Cabllo/Vado

It is now the “next time”, as mentioned in our last blog. I wish I had something exciting to tell you about Caballo, NM, but what can one say about a wide spot on a frontage road next to an Interstate highway that has a population of less than 700 souls. It has a campground. It is just a stopover for us on the way South.

The nearest town of any size is Truth or Consequences. You say you have never heard of it? Well, let me tell you. Only those of you who have reached a certain maturity (isn’t that a nice way of putting it) will remember a game show of the same name, circa the 1950’s, with host Ralph Edwards. The promoters of the show thought it would be nice if a town in the USA would adopt the show’s name as the city name. Up pops the name of a city in New Mexico called Warm Springs. The city Fathers thought it would be a good idea for promoting the city, and so did the populace who voted to change the name. Thus was born Truth or Consequence, New Mexico, now a city of a little more than 7,000. It is 15 miles North of Caballo.

We must say that the views out our window have been spectacular ever since we arrived in the South West. You see a picture above of the view from our trailer. The picture shows a section of the Sierra de Los Caballos Mountains (saw-toothed mountains of the horses), so named because of the herds of wild horses found in the area. The blue ribbon of color seen below the mountain is Lake Caballo. I don’t wish to make you jealous, but what do you see out your window? We change our view quite regularly. Nice, huh?

We are now in a small city south of Las Cruses (the Crosses), called Vado (“ford” in Spanish. No, not the car, the “crossing.”), so named because it was a popular spot to cross the Rio Grande. When the owner of the campground in Caballo learned that we were going South from there, she said, “Don’t go to Vado. The smell!” Well, of course, that is exactly where we had reserved our campground. As you by now know, we went anyway.

We found out what she meant by “the smell”. For miles along the road, as far as the eye can see to the west, there are thousands upon thousands of cows, all standing at feeding racks. And hay! Stacks and stacks of hay in bails as large as the “rolled” hay we were familiar with in Tennessee. We measured six miles of cows and hay. And when the wind is blowing from the west, you guessed it, SMELL! It is like standing in the middle of the barnyard. For a farm raised girl like Carolyn….Let me rephrase that. It sounds like I am describing cat-fish. For a girl raised on the farm like Carolyn, that sounds better, it may not be as noticeable, but I am a “city boy”. Dairy is much of the industry of Vado. To avoid the smell, we stay inside or leave town.

We have been struck by the beauty of simple construction and utilitarian items such as bridges, walls and tanks, all artistically decorated in a Southwest or Indian motif. As an example, look at the photo of the tank above which was taken along the roadway in Las Cruses. This seems to be a characteristic of the Southwest, at least as far as we have seen.

A major tour for us in the area was to White Sands National Monument, about 50 miles northeast of Las Cruses. Here is found 275 square miles of white sand dunes rising 20 to 30 feet (that’s a 2 or 3 story building) above the Chihuahuan Desert floor. The brilliant white dunes are always changing and growing. You see a picture above, which can in no way capture the beauty one sees with the eye. Perhaps you can see the two people walking on the dunes in the distance. The great thing about this park is that you can engage the dunes. They can be played in, slid down, hiked over or just admired. We had a picnic at one of the many special sites in the dunes along an eight mile drive carved out of the sand. The dunes are located in part of the White Sands Missile Range where secret weapons are tested and the first atomic bomb was exploded back in the 1940’s.

How did these white sands get there? I’m glad you asked. The sands are actually gypsum. The mountains surrounding the desert have sections of limestone, which as I understand, contain the elements of gypsum. When the melting snow and rain wash over the mountains these elements run down the mountain. Gypsum is water soluble and collects in a wet-weather lake at the foot of the mountain, called Lake Lucero. There is no outlet for this lake so what collects stays. When the lake dries up the gypsum forms into crystals. These crystals are very fragile and bits break off in the wind and tumble across the ground. Over time, these grains formed the massive sand dunes. The crystals are clear, but as they bump into one another the surface of the crystal is scratched. The scratches cause the light to reflect differently and appear white to the eye. It is the only such existence on earth. It would not happen without the dry conditions and the right amount of wind. An amazing place to visit.
Tune in next time, boys and girls, for a new true adventure. Who knows where we will be or what we will find. Be sure to not miss the next episode of two, some would say crazy, people pulling their house around the country.