VAN HORN TEXAS TO COLUMBUS NEW MEXICO:: WE ARE AT LAST HAPPY ‘AND WARM’ CAMPERS:))

RELAXING IN MY RECLINER SOAKING UP NEW MEXICO’S WONDERFUL WARM AIR AND SUNSHINE
Stepping out with Pheebs Wednesday night I instinctively looked skywards and found myself looking right at the constellation Orion.  It’s my Aunt Jean’s favorite one and I right away thought of her.  Despite the light pollution where we were and a bright half Moon I was able to make out a few other stars and sensed the night sky was free of clouds.  Same thing when Pheebs and I slipped outside about 6 this morning.  Yes indeed we were finally back to America’s  great Southwest with it’s big starry night skies and sun drenched days.

SUNRISE IN VAN HORN TEXAS

I think for the first time since leaving Ontario we had an overnight temperature above freezing at 33F.  Despite the 50+ trucks in this large dirt parking area behind McDonalds in Van Horn none of them were too close to us and we didn’t find them a bother. 

With Thursday morning’s early sun peeping over the eastern horizon tickling Van Horn’s Texas roof tops we finally made our way out of the truck parking lot over to I-20 about a quarter mile away and resumed our Westward-Ho travels slightly on the east side of 8 o’clock.  Less than 10 minutes later we entered the Mountain Time Zone constituting another time change and we moved back another hour in time putting us 2 hours behind Bayfield Ontario.

WE HAVE ALWAYS LOVED THE LONG SWEEPING VISTAS FOUND MOST EVERYWHERE IN THIS LAND
No idea how far or where we would go today but we were secure in the knowledge wherever it was it was only going to be warmer than where we had been.  Looking at the weather back home in our Bayfield Ontario area we see that we escaped the brutally cold  record breaking winter temperatures and loads of snow just in the tiniest nick of time.  We are so lucky we decided to leave when we did and both agreed we would never ever want to make another winter departure again!!  We already have some changing thoughts on next winter’s destination.

What an absolutely beautiful morning we had going for us.  Clear blue skies with morning’s sunshine casting long fingery shadows into distant mountain canyons.  Sweeping valleys between mountain ranges stretch for about as far as one can see.  And as is typical with many southwest stretches of Interstates I-10’s traffic was moderate.  What an absolute joy to be in this kind of country again and with sunny skies and warm temperatures to boot.

WE’LL SOON SKIRTING THROUGH THE LOWER SOUTHERN END OF OF THOSE MOUNTAINS NORTH OF EL PASO
The city of El Paso Texas begins about 20 miles east of the downtown core and luckily we only had about 5 miles of it’s sprawl before we reached our interchange leading onto the #375 bi-pass.  It’s quite a high flying wing-over ramp off I-10 onto 375 and you might get the feeling you are in an airplane as the single lane fly-over carries you over roads below.  We followed Howard's directions to a T and found his suggested additional alternate route to the 375 alternate route worked perfect.  We had no problems whatsoever and we couldn’t believe how fast and easy it was getting back on I-10 north of El Paso on our way to Las Cruces.  If someone asked me what I thought of Howard’s route I would say, WOW, WOW, and Triple WOW:))  Why anyone knowing about this shortcut around El Paso would still drive through El Paso I don’t know.  We have done El Paso several times years ago both ways and you don’t want to do that if you don’t have too. 

SLIPPING AROUND ON THE 375 BI-PASS WE CRUISE PAST THE NORTHWESTERN EDGE OF THE U.S. ARMY’S FORT BLISS

LOTS OF ARMY VEHICLES IN THERE
About half way through the alternate route we crossed into New Mexico and as soon as we came down out of the Anthony Pass and landed back on I-10 I turned and said to Kelly, ‘we’re home’.  Down came my side window as we welcomed New Mexico’s much warmer air.  We were finally on familiar turf and there was no need for any GPS or map stuff.  I-10 curves around the south end of Las Cruces New Mexico and heads west.  Las Cruces is probably one of the easiest cities to swing by on it’s bi-pass.

