Linda and I had been wanting to go out west sometime this fall, but my having the shingles interfered with our plans to do it on our anniversary in September. It finally worked out for us to go last week. Linda got home on Sunday, Oct. 9, and we left first thing on Monday morning. I say first thing, but actually we met most of the married children (and grandchildren) at our oldest son's house for an early breakfast on our way out to Red River, New Mexico.
After breakfast, we stopped off at the bank to pick up some cash. It was a beautiful day and we made good time. As is our practice, we stopped in at the McDonald's on the east side of Tulsa to make a pit stop and stretch our legs. I picked up a large unsweet tea and we were on our way.
We like to take Highway 412 out through the Oklahoma panhandle. There is usually less traffic on this route and you can make good time. The scenery is pretty nice as well. Most of the time we don't plan the details of our trips--that way we can drive until we're tired and get a room for the night. This usually works just fine, but it can bite you in the butt if you're not careful. (I'm thinking of a big cockroach in a Motel 6 in Raton, New Mexico, three years ago.)
For a time I thought we might stop for the night at Guymon, Oklahoma, but I felt good and kept driving until we actually made it to Clayton, New Mexico. Boise City is the last town you pass through before arriving in Clayton and, based on past experience, we knew it wouldn't be too many miles west of Boise City before we would see Rabbit Ears Mountain. Rabbit Ears is a well-known landmark in that area, and I am always glad to see it again. I don't know much about its history other than it is named after a famous Indian chief. So Rabbit Ears doesn't actually look like a rabbit's ears. It does look like a man's face, however, if you imagine the man lying on his back looking up at the sky. I had my eyes peeled and, sure enough, just as we topped a little rise in the road, Rabbit Ears appeared in all its glory. It stands out in sharp relief to the flat landscape round about it.
Linda called ahead and reserved us a room at the Best Western motel in Clayton. When we got to town, we drove straight to the motel to freshen up a little and asked where a good place to eat might be. Linda had been hoping to eat at Rabbit Ears Café, but the lady at the desk said it wasn't open on Mondays. She told us of two places that she thought were good. The one was at the historic Eklund Hotel. Since we had eaten there before, we decided to try something different. She told us there was a place called the Wild Horse Grill and Steak House a couple of blocks west. She said it served an assortment of American food, so we drove over there.
We went in and seated ourselves by a window, but soon learned we had made a bad choice because the flies were terrible there. The window seemed to attract them. The waitress suggested we move to a different table, which we did. The flies took a quick vote and unanimously, to a fly, followed us over. We ended up fighting flies the entire meal. I looked around and noticed that the other customers were doing the same. Finally, our waitress made the astute observation that, "the flies sure are bad today."
I made a mental note not to eat at the Wild Horse Grill again. We finished our meal quickly and got out of there. Linda said she thought the flies ate more than we did.
Back at the motel, we showered and relaxed from the day's drive before turning in for the night. Next morning, we were up early since we were now on Mountain Time. The motel offered a complete breakfast which, I have to say, was pretty darn good. I had scrambled eggs and sausage with a biscuit. A glass of milk and several cups of coffee rounded out my meal. Linda had a pancake and lots of coffee. She has to have her coffee in the morning and I am always thankful when she gets it on time. I won't say why, hee, hee.
The gas was $2.09 across the street, so I decided to wait to fuel up in the hopes we would find something cheaper. Unfortunately, this was to be the cheapest gas we would see for several more days. I think I ended up paying $2.24 or something close to it.
Instead of driving on to Raton, which happens to be one of my favorite stretches of highway anywhere in the United States, we took the southern route that would take us to Eagles' Nest, New Mexico, en route to Red River. This new route will also take you to Taos, but we knew we didn't want to go on to Taos since neither of us likes it much. Taos is too commercialized in our opinion. Most of the time, when headed for Colorado, we drive up to Raton and head north through Raton Pass to Trinidad. Some of the married children had bragged up the Red River area, so we decided to check it out for ourselves. Like I said, we don't plan our trips out in detail--just broad brush strokes, filling in the gaps as we go.
It was a lovely drive up to Eagles' Nest. Once there, we stopped to pick up some brochures at a travel agency. We asked the lady there if she knew of a good place to eat lunch, but she said they were all closed for the season. It was still early, so we thought we could make it to Red River before eating. A few blocks down the street, there was a Y in the road with the left fork pointing to Taos and the right fork pointing to Red River. We turned right and headed up into the beautiful northern New Mexico mountains.
Sam Byrnes is a Gentry-area resident and weekly contributor to the Eagle Observer. He may be contacted by email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 10/26/2016