***Louie wins most photogenic dog this trip***
Every time I go to Albuquerque I think about the awesome chocolate fudge at the Clines Corners Travel Stop. It’s not actually a factory, rather a small candy store with a fudge making machine, but I think it has the best chocolate fudge ever made. I challenge anyone to prove me wrong!
It is a bit out of the way and arguably not in the ‘100 mile detour limit’ so I usually don’t go. Would you ever drive 115mi for candy? To get here you need to hop on I-40 from Albuquerque and go east about 55 miles. The road out is pretty well worn and has a lot of truckers going to Texas.
Have you ever seen a store with 30 advertisement billboards in a row? That’s what the Clines Corner truck stop has. You usually find them in the Midwest out in the middle of nowhere. I’ve never seen any in Boston, New York City, or Chicago. I wouldn’t say Clines Corners counts as a town, but yet it’s on the map. It’s literally a just a truck stop. That’s it!
Once you walk inside you can’t miss the factory. It sits right in the center and usually has a few different flavors. This time it was about $18 per 1/2 pound, which is pretty expensive I guess. There were also scorpion lolly pops and a variety of (I suppose hand made) candies on display to buy.
On the way to the bathroom are a mix of fortune telling games and grip strength testers. I’ve never tried one because it seems like a waste of money. To the right of the candy store (fudge factory) is a mini cafe / gas station store. To the left is a massive souvenir store with fireworks, knives, worthless cheap keychains, toys, t-shirts…you name it and it’s there!
Once I finished inside it was time to head towards Philmont again and there is really 2 ways to go efficiently from here:
A: Route 3 through the middle of nowhere. 55mph speed limit and just you.
B: Route 84 through the middle of nowhere, but has a more level / flat highway with people on it.
Google maps of course took me on option A because it was “faster” and with me behind the wheel it was indeed. After about 35 minutes of very winding roads and hairpin turns I went through the small town of Villanueva with a population of about 339 (in 2020). It is at the bottom of a long windy cliff! I had to slow way way down for that!
At the bottom of the hill is a nice little Main Street and I initially went straight by glancing at a store front real quick.
“Snow cones! I simply must have one!” I thought as a swung a quick u-turn. Inside it was like a really small more personal family dollar and right next to the register counter was an old fashioned ice crusher.
The saleswoman put the ice cubes inside and pressed the level down, which crushed the ice. I wondered what the “Tiger’s Blood” flavor was, but unfortunately it was out so I got lime instead. I’ve got to say it was such a refreshing treat on my way back to Philmont!
Traveling from Villanueva to highway I-25 brought me past a lot of beautiful red stone cliffs that reminded me of the ones I saw in Utah. The road had a very low speed limit because you need to pass through endless small towns. I rejoined I-25 at a junction about 25 minutes before Las Vegas (New Mexico). Once back on the main interstate I turned up the music. At Wagon Mound I added the rest of my Red Bull to the rest of the snow cone to see if it would come out like a Red Bull slush at Sonic. (It didn’t haha)
It took another 2 ish hours to reach the ranch and I was flying at about 80mph. My chosen New Mexico speed! I sadly wasn’t able to beat the sun setting. I ended up rolling into Cimarron at about 7:15pm. All in all just my average drive back from Albuquerque.
Hope you enjoyed! See you next time
Trip Stats
Estimated miles: N/A (This wasn’t preplanned at all)
Actual miles: 227mi (About the same as a normal trip except it took 45 minutes longer)
Pounds of fudge bought: 1 pound
Would I go back for a second snow cone: yes!
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