Solo Motorcycle Trip across New Mexico to Arizona's Roughest Boomtown

Added: 2026-05-30

[00:00:17]It's unbelievable.

[00:00:22]Still, I would not want to spend time in here.

[00:00:25]This is my supposedly haunted hotel room for the night.

[00:00:39]Good morning from my hotel room in Rio, New Mexico, where I'll be starting today's ride and heading west with the final destination today of Clifton, Arizona. Along the way, I'll be riding through mountains, high plains, desert, and more mountains. I'll even make a stop along the way to see VALA, which is the very large array. If you don't know what that is, stay tuned.

[00:01:08]Underway.

[00:01:10]Pretty decent weather. There's rain in the area, but it's pretty scattered.

[00:01:16]So, hoping I get lucky.

[00:01:21]It is quite windy this morning.

[00:01:24]Currently, it's 35 mph wind gust and by about noon, it's forecasted to get to 40 to 45 mph wind gust.

[00:01:37]I was speaking to a gentleman at the hotel that works there and he was talking to me about the wind and he said, "Well, at least it won't be 60."

[00:01:49]So, I suppose that's one way to look at it. That's finding the silver lining.

[00:01:57]It's going to be a great day.

[00:02:28]I've been to Rio twice before with my family, never on a motorcycle. Uh it's it's really a great spot for families, anybody. But I'm just saying if if you were to do a want a trip with your family, uh this is a good spot with kids.

[00:02:45]Uh there's definitely plenty of deer in the area. So you want to be mindful of that when you're riding around here.

[00:02:54]If you're in Riadoso and have an affinity for history, or in particular so-called American Wild West history, you may be interested in visiting the town of Lincoln, New Mexico, which is approximately a 40minute drive away.

[00:03:09]Lincoln was a key location in the story of Billy the Kid and was the epicenter of the feud that became known as the Lincoln County War. I enjoyed my visit to Lincoln several years ago, but because it was in the opposite direction I was heading, I chose not to revisit the town on this trip.

[00:03:43]Once out of the mountains, the wind was more of an issue, but still manageable, albeit annoying. I only made it about 45 minutes into the ride before I did something truly astonishing, at least for me. I stopped to put on rain gear before it started raining. I saw rain in the distance, and upon checking radar, I decided to act like a realist rather than a gambler. A few short minutes dawning rain gear and dry conditions at a gas station certainly beats standing on the edge of the roadway fighting with rain gear in a sudden downpour.

[00:04:41]Not long after putting on my rain gear and riding through the lava fields near Kerizo, I encountered the showers I expected. It was just enough rain to wet things, but not heavy enough to cause any problems, and the wind actually died down a bit. As I continued west towards San Antonio, not that San Antonio, the rain dried up and the clouds began to dissipate.

[00:05:32]By the time I passed Sakorro, I couldn't spot any showers on the horizon.

[00:05:38]Though there were still plenty of clouds, there was also plenty of blue sky, and the entire basin seemed to be glowing gold.

[00:05:47]The road wasn't anything exciting. One could even describe it as mundane.

[00:05:53]But the scenery and the perfect light, that was an experience to remember.

[00:05:59]After a brief stop for gas and Magdalina, I continued west toward the very large array. I wasn't quite sure what to expect once I got to the VA, but for some reason, I just felt like it was something I needed to see in person.

[00:06:46]The very large array is one of the world's most famous radio astronomy observatories and has been featured in various films, perhaps most notably the movie Contact. It is primarily funded by the US federal government through the National Science Foundation.

[00:07:02]Construction began in the early 1970s and the observatory was formally dedicated in 1980.

[00:07:10]Its location on the remote high desert plains of western New Mexico was chosen because it has very little radio interference from cities and electronics.

[00:07:24]Its design features 27 giant radio antennas arranged in a large Y-shaped pattern along railroad tracks which allows scientists to move the dishes farther apart or closer together depending on the type of observations needed.

[00:07:41]Each antenna stands 94 ft tall or 28 1/2 m tall when pointed straight up.

[00:07:50]Each antenna gathers faint radio signals from space, and computers combine the data from all 27 dishes to function like one enormous telescope several miles wide.

[00:08:04]Scientists use the array to study black holes, galaxies, supernova remnants, star formation, and even the radio emissions of planets and comets. Because radio waves can pass through dust clouds that block visible light, the observatory can reveal regions of space that ordinary optical telescopes cannot easily see.

[00:08:44]From the VA, I continued west a few miles to the community of Dattle, where I turned onto New Mexico State Road 12 to start making my way to the southwest.

[00:08:54]Other than a few scattered ranches, there weren't many signs of people in this area. After a few minutes, I decided to count the number of vehicles I encountered on the road.

[00:09:05]I reached a count of five vehicles in 22 minutes before giving up that endeavor.

[00:09:11]About the time I thought I'd put all the rain behind me, I saw showers on the horizon. It had been at least half an hour since I last had cell service, so looking up a weather radar wasn't an option. Besides that, it didn't really matter. I never bothered removing my rain gear from earlier in the day, and this was the road I had to take.

