SOLO ROADTRIP II: PECOS, LAS VEGAS, & FORT SUMNER [DAYS 5-6]

the next day i left pretty early in the morning as it was going to be a long drive with a few stops along the way. this day was definitely the coldest and rainiest of the trip; during the day it stayed in the 40s. that is cold for this southern california girl. the rain was crazy! there were so many trucks and when they drove by, they would make crazy spray that blinded my vision. luckily, i got to my destination safely.

the first stop was pecos national historical park, which is only about 30 minutes away from santa fe. pecos was a pueblo that was first inhabited in 1100 ad that later became a spanish mission. todays ruins include the mission from the 17th century. like i said, it was very rainy & cold, so to save time walking the trail outside, i drove up to the handicap section (with permission of staff) to skip the walk & only see the mission. it was so empty (i was actually the first visitor), so it was not a problem.

on a side note, i was hoping to stay one night near pecos at a franciscan monastery. i am not catholic, but thought it would be an interesting experience. with a donation, you get a simple room (obviously no tv) & 1 free meal with the monks. i would have only stayed for one night, but some people go on retreats for weeks at a time. i was really looking forward to the opportunity, but due to covid, it got too complicated so i decided to skip it. 

i was unsure if i would find a better coffee place, so i stopped at my favorite truck stop, loves <3

fortunately, along the way i found a billboard for an espresso coffeehouse in the middle of nowhere northern new mexico, a small town called watrous. this town is completely isolated from any commercial area; wikipedia says as of 2010, only 135 people lived there. i talked to the young owner and it appeared that this coffeehouse was more of a passion project than a venture to make profitable (but what do i know). i was fortunate for the free wi-fi as this area had absolutely no reception. apparently this area is mostly used for training horses. 

the cute little coffeehouse

just a bit farther north from watrous, down a long one lane road through the fields, is fort union nps (why i was in this area in the first place). here are the ruins of a new mexico territory fort from 1851. there is also a very overlooked ditch that was actually the santa fe trail (i did not know it was actual thing to see). the visitor center was closed for reconstruction, but there were a few rangers outside. i ended up walking the loop trail to see the ruins...in the rain. yes, i am that person. the whole time i was literally the only visitor, but did have an interesting conversation from a young ranger telling me about his experience working as a ranger & moving to a different state. as i have said before, rangers are da best.    

i got to see some deer in the distance

after walking my trail, i ate my leftover cold pho in the backseat of my car. i ended up driving for about another 45 minutes north to another small town that is just not worth mentioning; it was a waste time. i then headed back south to las vegas (new mexico, not nevada) where my overnight accommodation was. i heard this was a cute a little town and it was not very far from santa fe. was it dodgy, yea, kind of, but it was also cute with old buildings in the central plaza & had nice antique stores so, i was a happy camper. i did end up leaving with a few souvenirs. 

the plaza hotel (c. 1882)

as a bonus, this town ended up being the filming location for the exterior shots for the show roswell, nm (a show i have no problem admitting i enjoy). when i was visiting, they were not filming. 

this is the crashdown cafe in roswell, nm (other than for the pilot, which was in alberqurque). it is really a family pharmacy in town.

it seems they leave the crashdown cafe doors up all year. i also embarrassingly took a selfie in front of this door. one of the few fangirl moments during my trip.

after picking up food from a pizzeria, a man dropping a dog in my lap, & said man asking me out, i decided to stop at the old santa fe railway station (i LOVE seeing old train stations & post offices). the addition of the station in the late 1800s, made las vegas one of the most populous town in the southwest. the town had a harvey house, a opera house, a carnegie library, & an electric railway

spanish revival style, circa 1899

across the street was a old harvey house called castenada hotel (c. 1868 - mission revival) that stayed in operation until 1948, but is now a brewery/bar. 

i had a reservation to car camp at a lake nearby, but ended up ditching that idea as it was going to be in the 30s that night & i did not come prepared for freezing temps (no sleeping bag, but i did have a wool army blanket). i normally do not stay at random motels, but as this reservation was only made 2 nights before, there were slim pickings. i got lucky. was this motel super outdated & bates motel-esque? yes, but i found the age endearing. the owner & night guy were very nice, so absolutely no regrets.

this was also the first time i stayed at a place that had keys w/these infamous key chains i would always see in old movies.

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fortunately, the next day was a bit chill as i did not have much planned, other than to get from point a to point b (carlsbad) with a stop at fort sumpter. because of the this i did stop at roswell, which is along the way. i was actually going to also go to roswell the next day, but learned much of the town is closed on sundays, so thought i would also stop on saturday. there is a method to my madness. roswell will be in the next the post.

anyhoo, i mostly drove a one lane road down to fort sumner. most people probably know this town as the place billy the kid was killed, but the site is changing it's narrative. my whole reason for the stop was to visit bosque redondo memorial at fort sumner historic site, an indian reservation from 1863-1868 where the navajo & mescalerlo apache were forced to relocate to. this relocation was 300+ miles (as the ancestral land was in arizona), that took 3 years, and known by the navajo as "the long walk." in the 4 years, about 3,000 native americans died. unlike many other nations, the navajo were able to attain back some of their ancestral land.

one thing that was quite interesting about the museum that i have never seen as a public history method, is the the info on the site has 2 different narratives running side by side, an academic historian & navajo (now who decided what the navajo interpretation would be, i do not know as to my understanding it was an oral history). i had never seen anything like that.

i learned these are swallow nests.

part of the museum is inside & part of it is outside. i was able to listen to the audio guide on my phone, which provided a lot of info that is not on any signs. outside there is history of the native americans, the reservation, and the military fort. in the fields, you could hear either cicadas or locusts humming. 

site where the treaty of peace was signed, that allowed the navajo to gain back some of their ancestral land. 

i stopped at this random cute little coffee place & then headed to roswell. honestly, this was the best espresso i had had so far & the worker was so kind wishing me safe travels. as i said before, this day will continue in the next post :)