Re: The road from Gato to Dulce in DRGW times

From Juanita east the road climbed into the hills. In 1970 a buddy and I tried to follow the ROW, taking note of the cars left on the abandoned road with an eye to cataloguing all the remaining equipment. We ended up at the top of a mountain looking up at a forest service tower. We turned and started back down expecting to have to backtrack to get around to Dulce and on into Chama, a many mile trip.

We hadn't gone a half mile and a propane tank truck pulled in behind us on the narrow dirt road, seemingly in a hurry to get somewhere. We stopped and asked him where he was going and he said, "Dulce," in a Texas twang. We told him that was where we were headed and he said, "Wal, y'all can foller me," and off he went, staying on the dirt road for a half mile or so then making a hard left into the brush.

Now he was driving a 4-wheel-drive, high wheeled propane tanker and we were in a 66 Chevelle. I said, "What the hell," and we turned and went after him down what turned out to be a creekbed through a heavily forested ravine! He dropped down that mountain like a bucket down a well and us right behind him. I was bound and determined that we should not lose sight of the truck, lest we get seriously lost in the woods so we kept up his pace, bouncing and jouncing over rocks and into ditches, more flying than driving and I just knew that John's experience with the oil pan was surely going to befall us.

All of a sudden we broke out of the trees and we were sitting in the middle of beautiful downtown Dulce! A quick check of the underbody revealed no leaks - some dents, but no leaks. Thank you Lord and truck drivers! But that ol' 396 Chevelle always rode kinda funny after that.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/09/2017 11:15PM by Herb Kelsey.