062405

 

Tularosa to Alamogordo, NM

Friday June 24, 2005

     6:14am  I just woke up.

     6:49am  It's cool. I loaded up my stuff already. I was able to tag Victor the Liberator with a peace sign with that silver marker I got from Carlos in Travis Park before I left. On this dug-up pole I slept in front of behind this bush next to the church. That's going to be there forever.

                   It was the church office I slept next to. The Tularosa United Methodist Church.

                   I wish I had a camera.

     6:52am  I'm walking down Granado Street now.

     6:55am  Walking in front of the Tularosa Police Department. Right across the street from the Franciscan Chapel where I crashed last year. Franciscan Mission. Founded in 1865.

                   Tularosa is way ignorant on people waving back.

     7:31am  Helen, at Yum-Yum's is hooking me up with a couple bags of donuts for my walk. I appreciate it, Helen. Everybody gets credit, thanks.

                   Hmm, I've had a pretty ignorant encounter at the donut shop this time. The guy Celso didn't work there anymore. Umm, I can scratch Tularosa off my list. Actually, I'll still stop by again. Anyway, I scored a couple bags of donuts from the donut shop. I am going to walk to Alamogordo. Even though I'm kind of tired. I should go to that park and take a nap. Maybe I'll fall asleep after I eat.

     7:40am  I had walked away from the donut shop, but I got called back by the guy I was telling my story to. It had gotten all busy and I got bored so I left. Cool, cool, maybe he'll let me finish it.

     8:15am  I got invited back. They hooked me up with breakfast. I got to tell the guy the important part of my story and now I'm walking to Alamogordo.

                   I've decided I'm not going to take a nap. I'm going to try and walk the thirteen miles. If I get too tired on the way I'll find a place to sleep.

                   Thirteen miles to Alamogordo. I'm going to see if I can get a ride to Las Cruces from there.

     8:42am  About to pass South Bookout Road. Which turns right into Radio Street at the highway.

     8:46am  Mile marker 78.

     8:47am  Coming up on a historic marker. I'm not sure if I want to read it and slow down my mileage time.

                   "The Tularosa Basin has been occupied by Indian groups for thousands of years. The first Hispanic settlers moved here from the Rio Grande Valley in 1862. Anglo settlers and cattlemen began moving into the region in the 1870's. The original 1862 townsite has been designated a state and national historic district. Tularosa appears as Oasis in the novels of Eugene Mann Love Rhodes."

     9:03am  Mile marker 77. I'm going to find somewhere to rest.

     9:07am  I sat down and rested in front of some irrigation supply place.

     9:15am  I'm up from my rest. I'm going to keep walking another two miles.

     9:21am  Oh, there does seem to be a train that goes to Tularosa. That's what I heard last night. I wonder why that girl was screaming though.

     9:29am  Passing mile marker 76. I'm going to keep going. There's no shade and I'm up for another mile. I'll rest at the next one.

                   Did I ever mention I am walking on the Eastbound side, not the Westbound. That way I can give all the cars the peace sign. Each one. Everybody is waving back. Everyone. I have this huge grin on my face.

     9:45am  Mile marker 75. I'm going to sit down and rest. Even though I could make it to the next one.

     9:51am  I am up from my rest.

     10:05am  Coming up on Mountain Meadow Road. There's a FINA gas station. I'm going to get some water.

     10:08am  I have arrived at the Alamorosa Fuel Stop and Mini Mart. Alamorosa Restaurant and Truck Stop.

     10:18am  Flanders gave me two cigarettes at the truckstop here. I appreciate it, brother. Everybody gets credit, thanks.

     10:19am  I am leaving the truckstop. I got two cigarettes off that Flanders guy. I don't know when I'm going to smoke them though. I'm tired, but I'm going to keep walking. I can't stop or else I'll fall asleep.

     10:28am  Walking in front of McGinn's Pistachio Tree Ranch Country Store.

     10:36am  Mile marker 73.

