I picked-up a Ford Focus from Advantage Rent-A-Car as scheduled, and set-out on my journey from El Paso to Artesia. I chose a route that went north to Alamogordo, then east to Artesia.
Here's the route, highlighted on a genuine Advantage Rent-A-Car map.
The portion of the trip from Alamogordo to Artesia involves some rough travel: The Sacramento mountains east of Alamogordo pinch Rt. 82 into a narrow strip of asphalt featuring hairpin turns, steep grades, and precipitous drop-offs. I traversed these 9,000-foot-plus elevations at night, and in November, when there is snow.
I'm an outstanding winter driver, but I wouldn't have ventured into those mountains at night with a defective car.
Under no type of duress would I have ventured into those mountains at night with a defective car.
Thanks to Advantage Rent-A-Car, that's exactly what I did. I tremble when I think about it.
The car was mushy to steer, and it was a lot of work to wrangle it through the mountains. I arrived in Artesia exhausted, after more than five hours of wrestling the car through New Mexico's most desolate terrain. But I made it.
