Woke up in Deming, NM

Since El Paso, we’ve been in familiar territory.  My Dad pastored in these parts – Santa Fe, Deming, El Paso, and Truth or Consequences, so we made a number of visits to the region in the 70’s and 80’s.  Three of my siblings graduated from Deming High School and Mom retired from teaching in this town as well, so the pictures will mean something to the family.  Driving westward from Las Cruces on I-10 we gradually gain altitude and enter a high desert plain accentuated with small groupings of mounds that look like the backs of some gigantic half buried reptile.  The interstate is smooth and straight.  The only entertainment is reading the many tourist trap signs: Wild West, Akela Flats, Butterfield Station, and The Thing.  Apparently you can get everything from moccasins to sport drinks at these place as well as “kids activities”.  Hoping to also find a restroom we stopped at one of these establishments.  It was closed and a fellow traveler, also looking for some relief was urinating in the corner.  We moved on, pulling into Deming for the evening.  We got a tip and a dollar-off coupon from the motel clerk and had dinner at Palma’s Italian Grill – Italian with a Mexican twist.  The pasta alfredo with grilled chicken and fresh green chilies was really good, I mean really good.  The next morning it took an hour but we finally found the little chapel where Dad pastured at 8^th and Birch.  It’s now an Episcopal church and the parsonage has been replaced with a new home.  Since we’re in familiar territory we decided to take time for something we hadn’t seen before and chose the eastern unit of Saguaro National Park near Tucson.  Ruth read and I took a much needed hike through the cactus.  Muscles eased and the road noise gone we proceeded to Phoenix for a weekend with Ruth’s sisters and family.  Ruth’s sister lives in Sun City Grande where the urban coyotes howl at night reminding the residents of this very tidy community that it wasn’t long ago this area was rattlesnake and prickly pear country.  A cheery smile, a cold Corona, and chips and salsa greeted us and we knew we were in the southwest once again. 

PICTURES: Deming High, The Old DemingNazarene Church, the Florita Mtns, NM Roadside rest?, Wind Power on I-10,  Cholla Cactus, Inside a Saguaro, Not your average Saguaro