November 2015 – In our RV travels across New Mexico, we made a fun pit stop at White Sands Missile Range where there is a unique outdoor Missile Park. But before I show you some of the missiles of yesteryear, I have a few more photos to share from our stop in the metal art haven of Tatum, New Mexico.

After 8 months of RVing in the eastern states, it was here that we saw our first really huge, colorful and expressive skies that are so common in the west. Sunsets filled the sky from corner to corner, leaving no part of it untouched by vibrant color…

Vivid color fills the sky at sunset

…on another day, the brooding skies of an incoming storm filled the air with an eerie feeling and then brought a deluge of rain.

Dark and mysterious clouds blanket the heavens

And then there were the fun metal art signs, two of which stand on opposite sides of Eubanks Street in Tatum. In the first, a cowboy approaches his mule with a friendly greeting in hopes of getting some cooperation from the stubborn beast…

Howdy Y’All

In the second, the mule kicks him clear over the moon!

Whooops!!

The metal art in Tatum was such fun. When we drove out of town, we noticed the back of the “Welcome to Tatum New Mexico” sign bidding us goodbye in Spanish:

See ya later, Tatum!

Driving along US-380 we saw lots of ranches with cool metal art signs at the entrances. The Johnson Cattle Company has everything from a turkey vulture sitting on a windmill to Wiley Coyote and The Roadrunner on opposite sides of “The Needmore Outfit.”

This ranch was so big that there were several similar signs at different mile markers along the edge of their property.

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Another biggie was for LA Ranch:

The roundup…

As we approached the mountains, we discovered that the rain that had drenched us in the flatlands had dumped a bunch of snow in mountain peaks. This was the first snowfall of the season and looked very dramatic in the distance at the end of our rippling road.

A first snow covers the mountains

Soon we were passing White Sands where the drifts of sand looked like snow.

The sand at White Sands (is it snow?)

We noticed a sign for White Sands Missile Range and decided to drive down that road, not knowing quite what to expect.

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What fun it was to discover that there is an outdoor missile park at the White Sands Missile Range. Missile testing has gone on at this range for decades. Set out on pads, as if in a rock garden or on a pin cushion, a bunch of old, outdated missiles aim at the sky.

The White Sands Missile Park is a playground full of old missiles that were once tested here.

There are missiles of all kinds, dating from the 1950’s to the 1990’s.

Missiles come in all shapes and sizes. Some are square and boxy….

…others are tall and skinny!

You can walk freely among them, and there is a plaque next to each one explaining what it was and when it was tested at White Sands.

Some have moveable launch pads

And some have sizable fins

Missiles with familiar names like Pershing and Patriot are on display here, along with lots of lesser known missiles. There is a museum too, but we happened to have come on a Sunday which is the only day that the museum is closed. Oh well…Next time!

Yes, it IS Rocket Science here at White Sands Missile Range!

Whenever we visit New Mexico, we always see unusual things, whether it’s exotic rock formations or alien visitors or funky metal art or white sand beaches. The Missile Park fit right into that crazy theme.

But even better was the usual City of Rocks that lay just ahead…

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Other posts from our RV travels in New Mexico:

• Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, New Mexico – A Dog’s Eye View! 11/30/18
• Valles Caldera National Preserve & a Spring Blizzard in New Mexico! 06/28/17
• Bandelier National Monument – Fun Pueblo Cliff Dwellings in New Mexico! 06/21/17
• Tent Rocks National Monument (Kasha-Katuwe) – Hiking Slots & Spires! 06/17/17
• Aztec Ruins National Monument – Whispers from the Ancients in New Mexico! 06/11/17
• Eggs & Aliens in Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness (Bisti Badlands) 05/15/17
• City of Rocks State Park, NM – RV Camping in the Hoodoos! 12/03/15
• It IS Rocket Science at White Sands Missile Park in NM 11/27/15
• Tatum, New Mexico – Metal Art Magic 11/21/15
• Roswell, New Mexico – Aliens, UFO’s, Spaceships and more! 03/11/15
• White Sands National Monument – New Mexico’s Desert Dunes! 03/04/15
• Bisti Badlands NM – Mysterious rocks and an alien egg factory! 10/27/12
• New Mexico – Just Started and In a Hurry! 06/03/07

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October 2015 – After landing in Paris, Texas, we dodged some serious rain storms as we made our way across the state. All thoughts of dallying in the area evaporated when the world’s strongest hurricane, Patricia, showed up on Mexico’s Pacific coast and decided to join forces with another storm so they could march together across the southern states. We alternated between hunkering down and sprinting until we finally got out of harm’s way in New Mexico. There, the fringe edges of the storm created some spectacular sunrises and sunsets.

What a sunset!

Years ago, when we first started RVing full-time, we crossed New Mexico from east to west on US-380 on our first journey after picking up our new trailer outside Dallas. This road is a wonderful alternative to either I-40 or I-10, and it lies right between them, passing through miles and miles of wide open ranch land.

New Mexico has miles of cotton above ground and oil below as well as wind farms in the distance.

What struck me back then was that almost every ranch had a beautiful sign over the gate that was crafted in sheet metal. Each one depicted various scenes from the region, and they gave the landscape a humorous and artsy touch.

When we decided to travel this route once again, I vowed to capture some of these creative metal art signs with my camera as we passed. Unfortunately, the ranch gates come up so fast that after each shot I was moaning, “Darn, this one’s blurry too!” (or cut off, or indistinguishable against the background).

Then we arrived in Tatum, New Mexico.

