The day after Christmas, we stopped one more time on the main street of Carrizozo, this little town in New Mexico. Bags packed, we were ready to wind up our road trip, and drive back to Santa Fe. We were the only souls that morning amidst the shock of bold color against a dry desert background. That background also included the faithfully blue skies of New Mexico. I was happy to spend a few days and holiday meals with people that share each other with small town familiarity. So we spent a few solitary minutes communing with this place that others might call the middle of nowhere. Nowhere could actually be any small town in the Southwest. There will hopefully be more to places unknown to me now. And I will again write words of description for places that can only be felt. For now, I leave you with photos of orange walls and red burrows.
Summer, Another Small TownVisit
Step back into summer. Rick Geary, graphic artist, is seen below in front of the newly restored Lyric theater https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Geary. Rick is a resident of Carrizozo. He was present for the opening of the theater on a summer night when we found ourselves again in Carrizozo. Rick is author not only of Murder in the Hollywood Hotel, but a book about Billy the Kid. Billy was known to hide out in the big mountain right outside of town.
Opening Night at the Lyric
Rick Geary with fellow artist Paula Wilson, co-founder of MoMaZoZo, a community arts organization in Carrizozo http://momazozo.com/hello-world/.
They are seen at the reopening of the defunct town movie theatre, the Lyric.
And so goodbye again to Carrizozo. We’ll take the backroads on the trip back to Santa Fe, my favorite way to go. Cows roam around on wide open arid land and seem to be quite content with their lives. We have stopped on occasion and stared at them. They in turn stare back at us with looks of somewhat innocent confusion. I have to say, those fleeting moments are counted as some of my happiest in New Mexico.
