Yes, we took that drive today, all the way to Las Vegas. [That's Mora on the left, Las Vegas below.]
There’s not much to tell, really, but we had an enjoyable afternoon. The drive over the mountains to get to Las Vegas is like nothing most people in this country get to experience: up and over some fine high country scenery, mostly unspoiled nature and very little traffic. The only thing we did wrong was forgetting to grab a snack at the Plaza Hotel bar and stopping at the world’s worst Sonic drive-in instead. Who knew that my coffee cup would be filled to the absolute brim, causing a fair wallop of it to splash into my lap when I tried to pick it up?! Dang.
To get there, we had to drive pretty much the whole length of the Mora Valley. I’d really like to do a photo series on the towns of Holman, Cleveland, and Mora, but I’d almost rather come back in my beat-up pickup truck for camoflage. For one thing, Mora County demands a certain respect. Besides, it offends my sense of other people’s privacy — and no doubt theirs! — to zero in on their lifestyles right in front of them, and the good stuff there is right in your face. There are so many things to photograph in those environs, too. Maybe I’m just stupid-shy, but I feel a great reluctance to intrude. (There’s a few shots up now at FotoFeed, however, and Las Vegas images are coming next.)
Las Vegas itself (San Miguel County) is something of a weird place. I can’t make heads or tails of it, myself. Coronado came through with his conquistadors in 1541, to give you just a taste of the powerful history in these parts. There’s even a university, believe it or not — New Mexico Highlands — and tons of funky old buildings like the one above. It’s utterly different from Taos, culturally and otherwise. Not in the mountains, but almost, right on the edge of the plains. Very westernesque, however, in an entirely different way.
A bit disorienting, too, but what the hell.
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