Friday morning
We spent the night in a rest area on Interstate 25 north of Socorro, NM. Except for the trucks (nine, when we got up) idling their engines all night it wasn't too bad. We were at the top of a hill so we heard them laboring up that as well. Top speed on this road is 75! (Maybe that is why there are more accidents out west?) We have not seen any restrictions on overnight parking in rest areas in this part of the US.
Yesterday we drove in the wind all day. The camper does get pushed around a bit too. The route we took from Carlsbad, where we did laundry in the grungiest laundromat, took us north to Roswell, home of the UFO Museum and Research Center. We saw many big and little ETs on signs and store windows. What a town!
From Roswell we headed north and west to Hondo where we then went up into the mountains. Most of this drive was at over 5000 feet and just gradually rising and dropping we were frequently over 6000 ft and our highest altitude was 7100 feet - not a pass, just high! The route we took was mainly just a two lane highway that took us through little towns. We passed through an old lava field which was really quite impressive because it looked relatively recent, however, must have thousands or even millions of years old.
We did our best to see sandhill cranes at the Basque del Apache NWR, however, we didn't have any luck, just ducks and cormorants. The area is beautiful though one is immediately aware of the severe drought this part of the US is experiencing.
Road Rule #?? - never stop at the first non-chain restaurant to have a good local meal. Last evening's dinner was about the worst Mexican food we've eaten. Marty's chicken taco had unseasoned canned chicken that wasn't even broken up to appear as though it had been cooked there. The exterior of the place gave us the impression that it might serve good local food. Once inside we still had the feeling that it was a family type business and we would get authentic food. Then reality hit when the taco chips and salsa arrived and the chips were not even as good as those we had gotten from the local grocery store, the red flag should have gone up then but if it did, we didn't see it. That's life.
Now back to Friday. While having coffee we at McDonalds where wifi is always free, we did some research on RV service and found one in Albuquerque called Tony's. We have gotten our suspension problem fixed (only a kink in a air line that must have touched the exhaust and burned a hole in it) and an oil change. These are Interesting folks to be sure and we've enjoyed the brief interlude with some hardworking mechanics with a sense of humor. Don't have that part, well, run right out and pick it up.
So, sitting now in a Borders and enjoying a break and coffee before heading up to Santa Fe and thinking about the weather back in Maine and wishing some of that moisture could be shipped out here were the drought is so severe.
We spent the night in a rest area on Interstate 25 north of Socorro, NM. Except for the trucks (nine, when we got up) idling their engines all night it wasn't too bad. We were at the top of a hill so we heard them laboring up that as well. Top speed on this road is 75! (Maybe that is why there are more accidents out west?) We have not seen any restrictions on overnight parking in rest areas in this part of the US.
Yesterday we drove in the wind all day. The camper does get pushed around a bit too. The route we took from Carlsbad, where we did laundry in the grungiest laundromat, took us north to Roswell, home of the UFO Museum and Research Center. We saw many big and little ETs on signs and store windows. What a town!
From Roswell we headed north and west to Hondo where we then went up into the mountains. Most of this drive was at over 5000 feet and just gradually rising and dropping we were frequently over 6000 ft and our highest altitude was 7100 feet - not a pass, just high! The route we took was mainly just a two lane highway that took us through little towns. We passed through an old lava field which was really quite impressive because it looked relatively recent, however, must have thousands or even millions of years old.
We did our best to see sandhill cranes at the Basque del Apache NWR, however, we didn't have any luck, just ducks and cormorants. The area is beautiful though one is immediately aware of the severe drought this part of the US is experiencing.
Road Rule #?? - never stop at the first non-chain restaurant to have a good local meal. Last evening's dinner was about the worst Mexican food we've eaten. Marty's chicken taco had unseasoned canned chicken that wasn't even broken up to appear as though it had been cooked there. The exterior of the place gave us the impression that it might serve good local food. Once inside we still had the feeling that it was a family type business and we would get authentic food. Then reality hit when the taco chips and salsa arrived and the chips were not even as good as those we had gotten from the local grocery store, the red flag should have gone up then but if it did, we didn't see it. That's life.
Now back to Friday. While having coffee we at McDonalds where wifi is always free, we did some research on RV service and found one in Albuquerque called Tony's. We have gotten our suspension problem fixed (only a kink in a air line that must have touched the exhaust and burned a hole in it) and an oil change. These are Interesting folks to be sure and we've enjoyed the brief interlude with some hardworking mechanics with a sense of humor. Don't have that part, well, run right out and pick it up.
So, sitting now in a Borders and enjoying a break and coffee before heading up to Santa Fe and thinking about the weather back in Maine and wishing some of that moisture could be shipped out here were the drought is so severe.
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