New Mexico border towns

[Morgana]

If anyone here is familiar with the communities in far southern New Mexico (say within 50 miles of I-10) and would be willing to dish on some personal impressions, would you PM me? I have a couple questions Uncle Google can't answer. Gracias!

 

[bullfrog]

I lived in Northern New Mexico around Fort Windgate and it was cold in the winter. I passed through and stayed in Deming in the winter and it was cold. Temperatures during the day are not terrible but the nights are cold. There is a large range between night time temps and daytime temps you have to get used to, no bueno por mi!

 

[Morgana]

Fort Wingate, brrr! I spent a winter in Gallup once, back before it cleaned up its act a bit -- got around by motor scooter, which was fun with the dogs (and the ice) -- there used to be a graffiti on one of the highway or railway underpasses that said "devil worshippers have little weewees." You see interesting stuff sometimes when you're on foot or on two wheels! Ah memories.

Come to think of it, I spent a winter in Deming once too and yeah it was cold. They had a harder freeze than they're accustomed to and everybody's pipes burst at the same time. You could not get plumbing supplies anywhere. I ended up driving to Socorro, IIRC a four-hour round trip, for one itty bitty 97¢ copper thing. I bought two and still have the other one around here somewhere for a souvenir.

My original post wasn't too clear. I'm fishing for information about a couple of organizations' local reputations (both + and −) which is why I'm asking for PMs. But all info is welcome as I am getting closer to lift-off and still not sure where next.

Right now I am having trouble imagining cold but it won't be long! I had forgotten about the temperature extremes.

Didn't one of the Tony Hillerman novels have somebody locked up in Fort Wingate?

 

[tx2sturgis]

What kind of info? I have been all over that area in my job...not sure if that would be of any relevance.

For instance I would not know about real estate taxes or nightclubs, or crime rates, or RV parks, but on the other hand I might have information in a general sense about the weather, the roads, the population, places to eat, or safe places to stay over for a night...that sort of thing.

 

[bullfrog]

I taught on the reservation school there in 1979 - 1980. Formerly an Army Horse Calvery outpost. I got to experience what it is like to be a minority there. My parking place had lots of old horse shoe nails as it was the old stables, basically a flat tire every day! Lol!!! Took a few classes and shopped in Gallop while we were there. It was a rough place then, didn’t go to town on weekends.

 

[maki2]

….Didn't one of the Tony Hillerman novels have somebody locked up in Fort wingate…

Yes the book was Wailing Winds by Tony Hillerman. But Fort Wingate and Gallup are in Northern New Mexico and the OP is asking about the Border Towns in Southern New Mexico.

J. A. Jance is the mystery writer who writes stories set along the Southern Border Towns (mostly in SE AZ) in her series about the female Sheriff Joanna Brady. Great reading!

 

[user 32232]

I dropped down NM146 from I-10 last year, turned left on NM-9 at Hachita. Went west to Animas and Rodeo. I was surprised at the cotton fields in the desert near Animas. If I had continued south from Hachita on NM-81 for forty more miles, there would have been a border crossing at Antelope Wells into the state of Chihuahua. That is the westernmost border crossing in NM. There are no paved roads I'm aware of between Antelope Wells and Rodeo NM (which lies on the NM/AZ border). Pretty desolate civilization-wise -- but that's exactly why I was visiting .
The Chihuahuan Desert -- the largest desert in North America covering more than 200,000 square miles -- is pretty intimidating. Gotta be prepared, even on the US side!

 

[user 32232]

Yes the book was Wailing Winds by Tony Hillerman. But Fort Wingate and Gallup are in Northern New Mexico and the OP is asking about the Border Towns in Southern New Mexico.

J. A. Jance is the mystery writer who writes stories set along the Southern Border Towns (mostly in SE AZ) in her series about the female Sheriff Joanna Brady. Great reading!

I like to read books about the region I'm visiting as I visit them. Before my journey to the American Chihuahuan desert, I 'discovered' Charles Bowden. He isn't everyone's taste - kind of anarchistic, as he was pals with Edward Abbey, serving as his editor and an original member of the Monkey Wrench Gang.
That said, Bowden's non-fiction book "Desierto: Memories of the Future" fascinated me. Not an easy read, kind of bi-polar you could say, as it explores the 1990s drug wars and cartels in Sonora and Chihuahua, simultaneaously with an insider account of Phoenix developer Charles Keating's financial scandal in 1990. Like I said - kind of bi-polar

 

[rruff]

If anyone here is familiar with the communities in far southern New Mexico (say within 50 miles of I-10) and would be willing to dish on some personal impressions, would you PM me? I have a couple questions Uncle Google can't answer. Gracias!

Yes. Is it so secret that it can't be public? Then if anyone else has the question, google might find it.

 

[Morgana]

Not the first "please PM" post on the forum. I'll leave it as is, thanks.

 

[Morgana]

I like to read books about the region I'm visiting as I visit them. Before my journey to the American Chihuahuan desert, I 'discovered' Charles Bowden. ... Bowden's non-fiction book "Desierto: Memories of the Future" fascinated me.

Well, that went onto my reading list!
If you're still interested in the Chihuahuan desert, here's a good one from a very different angle:
Barren, Wild, and Worthless: Living in the Chihuahuian Desert, by Susan Tweit

 

[user 32232]

Well, that went onto my reading list!
If you're still interested in the Chihuahuan desert, here's a good one from a very different angle:
Barren, Wild, and Worthless: Living in the Chihuahuian Desert, by Susan Tweit

That looks really good.
On the heels of my last post, I just found a cheap $3 copy of "The Last Cheater's Waltz: Beauty and Violence in the Desert Southwest" by Ellen Meloy.

 

[cdwhit]

Sorry I’m late in responding. I lived in El Paso (TX) for years, but have been gone except for a few visits to the area since the 90’s. I spent a lot of time in New Mexico, mostly the SE part, but some motorcycle trips, camping trips etc went further. Most recently had kind of a family get together there a couple years ago.

Generally: Desert in the best of time, and currently experiencing a severe drought. I saw several responses about the temperatures. Any desert tends to have a big temperature drop at night. This can be a relief from the heat in the summer, but in spring and fall when days are pleasant, depending on weather patterns and altitude can make for some COLD sleeping. I was considering retiring to NM, and may still, but honestly, after seeing the severity of the drought, I’m having second thoughts. I’m afraid some of the towns, especially the smaller ones, may be having trouble getting water soon. In much of the area there are already restrictions on lawns, pools, etc, and bills increase if you use over a certain amount of water.

If you are interested in specific towns, let me know. If it’s in an area I’m familiar with, I’d be happy to tell you what I know.

 

[D'L]

The map above is not accurate, as it includes some large areas in what it calls the Chihuahua desert which are actually the Sonora desert. Not that the two are that dissimilar in terms of survival in them, but they have different flora and to some extent different fauna, and are distinct from each other. On that map the section that is in Arizona and just south of the border from Arizona is not the Chichuahuan desert, but the Sonora desert.