El Camino Real Historic Trail Site

• Ayden Cengic, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2017

"I don't get you." Alf said.

The car, a Chevrolet Aveo with a busted fender and a dusty back window, was going 60 miles an hour on I-25, the sun pelting down from the sky and the car wheels digging up New Mexico dust. Inside was a backseat filled to the brim with bags, boxes, the like. Bits and bobs needed for a long trek.

"I don't know what there is to get." Caine replied, chewing a toothpick, left hand on the steering wheel as the other was perched on the door's arm rest.

"Well... huh." Alf scratched his head, bald, stubble itching like dulled sandpaper against his finger. "Sorry, nevermind."

It had been a drive. Albuquerque to San Antonio, family matters. The two themselves were halfway to El Paso, the golden sands of the desert sweeping as far as they could see, few cars accompanying them on the road as they sped through.

"We're heading up on, er... El Camino Real Historic Trail Site," Alf said.

"Eh?"

"Says here." Alf pointed to his phone, Google Maps highlighting a red dot in the middle of a gray waste. "Should we check it out?"

"Nah," Caine said, unflinching. "We wanna get to S.A. fast, right?"

"Well, yeah, yeah... but this could be interesting." Alf squinted at the screen. "Hopefully," he said, under his breath.

"I mean... well, I'd ask for you to give the phone here but-"

"Yeah, no. I know."

"But, like, how interesting would some spot in the middle of the desert be, anyway?"

"No. No, dude. It'd be fun. There's gotta be, like, something."

"I doubt it." Caine squinted. "It'll probably be, just... boring."

"Okay, sure." Alf sniffed, quickly. "It could be boring. Could be. But looks are deceiving, dude. They are. Do you think those, uh, those Dutch guys thought New York would be cool when they first saw it?"

"What?"

"No really, think about it. It was just some peninsula in the middle of nowhere when they found it. Textbook definition of 'dump'."

"Well, no," Caine said, adjusting his cap, a Denver Nuggets Trucker with some light wear. "I mean, when they found it, it probably looked... well, probably looked pretty cool. Trees and all. Perfect for colonisation. You have to realise that back the-"

"Back then? Dude, like, do you think that's what they thought when they came all the way out from Rotterdam, or Amsterdam, or some other dam?"

"Yeah, dude. Things had, uh..." Caine scratched his nose. "They had different definitions. People didn't think 'oh this is boring', they thought 'oh this would be a nice place to build condos'."

"I mean, I guess," Alf sighed. "But... come on, man. Wait, hold on."

There was some incessant tapping before the website came up; a green and tan header with a decent colour palette. It wasn't long before a block of text came up - three words. Closed for renovations.

"Sh-... damn," Alf sighed.

"Huh?"

"The place is closed for a while."

"Damn. Well, I guess we can't go th-"

"How about..." Alf grinned. "How about on the way back? If it's open, I mean."

Caine gave it a moment before sighing, lips curling and eyes rolling. "Fine," he said.