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As we slowed down going through town, we noticed that every single street was adorned with a wonderful metal art sign.

Every street in Tatum has a cool metal sign at the corner.

How cool is that?! We climbed out of the RV and began walking around town, admiring the fantastic variety of metal street signs on every street corner.

Desert sounds…

Some were images of classic desert creatures and plants, with flying eagles, cholla cactus and howling coyotes featured prominently as they did what desert creatures do in New Mexico. But other signs humorously depicted people living their lives and doing what people do.

Lemme get this cranked up for ya

These little dipper oil drills are very important to life here in New Mexico

I was captivated by the clever street signs and got a huge kick out of walking up and down every street in town to see what kind of image was on display at the next corner.

Taking a break in the shade of a cactus while his mule smells the flowers

When your mule won’t go, take the bike!

A desert deer family on Anderson Street

US-380 goes right through town, but the townsfolk know the road locally as “Broadway,” and a buffalo marked one corner of this important street in town.

A bison guards Broadway

Turning to face another corner on Broadway, I was bemused to see that the letter B had vanished from the sign, and below the flying birds the sign now read, “Roadway.” I looked for the B on the ground all around the sign, thinking that it might have blown off in a windstorm, but it was nowhere to be found.

When you lose your B, you get Roadway

Ths fun metal artwork isn’t limited to street signs. As I walked further afield, I discovered several inviting park benches, each decorated with a different western theme as well.

There were park benches all around, each one unique.

I love it when a town has a theme and has invested in decorating itself with art of some kind or another. But who was responsible for all this funky metal art in this tiny town of 839 people in New Mexico? At the far west end of town, we began to get some clues. We found a big building surrounded with metal art of all shapes and sizes. A sign above the building said, “Metal Art by Tex Welch.”

Tex Welch was the original Metal Art Man in town

I really wanted to meet this guy, Tex, and ask him about the street signs and find out if he was the one who’d made them, and if perhaps he had made the many fabulous arches at the entrances to the ranches we had just passed. Unfortunately, his workshop was closed. We wandered back to his shop a little later, and it was still closed.

Little did we know that winds of change have come to the lively metal art scene in Tatum, New Mexico.

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Down at the opposite end of town, at the far east end, I came across a huge American flag made of painted stones set in the ground. Four flags were flying next to it – the New Mexico and Texas state flags, the American flag and the POW flag. Each was made of sheet metal and flew in a perfect ripple. In front of the flags, a group of soldiers were planting an American flag in the ground, reminiscent of Iwo Jima, and beneath their feet were the words: Support Our Troops.

Wow!

A beautiful patriotic display right on the main drag at the east end of town

Behind this nifty scene there was a building surrounded by metal cactus, crosses, cowboys and turkey vultures. A sign on the building said, “Poor Boy’s Metal Art.”

Poor Boy’s Metal Art is the new game in town.

I tromped around a little bit, hoping to find someone working outside, when I heard happy whistling coming from behind the building. I went around back, and there was a guy hovered over a workbench, whistling to his heart’s content, as happy as a man can be.

I called out to him, and he introduced himself as Juan Manuel Carbajal. That’s a mouthful! I had him repeat it and spell his last name until I could say it right, rolling “r” and all.

“Let me show you my current project,” he said with a huge grin as he gestured towards his workbench. “This is a little finer than the street signs… it’s more indoor art than outdoor.” The bench was covered with smaller pieces. He picked one up and I couldn’t resist taking a photo. He absolutely radiated happiness as he showed off his artwork.

Juan Manuel Carbajal was a sheer delight to talk to.

He told me he was originally from the city of Cuatémoc in Chihuahua, Mexico, but had lived here for decades. He reminded me of our friend Alejandro Ulloa in Ensenada, Mexico, who had done the extraordinary metal fabrication on our boat, creating our solar panel arch with polished welds. He, too, was truly passionate about his work. It isn’t often that you find people who genuinely loves what they do. Juan and Alejandro are two of the lucky ones.

“I apprenticed under Tex,” Juan explained to me when I asked about the metal art workshop at the other end of town. “He’s the one who made all the street signs here. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been well,” he said with a sigh.

I asked Juan if he’d made any of the signs around town, and he said he’s done a few, “And I donated my display with the flags and the troops out in front to the town, so Tatum will have it no matter what happens to me.” How wonderful for the town to be gifted such a unique, patriotic work of art.

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Juan went back to his workbench, and I continued roaming around town. He had said to check out the metal art built into the metal fencing nearby, and there were some terrific images there.

Ride ’em, Cowboy!

Paying respects…

A-prancin’ and a-dancin’

I think he also has done some of the painted metal art that appears around town.

It’s the Mad Bomber!

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New Mexico flag with a roadrunner on a gate

I just love it when we come across unusual people and places like this! I had hoped simply to get a few fly-by images of ranch gates as we traveled on US-380 from Texas to Arizona, but instead we found the heart of the metal art magic in this region and had a chance to talk with one of the artists.

Tatum, New Mexico, is a cool town to visit for RVers heading east-west through New Mexico

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Some other towns with themes that we’ve enjoyed in our RV and sailing travels:

• Sarasota, Florida – The Tube Dude
• Roswell, New Mexico – Invasion of the Aliens
• Guanajuato, Mexico – Minstrels in Tunics and the Renaissance Spanish Poet, Cervantes

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Here’s a little more about Tatum, New Mexico:

• Tatum, New Mexico – Wikipedia Entry
• Where is Tatum, New Mexico? – Google Maps

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