Anne Richie Balgos
This article begins a new series for this column. What started as 3:22: Ink Drops and Paper Scraps, a space for my after-school reflections, now gradually moves from the classroom into the world around me. With the new title Wayfinding, I continue to meet people and listen to their stories, with hopes to finding directions in this town I’m learning to call home.
Today, my family and I didn’t just meet the executive director of Transit Rockin’ 66 Express, we also had the chance to go around Grants, including Mt. Taylor, Milan, Bluewater, and San Rafael Villages. What meant to be the first bus ride for my family became a meaningful one as Mrs. Melissa Porter shared stories about the bus service and how it found its way into the community.
Called the Carrot Bus or Carrot Express by many locals, the service was originally named to honor Milan, once known as the carrot capital of the world. The name changed when the community was invited to suggest alternatives, and a police officer came up with Rockin’ 66 - a name that truly mirrors the character of the community it serves.
Mrs. Porter said they can cover around 100 trips per day across the places we visited. Passengers are picked up for grocery shopping, bank errands, healthcare appointments, and bill payments. The buses are accessible, comfortable, and disability-friendly. They serve not only passengers who need checkups, but also those undergoing treatments like dialysis and physical therapy, among others.
Rockin’ 66 operates Monday through Friday, from 7:30AM to 5:30PM, with scheduled pick-up and drop-off points at key community locations like Walmart, Smith’s, local clinics, and residences. Fares are very minimal and are paid in cash or with prepaid passes available through their office. Fares are $2.00 roundtrip for Bluewater Village and $0.75 each way for both Mt. Taylor Addition and San Rafael. Reservations can be made in advance, and every route is thoughtfully planned with passengers in mind.
While Mrs. Porter was explaining all this, I couldn’t help but admire, right from my passenger seat, how her work intertwines with everyday tasks and needs, the ones we often overlook. I also paid attention as she answered every call with calm and familiarity, like she knew every passenger’s schedule better than they did. I wished, right then, that I could be that organized in my own classroom, knowing what each of my students needs and how best I can help them.
When I was new in Grants, before my family arrived and before I had a car, I often relied on the kindness of friends to drive me to stores or the district office. I knew they were more than willing, but I couldn’t help but wonder: How did I not know about this bus service? Riding it would have been seeing a portrait of these places in their simple, real beauty. The quiet streets, the people going about their lives, the view changing slightly with each stop.
In the last 10 minutes of the ride, Mrs. Porter might have noticed that I was quiet. I was letting the reflective silence of the ride settle in. My family was quiet too. It was the first time my husband wasn’t driving. He just sat, listened, and observed. My older son’s phone battery died, and deep inside I was thankful. He paid attention too. After the ride, he told me he finally saw up close the villages he’d only ever heard about.
And to know that Mrs. Porter, our driver, is also the executive director, the schedule planner, and a friend to the community made us love Grants a little more. Every day, a little more. As she shared her stories, I found myself looking out the window, my little one beside me, watching the mesas and the sweep of dark green bushes over the brown earth leading to San Rafael. Somehow, her dedication felt stitched into that humble landscape.
I told Mrs. Porter that it felt different going around with someone who knows the place well. But she doesn’t just know the place; she cares for it. She cares about the people, their stories, their lives. It’s service that goes beyond completing a task. It’s about understanding what people are going through, even if they never say it out loud.
In this ride called life, we follow the road ahead. But just like Rockin’ 66, we should take our time to pause, to notice the everyday, to truly see the people we meet. So that when it’s time to get off the bus, it’s never just about going from Point A to Point B. The ride becomes an opportunity to hear stories, share ours, and maybe, understand something about ourselves along the way.