                     Badass, at mile marker 73 there was a wooden building and people were unloading stuff from a car. This guy and a girl. I walked in and asked the guy, "Hey, can I rest my feet in the shade?" He said, "Until we leave." When I left I told him, "Thanks for the pit-stop." He told me I was almost halfway to Alamogordo.

     11:01am  Coming up on the Alamo Street stoplight.

     11:04am  I am taking a left at the stoplight. I see a church down there. I'm going to go see if they have a shady spot I could take a nap in. Oh, I'm coming up on a historical marker.

                     "La luz. In 1719, Spanish Franciscan missionaries built a chapel here dedicated to Nuestra Señora de la Luz, Our Lady of the Light. The naming of the village is also attributed to the will-o-wisp light in the canyon, a perpetually burning lamp in an elderly woman's home and a signal fire left by the make settlers, which when seen by the female settlers exclaimed, "La luz! La luz! Alla esta la luz!" There's the light. Settlement of the village did not begin until around 1860, when settlers arrived from other villages devastated by floods on the Rio Grande."

                     I'm going to walk to this church and see if I can crash anywhere.

     12:51pm  I am up from my nap. I don't even think I fell asleep all the way. I got a good rest and nobody bothered me. I even noticed some guy come out to throw something in the dumpster. He didn't tell me anything. I'm going to keep walking now. It's hot out. The sun's out.

                     Faith Baptist Church is the name of the church.

                     I'm going to go in the Bowlin's Running Indian Citgo here and get some water.

     1:13pm  I had a little rest at the Citgo. I ate a can of beanies and franks. About 200 calories worth. I'm going to take off walking again. Like seven or eight miles left. Alright, here goes.

                     I took a 4Life multivitamin.

                     I am having fun giving all the cars the peace sign. I've gotten some damn good publicity on this walk.

                     Oh yeah, I asked the lady at the Citgo if she would run me out for asking for rides and she said, "No, you can't do that on our property." I told her, "Okay, thought I'd ask." She said thanks for asking. Oh well, I'm going to keep on walking.

     1:24pm  Mile marker 71. Wow, I've walked a lot. I started at 78 today, I think.

     1:31pm  Passing sign that says, "Junction US82 Relief Route 1 mile ahead.

     1:40pm  Mile marker 70.

     1:47pm  I walked up to the 82 junction. If I turn right I'll go to El Paso, straight to Alamogordo and if I turn left I go to Cloudcroft.

                   I'm walking to Alamogordo. There's only like three miles left.

     1:50pm  Alamogordo 3 miles.

                   I just walked up to the Timeout Travel Center. It's a Diamond Shamrock. I'm going to ask if I'll get in trouble for asking for rides.

     2:00pm  Permission granted.

     2:06pm  I forgot to tell you. Right now I'm at the Diamond Shamrock and there's this pigeon out here that got run over by a car. It's flapping its wings around hurt. This trucker came over and picked him up and gave him water.

     2:19pm  I'm leaving the truckstop. I'm not going to try and get a ride. I'm going to walk into Alamogordo and find someone to tell my story to.

     2:35pm  Walking in front of White Sands Mall.

     2:41pm  I just talked to Officer Lococo. I asked him if he knew of any churches in town that could help with some busfare. He told me to go to the Salvation Army. Hopefully I can score a shower. He said I had to go to 1st Street, turn left and it was two or three miles away.

                   I should've asked him for a courtesy ride.

     2:58pm  I just came out of the Fina gas station. The cool black girl in there hooked me up with some pink lemonade. She told me that 2nd Street was twenty blocks away. That cop should've given me a courtesy ride. I even stuck my thumb out when he drove past and he didn't stop.

                   After I walk these twenty blocks then I have to walk an additional two or three miles?

     3:03pm  Passing by the Alameda Park. There's a little train that goes around it.

                   I've been walking down North White Sands Blvd this whole time.

                   Passing 16th Street. I have sixteen more to go.

     3:16pm  Just passed 10th.

     3:29pm  I came to the Greyhound station, where I've been before. This is where I asked for a courtesy ride to Tularosa last time(6-21-04, 2:00pm). I sat down and smoked a snipe I found in the ashtray and drank some lemonade. I am going to keep walking to 1st now.

