We have crossed two time zones today….

 

Our Location:

San Simon, Arizona

We left Ward County Safety Area around 8 am CDT.  It was a nice 63f/17c with a bright ball of fire just peeking over the horizon. We crossed into MDT around Sierra Blanc, Texas and were able to repeat our previous hour rolling along but with different scenery. 

El Paso, Texas

El Paso, Texas

We stopped a few times, once much longer than we had anticipated but at the end of the day we managed to stop the Big Dog at this rest area just two miles inside the Arizona state line, which means another time zone, MST/PDT. We are now 3 hours behind Ontario.

Long, long trains, 4 engines or more.

We have arrived.

It has been a long day so I let the photos tell the tale, I’m sorry but I doubt they are in the proper order.

Until next time…..

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

A little further down the road……

 

Our Location:

Ward County Rest Area, near Wickett, Texas

We had an excellent nights rest, awoke refreshed and ready to go. The rest area was quiet, peaceful and we slept with all the windows (except the door) and vents open. It cooled off nicely over night and morning was a perfect 63f/17c.

Lots of oil derricks here

Wheels rolling by 8:30 am, the day would prove to be a fantastic day to drive. We travelled 295 miles. Today we put our 2nd jug of Def in since leaving home. We always carry one but on these long journeys we carry two, just a precaution.we arrived here at the Ward County Rest Area around 2:30. Parked up against the curb with the slide out, we are tucked in for the night. Called Dad, texted sister. Tomorrow we will cross into Mountain Daylight Time, putting us 2 hours different than home.

Another birthday wish today, this time to Leah, a very pretty, very friendly happy young lady who is married to my nephew Jason and mother to Hudson and Lainey! We hope your day was spectacular Leah!

The fans were all turning today.

We are officially in cactus country now.

Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time……

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

Mineral Wells, Texas….

 

Our Location:

Walmart, Mineral Wells, Texas

A good nights sleep at the Ward Rest Area had us well rested and ready to move along. We rolled the wheels at 8 am CDT. Uneventful is the only way to describe the perfect day. Traffic was lightish, slow downs were few and quick, fuel prices remain below $4.00, although you can find them above as well.

Lots of fans to keep us cool.

I never tire of the views.

We stopped numerous times today, the dampness is evident and stretching joints works well! We found another rest area at Eastland, Texas that will certainly do to spend a night safely there. It too is big, flat, well lit, and is a DOT rest area. Both sides of the interstate, which means you can easily plan them on a route.

Some bright new leaves and some not so new ones.

It is greening up very much here.

We are currently at Mineral Wells, Texas Walmart. Very friendly folks, assured us parking is not a problem. Big lot, pretty flat, easy in and out. So far we are enjoying our hours here. The current temp sits at 83F/28 C at 5:10 CDT.

One of the few rest areas we stopped at today.

The island is still in the midst of weather, rain, last night but I believe snow was in the forecast for the next day or two. We shall see how it goes.

It just kept getting greener…

We thought this ride was a little bumpy to MW.

Inside the Eastland RA. All things oil was the theme, and old garage and store front too.

Todays drive was short at 332 miles/534 klm, we were about 7 hrs on the road, with many stops, we used about 30 gallons/114 litres of fuel but being in Texas hill country the ups and downs were steeper and higher than the long rollers in NM, so we’re again in the 11 mpg range. Fuel prices were mentioned above.

Flowers along the roadside.

Dirty window,fast speeds, etc for the pictures again tonight.

Until next time….

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

And another time zone today…

 

Our Location:

Ward Rest Area, Pyote, Texas

An early start at the Lordsburg Welcome Centre in New Mexico, thanks to the generator next door at 6 am, and the plunk of the big diesel beside him. Both parked in the driving lanes instead of the empty slots along the other end. Oh well, it was only one night. 

We are leaving New Mexico…

And entering the Lone Star State…

Of Texas.

Our wheels were turning by 7:30 am MDT at a crisp 44F/6.6 C. Our original destination was Van Horn, Texas but we opted to keep going. Due to a number of construction slow downs, which I think would be approximately 1 1/2 hours of moving at less than walking speed, our day extended longer than we had expected. We arrived here at 4:30 MDT/5:30 CDT, by the way, we are in Central Daylight Time now, one hour behind Ontario.

The drive was good, bumpy in places, very slow in places, but mostly just good driving. We travelled approximately 400 miles/644 klm in 8 hours, but our fuel was a little more today as we rolled up and down all day. We started our day at an elevation of 4249’, climbed to at least 4600 at the Continental Divide and are now sitting at 2625’. So keeping that in mind, we used about 35 gallons of fuel, our cheapest fill up was at $3.59 per gallon.  That brings us in at about 11.5 mpg, again, I’m happy with that all things considered.

The long descent at Las Cruces, NM. 

The temps are warm now, around 70 F/21C, a very slight breeze and we are tucked up at the curb and will leave a few windows open tonight.

Central Time now…

Today’s pics were again taken out of a dirty window while hurling down the road. However you get the idea.

Until next time….

Take care, stay safe,

Deb