Visit Clovis, New Mexico
Clovis is a large city for NM. Trains are the big business, followed by cattle, and hosting an air force base. As a result we decided we would get several errands done today.
First we ran around town to various stores picking up some groceries. We were looking for lunch box sized bags of potato chips. We had looked for them a few of our other shopping expeditions, but the previous stores did not carry such things. They only stocked the big party sized bags, or if they had lunch size bags of snacks they only had the variety packs. Unfortunately the variety packs usually only have one or two packages of a flavor either Rob or Deryl will eat. Frustrating when what you want are just plain potato chips. Luckily the Walmart here in Clovis carried just what we wanted.
We went to several other stores to check out the prices and varieties of bourbon. We ended up at the one and only liquor store in Clovis, where they had a nice variety of both tequila and bourbon. We purchased a bottle of Espolon Anejo Tequila and a bottle of Buffalo Trace bourbon.
While we were at the liquor store we learned that there was another grocery store in town other than just Walmart. We looked up the name Lowes on our GPS, and sure enough it found a supermarket named Lowes Supermarket. We wanted to pick up some fresh green beans, but the ones at the Walmart were limp. We followed the GPS instructions and there 4 blocks from the liquor store was Lowes Supermarket. This store was very nice and had some items we don’t see often in New England. For example: a variety of piñatas.
The next task was Laundry. While driving around looking at the railway yard and operations, we passed a laundromat 4 blocks from the RV park.
Therefore after dropping off the groceries, we collected the laundry, and packed a picnic lunch. Rob also removed one of the propane tanks, which was low, to get it filled. Rob dropped Deryl and the laundry at the laundromat, and then drove the tank across the street to an RV dealership. As it turns out the dealership has a nice set of RV parts and also refills propane tanks.
An hour and a half later laundry was clean and folded. The propane tank was full. Our chores for the day were done.
Train watching:
With our chores done we could now relax and enjoy the main attraction of Clovis. TRAINS! Clovis is a major hub for the BNSF train line. As a result the town has between 70 and 90 trains through the yard each day! There are a number of roads in town which cross the tracks. However only a couple cross over the tracks, versus being grade crossings. As a result the roads which cross via bridges are the main streets.
We drove over the west end of the yard, around the sorting tracks, and over the bridge on the east end of the yard.
The bridge over the west end of the tracks had a low guard rail along the walking path. This enabled better photographs of the yard.
There was no good place to park and watch for activity in the sorting yard, so we continued around the yard to the eastern bridge over the tracks. We discovered that the eastern bridge’s walkway had a very high fence which made photographs inconvenient.
In the research Rob did about locations to watch trains in Clovis, Rob learned that the train station had been restored. While Clovis no longer had passenger service, however the station has been kept and restored. Therefore after our circuit of the yard, we drove to the train station to check it out.
The station has been restored and now hosts a restaurant. At the street edge of the parking lot was the antique steam engine in the above photograph. It bares the name AT&SF, Acheson, Topeka & Santa Fe. Many years ago the AT&SF merged with Burlington Northern to become the BNSF, Burlington Northern & Santa Fe.
While parked in the train station parking lot, we dined on our picnic lunch, and had a very good view of the passing trains. Deryl had packed fried chicken, from the 10 pack of chicken we picked up earlier.
While we dined, three trains went by, and we were actually able to count the number of cars in each consist. The larger train was transporting 237 containers. Two crew are able to transport 110 double stacked containers, and 17 of the containers were single stacked. When you consider that the two crew and 2 engine are transporting that much freight, in comparison to having to truck all those containers across the country. The economics is obvious, it is much more cost effective to ship by rail than by truck for long distances. Our speculation is that the trains we saw in Clovis, started out at the Port of Los Angeles. They are likely destined for Chicago, where they will be broken up and the freight fanned out to various other cities.
We spent about an hour and a half in total watching trains moving east and west, before we returned to the the Wols Roost. Back home we unloaded our laundry and stowed it. Rob reinstalled the propane tank. Then we had a quiet hour before we showered and went out to dinner.
Dinner:
We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant named Leal’s Mexican Restaurant. Deryl found it listed on TripAdvisor, and that it was family run with only 2 locations both in Clovis. The restaurant’s parking lot had lots of cars, suggesting that it must be popular. Sure enough there was a wait for a table, but since we wanted to sit at the bar, we could be seated immediately.
We wanted Margaritas, so Deryl asked the bar tender for the Tequila list. The unfortunately bartender informed us that there was, “No Tequila” even though the menu listed several Margaritas! Restaurants in New Mexico need special license to serve anything harder than beer and wine. Mostly what Leal’s serves is beer and their lite Margarita drink. Luckily they did have a few bottles of wine, both red and white. So we ordered a bottle of Pino Grigio.
Rob chose to have the shrimp fajitas, and Deryl chose the Chile Rellenos. Both were delicious, and we enjoyed our dinners. At the end of the meal the bartender offered us a small shot glass of their Margarita drink. While it is not what we are used to we found that it was a nice Margarita flavored light drink.
We returned home and put away the few things that needed stowing before we head out tomorrow.