styrofoam containers and wrapped plastic utensils

Why I like being alone on this trip is I can wake up and leave Tucson, having seen absolutely nothing except the mexican supermarket--and who will say anything? How could they?

I did meet a guy in the morning, very mysterious, wouldn't go into his plans, with a pierced lip and in another universe he would have taken up a lot of my time. We looked at Craigslist ads for amusement and I took a typing test so he could learn how quickly I type (80 wpm, 80% accuracy). He said to go to Las Vegas, New Mexico, because everyone there has low riders. He said Las Cruces could be avoided without any real loss. A young man with a feminine countenance and heavy black boots disagreed and said I should see Las Cruces if I liked places filled with artists.

He said, Art is everything. I agreed.

I did go to Las Cruces. I don't remember what happened that day. I will look in my red notebook where I track my expenses. Maybe I napped. Maybe da road lulled me into a waking sleep. I did see this rock formation, which goes to show how whimsical nature can be. Hee hee!



And remember all the rib-tickling ads for Chick-Fil-A done over the years, you know, the cows painting signs that say "Eat Mor Chickn?" Well, someone in Arizona wants you to disregard those, and they are so serious that they aren't going to couch their message in a cute or clever campaign. Let's cut to it. I zoomed and cropped the photo.



I got into Las Cruces as the sun set. I took a picture at their rest stop, an award-winning rest stop, they'd like you to know, because they have incredible views of the city and a giant roadrunner made out of recyclables.



Please also notice that there are two signs on the post: "Truck Parking" and "Beware of Snakes". It was a great rest stop.

I went to the historic artist area of town and got a spicy meat burrito smothered in green chile sauce and cheese. I considered taking a picture but I ate it too quickly and sometimes Mexican food isn't as appealing when it isn't right in front of you. Sometimes it looks like swamp food. Rest assured that it was delicious. I also got a banana split from a frozen custard place, recommended by the book and by the crowd in front of the store.

The banana split had real strawberries, real pineapple, real marshmallow sauce (!), salted pecans, hot fudge, two cherries, bananas and the rest.

I ate these items in my hotel room, charming and older and still stuck in the 60s. The shower was the best shower I've had on the trip, what a water pressure. It must have become illegal at some point to have showerheads like that. You could bruise the skin.