The 80 E from Bisbee takes you to a town on the border of Mexico and Arizona called Douglas. In the center of town there is a mural, with the Mexican flag and the American flag, and the words, "One City, Two Flags."

After that city it's desert and a lot of it. Desert, with no cell service. I wondered if I was on the right road a lot of times. The rock formations are big and they feel even bigger because there isn't much around, there isn't much around but there is so much. I kept stopping right in the middle of the road just to pause and admire and take a breath and laugh and feel humble.

The road connects with the 10E and then eventually a few other roads lead me to the 25 N in New Mexico where I made my way to Truth or Consequences. Prior to arriving in the city I had been in contact with a wonderful woman who has a 9 year old son, that told me of a place called Wildflowers that offers community art classes for young people and their families. That woman also offered to have me to stay in her families home.

I arrived a few minutes before time to get my pencils sharpened and materials ready. Children from the ages of 3 -12 created portraits of themselves with everything from watercolors to watercolor pencils to colored pencils and pen.

That night the boy in the families home that I stayed had a little league game so I got to be a spectator at one of my favorite past times Baseball, under the lights, on a warm spring night.

Next day there was a fiesta in the town. Every year on the first weekend of May Truth or Consequences has a fiesta this was the 68th annual. Good timing for me to see some flavor of the community. There was a parade and a boat race made out of "junk" materials. That afternoon the family I stayed with took me to the Marina at Elephant Butte Dam, the dad works there. We were going to go kayaking but the winds were howling so we settled on just enjoying the time at the Reservoir and the view. That afternoon it rained which was

surprising.

This town is known for it's natural hotsprings. People come from all over just to experience the healing properties of the springs. I went to River Bend Hot Springs which has large stone pools over looking the Rio Grande. Just as I got into the pool, Turtleback mountain was glowing yellow as the sun was setting behind, the sky was dark grey and a full rainbow perfectly framed the mountain. It was incredible!!!

The night ended back at the home I was staying at with a family favorite game of Clue! A fantastic way to end the day in Truth or Consequences.

Oh yeah, it was Miss Scarlet in the Dining Room, not the Conservatory, I almost won!