November 14-16 2023 Travel to Las Cruces and Hang out

November 14, 2023

This morning was rainy and cold so we were on the road early to head west.

Past the oil and gas fields:

Looks like it is lifting….

Nice rolling hills:

 

 

 

The sun is coming thru:

This area of Texas is beautiful:

 

Instead of following I-10 thru El Paso (which can be a nightmare at times), we followed Loop 375 over the mountains:

 

Up we go:

 

 

And over the other side:

Into New Mexico:

Where the weather was BEAUTIFUL!

We landed at the Las Cruces Elks where we enjoyed Happy Hour and Tacos – Yum!

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled:  265 Miles

Texas:  West Easterbrook Drive; I-20; I-10; Loop 375

New Mexico: I-10; I-25; US-70; Elks Drive

 

November 15, 2023

Today, we did a couple of chores, couple of calls, and a resupply since there are so many stores here.

Tonight they had a craft market in the historic downtown.  In 2015, we stopped at the Moose Lodge downtown and walked around.  It is a very cute place.

So we made a stop at the Moose Lodge then headed to the market.  Lots of crafts and food trucks.  We both had hamburgers — Best hamburger I had in a long time.

The market:

November 16, 2023

We decided to have another down day – LOL!  So we did some more things around the RV and had supper at the lodge.  This Elks Lodge does a tremendous business.  They cook almost every night – chef’s choice.  Tonight was French Dip (like a Philly Cheesesteak) and French Fries.  Yep, it was delicious!

Their RV park is full almost every night and they have a number of other activities.  Everyone we met was very friendly.  Great time.

Las Cruces was always a pass thru for us..  Usually an overnight and a resupply.  But we found a number of sites to see and a number of places that the Elks members told us to visit.  So we will be back and plan it as a destination.

Tomorrow we head west so stay tune and enjoy today!

November 13, 2023 Still Meandering in Texas Among the Cotton and Oil

We woke to a beautiful day and headed south,

Past farms:

And cotton:

  

  

  

  

  

  

And then we saw oil fields for over 100 miles:

They were everywhere:

Drilling even more:

The towns have just exploded with oil production and increasing population.  It reminds me of North Dakota many years ago.

So I had to do some research…

“The Yates Oil Field is a giant oil field in the Permian Basin of west Texas. Primarily in extreme southeastern Pecos County, it also stretches under the Pecos River and partially into Crockett County. Iraan, on the Pecos River and directly adjacent to the field, is the nearest town. The field has produced more than one billion barrels of oil, making it one of the largest in the United States, and in 1998 it remains productive, though at a diminished rate. Since fracking has exploded in the Permian Basin, the Yates field has seen very heavy activity in the past three years. Estimated recoverable reserves are still approximately one billion barrels, which represents approximately 50% of the original oil in place (OOIP).

The Texas oil and natural gas industry, which leads the U.S. in production, reached new record production highs in June and July 2023, surpassing all-time highs set 30 and 40 years ago, in an analysis published in August.

Year-to-date through July 2023, Texas production accounted for 43.3% of all oil production and 27.4% of all natural gas marketed production in the U.S. By September, these numbers increased, accounting for 43.4% of all oil produced in the U.S. Texas’ natural gas production accounts for 27.5% of overall U.S. production.”

Links for more info:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yates_Oil_Field

https://texas2036.org/posts/texas-oil-and-gas-production-hits-records/

https://www.thecentersquare.com/texas/article_d5caf110-6cfb-11ee-bfbd-d3818b5b56fe.html

https://oilmanmagazine.com/the-future-of-the-texas-oil-and-gas-industry-predictions-and-trends-for-2023-and-beyond/

WOW!  Between cotton, cattle, gas and oil, Texas is the place to be for a good job!

We landed at a Escapee Campground in Pecos.  We were there in 2008 and what a change.  They have two sections now – for overnight or part timers and for long timers (those who are working with the oil or other jobs).  It is not a destination park but a nice overnight place.

Pecos was this little town (sort of run down) in 2008.  With the explosion of jobs, it has truly expanded to meet the population demands..  What a change.

The weather turned cold and rainy so we just relaxed!

Tomorrow we continue west so stay tuned and enjoy today.

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled:  220 Miles

Texas:  Milwaukee Avenue; US-62; US-385; Truck Loop 1910; US-385; Truck Loop 338; I-20; Raul Florez Blvd; Country Club Drive; Frontage Road; Moore Road

December 30, 2008 – Traveling to Western Texas

The scenery today was just incredible!! We traveled from the hill country to the plains to the canyons and back to flat land. Take a look:

This country is so beautiful and so different in every area. Days like today, I thank God for blessing me and enabling me to see all of this.

We stopped in Fort Stockton to see the world’s largest roadrunner at 22 feet long and 11 feet high. And someone dressed him for the holiday (isn’t he cute!):

We are now at another Escapee Park in Pecos, Texas. We were going to stay a few days but found out that this is not a destination park but a stop over park so no activities. Also we did go into town and it is so sad – so many things are closed up. So we have decided to head to New Mexico tomorrow towards Carlsbad Caverns.


Miles Traveled: 328 miles
Routes Traveled:
TX: US-87; TX-29; US-83; US-190; I-10; US-285