Storytime with Papa Wes
Twenty five or so years ago, we were headed to Red River, New Mexico for the annual Ski Trip. The route would take us from New Braunfels to Las Vegas, NM and then up to Mora, NM. It had started snowing in Las Vegas and we were way behind our normal schedule. It was already around 9 or 10 PM.
This is bad due to falling temperatures. It is routine for Northern New Mexico temperatures to get up above freezing in the afternoon and then drop back down after dark. The slush and run off would freeze over causing ice just under an inch or so of any new snow.
Once we reached Mora, I turned our mini van north on NM 434. A 2 lane winding road that rises significantly in elevation as it nears the community of Black Lake, some 30 miles north. The road starts off starts out at 7100 ft and climbs to 8600 ft. During the day it is a very scenic drive with Coyote Creek running right next to the road and then under to run along the other side.
There are also cliffs that come up to the road, old villages and buildings. But most of the road is a narrow two lane with many miles between houses. There are no guard rails and where there were fences, they were set considerably off the roadway.
On this night as we turned onto 434 and headed north, with the snow starting to get heavier I was driving considerably slower than normal. If the speed limit was 40 mph, I was doing 20. For nearly 15 miles we never passes another car and could not see any lights from the few houses we passed.
At about the halfway point is a small village of Guadalupita. There might have been 10-15 residents at the time. It looked deserted. After that things got even more sparse. There were no more houses for 20 miles. Very few ranch access gates and no cell phone service.
Our Mini Van was a 6 cylinder, street tires and not equipped with snow chains. There were two Adults and three children in the vehicle. It was dark and the snow had started coming down hard. With the bright lights on (Not recommended) I could barely see the trees and sometimes the fences. I would gauge where the road was supposed to be.
I was also watching for potential turn around points if it got any worse. These would have to be on the left side (uphill) so I could use gravity to help with any turn around. Even with all the negative things, we were taking it slow and making progress. I had not had any traction or driving issues.
Somewhere around 9 miles past Guadalupita, things went bad very fast. I rounded a corner and saw lots of blinking lights. A truck had slid off the road on the uphill side and into a ditch and embankment. Several other trucks and a Jeep were trying to get the car back on the road. However, without momentum, they were not making much progress.
This forced me to go to the downhill side to try and give them room. As soon as I tried the brakes, I felt the van slide before catching. This was not good!!!! I found a tree right up next to the road and parked with it blocking the van from sliding any more.
I got out and went to see if I could help. With everyones help, we got the truck out and down the road. Several people came over and said thanks and asked our plans. I told them where we were going and they said it had gotten really worse in the last hour. Most everything was ice.
So I tried walking up the next hill. If we got to the top of the hill, we could Make it to the next town. I probably made it a hundred feet before I busted my butt and slid almost over to the cliff edge. That made the decision for me. We were going back to Mora.
Back in the van I passed out assignments. Son and Daughter on window duty helping to make sure I stayed on the road. Wife with flash light keeping an eye on the drop off distance. One mad and his wife had stayed to make sure we made it. They got behind me and I followed their tail lights.
We tried three times to turn around and barely got out each time. So I was forced to back down this road with now blowing snow, 20 and later temperatures in the teens with the windows open. The mirrors had iced over and were useless. Several times I would try the brakes and start sliding. So no brake action, just low gear.
Four hours later, we made it back to Guadalupita. The couple that stayed with us, drove ahead and made coffee. They gave us coffee and hot chocolate and said they did not have any more room as they had already taken in two other families. The man and I talked and we both agreed that I could make it back to Mora after we turned around.
Arriving back in Mora, we found a motel with one room and one king bed. We all walked in and passed out. The next day we woke up, had breakfast and used an alternate route to finally get to Red River.