Las Cruces, NM to Big Spring, TX

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NANCY! Hope you are having a wonderful day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LaDONNA! Hope Bob takes you to dinner and showers you with presents! (Good friend back in Oklahoma)

[Disclaimer: Let me alert you right up front that this posting mostly for me and will probably not be entertaining to anyone else but me.  It's also a log of our road time... just something to keep me busy.  I suggest skimming.]

Up at 6:00 a.m. after a good night's rest. Packed up and on the road at 7:50 a.m.  It's a beautiful day with a few very high clouds. Lots of doves in the RV park where we spent the night.  Only a slight breeze... nothing like yesterday, yet.  Forecast said 10-20 mph wind today.

There are a bunch of dairies east of Las Cruces, but they sure don't smell as bad as the ones in Arizona. These are all on a slant so the water drains down into a hay field... good thinking on someone's part. The milk mamas are enjoying breakfast.  Must be the bosses house.Welcome to Texas. We're finally in a state that is in Leslie's cell phone plane!  Not to mention that this is my home state... born and raised. 

8:20 a.m. - arrived to El Paso.  There's Old Mexico across the Rio Grande River (where trees are).   Traffic is slightly slow.   This is just not a very pretty drive thru EP.

8:34 a.m. - policeman is weaving back and forth in the traffic ahead of us to slow it down. Looks like some one lost something off their pick-up ahead of us.

8:36 a.m traffic stopped. 

8:37 a.m. traffic is moving again.

Quality of air is horrendous in EP.  I didn't realize I was taking a picture of a carnival.. I was looking at the brown smog in the back ground.

Whataburger sighting: picture was too blurry to post.(for Khalil)

8:50 a.m. - goodbye El Paso.  That only took 30 minutes.

Part of the Psalm that I read to Don as we are driving: Ps.137:5-6

5  "If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
      let my right hand forget how to play the harp.
6  May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
      if I fail to remember you,
      if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy."

.... and some people wonder why the United States is allies with Israel, so far.  Obviously, King David understood that it was IMPORTANT TO GOD.

Don called Stephanie to see how they are faring in the bad weather in Oklahoma.  A small tornado went by their house about a mile away, sirens went off, but it never touched the ground.  LOGAN STORY:  Our five year old natural-born athlete is playing T-ball again this season... different from last year when every player batted every inning if they didn't get out.  This year the inning is 3 outs or 7 runs, whichever comes first. The other day at his game, he was playing first base when the guy at bat hit the ball.  One of Logan's team mates got the ball and threw it to Logan on first base, he caught it, before the runner got there. Midway to first base, the runner saw he was out and walked back to his dugout.  Logan looked at his coach and said, "what's he doing?"  Coach said, "You got him out!"  Steph said you could see the 'wheels turning' and then it registered with him how the out had happened and he pumped both arms and said "YESSS."  <pic of Logan from facebook> He was very focused from then on.  We can't wait to get to Bixby, OK to watch him play.... so competitive.  You know, every good player slides into home.

 

Water!

Speed limit is now 80 mph.  Not us, thank you.

The troopers sure are active this morning. They decided in their meeting this morning to blitz I-10 because we have seen a bunch of them.

The Rio Grande valley is rather pretty with it's fields and orchards. And the mountains..  I think that's the Van Horn Mountains or maybe the Sierra Blancas, ahead of us that we'll have to climb. 

Watch for a black deer jumping!  Would love to see a deer or two out there. 

10:03 - freeway closed ahead.  uh oh.  "all traffic must stop  when lights are flashing." And it was flashing. U.S. Border Patrol check.  They waved us on through.

A half a tank later, we're on top of the mountain.  Don: "Yeah, I passed somebody!"

Sierra Blanca, Texas. The scenery is pretty along here, if it wasn't so windy, we could enjoy it more, but Snookie would definitely be sick in this rocking "boat."  

 

Are you kidding me? Road is now flat for a ways at MM 109. So decided I would play spider solitaire.  See my reflection?

It's really windy and there's dust ahead.

Oh, there's a wooden windmill!  My mama loves windmills and windmill pictures. 

 

11:33 a.m. - temperature: 64. Climbing long mountains in the wind. Descending long mountains in the wind.  Trucks blowing by almost sucking us off the road. Rocking. Rocking.

11:39 a.m. - entered Central Time Zone. Motor home in front of us is really fighting the wind and the trucks passing him.  So are we.  And it's not a tail wind!  Don will be tired tonight.  There's a little fixer-upper:  

11:45 a.m. stopped at Pilot for gas - $3.19.9/gal.  Whew. It's good to stop for a bit.  See how this lady's hair is blowing as she tries to pump gas? 11:58 a.m. - back on I-10. "Right lane closed ahead." Just across the bridge is all.  Rest area is open.

12:18 p.m. - long steady climb & wind = 3.5-4 RPMS... we can see the gas gauge moving!

12:40 p.m. - 5 miles from I-20 junction. Only one radio station on the local.  Temperature: 55 degrees! Count it all joy.

12:45 p.m. - now on I-20... new route for us. and we're driving into the wind. I hear a guzzling sound, but it's better than the crosswinds.  Road is rough in places.  My stomach is beginning to talk to me.  Goodness!  Where did the mountains go?   Kind of flat.. a relief from the mountains, but still windy.  Solitaire time.

1:25 p.m. - Pecos, Texas. First time we've ever been here.  We haven't missed much.  There's a state prison here. And we saw DQ signs back down the road. A golf course.

2:11 p.m. - temperature 65 - dusty low haze - finished with lunch at the Flyin' J and back on the road.  ETA Whip In RV Park, Big Spring, Texas 4:31 p.m. These were cool paintings on the exit slopes. 

There are oil pumps 'planted' everywhere out here.  And almost all of them are pumping. I took pictures, but we've all see oil pumps. Back to my spider solitaire game.

2:53 p.m. - Monahans Sandhills State Park ... just about as exciting as it gets around here.

3:35 p.m. - rolled into gas station in Odessa on fumes.   $3.25.9/gal - 24.44 gallons - tank holds 25 gallons.  Thank You, Lord.  Temperature - 67. 57 miles to Big Spring. This is mesquite tree country. Took a picture, but we've all seen mesquite trees.

4:24 p.m. - a long row of big white windmills on the north side of the highway.  25 miles to Big Spring.  We're tired fighting this wind. And I need to go to the ladies room. Count it all joy, LaVon

You're going to hate to hear this, but the battery on my camera is almost gone and the replacement is in the 'house' behind us and we ain't stoppin' 'til we get to Whip In RV Park.

Back a ways, I talked to Mama on the phone and she's piecing a quilt top. She got to go to church Sunday for the first time in four weeks, since she got sick.  She sure would love to hear from some more of her grandchildren. hint.hint.  She said she would give a quilt top to any of the relatives who comes to see her.  Tammy said, "that's a bribe."  Mama said, "no, just giving away quilt tops and if you want one, you have to come get it, but you can call it whatever you want to call it."  Sounds like a good deal to me.  I'm going to see her in about two weeks and I'm related!

Arrived at Whip In RV Park safe and sound, Thank You, Jesus!  Didn't take long to set up and we are going to rest.  I did walk around and take this picture.  Someone tell me what kind of pick-up this is...

Made some fresh guacamole and ate light for dinner.

My brother, Jon DeRusha, called from Guam.  Was wonderful to hear his voice.  He was very grateful for the prayers of everyone while he was so sick a few weeks back.  He will be back in the states around the end of April.

Lights out! God bless everyone.