NEW MEXICO SURE BUILDS THEIR ‘ROADRUNNERS’ BIG OUT HERE WEST OF LOS CRUCES

OUR FIRST BORDER PATROL CHECK-POINT OF THE SEASON
 
LOTS OF VARIED DETECTION EQUIPMENT

Sunshine beaming in my driver’s side windshield made the Big EEE’s black steering wheel hot to the touch.  It was about half way between Las Cruces and Deming NM that we both experienced a great wave of relief in the realization that our fast 6 day trip from Ontario was over.  We had reached our destination and it was time to slow everything down and get ourselves off the Interstates.  They had once again served their purpose well.  We kicked around a few places to go and decided on Columbus New Mexico right down on the Mexican border south of Deming.  We had been there 3 times before and knew it to be a perfect place to relax and de-stress for a few days.  There’s definitely no hustle and bustle in tiny Columbus.

I RECOGNIZED THE RAZOR BACKED FLORIDA MOUNTAIN RANGE SOUTHEAST OF DEMING NEW MEXICO

NEAR LAS CRUCES THIS BIG 18 WHEELER DIDN’T HAVE ENOUGH POWER TO GET UP ONE OF THE LONG GRADES SO I HAD TO HOOK ONTO HIM AND TOW HIM UP…..YA RIGHT):)
We exited I-10 into Deming and headed to McDonalds for a coffee.  Lots of memories in Deming from years ago.  Stepped out of the coach and revelled in the sun’s warmth.  Our second Deming stop was Walmart where Kelly slipped in for a few groceries while Pheebs and I had ourselves a walk around the parking lot.  Spotted a small Class A Thor Motorhome that really caught my fancy so took a few photos of it.  Didn’t know the people were inside watching but as soon as Pheebs and went back to our Motorhome the Thor driver saw that we were fellow RV’ers from Ontario and came on over.  Nice chap with an English accent and we had ourselves quite a chin wag.  His wife later walked over as well.  They were from St. Catherines Ontario and were on their way to the Baja in California.

I LIKED THESE FOLKS COMPACT CLASS A MOTORHOME

PHEEBS AND I TOOK A SHORT CRUISE AROUND THE WALMART PARKING LOT

YOU CAN ALWAYS TELL YOU ARE IN THE SOUTHWEST BY THE NUMBER OF FEET YOU SEE STICKING OUT OF PICK-UP TRUCK WINDOWS
From Deming we headed south about 30 miles to Columbus and did you know that the only time the United States has ever been invaded by a foreign country was right here in Columbus.  The bullet holes are still in some of the buildings.  I have posts from our visits to Columbus New Mexico dating back to December of 2006 when we had Christmas dinner with many of the local folks in their community Center.  I have photos of both Kelly and I sitting on Santa’s knee.  Not at the same time of course.  First 2 times in Columbus we stayed at Pancho Villa State Park and the last time here was a Halloween night but we stayed in a different RV Park at the towns north end.  And that is where we are now.  It wouldn’t be an RV Park for most of the fellow RV’ers we know but for us Bayfield Bums we like it here.  But then again we like Slab City too.  We have water and sewer but no electric because we don’t need it.  Nine dollars a night.

ON OUR WAY TO COLUMBUS WE PASSED BY THE ‘3 SISTERS’ MOUNTAINS….LOOKS MORE TO ME LIKE 3 SISTERS AND A YOUNGER COUSIN
Soon as we got parked I un-hooked the Jeep then with hose in hand proceeded to hose all that corrosive road salt off both the Jeep and the Motorhome.  I didn’t wash them both, just hosed them down.  They are both still dirty but look a darn sight better than they did.  Also went around and oiled all the bin door locks and mechanisms.  That road salt will corrode those bin door latches in no time.  Also filled our fresh water tank and cleaned all the gunk off our hitch assembly.  So to sum it all up, we are happy campers tonight and so glad to be where we finally are.  Once we get some laundry out of the way in the morning maybe we’ll just go bomb around town in the Jeep for awhile.  Maybe go look for a dusty old Jeep road to let Libby kick her heels up a bit.  D’ya think:))

