, but it was necessary. It
was the last piece of the puzzle to say, “New Mexico Complete.” Four years ago, I did not know Connor, but I
had a friend who lived in Arizona. I
went to stay with him for a similar weekend trip in Arizona, with the idea of
making the trip annually and saying, “Arizona Complete.” Well, I fell out of touch with that friend
and met Connor, instead, trading my annual trip to Arizona for New Mexico. I have now said, “New Mexico Complete.” All that remains to recount is The Return
Journey, which I will pair with the reflections, as is my tradition, from the
gate.
And so my fifth trip to New Mexico comes an end, and it
ends in the same spot it always ends. I have
many memories of this spot, and this view is as familiar as any view save the
one from my spot at Benito Juarez (MEX).
I have very much enjoyed these trips to New Mexico, the successes and
the failures, and I am very proud to be able to say, “New Mexico Complete.” It took me five trips to do it. I still have not said “Arizona Complete” or “Texas
Complete,” both of which I would have been able to say if the government had
not shut down in October 2013. Colorado
and Utah might have also been on that trip, but I don’t think so. That would have been too ambitious.
These trips have all been more the same than different,
but there have been differences, both with the destinations and travelling
partners. Other than the first one,
which ventured into Texas, they have all been entirely contained inside the
state of New Mexico and they have all ended with dinner at El Pinto, also
excluding the first trip. I have never
eaten at El Pinto alone. The first time
at El Pinto was with Connor, the next time with Uncle Frankie and Pete and
Alyssa, the time after with Connor and Pete and Alyssa, and this time with
Connor and Pete. Raymond find’s it
amusing that I travel all around the world, and wind up frequently hanging out
with his college friend and brother in New Mexico. I suppose I should wrap this up.
After I took my ceremonial picture, I made my
way back, retracing my path almost exactly.
I lit up a special edition OpusX, which brought me to 6 PM, and I made a
dinner reservation for 8:30 PM. Connor
and Pete would be joining me. I got to
Connor’s place at 8 PM, cleaned out the car, packed and changed. We were on the road around 8:20 PM, but we
had to pick up Pete. That would set
things back.
We got to El Pinto at 8:45
PM. I actually didn’t have much of an
appetite, and we were now tight on time, especially since I was supposed to
drop off Connor and Pete at their places before heading to the airport. We ordered a platter of their nachos, my
favorite, with chicken to share, and I got a half-rack of red chili ribs, their
specialty, which I told them to bring out with the nachos. I also got a margarita. The food came out quickly, and it was as good
as it always was. We scarfed it down and
headed to the car.
They had lost faith
in my ability to drive, not because I was acting drunk, but more a combination
of the accident I had yesterday morning and the margarita, along with a bizarre
mistake I had made due an unusual road configuration on the way to the
restaurant, so Pete said he would drive us back to his place and then drive
Connor to his place so that I could go to the airport. We did that, I gassed up, and I was at
Enterprise at 10 PM. I got to the
smoking area at 10:30 PM, where I sat down, lit up an Ardor, and proceeded to
write the above entry. I went through
security, and headed to the familiar gate, where I proceeded to write this
entry, which I will now close, along with closing out this trip. Next stop: SGang Gwaay, also known as
Ninstints, off the coast of British Columbia.
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