Tuesday, March 24, 2009

FROM ALAMOGORDO NEW MEXICO TO HASKELL TEXAS

LOOKING LIKE SPRING IN THIS WEST TEXAS REST AREA ALONG HIGHWAY 380

A quiet night in the Alamogordo fairgrounds gave us a chance to catch up on some sleep from the previous night's wind at the ranch.

Moved our clocks ahead an hour & hit the road at 7:15 a.m. Nice clear morning with no clouds as we headed north to Tularosa & swung east into the Sierra Blanca mountains. It was a long climb to the Apache summit but not as short & steep as the climb over the Organ mountains east of Los Cruces on Monday. This is a scenic pass with many evergreen trees at the higher elevations. Fueled up in Ruidoso for $115 & that was the first fill up since Tombstone AZ back on January 28th.

TREES ARE GREENING UP.....HEY, WHO'S THAT IN THE WINDSHIELD!!

By 9 o'clock we were over the mountains & down the other side into the rolling foothills heading out onto the great plains. Motored through Roswell & for the first time ever we didn't stop at Wal-Mart. In fact we hardly stopped anywhere. With our new Verizon air card we have internet with us in the motorhome at all times so we don't have to look for McDonalds or hot spots anymore. Last November on our way west we stayed in Brownsfield Texas for 2 whole days just so we could use the internet & get caught up on things. Now, while I'm driving, Kelly is at the computer desk looking after Deerpark business or just surfing. We are soooooo pleased with Verizon & have never doubted our decision to dump the Hughes-Net satellite system. When we get home the Verizon program will be de-activated April 4th until we activate it again in the fall. IT'S OUR 2 TRAVELING MASCOTS.......THE BISBEE KIDS:)) (no wonder a lot of people wave at us going by)

It's a long haul across the midwest plains with a lot of very flat & endless yellow grass fields but at this time of year it seems the farther east we drive, the greener the scenery is becoming. So nice to see trees appearing again with their lime green spring foliage. Signs of spring are everywhere & that is making the long driving days more enjoyable. THE DEERPARK PHONE KEPT KELLY HOPING TO-DAY

A lot of old, tired, & dusty little western towns along highway 380 but I like this route because there is very little traffic on the road. Many times I can see for miles ahead or behind & not a vehicle in site. We have used this route before & have become familiar with it's rest stops & overnight areas. Because we had a good stable tailwind to-day I decided to push it through to the little town of Haskell Texas. We knew there was a small free & public RV Park in the town because we had been there 3 times before so it was a welcome relief to finally reach our destination after 411 miles on the road to-day. We are in the park now with spring song birds in the tree beside us & a warm westerly breeze wafting through the open door & windows of the motorhome. Only 3 rigs here & we plan another peaceful night before heading out in the morning again. We know the part of the trip we have just completed in the last 2 days was the easiest part of our journey home because of the quiet, low traffic roads, few people, small towns, & no congestion or stress. To-morrow as we head east the traffic will begin to steadily pick up & by the time we get up into the Gainsville area things will begin to heat up & remain heated up for the rest of the way home. OUR OVERNIGHT SPOT IN HASKELL TEXAS....HAD TO TIE CHECKERS UP IN CASE THERE WERE ANY CHICKENS IN TOWN

Not sure where we'll be to-morrow night but we'll try to make it to Bonham Texas where we know we can stay in a Wal-Mart parking lot for the night if we have to. We take this longer route north of Dallas to avoid the traffic congestion & chaos to the south. As long as Kelly keeps feeding me those egg salad sandwiches & coffee & the wind stays at our backs, we'll just keep the big wheels rollin & rollin & rollin.

And thanks to the friends & followers for all the emails & comments yesterday & to-day. I plan to get back to you folks but it might not be until after we're home. By the end of these long travel days I'm just about asleep at the computer. In fact when I'm g..... ....... ................. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

No photos for the photo album to-day.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

2 comments: