Warmer weather.......

Our Location: Mid Way Rv, Dexter, NM

 

We woke this morning to clear blue skies and frosty temps but we weren't complaining. At one point I had to go back inside and get my gloves to try to at least warm my hands a bit so I could continue to pack up and hitch up. 

 

This train had 5 engines, three on the front and two on the back.

 

As I was hooking up the gentleman from Elberta, Alabama came by, (I think he's bored) asking if we enjoyed the canyon yesterday. They too went there and loved it. They spent pretty much the whole day there, not leaving until dusk. As we were chatting a fella a few doors down from the Igloo stopped his pickup at the end of the driveway asking me if I had a repair man over a few days ago. I answered yes, he asked if I liked him, was he good, what had he worked on, etc. This guy was having furnace issues too. Inside I went to grab Matt Curry's phone number for the man. I told him I was sure he would be most satisfied with the service of Red Rover RV Repair, wished him luck and continued to finish up the last little things before heading out. 

 

Wind turbines stretching off into the haze.

 

With these slight delays we were on the road by 8:50 am this morning. Which is fine, we didn't have far to go anyway, a couple of hundred miles and we called it a day. 

 

Shiny silo's with what I'm sure is planted trees to help protect from the wind. Reflection on the glass makes the pic look more hazy than it actually was.

 

The roads were pretty good, pretty empty too. We have opted to head southerly while going west instead of just straight west. We're hoping to find some warmer weather. So we headed mostly south for a while but then veered westerly as well. Passing little Texas towns and numerous stockyards or cattle yards with literally thousands of cattle in them, waiting for the end of their time. The area around whatever kind of slaughter house it happened to be was crawling with cattle. Thousands of them thickly packed into holding pens. There were so many cattle that you couldn't see the land, just a moving dark mass that stretched around these industrial buildings. The smell was horrible. Truly, utterly disgusting. We passed one Beef Packaging plant that made me want to leave any food I'd consumed behind and believe me I wasn't interested in any food for a while.

 

A very patriotic Texas farmer.

 

The landscape was more of the same flat land, scrub land, with the horizon hazy and no definition between sky and land. The sky is huge out here and at times brilliantly blue, not the sparkly blue of Ontario, Canada but so bright it hurts your eyes to look at it too long. Due to the land being so flat I think it makes the sky look bigger as there is nothing to disrupt the skyline. Farms/ranches often have some fancy iron scroll work at the gate, and almost every side road along US 60 had cattle guards instead of gates. Numerous industrial factories/plants dotted the landscape, not all were named but they just seemed to appear in the haze. 

 

Cattle in the stockyards, all of that black stuff is cows. It goes on and on.

 

The small towns were cute, the divided highway would become 'undivided' in town, therefore allowing the driver to cross to the other side of the street without any difficulties. Then it would divide again after leaving the town.  Speed limits in Texas are 75 mph with some slow downs in the smaller towns to 45 mph but anything with a population less than 2000 didn't warranty less than 45 mph. 

 

I wonder if this is sagebrush along the road way?

 

We crossed into New Mexico rather suddenly and we weren't expecting it at the time but we turned the corner and the sign said "Welcome to New Mexico" so we figured we'd managed to make all the right turns to that point. ~laugh~  We crossed into Mountain Time (at the state line) around 11 am Texas time, which made it 10 am in the new time zone. So now we are officially 2 hours different than back in Ontario. I'll have to be careful calling there or I'll be getting told off. ~laugh~ We crossed from Farwell, Texas  into Texico, NM at that little street corner. I'm not sure but I think I may have missed a weigh station on that corner, but no one came after me, so I guess we're okay. The signs are all kind of jumbled together and it's hard to read long signs, watch traffic and make turns all at the same time. The sign (which I seen two more later in the day) said ALL trucks, tow dollies, tow bars, rentals, etc. so I think that would include me but I"m not sure. I didn't see anything about 5th wheels or travel trailers either. I'll have to ask someone. 

It just goes on and on and on....

As we continued into New Mexico we noticed the landscape gently changing from long flats stretching as far as the eye could see to a slight, gentle roll in the distance. The roads are straight and you can see for a long way but as we drove further in we found that the rolling of the hills was becoming more obvious out the window. 

The roads are long and straight, you can see the rolling hills now.

We stopped twice today on our travels. Once at a Walmart for a leg stretch and to pick up a couple of little things and once at a road side rest area. Along this particular stretch of road the signs aren't spaced far enough from whatever they are advertising and one must be right on top of things if they want to stop. Two road side picnic tables, complete with a covered roof and tons of graffiti add a couple of rubbish containers pretty much covered the little area. However it was a great little stop.

A little New Mexico fixer upper, slap a couple windows in, a door, some shingles, it's good to go.

We bypassed Roswell on our way to Dexter. We'll go back into Roswell over the next couple of days. I'm hoping to get an oil change and a fuel filter changed while we're here over the next few days. I want to get them done before they NEED to be done and we're getting close enough for me to feel it's time. Also need to dump more Blue Def into the Big Dog again. This about the 3rd jug on this journey westward so far. I've started carrying a spare one just in case. 

Not the big signs as seen on the Interstates.

We arrived at Mid Way RV park in Dexter, NM around 1:30 pm Mountain time. Checked in at the office and opted for a pull thru without sewer as the back in's with sewer were really, reeeally tight. We would have fit but we would also be looking into the neighbours window without leaving the table. The slides would have made it extremely close quarters in the two back in spots he offered. We instead chose site #22 in a more spacious row. 

This old building is in the tiny NM town of Texico just across the state line from Texas.

We've paid for 3 days but may stay an extra one to get the Big Dog serviced. I called a local guy that the office man recommended but he didn't answer so I'm not sure what I'll do now. I'll give it some thought over the next day or so. 

Large square bales of hay stacked in a field.

The Mid Way park is not fancy, it's close to the road way and a dairy farm with ill winds blowing from it today. There are about 15-20 units here, some full time, some visitors like us. The sites are fairly level or at least ours is, it's pretty clean looking, but has no amenities which suits us fine. We don't use them anyway. 

Becoming more desert like, I think.

After setting up, we payed up, then made some lunch. We debated about BBQ'ing but opted instead for an inside cooking experience. Today's menu was mashed potatoes, Italian steamed veggies (celery, asparagus, mushrooms, peppers, and beans), and Hawaiian BBQ Chicken. Add to that a mixed green salad and we were pretty full by the end but we managed to nibble on some oatmeal cookies as well. 

Flags still at half mast for the victims of the Texas Church shooting.

Tidied up, began editing pics and writing my blog. It's 5:10 pm and already pretty much dark now. We've found warmer weather and we're enjoying it immensely. Still too cold to sit outside due to the wind but tomorrow promises to be better as do the days ahead. 

 

This post office was literally on the side of the road, not near a town or even a cluster of house. Just all by itself.

So there you have it, our day. Nothing too exciting but it was fun, entertaining, educational, and warmer. It was a win all the way around. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit. 

Until next time...be safe, take care....