Tag Archives: New Mexico

Grinny’s Land of Enchantment

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I suppose one more post like this – for old time sake.
Grinny’s Land of Enchantment
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The land where horses fly…
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And bulls rage.
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And cowboys are thin and lanky.
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 The lions are colourful .
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 The hitch hiking hard.
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And ranch bosses  mean and cranky. 
Everything is spiky in the Land of Enchantment  since they hardly get any rain (Grinny had prickles in his bottom for days. See below).
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And where Grinny first sees Road Runner giving him the eye  as he flashes by on the side of the  train .
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It was on the border, around the camp fire, that Grinny comes up with his plan.
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He’ll wait on the road, for days if he must, to show Road Runner who’s the real man.
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Three days Grinny waits in the middle of the road, but his adversary never appears. 
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So by consensus Grinny is awarded the race to the thunderous Mexican cheers.
The Mayor of Columbus ( pistol stuck in his boot), an official  of very high station,
Presents Grinny with the  Deformed Carrot Award . . . in keeping with the  situation!
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And the Boy Returns

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Yesterday we went to a barbers shop (after waiting in line for over 3 hours. Dear goodness! Better be the best haircut we’ve ever got!). We entered as men and left as boys. After the haircut it began to sink in that the trip was over. No longer will people come up to us in the street and ask what adventure we’re on. No longer will I have kids come up and tell me how much they love the beard. No longer will we stand out. We’re just Average Joes. Even though I was ready to stop walking, it’s always sad when you realize a significant part of your life is over. Nevertheless that also means another chapter begins (and if that chapter involves a cruise with never-ending-buffets, you know it will be AWESOME!). image Before the chop. While we waited, people kept asking the barber, why he was allowing bums into his store…oh dear (I mean would bums have Osprey backpacks?! Come on!). I won’t miss people thinking your homeless (even though we don’t have a home, we’re not homeless! At least in a “conventional” sense). image image image image Mothers lock up your daughters, Jacob is coming to town. image

Oh Hello Moustache…image Liam is under there somewhere…I think. image Ahhhhh! The horror! Look away – it’s not done yet!image

It’s a close shave!

image The men are gone, and all that’s left are these whimpy boys. I bet they couldn’t even walk 10 miles! image Boy-Face Liam with a “winning” shave. Was it worth waiting 3 hours for? Darn right it was! image Jake with a ‘sporty’ moustache. He was the loser of the 252 day crib bet, so he has to have this fung-Imean delightful moustache for 252 days. Although we are clean shaven and “respectable” looking,  soon afterwards, we had a bum walk up and offer to share his food with us. So maybe we still look like adventurers? Score!

Finally – The Land of Far Beyond!

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In the last hours of the last month of the last year, two figures limped across the Mexican border into Puerto Palomas. It has been an awesome adventure, the likes of which Jake and Liam probably won’t see again. To think that the trip is over is unthinkable.  To think that this is Mexico is absurd.  To think that we walked 5400 kilometers over 252 days to get here is outrageous. We have no idea how life off the trail will be. As Frodo said (more or less), “How does one pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart you realize there is no going back. There are some adventures that go too deep that have taken hold.” I guess we will just have to see what happens. Thanks everyone for all the well wishes and the support! It’s amazing how many people have been interested in our story and have sent us kind words! I hope you all find adventures of your own – whatever they may be!

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Nearing the end. It’s hard to imagine that 8 months of walking is coming to a close…

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1/2 mile! OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!

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The Mexican border guards. We did it. We are here. So surreal. The guards all took selfies with us. Neato!

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Celebrating in the hotel room. We bought the best champagne Walmart had (which was 10 bucks) to celebrate! The only thing open was a gas station. So our celebratory meal was a can of tuna…not quite what we dreamed of for 8 months…Oh well. At least we had the bubbly!