Back on the road to Santa Fe

Richard got up early and walked to downtown Lordsburg, to attend the 8 AM mass and then go to the Ford dealer.

The mass was held in a tiny side chapel. When he arrived, there were five older Hispanic men, very pious, some kneeling. A couple of Hispanic women walked in, and then the priest came in. The mass was in Spanish, by an Anglo priest, with a pretty good accent, although he stumbled on a few words. It was not until the end of the mass that I realized that there was no homily, apparently because the priest was not fluent in Spanish. I spoke to one of the men after mass, and he described the priest as "learning Spanish".

After mass, I went to the Ford Dealer. The part was not there first thing in the morning, but it arrived soon. They installed the brake caliper and took the truck for a road test, including a stop from speed on the Interstate. I paid for the repair, and thanked the service manage and the mechanic for their efforts. I bought a 20 pound bag of Lordsburg pinto beans, filled the truck with gas, and we left the KOA at 11 AM.

We started the day with a tailwind on I-10, took the Hatch cutoff, and stopped in Hatch to buy some of the famous Hatch chili and eat at a local restaurant. The Restaurant was fun, with about half and half Spanish and English. When we turned onto I-25, we ran into a headwind which varied from moderate to severe. The rush hour traffic in central Albuquerque was slow, but we got though without much delay.

We arrived in Santa Fe at 6 AM, and pulled into our usual campground, Los Campos. It was cold and dark, 26F. Richard set us up and plugged us in, while Marianne put aluminum windshield covers on the windows for insulation. We are more or less warm. This was a leftovers night. We plan to drive from Santa Fe to Boulder tomorrow, but we understand that it may be windy.