In our ongoing effort to travel a judicious amount during 2020, we are heading east this afternoon on the Old West Highway to Duncan, Arizona. This is the hometown of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the court, but she’s not the reason we are heading out there. We are going to Duncan because it’s there.
We’re not really sure what we’ll do other than check into the Historic Simpson Hotel, where we’ll be sleeping in the Old Library Room for only $70 a night. Maybe we’ll head over to the Catwalk Recreation Area out by Mogollon, New Mexico, which, by the way, is one of our hopeful destinations this year, but they only operate seasonally. Hatch, New Mexico, is known for its famous chilies that could draw us in for food; it’s only about 140 miles away. Then there’s the Coronado Scenic Byway heading north out of town towards Alpine, Arizona, which might make for a nice drive, especially as it’s likely snowy up that way.
No matter what we ultimately do, we are at least getting out of town, and as we settle into our four-hour drive, we’ll be holding hands, trying to figure out which small town along the way will be adequate for our dining needs. Well, figuring it out might have been a thing had I not called our hotel and asked for recommendations, and I think I’ve already settled on La Paloma in Solomon, Arizona. If I can stick to this choice, Caroline will be incredibly grateful as wishy-washy John, who has been known to become a wee bit hangry when food uncertainty stands between him and a solid decision, can be a stressor for the wife. It’s shortly before 3:00 so I think I’ll go ahead and mosey on over to Caroline’s office and see if I can pry her away.
After the hustle of traffic out of the valley, we were able to cut out the frantic nature of our Friday departure and start to find the solace of the open desert that greets people leaving the Mesa area east of Phoenix. Up through some bouldery canyon area near Superior into the old west town of Globe before hitting the San Carlos Apache Reservation, we were leaving sunset behind us.
We stuck to our guns as far as restaurant choice went and were surprised by the effort. La Paloma is situated in a dark residential area and is quite the find. If you arrive by cover of darkness as we did, you may not believe you’ve even arrived; it’s that non-descript. Inside the front door, there were nearly a dozen others waiting for a table. We joined the wait and after finally being sat and waiting a fairly good time for our meal, we were soon talking of returning on Sunday for lunch.
The road forks somewhere east of Solomon, with one spur heading to Clifton and Morenci while the other cuts a nearly straight line through the inky moonless night. Three cars passed us in the 40 minutes it took us to approach within a few miles of New Mexico. After a good long time away from quiet, lonely roads out in the middle of nowhere, it felt good to find ourselves being reacquainted with a part of us that used to be quite familiar with such situations. As the nearly colorless desert scrolls by, it’s almost like an old song you want to sing along with, even if you no longer remember all the words.
The Simpson Hotel in Duncan is a charmer. They hosted a poetry reading tonight featuring author Joyce Benvenuto reading from her newest book, Road to Duncan. While we missed the reading, we had a pleasant chat with her and her daughter Juliette after our arrival. Now that they’ve gone upstairs, we are sitting in the lobby of the hotel with a cat curled up in a plush chair and a wall clock that sounds with a firm tick-tock.
It’s approaching 11:00, and my eyes are heavy, but the ambiance here draws us to keep plodding away, with me trying to add a few more details to the day and Caroline sewing the finishing touches on a handwoven dishcloth.