WE’LL PROBABLY HANG OUT HERE FOR A FEW DAYS

TOOK OUR AMARYLLIS FOR A WALK IN THE SUN THIS AFTERNOON

POOR PHEEBS, WE’RE BACK IN THE LAND OF GOAT HEAD STICKERS AND THESE DAMN THINGS ARE THE WORST THERE IS FOR BOTH ANIMALS AND PEOPLE

INTERNET PHOTO OF GOAT HEAD STICKERS
And my doozer of a cold has pretty much dozed itself out so I’m hoping I will be good for another decade before I get another one.  Kelly has been doing well but we both have been ending our days on the very tired side this past week.  Glad those fast paced travel days are behind us now for awhile………

A COLUMBUS NEW MEXICO SUNSET
GROANER’S CORNER:((  A man and his wife were driving their Recreational Vehicle across the country and were nearing a town spelled Kissimee. They noted the strange spelling and tried to figure how to pronounce it - KISS-a-me; kis-A-me; kis-a-ME. They grew more perplexed as they drove into the town.  Since they were hungry, they pulled into a place to get something to eat. At the counter, the man said to the waitress:
"My wife and I can't seem to be able to figure out how to pronounce this place. Will you tell me where we are and say it very slowly so that I can understand."  The waitress looked at him and said: "Buuurrrgerrr Kiiiinnnng."
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Mr. Anderson: I am very lucky. When I talk with my wife, she always bows her head.
Mr. Smith: Why?
Mr. Anderson: Because she is taller than me.
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ODESSA TEXAS TO VAN HORN TEXAS::NAILED BY A FREAK OVERNIGHT WINTER STORM IN ODESSA!!

AND THIS IS WHAT WE WOKE UP TO THIS MORNING

Winds in the night picked up with gusts flapping Kelly’s bedroom awning cover so she had to pull her slide in.  Occasionally I could hear sounds on the roof that sounded like somebody was throwing handfuls off gravel up there.  Had no idea what it could be.  Also had no idea what those night winds were carrying with them until this morning when we first opened our curtains.  ‘OMG’ we had us a winter storm going on outside!!!!  The parking lot had bands of ‘SNOW’ blown across it and those sounds on the roof in the night must have been clusters of frozen ice pellets coming down.  According to our weather site the outside temperatures was 24F.  There had been no winter storm warnings that we knew of so I’m sure everyone in this area woke up to a big surprise.  I wasn’t long in digging out my packed away winter gear to get Pheebs outside.  Of course with her furry coat on the snowy cold didn’t bother her.  There was no point in even thinking about going anywhere until the storm blew itself out so we hunkered down and waited.  Forecast high for Odessa tomorrow (Thursday) is 63F so it looks like we just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time:((

Our travel priorities today had been pretty simple, find us a batch of warm air somewhere West of where we were.  We knew we were close to it but we first had to get ourselves there……but it was not to be.  Because of the overnight freak snowstorm we were delayed in Odessa until well after noon.  With no major road equipment for clearing snow and ice off the roads we just had to wait for milder temperatures to thaw things out. 

NO SHOPPING CARTS IN THE STILES TODAY

Had us a relaxing morning around the rig reading, and bonking around on our laptops.  Considered walking to a nearby Walmart for something to do but decided it was just too darn cold and windy to walk anywhere.

AND IT WAS A RELAXING MORNING FOR THE DOGGY TOO

CHIPPING ICE OFF THE PASSENGER SIDE MIRROR WITH A KITCHEN SPATULA….I HAD TOTALLY FORGOT I HAD AN ICE SCRAPER BY THE DRIVER’S SEAT

The weather advisory ended at 11 and 45 minutes later I noticed snow melting in the parking lot.  We also noticed the street beside us was finally clear of  ice and snow.  Didn’t take us long to get ourselves packed up and squared away.  At 12:25 we rolled out of the Sam’s Club parking lot heading for I-20.  We hadn’t gone 3 blocks when we noticed there was no snow anywhere and when we got to the Interstate it was totally bare and dry.  Geeezzzz, was the winter storm just in the Sam’s Club Parking lot???  We hadn’t gone far when we saw 3 different vehicles in the ditch so that told us the Interstate had indeed received the same ice and snow we did so our decision to stay put for the morning was a good one.

