On Wednesday we took Highway 64 west to Farmington and then drove southeast on a very large mesa and then down through a canyon. We, then, traveled back north through the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation which connects back to 64 and back to Chama. It was about a 250 mile trip, not very scenic but interesting. Just about 27 miles west of Chama is the nearest town, Dulce. Dulce has a grocery store but not much other retail shopping. So residents around Chama have to travel to Farmington for anything other than basics. It is 106 miles away. By the way, we did shop at Wal-Mart and stocked up for a while. This northeast part of New Mexico is very desolate. After leaving Dulce we begin to see oil wells and signs of oil production. It is more than just oil wells. We see small and larger fields of oil production equipment and barrels, most we could not figure out exactly what they are. But one thing we can tell is that oil production is big business here right now. It is a good thing because there is nothing else here but barren land. There are a very few small towns along the way but they are mostly abandoned and in disrepair. With it being so far to the only main city it seems not prudent to live in this desolate area. Farmington has a population of about 43,000. It is mostly engaged in the oil production industry and regional shopping and services for those who live in outlying areas.