I stopped after forty miles in Moriarty, NM to get coffee, food, and scrub last night's bug splatter off the windshield. It was ninety degrees and sunny and people were playing golf walking with their umbrellas to shield the high desert sun.
Driving along I-40 I saw a sign for Billy the Kid's final resting place and it reminded me how much I loved both Young Guns and Young Guns II.
Outlaws like Billy the Kid can avoid the law for a while, but the law eventually catches up. I cruised along I-40 and took U.S. 54 northwest at Tucumcari. A fateful decision, as it turns out. Just outside Tucumcari I pulled over on the side of the road and set up my iPhone to take a time lapse video. The drive was rather uneventful, so I figured why not make a film. There were few cars on the road, so I pulled off and rigged up the phone with my selfie stick between the seat and rear view mirror to get a steady shot. It seemed good to go, so I pressed record and pulled onto the road. I drove for about 15 minutes then another driver caught up from behind and was riding my tail. There was no way I was going to allow someone to pass me and unman me in my own movie, so I sped up a little. The car behind me turned and I continued to cruise. Fifteen minutes later, I had a run in with the law. Check out the video, around the 19 second mark you can see a lawman pass me going the opposite way.
I saw the patrol car pass me and looked in my rearview mirror - he braked and pulled a u-turn. I had felt under suspicion in New Mexico right from the jump. I saw a lot of signs for safety corridor and fines doubled areas in New Mexico, they take road safety seriously. I quickly disassembled my filmmaking equipment and saw lights flashing, and then pulled over. Just like Billy the Kid, the law caught up to me in New Mexico. I remembered the time in 2012 on my eastern USA road trip that I nearly got pinched in Harpers Ferry. That time it was the car behind me, today the law came for me.
The man on patrol asked me if I knew what he pulled me over for. I didn't think it would be wise to volunteer that it was my makeshift selfie stick mounted iPhone dashcam, so I said "not sure" to avoid incriminating myself unnecessarily. When he said speeding it was kind of a relief. When he asked if I knew how fast I was going I replied "not sure", and when he said 78 I was again relatively relieved. I asked if he was going to give me a ticket, and he replied that he could reduce the miles per hour to five over the limit (70). I then asked if I could have a warning, to which he replied that he could reduce the miles per hour to 5 over the limit, again. He wrote the ticket and then we went our separate ways, literally, he pulled another u-turn and continued the opposite direction.
I was more mindful of the speed limit driving through Texas. I stopped briefly in Dalhart, TX. I passed a big cattle ranch outside Dalhart and boy did it stink. The cattle smelled worse and worse, by the time I got to Kansas later in the night the fumes overpowering my car were diabolical.
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| Texas |
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| Texas |
After passing through Texas, I pulled over just inside the Oklahoma panhandle in Texhoma, OK. I got some water to stay hydrated and queued up some songs. Carrie Underwood was born and raised in Oklahoma so I listened to her songs to honor her and her people. My favorite song is her biggest hit Before He Cheats.
I lost another hour going from Mountain to Central time and I was growing tired and hungry as I drove through Kansas. I was hoping there would be another Waffle House across from the Motel 6 in Colby. I needed it. I thought about how how much I needed it. Then I thought about how I should be a Waffle House quality control tester. I could travel around to Waffle Houses unannounced and disguised as a patron, eating and judging, which I do anyway. The best Waffle House I ever ate at was in Virginia. The worst was either last night in Albuquerque or the one in South Carolina. If anyone in the Waffle House corporate office is reading this - call me. I will be your phantom.
I drove on to Liberal, KS. Liberal decided that they were Dorothy Gale's hometown. The Land of Oz exhibit, Dorothy's house, and the yellow brick road can be visited there. I have absolutely no interest in Dorothy's house - I'm interested in Oz. Oz only.
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| Kansas |
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| Kansas |
I don't want to alarm anyone, but I only have one arm. My left wrist started to hurt in Kansas. Driving for 10-12 hours a day takes a toll. I don't want pity, seeing America is what I've chosen, or perhaps, America chose me. It's not easy and with one arm it's going to get harder, so from here on out it's all about pain management. There will always be pain and suffering, so this is nothing new. Life is pain management. The question everyone needs to ask themselves is, what will you do with your pain? I remember in an interview Shia LeBeouf said "the only thing my father gave me that was of any value is pain". Pain can be a gift. I know what I'm going to do, I'm going to take my one good arm and finish this drive. I'm in the middle of America and I'm a marked man with one arm, so I have to keep moving. Sometimes, it seems like few choices are ours to make.
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| Kansas |
INDEX
Start: Albuquerque, NM
End: Colby, KS
Miles: 554
Time on road: 9:57
States: 4, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas
Lowest elevation: 2700 feet
On Repeat
Some songs I feel the need to listen to multiple times consecutively. Today I listened these songs at least twice:
Paul Van Dyk - Lights
Sixx:A.M. - Stars
Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time
Little Big Town - Girl Crush
Zella Day - High
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