CONTINUING WITH NEW MEXICO...1989-90

I left you, the last post, on the day of our departure from the Midwest, on the beginning of our journey to New Mexico, September 8, 1989. My birthday.

In the small U-Haul trailer hooked to the back of the van my daughter was driving were our clothes, some household items, treasures that couldn't be replaced, some bedding, some small pieces of furniture, and not much else. I also had more things piled in my trunk and in my back seat. (We did take the bed for my 3 year old grandson...and I don't remember if we kept my daughter's bed or not..but I think we did....however, I had sold mine so I didn't have one. It was a gigantic canopied water bed with huge mirrors in the ceiling of the canopy (don't ask!) 4 drawers on each side of the base, tall, built-in shelves at the foot, and it would have been totally impractical to haul it. I did take a huge (about 4 1/2 ft tall) cactus that I had purchased here and had used as a Christmas tree, white mini-lights, Southwestern ornaments and all. (When we came back here in 1995 I bought a ficus tree that was about 5 feet tall and used that as a Christmas tree....I never was one for conventionality; the child ain't right! I still have that ficus...only it's now 8 feet tall!) How ironic that I bought that cactus here in OH where you wouldn't expect to find one that big, and I don't recall ever seeing one for sale like that in NM where you'd expect to find one! I loved that cactus and had it the whole time we lived in NM...and, once there, it got huge flowers on it every Summer...(I like to think of those blossoms as a "thank you" for bringing it back home to its natural habitat!) I sold it to a client in NM just before we came back here to the Midwest in 1995.

Also traveling in the van with my daughter and grandson, was our gray, long-haired cat named Bear...who didn't know he was a cat. He never used a litter box; (he went to the door and waited to be let out when he needed to go), he liked traveling in the car, and he acted more like a dog than a cat. My daughter made him a bed on the engine compartment that, in this type of van, was a high hump between the seats, so he could lie there and look out at the passing scenery. How many cats do you know that like to ride in a car? He wasn't in a crate, either.

We hit highway 70 west and the first day we made it to St. Louis, MO, somehow managing to stay together, before stopping for the night. We couldn't really travel too fast, obviously, but we weren't in any hurry anyway. It was a beautiful Fall day and we planned to enjoy our adventure.

We put out food and water in the motel room for Bear, and fashioned a litter box for him...we couldn't very well let him outside....but, not being a litter box type of cat, he would have nothing to do with it. We figured eventually he'd have to use it....right? He was too dignified to allow himself to potty in the house; he never had had any kind of accident the whole time we'd had him so we knew he wouldn't lose his dignity now.

The next morning we checked the litter box. There was a tiny little wet spot, but nothing else....and Bear was throwing mildly dirty looks our way.

On day two, after breakfast, we again hit the road, dropping down to highway 44, headed for Tulsa, Oklahoma, where we would then pick up US 40, which would take us into Amarillo, Texas, and then into Albuquerque. We figured we should make it in about 4 days or so, total.

We made it to Tulsa that evening and again stopped for the night. We were averaging a little over 350 miles each day. Again we put down food and water and the makeshift litter box for Bear. The next morning, there was once more a tiny wet spot and nothing else....and Bear's looks were growing darker and more accusatory.

On day three, we stopped for the night in Amarillo, pretty tired by now.
Once more we put out food, water and the litter box for Bear, who, by now was looking pretty ticked off, and most definitely had lost all sense of humor. In the morning there was the usual small wet spot....and Bear was looking rather large around the middle.

On day four, by mid-afternoon, we made it into Albuquerque and finally pulled up in front of our new home. My daughter opened the door of the van to get out and a streak of gray furry lightning shot past her and bounded out of sight before she could blink! It was as if Bear knew we'd come to the end of our journey....and he had reached the end of his patience! There was no point in trying to chase him...he was outta there!

**I want to add a little note here: living here in Ohio, we were used to grayish, gloomy skies most of the time; it's just how it is. During the trip, we hit some pretty bad weather, especially in Oklahoma and Texas....but, it was really amazing that the minute we hit the border of New Mexico, the rain stopped, the sun came out, the skies were the most beautiful shade of bright blue and the air was scented with the most wonderful fragrance...kind of sage/pine/thyme/wet sandy earth. It was a good omen; a "welcome to your new life". I felt such an immense sense of peace and happiness, such as I hadn't felt in way more years than I could count! We were home!

I will leave you here, until next time.

It is 7:01 pm on July 30, 2008.