site for the disposal of Trans-Uranic waste. The waste arrives by truck and train...
...destined for everlasting interment thousands of feet beneath The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, outside Loving, NM.
I'm unable to visit the site for my Permanent Markers project, so I head south on the Jal Highway, looking for Twin
Wells Road, nearby which is purported to be a plaque for Project Gnome, an underground atomic test site.
It doesn't take long before I discover the inspiration for the naming of Twin Wells Road.
Isolated derricks punctuate the endless, flat horizon.
Besides the dirt roads, they are the only signs of man.
I continue several dozen miles, into the scrub and wind, following my GPS with all the faith of the converted.
It leads me here.
I find out after a few miles why the sign exists when at 40 mph, I encounter deep sand. I'm lucky not to drop the bike.
I hold her up, mildly concerned by the fact that there is nowhere to turn around. I continue on, through the sand for
another mile before the road ends at a cattle watering. With a little effort, I turn around. It's a bit nerve-wracking
driving through sand, surrounded by such isolation. I'm glad to be back on the gravel of Twin Wells road heading
south to Jal.
You'll never mistake Jal for New York City. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.
After a day of welding for oil field services, you can pick up a couple of six-packs of TNT.
I beat it south, to the Texas state line.
The first town I encounter is Kermit,
...where not much goes on.
I continue south, past Pecos, following Highway 17 to Fort Davis before stopping at this abandoned building.
I have no clue as to how long the structure has been in disrepair, but it seems like quite a while.
I use the facilities.
In my opinion, the place never looked better.
When my hands have warmed up, I get back on the bike and continue south, into the Fort Davis mountains.
