We woke this morning to no wind and away we went.
South of Carlsbad the land was flat and no more oil rigs:
Guadalupe Mountains in the background and the winds are picking up - oh no:
Getting closer and the wind is really picking up:
Into Texas:
The land in the valley was filled with what I called “scrubby” vegetation – low shrubs, grasses, and cacti:
We also saw many horses – some singly, some in herds – they were beautiful!:
Many free range cows:
Starting up the mountain pass:
Lots of wind gusts thru this – Andy did great! (Can you believe there was no wind in the forecast! Sheesh! I wonder what it is like when wind is forecasted.)
On the way down to the valley:
The wind was much less here on the valley floor. We went past old homes – I bet there are stories here:
The salt flats in the distance:
WOW!:
We passed another one of these VORTAC – (Variable Omni-Range, Tactical Air Navigation) sites. They provide bearing/distance information for aircraft and form airway intersections or fixes.
More abandoned homes:
There was much land for sale here. Every once in a while we would see a home.
This area is really desolate. There is really nothing around for 40 or so miles. I like have space around me but I don’t think I could live that far away from everything.
This must be the valley gathering place – it was packed:
A tumbleweed just rolling along:
The road continues on:
Border patrol for those coming from El Paso (heading east on I-10):
Going out of the valley into the hills again:
El Paso in the distance:
Instead of heading straight for I-10, we decided to do the 375 loop around El Paso. Half of the loop is an expressway and the other half is a road thru the Franklin Mountains:
At the top:
What goes up must come down:
We picked up I-10, stopped for gas, and then into New Mexico:
Our turn at the inspection station (heading west out of El Paso):
Train carrying many containers – it was very long and colorful:
Our final stop to night was at Dream Catcher RV Park, an Escapee Rainbow Park. They also have a Happy Hour and we met up with Brenda and Leland and got a little caught up. We will see them in Casa Grande later this week.
Tomorrow we are headed to our lot in Casa Grande, AZ so stay tuned and enjoy today.
Stats for today:
Miles Traveled: 287 Miles
Routes Traveled:
New Mexico: Lakewood Road; US-285; US-62
Texas: US-62; SR-375 Loop; I-10
New Mexico: I-10; I-10 Business