#1: [15-Jan-00]

11-Oct-2014 -- This would be another confluence adventure with a good friend from college who was also crazy enough to visit 41N 123W with me just over 10 years ago!

Arriving from separate directions in Deming, NM we stayed at the Hampton Inn and prepared for a morning visit by all-terrain vehicles. As we were southbound out of Deming, I was surprised at the amount of agriculture that surrounded us. Pumpkins, corn, and cotton fields were abundant and presented quite a different view than what is visible when passing through on Interstate 10.

The Deming Tethered Aerostat Radar System was visible high in the sky from all directions. It could see in all directions and was on the lookout for smugglers. I wondered if it would track our confluence adventures today?

We stopped immediately south of the Aerostat site planning to head west on County Road 17 but were stopped by a Private Property sign and gate across the road. We decided to backtrack to the north where County Road 18 extends west from Highway 331 which did not have any signs. We offloaded our ATV’s and then followed County Road 18 generally west and then south towards the confluence.

ATVs were the ideal method of transportation, a 4WD drive vehicle could have made most of the trip along the county roads but there were areas where the roads were cut by deep washes.

At the confluence, cows were visible in the distance. The general confluence area was flat and dry hard pan with patches that were very green due to recent rains. The mountains southeast of Deming were prominent looking east. Views to the south and north were open and flat. To the west were the smaller Gap Hill and Round Top Peaks. Picture 5 shows our GPS position.

Total round trip time and distance from where we parked was 2.75 hours and 43km with about 20 minutes spent at the actual confluence. Post processing of the GPS data reveals that the spot where my Trimble recorded positions was 1.7 meters northwest of the actual confluence with a horizontal precision of 2.0 meters.

Onward to the second confluence of the day at 33N 108W!