Not as far as planned today....

 

 Our Location: Gage Rest Area, near Deming, New Mexico

Shortly after leaving our overnight at Van Horn, Tx we crossed into Mountain Time, which puts us 2 hours behind Ontario. I need to pay attention when I call!!

 

We can start to see the mountains off in the distance. New Mexico is over that way.

Closer now...

The stop last night was good for what we needed and expected. It's a rest area with traffic whizzing by on the Interstate just a few yards away, vehicles coming and going all night. I put in ear plugs and never heard anything until 5:30 am this morning. Considering I was sleeping before 9:30 last night, I think I had a good night's sleep. 

Yep, they are definitely mountains off in the distance...

If you listen closely you can hear them calling......

We pulled out at 8:38 am Central Time and within a few short minutes we were changing the clock on the dash to read 7:45 am Mountain Time. It made for a good but long day. The roads were good and we motored right along. Lots of traffic today, a few slow downs and even a couple of rolling stops due to construction and accidents. 

 

Welcome to El Paso, Texas. Yes that's dust in the air.

Lots of streets cross over the interstate and those walls need repainting I think.

We rolled through the heart of El Paso, TX before 11 am and entered the beautiful state of New Mexico around 11 am. We stopped at the Anthony Rest Area just to stretch and look around, a beautiful place to stop but few spots for overnighters or even just travelers. 

A massive Old Glory was starting to flap in the wind and the wind increased steadily from this time.

For Deb D.   The ocotillo are green here Deb!!!!

We had planned on reaching San Simon West Bound Welcome Center at the New Mexico/Arizona state line but the winds picked up considerably and we opted to get off the road as we were being pushed around pretty good. So we backed up to a little casita and put the feet down to help stabilize us in the wind. We put the slides out only enough to make getting around easy and will pull them in overnight. Hopefully the wind dies down before tomorrow. It's even hard to walk it's blowing so much.  We did pass by the Roadrunner shortly after entering New Mexico but alas he was on the other side of the interstate and too far away to get a photo with the phone

I believe this is an Agave plant. It's at the New Mexico Welcome Center.

A much bigger one near one of the casitas.

 

Talked to my sister today for a few minutes after we parked. Things are going well at her house, she was busy making supper and so I didn't keep her on the phone long.Called and left a message on my dad's answering machine but will call him again later. 

A staghorn cactus, I think. Also at the Welcome Center.

And yet another cactus at the Welcome Center.

Happy Birthday to Leah today as she celebrates. She is my nephew Jason's lovely wife and mother of the adorable Hudson. She is a very classy young lady with expressive eyes and a beautiful face. Friendly and social, she makes every room she enters shine. Happy Birthday Leah, we hope it's a fantastic day. 

Reminder to myself, everything is picky, pointy and sharp in the desert.

The little courtyard at the NM welcome center.

Temps are running between 50F/10C and 70F/20C today. Fuel prices are still running in the $4.69 to $5.40 range. The winds are high and running at about "blow me over" speed. 

More of the little courtyard.

The entire restroom/welcome area is in this adobe building with beautiful little arches everywhere.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit. 

 

The view out the living room window tonight.

A little further to the right.

 

Until next time..

Take care, be safe, 

Deb