Hey, we’re taking a trip! We won’t leave until next Friday, October 2, and we’ll be gone just a day beyond two weeks.
Where are we going? Essentially New Mexico, but we’ll start in the little town of Willcox, Arizona, where we’ll attend the annual Rex Allen Days festival. We’ve written before about Rex Allen, so we’ll just remind you that he was an old time singing cowboy in Western movies.
After that festival we’ll move into New Mexico, heading for Elephant Butte Lake and the town of Truth or Consequences. This is the town originally called Geronimo Springs, that took a dare from radio host Ralph Edwards to change its name to the name of his radio quiz program, Truth or Consequences.
T&C, as the locals call it, is the center of the Geronimo National Scenic Byway, that runs through some of the most scenic, as well as historical territory in the United States. The Byway is one loop, but for those without a high clearance 4-week drive, it is essentially two separate routes out of T&C.
There are at least four “ghost towns” along the route, and we intend to see them all.
 | We’ll be traveling country known well by the Apache war chief Geronimo, who started his warrior ways when he found his mother, his wife and three children slaughtered by Mexicans. |
| And we’ll be following this sign around the byway. It will take us two to three days to see the whole trail, and even so, there’ll be so much more that we won’t see. |  |
After the Scenic Byway, we’ll drop down to the town of Columbus, NM, for an Escapees Chapters 21 and 23 joint rally.Columbus is right across the border from Palomas, home of the well-known Pink Store, where you can get everything from prescriptions and eyeglasses to meals and alcohol at very reasonable rates. It’s also in the area of the 1916 battle with Pancho Villa’s invading forces.
Then we come home to Benson for a while. Shortly after we get home, we hope to meet up with our friends Al and Kelly from Bayfield, Ontario. We’ve never met them, but we feel we know them like old friends, from reading Al’s daily blog, Travels with the Bayfield Bunch. They like to spend the winter down in the great southwestern USA, the center of … Our Life on Wheels!
Look forward to your posts on the area. Looks like something we might want to check out too! Lead the way!
ReplyDeleteConnie and Art
Geronimo was a big hero to us as kids. I'd love to go on that trip when we're in AZ next April. Have fun, take care and drive safely!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your trip, and give our fond greetings to all the folks from Chapters 21 and 23. Don knows the Pink Store, but I've never been there. I'd love to see those ghost towns, too, so I hope you write about your visit to them.
ReplyDeleteYes, we've been to the Pink Store many many times...Gene McCall owner of Square "D" Industries in Columbus was a good friend and done a lot of work for us...
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your trip.....
Hello Jerry & Suzy - thank you for mentioning that you will soon be visiting the Geronimo Trail Scenic Byway! You will be here during one of the most beautiful times of the year.
ReplyDeleteI have a couple of corrections to your post: locals refer to Truth or Consequences as "T or C", not "T&C". More importantly, this community has never been known as Geronimo Springs. It has been known as Ojo Caliente de Las Palomas, Palomas Hot Springs, Hot Springs, and finally, Truth or Consequences.
We look forward to welcoming you to Sierra County!
Gina Kelley
Director of Tourism
Sierra County Tourism Board
Truth or Consequences, NM
Golly. I guess I had better do a better job of research! Thanks, Gina! Maybe we'll get to meet you in a couple of weeks and you can point us to some good adventures in your county!
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