White Out...

Not the stuff you used to use back in the days of typewriters.  (Anyone remember those?)

Sometimes when traveling, you have to make decisions based on Mother Nature; somedays, it is about getting where you want to go.  Rolling across West Texas, New Mexico, and eastern Arizona, it is also a matter of gas stations, range, and decent overnight stops.

We were in Van Horn last night.  It turned out to be a good place to watch the lunar eclipse: not much in the way of light pollution there.  As they say in the song, "the stars at night were big and bright..."  Leaving Van Horn this morning, we had planned to overnight in Deming, New Mexico.  Mother Nature had other plans: wind advisories for that entire route.  If we could leave early, we could make some miles and get as far as possible before the wind would get too ugly.

It was quite pretty as we left Van Horn, heading west, as the sun was just coming up...

That is the full moon setting in the west.  And, the effects of the rising sun on the desert scenery...

Our plan was working - be getting out early, we made it beyond our intended destination before the wind kicked up.  We stopped just west of El Paso, for the best gas price in a long time: $1.74.  From there, it was into New Mexico...

The wind began to build as we crossed New Mexico.  Not much of a delay at the Border Patrol checkpoint...

Then, the wind really kicked up!  Another decision: get off the road somewhere or punch our way through the gusts well above 30 mph, and get down where we can spend a couple nights... in an RV resort we like.  Yep, we're moving on.

We see these signs every time we pass through this area...

It seems to be windy and dusty every time we go through this area.  Today, however...

We could see the clouds of dust in the distance, but didn't expect an absolute white out!

From the time I took that photo above, the visibility went to zero!  I slowed enough to be able to see the white line beside me, hoping that no one in front of us was stopped on the road.  It was about a minute of terror.  Think a minute doesn't sound very long?  Try holding your breath.

And then, it thinned out enough that we could see the road.  And the semi that had been right behind us.  Thankfully, he slowed, too.

The gusts were fugly - the Aspect did an admirable job.  The wind varied from right on the nose to a quartering crosswind.  And then, the blowing tumbleweeds!

Some were small, some were the size of a Volkswagen!  See the one that rolled onto the shoulder above.  They were coming so fast and thick - we smashed dozens of them... there were too many to swerve and avoid, and they were moving fast.  I stopped at a rest area to dig some of their remains out of the grill and the radiator.

To be on the safe side, we stopped once more for fuel and a snack...

And then, into Arizona...

A three-state day.  For some perspective, it took us 3 days to get out of Texas.  Oh, and this will get your attention when you look up from your iPad...

No, that is not a truck coming at us in the wrong lane - it is being towed by a very large tow truck.

An Arizona scene from the windshield...

We rolled into the RV park around 3:30... tired, but happy to be off the road.  We'll spend two nights here, and have zero schedule tomorrow.  Rufus got to go outside this afternoon...

He is wearing the new harness Joan got for him... he outgrew the other one.  He did great again today - it was another long day for him, too, and he didn't make a fuss.  Yeah, he is such a good boy.