For reasons that continue to elude me, decided to attend the 50th reunion of our high school class in Portales, New Mexico. I had only returned to my birthplace two to three times since the early eighties and those occasions were usually funeral related. The goal was to try and jam in as many tourist stops as possible considering this was a two-day drive out, two-day there, and two-day drive back kind of trip.

Expected stops were Walnut Canyon National Monument in Flagstaff, Hubbell's Trading Post National Historic Site in Ganado, Parker's Farm & Greenhouse in Edgewood, semi-ghost town of Claunch NM, Oasis State Park in Portales, New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo, and the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site in Three Rivers NM. Reservations were made to camp at Bluewater Lake State Park and Conchas Lake State Park in NM with the thought being to camp where ever on the last night on the road. That turned out to be the marginal Super 8 motel in Socorro instead of the more likely Three Rivers Campground in the Lincoln National Forest.

A few things learned: New Mexico state parks, at least the ones I stayed in, offer much more bang for the buck than Arizona ones; rural back roads are so much better than they were 50 years ago; high school angst is still high school angst.

It was worth it but I probably would not do it again.