We checked weather and got out of Deming between rain cells - it looked like Armageddon as we pulled out of the RV park...
Yes, this was daytime - about 8:15 am. 80 miles to the Texas border, and we spent that checking radar and adjusting speed to stay out of the worst of it...
A few "sucker holes" with shafts of sunlight...
As we approached Las Cruces, we could see that we were probably out of the worst of it...
Blue sky. According to the radar, it won't last, but it is refreshing. Almost to the Texas border...
We stopped at the Flying J at Exit 0, just over the Texas line. Not always the cheapest gas these days, but Flying J generally has RV lanes for fuel - plenty of room to maneuver. We paid $2.12 for unleaded, the least expensive fuel we have seen in months. I keep waiting for that "less than $2 per gallon" gas that we hear about on the national news.
Getting back on I-10 at the Exit 0 interchange, I had a guy try to pass me on the right (single lane).. twice... before we got from the ramp to the Interstate. Yep, we are back in Texas. I dread the drive through El Paso - it is about 40 miles of heavy traffic, dilapidated semi trucks from Mexico, some of the worst, most aggressive drivers in a state full of aggressive drivers, and road surfaces that will try to shake the fillings out of your teeth.
On the far side of El Paso, Joan and I swapped driving duties...
The traffic thins out as the speed limit goes up...
I have commented on the "bunch of nuthin' " across west Texas in the past. Unusual this time: greenery...
After passing beautiful Van Horn, we took the northerly route of I-20 instead of staying on I-10. We are heading to the Ft. Worth area for a wedding this weekend. We planned to stop at the Escapees park in Pecos (so I could be "the meanest hombre west and east of the Pecos")... Joan checked radar again - looks like Pecos is going to be in some nasty weather tonight. Decisions: hunker down or push on.
We generally try to be off the road by 2 or 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Getting ahead of this weather means an additional 200 miles or so. Yep, let's go for it. We changed the destination from Pecos (I'm still a mean hombre) to Big Spring, Texas. Joan found us an RV park (navigator duties), I called and secured a site.
After Pecos, the terrain flattens out quite a bit...
It has been a few years since we have driven this route. The stretch between Odessa and Midland is solid with oilfield suppliers. LOTS of trucks (semi and pickup) on the road - just as busy as driving through El Paso.
This is why...
On the far side of Midland, we started to see wind generators on the hills... and trucks hauling these...
That is a blade for one of those wind generators - they are huge!
With oil prices down, we know it has affected employment in this area. So many RVs in moderately cruddy "pop up" campgrounds - workers have to live somewhere. We were hoping the park we are in won't be quite like those.
And, in an area that is pulling oil out of the ground (although the oil wells aren't all pumping, and the ones that are are pumping slower than when prices are up), we finally saw this...
The RV park isn't fancy, but it was easy - not far off the road and they have a pull-through site. With 4 days to cover about 1,000 miles, we were trying to keep it around 300 miles or less each day... we did about 460 miles today. Yeah, that isn't even close to the 2/2/2 Rule. Even with occasionally crappy road, the Aspect handles it all fine and keeps us comfortable; it topped 10 MPG on our last fill-up.
Temperature in the 50s when we left this morning, 80s when we pulled in this afternoon around 5:30.
Tomorrow should be fewer miles. We originally planned to stay 100 miles or so from where the wedding will be held (a facility that has a B&B, lodge, and some RV sites) tomorrow night... we may just go right on in, if they have a site available.
Got to stay flexible.
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