[00:09:34]As luck would have it, this shower was almost as brief as it was mild.

[00:09:40]As rain gave way to partly cloudy skies, I noticed the landscape transformed from austere plains to forested mountains, and I was again riding on dry pavement.

[00:10:03]Heat.

[00:10:22]Heat.

[00:10:41]The ride down New Mexico State Road 12 was relaxing.

[00:10:45]Gentle curves made for an engaging ride, but not so demanding that it kept me from enjoying the scenery.

[00:10:53]The small town of reserve offered the first chance for gasoline and almost 70 miles, but I was still okay on fuel and I didn't feel the need for a break. So, I kept riding south Hey.

[00:11:40]Hey. Hey.

[00:11:44]Heat. Heat.

[00:12:16]Heat. Heat.

[00:12:39]About 15 mi south of Glenwood, I turned west on State Route 78.

[00:12:46]More light showers greeted me as I covered my final miles in New Mexico.

[00:12:52]A few miles into Arizona, a yellow Porsche suddenly appeared in my mirror.

[00:12:58]It was obvious he planned a more spirited descent of the mountain, so I moved to the side and slowed for him to pass.

[00:13:06]Moments later, I caught a glimpse of him rounding a curve like a scene from a car commercial.

[00:13:12]You know, the commercials with the classic rock song blaring with quick altering video clips of aerial shots, a close shot of a hand on a gear shifter, then the foot pressing on the accelerator before quickly cutting to a shot of a spinning tire and sounds of a revving engine.

[00:13:31]That was the last I saw of the yellow Porsche. After that, I had the road to myself and enjoyed the stunning scene before me. In total, State Route 78 is only 35 miles long, but it packs a punch thanks to some amazing views.

[00:15:42]Clifton, Arizona was founded in 1873 as a copper mining town along the banks of the San Francisco River. The town became one of the Arizona territo's most important mining communities from the time of its establishment through the end of the 19th century. Clifton had a well-earned reputation as a rough frontier mining town with plenty of saloons, boarding houses, prostitutes, gamblers, and frequent labor disputes which led to violence. At the turn of the 20th century, the Denver Trabune described Clifton as the toughest town in the territory.

[00:16:20]Today, copper mining is still the key driver of the local economy. In recent years, the town has sought to bolster historical preservation, which provides interesting glimpses into the past.

[00:16:36]I have this old excavating shovel right out here and it is huge.

[00:16:44]I think I can set up my phone to show you the scale. Um, but God, it's unbelievable. I'm going to try and set it up so you can see how huge this is.

[00:16:56]And I'm sure the ones that they're using now for mining dwarf this thing. It's not right next to it, but that old camper there, it's pretty close. So, that gives you an idea of the size of that shovel.

[00:17:14]This excavator shovel was in operation from 1958 to 1980.

[00:17:20]During its 22 years of use in the Mariny mining pit, it moved over 88 million tons of material.

[00:17:42]The Clifton Cliff Jail is exactly what it sounds like. Constructed in 1881, the jail was carved out of the side of a rock cliff using explosives and a pickaxe. The jail consists of two cells, the smaller of which was used for violent offenders, and the larger cell held people charged with less serious crimes.

[00:18:05]Local legend claims that upon completing the jail, the man that built it celebrated at a local dance hall. In his drunken celebration, he began firing his gun into the air and was subsequently arrested, making him the first occupant of the jail he built.

[00:18:22]The jail was used until 1906 when a flood struck the town and filled the jail with mud.

[00:18:30]This is the inside of one of the jail cells. There's two of them here in this cliffside jail.

[00:18:38]Um, this one has two holes, which I assume are ventilation shafts. The other cell does not have any holes.

[00:18:49]Um, surprised by how much headroom there is in this cell and just how much room it is overall.

[00:18:56]Still, I would not want to spend time in here given the fact that when this was originally in use, there was not electricity. So along with it being very dark, I imagine there was a lot of soot from whatever they were using to light the area.

[00:19:41]The Clifton Hotel was built in 1890 during the height of Arizona's copper mining boom.

[00:19:48]Built near the San Francisco River, it originally served miners, cowboys, and travelers moving through the rugged mining country.

[00:19:58]Over the decades, the building changed uses several times, functioning as a hotel, apartments, a halfway house, and housing for children in transition.

[00:20:10]Following a catastrophic flood in 1983, the building sat abandoned until 2017 when new owners fully restored the property and returned it to its original use as a hotel.

[00:20:23]The inside of the hotel is adorned with antique furniture and decor as well as old photographs of Clifton and residents from the early years of the town.

[00:20:44]Well, this is my supposedly haunted hotel room for the night.

[00:20:50]There are people that claim the Clifton Hotel is haunted. During my stay at the hotel, I had one haunting experience.

[00:20:59]An old photograph in my bathroom.