So! My adventure continued down towards New Mexico on Friday. I left Goodyear Arizona and continued my trip out east. I passed Phoenix and then Tucson and then finally making my way out towards the New Mexico border. While stopping to fill up on gas one of the people there noticed my plates and was like “wow your a long way from home”. I explained why I was out there and said I was really from Boston and his response is. “Your from Boston? But you don’t have the accent.” That has actually been the number one response I have been getting from people as I move farther down south and they find out I am from Boston, I particularly find it funny.
So I finally crossed into New Mexico and as I am driving I am starting to notice certain signs. I would be driving and then I would see a sign that said “For the next 15 miles sudden dust storms can occur”. then another sign “no visibility!!!” another sign “use EXTREME caution” then finally ” DO NOT STOP”. Now that is the one that throws me. Do Not Stop???? If you are suddenly entrapped in a sudden dust storm and can’t see wouldn’t it make more sense to stop so you don’t start crashing into cars in front, behind and next to you? Luckily I did not encounter any dust storms but I saw those signs quite a few times and in one instance I saw those signs then farther down the road I saw a overturned destroyed car it did not really fill me with confidence.
As I made my way out further I started to notice allot of lights in the distance. At first I thought it was a police checkpoint of some kind. Then as I got closer I realized it must have been an accident. As I passed by I understood why there were so many police and ambulances there. There was a truck and a van or what was left of both of them. Both of them were overturned crushed and pieces of both vehicles were EVERYWHERE. I don’t know what could have caused such an accident, but the scariest part was realizing that this must have just happened and whoever was in those vehicles were both trapped inside. Also as I passed I saw the long long loooooong line of other cars and trucks that would most likely be sitting there for three hours.
Lastly on my travels. I was about twenty minutes away from my hotel when I noticed the highway was being sectioned off and all cars were being detoured to a checkpoint up ahead. I figured it was something related with produce because I had to go through a checkpoint like that back in Oregon. I pull up and its actually a border patrol guard. He does a double take when he sees the Mass plates and up front just asks ” Excuse me sir are you a United States Citizen?” I responded that yes I was. He looked at my van and asked ” Whats in the Van?”. I responded that I was part of a crew taping a TV show. There was this awkward pause and then he let me go. I really wanted to say to him, “Hey buddy your in the wrong state Arizona is back that way!” I don’t understand why there would be a border patrol checkpoint after I had been in New Mexico for close to two hours and way past the border of the two states.
So that was my trip to New Mexico. I finished my third Audio Book “Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter” and started David Crosses “I Drink For A Reason”. Honestly thank god for these audio books or the time would never pass. Also I went in time again! I went forward this time so now I am only two hours behind everyone back home. Speaking of home, I saw this next to me as I parked.
I know its just a license plate but its a New York license plate. Ever since I arrived in Washington I have not seen any plates that are remotely close to home, so seeing another North East plate was just like “hey your far away from home too, me too!”I met up with the rest of my crew ate some dinner and went to bed to get ready for our first segment for Episode 3.
Our first segment was another sanctuary. Now this one was a little different compared to the other one. The last one had hundreds and hundreds of cats, this place was allot smaller. This place was very nice though, all the owners and volunteers were very nice and friendly, and the cats were freaking adorable. Whats also unique about this place is it has one of the highest adoption rates in the state. They have a very good record of getting allot of cats good and deserving homes. I spent a good amount of time getting B Roll of Cats but most importantly Kittens! I am quite happy with some of the Kitten footage I got today and really hope some of it gets used when edited. We talked with the owners the volunteers and even did some singing. After the Sanctuary we went to a volunteers house to talk about adoptions, fostering and some very nice success stories. Finally for our last segment we went to a local pet store that works with the sanctuary and help them adopt out cats. All and all a nice good start to our third episode. After the shoot the crew and I made our way to our new hotel. On our route too the new hotel we actually passed through the Lincoln National Forrest. What made it eerie was how for a good half hour there was so many trees and farms that it reminded me of some rural parts of New York. That did not last that long though and it soon changed to desert flat lands. We made it to our hotel and that was the end of our first day of episode three.
Tomorrow is just strictly a travel day. Myself and the rest of the crew are driving out of New Mexico and making our way into the giant state of Texas. So a good start to what I think will be a great episode. And now this adventurer needs sleep.
