Since crossing the mountains. I have descended in to the valleys again and sent the last few days following the path of the Rio Grande.
The Rio Grande starts out in the mountains of Colorado, then flows south and east across New Mexico. Upon arrival at El Paso,Texas it then forms the border between Mexico and the United States as it continues its journey to the Gulf of Mexico.
Personally I don't understand Spanish but the name Rio Grande brings images of a mighty river to mind somehow. In reality is the modern Rio Grande little more than a wandering stream in Southern New Mexico. If you were to throw a stick in for your dog, there are places where it is questionable whether he would have to swim to retrieve it.
The stream does, however, run in a ditch big enough to hold a mighty river were one to hand.
As with anything to do with precious water in this arid land, there are lots of possible explanations for where all the water has gone. It depends who you listen to.
A man named Antonino in El Paso told me that two dams upstream in New Mexico are responsible for the river's unimpressive nature.
Activities in the flat and fertile valley suggest another possible explanation, being as it is, heavily farmed. Canals criss-cross the area taking water here there and everywhere. It seems the river has left it's natural ditch and is hard at work in the fields producing food for us.
This is chile country and they grow here in their millions. Growing, dehydrating and packing chiles is a big business. The chile is very much at the heart of the cuisine throughout the south.
The other major product of the valley is the pecan,( pronounced "pCAN" here). Pecan orchards are even more numerous than chile fields.
I rode through an avenue of pecan tress several miles long at one point. Long straight rows of trees,pruned and tendered, stretched off into the distance as far as then eye could see. The higher branches of the roadside trees reached overhead as if to touch, but in vain as even the back roads in the US are too wide for them to span.
This time of year the pecan nuts can be easily seen hanging in the trees as the leaves have recently fallen. Stern signs make it clear that pinching nuts is not allowed. The funny thing is initially I had no intention of taking pecans, the idea hadn't even crossed my mind. But there must be something about forbidden acts that stirs the rebel inside. After a while I became increasingly tempted to just throw down my bike and go pecan-picking crazy.
I restrained myself. A fortune cookie in Silver City had told me, 'The honourable path leads to all you need.'. I am not one to ignore the advice of sage yet delicious confectionery.
Round one bend there was a rustling in the orchard. I was primed for something to rush out of the bushes: I have been chased by dozens of barking dogs on this trip. Some are remarkably persistent. It turns out a great many breeds of dog can maintain a speed of 20-25mph, whilst barking, for a long time!
On this occasion however the noise was actually a vibrating tree.
Not being something you see very day this caught my interest.
Pecans are harvested by a kind of tractor with a specialised attachment. It backs up to a tree and metal jaws take hold of the trunk. Then it vibrates violently- giving the trees a good shake and all the nuts to fall to the floor.
Next another sit-on-top diesel vehicle drives around the orchard sucking up the leaf litter. Somehow it separates the nuts from the leaves, the latter are duly spat back out onto the ground.
In Texas I've seen the job of the second machine being done by hand. Mexican farm workers sit on the floor sorting the individual nuts from the leaves all day long. It looks quite a boring job and I shouldn't imagine they are getting rich doing it either.
Alongside the chiles and nuts grow fields of maize, grape vines, grass for feed and the ubiquitous cash crop cotton. Dairy farms and horse ranches break up the arable from time to time.
All in all this sunny, fertile, irrigated valley produces pretty much everything you need for a good life: water; food; cloth; wood; animals; even a little wine. No doubt it's one of nature's special places.
It was in the Rio Grande valley that I first came across whole communities of Mexican people living in the US. Putting the Mexico in New Mexico. They seem to mostly live and work in the agricultural areas here. Some speak English really well, better than me, others hardly at all.
It was a sunday when I rode through their communities, everyone went to church. People were smiling and waving as I passed by. I noticed they were much more patient and considerate drivers than some other Americans I have encountered.
Sadly I did not eally have the chance to spend any time with these seemingly peaceful people.
As I rode into Texas after two days in the Rio Grande valley I looked back on my short time in New Mexico. I have only seen a tiny part of the state in the five days I've been here.
Overall my impression is that New Mexico is not as bankrupt as Arizona. There were few closed down businesses and a normal amount of lots and houses for sale. The shops are not full of 'beat the recession' special offers.
Perhaps this is because South East New Mexico is a productive place? It has big mountains that produce rivers. It has fertile pastures and grasslands, they must produce a lot of food and provide work for the people.
In a way it makes more sense for people to live in a place like this. Here nature can provide for their needs more easily.
It reminds me of an old Taoist saying," Work with rather than against things that happen and you will have evrything that matters."
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