     3:35pm  Turning left on 1st.

     3:52pm  I'm walking in front of Montevista Cemetery.

                   I'm going to walk into the True Value Hardware store and ask for directions to the Salvation Army.

     4:02pm  Terry at the hardware store is letting me borrow the phone and she even volunteered me a donut. I appreciate it, Terry. Everybody gets credit, thanks.

     4:13pm  I walked all the way to 1st, turned left and walked it for like a mile. I borrowed the phone at the True Value store and called around. The only Salvation Army they have here is a thrift store. But, I see some skater kids sitting in the shade at the park across the street. It's story-time.

     4:43pm  Those kids who I saw when I sat down in the shade and ate my donut, I found out there was no shelter or anything here. They all listened to my story and Roman hooked me up with a cigarette. I appreciate it, brother.

     5:32pm  I have had the most awesome presentations at, what park is this? Washington Park in Alamogordo. It's crazy how I ended up here. I had gotten directions from that cop and walked to the hardware store to borrow the phone. I went outside and bam, kids, I gotta tell my story. Look what happened. I had these magical presentations in front of those mountains in the background with a big A on them.

                   I just took a picture.

     7:00pm  What a magical time I'm having at this park with these kids. Joe finally came back. We were all waiting for him to bring some weed back, but he didn't. Instead he grabbed a box of Honeybuns from home for me. I appreciate it, brother. I got smoked out too by someone else. I'm all stoned, hehe.

     7:12pm  I am having yet another good presentation at Washington Park. What was your name again? Jonathan. What's your email? ygrtmx@gmail.com

     7:55pm  Josh has a suggestion for me.

                   Josh: "You're going to hit up forums.cheatplanet.com. breakthetrend.forums.com

                   It's been just awesome what's happened today. I was in Tularosa this morning and decided to walk the thirteen miles all the way to Alamogordo. When I walked into town I asked this cop for directions. He told me to go to 1st Street and take a left. They ended up not even having a Salvation Army where you could crash at. Then I went to the hardware store and the nice lady behind the counter gave me a donut and let me use the phone. Then I went outside and saw all the kids in the park. I walked over to the tree behind the kids and sat and ate my donut. I figured if those kids were still there when I finished eating my donut that I'd go hit them up for my story. All these skater kids with Mohawks. I knew they would love my stuff. All these people listened to me and I was telling my stories for the rest of the day. Right now I told this one guy who owns like five cars and works at a car-lot. I just told him my story and I blew his mind. He called one of his friends on his cellphone and told him to hurry to the park so he could hear my story. Some great publicity. Oh, and I even have a place to sleep tonight. This one little skater kid told me had a couch in his backyard I could crash on. I'm tired.

                   I just came out of the bathroom at Washington Park. I tagged Victor the Liberator with a peace sign on the back of the door. With my silver paint marker. Everybody is going to see that. All the kids.

     8:27pm  Aaron hooked me up with a cigarette. I wanted a cigarette real bad. Thanks, Aaron.

     8:32pm  This sucks, the kid who said I could crash in his backyard disappeared. I have to find a place to camp now. I'm tired. I had a damn productive day. I gave out like three or four CD's. I was telling my story like crazy to all these kids.

     8:56pm  There's no stores close by anywhere and I needed water bad. Then I saw this sprinkler that was on in front of the cemetery and I got an idea. I stole water from there. I filled up my Nalgene. It was right in front of a stoplight and I'm sure a lot of people saw me steal water from the sprinkler. It tastes kind of weird, but I don't care. I'm just going to walk down this sidewalk here and find a place to sleep. I don't know where I'm going to go.

                   Damnit, I was walking through all this rape, all this house-building out here. I was about to walk in the backyard of one of these new houses that wasn't finished yet. All of a sudden I hear this lady yelling, "Hello, hello. May I help you?" I told her, "I just walked all the way from Tularosa. I was looking for a place to camp." She told me, "Well, you can't sleep in those houses." I wasn't even going to. I was going to sleep in the backyard.

Next day..