Butler Wash to Ojito

It was from the woman who, decades ago, owned Cadillac Ranch R.V. Park where one got propane, that I learned of Butler Wash.

There's a FREE pile in the laundromat. This person was in a bag with some others.

Stephanie DeGeorge's Art & Curiosity Shop was open. The gallery features her paintings along with an eclectic collection of glass vases and bowls, some china and jewelry.

Some years ago they ground down the "steps" to make it passable, at least part of the way, in a car.

There's now a new sign exhorting everyone to pay the fees, visit with respect and leave no trace. What's still  left unsaid is to ignore the horrendous down-cutting of the wash from the runoff caused by over-grazing. Oh, and that blue haze that obscures your view of the hills in the not-too-far-distance, ignore that too.

I broke camp around 3pm with the idea of getting south of Farmington to camp near Angel Peak. It's 150 miles and with wishful thinking, pigs'll fly and I'll make it by sundown at 7:15.

Nearing Farmington, I noticed County Road 5500 went around...a good thing. Not having been that way, I was excited by the scrubland, hoodoos and general wildness. With only 20 minutes of light left, but 14 miles to Angel Peak, I took a sideroad into an ancient oil and gas field, went 500' and made camp. So much for flying pigs.

The thrum of the gasline pumps evokes images of jets idling on runways; of RV parks with cheek-by-jowel generators. On the plus side, they're not as loud as those around Angel Peak. 

In the morning a pickup with a large dog hanging out the shotgun window went by. It didn't bark, and the driver, a female, waved!

It's a long haul down to Ojito. Tradition dictates a stop at the Native-run convenience store at Counselor. The young man behind the counter asked about my hat.

I 'splained about the logo and added "It's also the latest surmisal of the shape of the universe; but you know how THEY are." Without skipping a beat he analogized us as a tiny anthill on earth looking out at the planet the way humans look out at the cosmos and saying "We're the only ones here." He then added, "But that doesn't mean we don't exist." He commented on the "graph" on the donut as if appreciating the silliness of it all.  He then told how his brother recently heard the FDA had approved lab-produced meat. He'd (his brother) gone on to suggest that it won't be long before our next hamburger will be 3-D printed.

The above is typical of my experiences at this store. 

(  9766 US-550, Counselor, NM 87018  )

Nowhere else do I encounter such spontaneous and serendipitous perspective from convenience-store-clerks. 

Bomb Pops have changed. Their once delicious flavors and icey sweetness, so refreshing in the New Mexico heat, now taste of chemicals. Thank god for Blue Bunny!

We arrived Ojito 7 pm sharp; time to spare!