DAY 112 - LORDSBURG - DEMING, NEW MEXICO

At dawn, I drove the 5 miles back into LORDSBURG to get gas for SPIA. When I returned to Exit 29 to begin the day''s walk, whom did I find but Steve and Kelsey...our 4th coincidental meeting within the past 5 days.

Steve and Kelsey, riding bikes from SAN DIEGO to PORTLAND, MAINE, were delayed in SAFFORD allowing me to get ahead of them. Steve made the comment ... something about a bloody "walker" staying ahead of them.

They were enroute to DEMING, NEW MEXICO, some 52 miles away...Steve asked if I would reach DEMING by the end of the day...I said ..."no way".

As Steve and Kelsey rode off down I-10, I began to wonder if I could walk 52 miles and surprise them by reaching DEMING.

I mulled the thought as I walked I-10, making 14 miles on my first leg. Drove SPIA out to Exit 42 (from Exit 29 where I started my day) and walked 26 miles. It was getting late, so I decided to drive SPIA all the way to DEMING and walk BACK to exit 68, the distance I had actually reached with the previous 25 miles - which included crossing the Continental Divide of the Rocky Mountains -.

I telephoned Steve...they already had commitments for the evening...so I immediately walked back the 12 miles to Exit 68 and back to DEMING, completing 52 miles for the day.

Steve kinda challenged me to walk to LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO - another 50 miles - tomorrow...and if I did, they would have dinner with me there.

Truthfully, I CAN walk another 50 miles tomorrow....and every day if I had a driver for SPIA.
Alone, it is an impossible task to do it every day...well, maybe NOT impossible, but perhaps a bit difficult for this 76 year old man.

We shall see in the morning...

I-10, NEW MEXICO Exit 29

The empty NEW MEXICO Desert.

VERIZON is on the spot...wish I had not turned in my Verizon Telephone...AT&T simply does not have the same power as Verizon...maybe I will change back.

I-10 a few miles East of Exit 42...my shoe soles are beginning to get warm, but my knee ligament is giving me NO trouble...and I took NO pain medication today.

Strange that I, taking blood thinners (because of my prior heart attack a while back) and supposedly growing old, heal so quickly. If I cut myself or scrape away skin from my hand, a simple band aid - even no antiseptic - and 32 hours later, all seems to heal itself...same with the knee ligament...as soon as I knew no bone damage was done, I convinced my ligament (I talk to my body ALL the time) that it could do the job without pain. Gullible body, I say !

Walked nearly all day on the Freeway...two police went by with no reaction - even the signs said PEDESTRIANS PROHIBITED". Simply not much of interest to photograph on this part of I-10.

The above photograph is the DEMING, NEW MEXICO Elementary School.

An exceptionally beautiful home of Chad, on highway 418 (the Old Highway before I-10) a couple miles West of DEMING. Your son, Chad, can really catch that baseball...way to go.

A Chile fixings factory near DEMING, NEW MEXICO. I like their sign...creative and eye catching.

We have seen many water systems on this Blog over that past few months.

Here is another solution. The Deep Water Well Pump is just visible above the ground. The water can be sent into the tank in the background, or directly into the concrete irrigation canal in the foreground.

New Mexico Grapes are very far behind those of NAPA Valley. Remember, that NAPA Valley is a couple hundred feet above Sea Level. Here in New Mexico, we are nearly 5,000 feet high

Things take a bit longer to grown at this altitude. Would like to try their wine, tho.

DEMING Water Tower...essential out here in the Desert.


DAILY UPDATE: Walked 52 miles today - a new mileage record for me for one day.

SEE YOUR IMPACT.ORG: Credit 52 miles @ $0.02 per mile = $1.04 for the day.

In the morning, we shall walk East on Highway 418 until about 20 miles short of LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO, where the 418 - according to the map - comes together with the 10.