After a week in southern Utah for the wedding of Cherilyn's cousin, funeral for Cherilyn's grandmother and Thanksgiving with Cherilyn's family, we headed back home. We were to head home through northern New Mexico in order to see my dad. (he lives in Los Alamos) We charted our course to include a stop at Four Corners where we were able to not only see where four states come together but some friends of ours were able to meet us for a short visit as well. Our journey through New Mexico was to take us through the Jemez Mountains and and past Hummingbird Music Camp where I made some great childhood memories. I was excited to go this way even though it would be dark by the time we drove through the area.
Our Drive took us past the Glen Canyon Dam and through the famed Monument Valley. What great wonder and awe we were able to take in between the beauty of Monument Valley, and the amazement of human innovation that is the Glen Canyon Dam.
As we drove down from Farmington, NM, the dark of the day set in. (I hate the early nightfall of the winter months) I had wanted to NM route 550 through Cuba, NM down to NM route 4, which would take us through the Jemez and right into Los Alamos. The problem began when we were just outside of Cuba and the GPS wanted us to take NM route 96 to route 84 through Espanola. I decided not to follow the suggested route and headed into Cuba. After filling up in Cuba, I checked the "actual" map we had in the van and decided to take state highway 126, forgetting that I needed to go all the way down 550 to catch route 4. (to get a good visual, and I recommend you do as it will really help you understand the rest of the story, click on "Our Route" above the picture of the state of NM. Be sure to zoom in on the NM part of the route until you find NM 126)
Well, since it was dark, and it had been MANY years since I had actually been in the area, I was a little discombobulated in my directions and thinking. The GPS had not found the route I wanted to take, it just kept wanting me to make a U turn and go back up 550 to 96. I instead followed the road sign to state highway 126. With the GPS still wanting me to turn around or take another road back to route 96, I still thought I knew better. How wrong that thought would turn out to be. I remember passing a sign that said something about improvements to the highway. (2 lane state highway) but did not catch all of the wording so I proceeded, after all, the sign never said the road was closed or anything that drastic. As we proceeded through the woods and up the mountain, it seemed to get darker and darker and there were not only less signs of civilization but there were NO other vehicles on the road, in either direction. Somewhere around the ten mile mark, the pavement ended. (remember that scene in RV where the highway was at a standstill so he went off road to go over the mountain?) With the GPS still telling us to turn around, it also let us know that by doing so we would now be an hour later than planned. It seemed like pressing forward was a better idea since we had come so far anyway. Eight miles later we were not only still on dirt road, we were encountering snow as we were approaching 8,000 feet above sea level and we had NO cell service. NONE! NADA! Absolutely nothing, the only things that could hear us now were the critters in the woods! Which, I might add, include bears! It was at this point that it began to feel like one of those movies where things go horribly wrong. Fortunately things did not go horribly wrong for us. At one point we came around a corner (still on dirt road) and we saw one of those blue adopt a highway signs. Really, 8,000 feet up a mountain in the middle of the forest on a dirt road, the state of New Mexico is requesting that someone adopt the road to clear it of trash. I guess you had to be there to hear Cherilyn's gasp of expression at seeing the sign but it led to a good laugh that broke the tension a bit and that was good.
Well, somewhere around the thirty mile mark on the road, we returned to pavement. The highway is about 40 miles long and it seems most of it was getting those improvements the signs at the other end of the road were mentioning. As we approached highway 4, the GPS finally found where we were and knew the route we were wanting, as it turned out, the trip through the woods only cost us 5 minutes. Thank goodness for that because if it had taken any longer I'm not sure I would be here to write this story for all to enjoy at my expense. The issue I will now have the rest of my life is always having to trust the GPS and follow its route selection no matter what I think.