MUCH OF TEXAS IS VERY FLAT SO WE JUST SET THE RIG ON CRUISE CONTROL AND LET THE MILES ROLL BY

ONE OF THREE VEHICLES STILL IN THE DITCH FROM THE OVERNIGHT ICE AND SNOW STORM

THERE MUST BE THOUSANDS OF THESE ‘DONKEY ENGINES’ IN TEXAS

A TYPICAL MODERN TEXAS OIL RIG

IT WAS NICE TO SEE SOME HILLS ALONG THE WAY

OUR SHARP EYED NAVIGATOR IS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE WE ARE

IT’S STARTING TO LOOK A LITTLE SOUTHWESTY HERE

Today’s traffic was lighter than Tuesday’s traffic and we figured yesterday’s rush was due to post-Christmas sales.  The crush of cars and people in that Midland Walmart was unbelievable.

SEEMED LIKE IT WAS GETTING FOGGY UP AHEAD

AND WHAT’S THAT ON THOSE TREES??

West of Pecos I noticed a kind of a odd looking fog ahead.  Had a feeling it had something to do with colder eastern air running into the warmer western air.  And it did.  Began noticing a curious thing when shrubbery and trees began taking on an icy look to them kind of like a fairy wonderland.  Roads were fine but the icy fog cloud had touched everything with a painters silvery brush.  Tried to get a few photos going by but they are nowhere near the real beauty I saw.

With today’s late start our destination was Van Horn Texas about a hundred and sixty miles away.  Think it was around 2:45 when we merged with another of the country’s major Interstates that I think has it’s eastern beginning somewhere in Florida.  I-10.

It was maybe 20 miles east of Van Horn when we came down out of the fog cloud that I first caught sight of distant mountains on the horizon.  Oh what a nice feeling that always is for me every year and I repeatedly look forward to that moment.  And to add icing to the cake it was about this same time our oppressive gray cloud cover began to break up allowing old Sol to finally shine through and bathe us in glorious warm sunshine.

YESIREEEE THERE ARE THE HAZY MOUNTAINS ON THE HORIZON

THURSDAY WE WILL BE OFF THE FLAT TEXAS PLAINS AND INTO THE MOUNTAINS OF NEW MEXICO

VAN HORN TEXAS LIES TO THE LEFT OF THAT ROCKY MOUNTAIN TOP KNOB

Our propane was getting low so we exited Van Horn’s first ramp which took us to a Love’s Truck stop where we were able to get our big propane tank filled.  Decided to top off our gas tank as well but the gas bar there was jam packed with 4 wheelers so we took the service road 3 stop signs to the west where we knew a McDonalds to be.  Kelly had read on-line of a large dirt parking lot behind McDonalds where people have overnighted.   Truckers use this spot but it’s a big enough area to not be near the trucks.  There’s also a gas station here so we filled up.

PROPANE STOP AT LOVE’S TRUCK STOP IN VAN HORN AND A GAS FILL UP AT A STATION ACROSS FROM MCDONALDS

In all the years we have overnighted in places like Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, and Cracker Barrels we have never been bothered or harassed by anyone or anything.  Well until Tuesday night in Odessa that is.  Some local yokel with a souped up car figured it would be great sport to harass the RV people (us) in their Motorhome.  He first drove by real close blowing his horn.  But that was all…….until he returned later around midnight and woke us up by squealing his car’s tires over and over again in the parking lot near us.  What a jerk!!

BEEN AWHILE SINCE I’VE HAD A PICTURE OF THE MOTORHOME WITH MOUNTAINS IN THE BACKGROUND

Tomorrow we will head towards El Paso Texas then veer off onto the 375 bi-pass and follow Howard Payne’s directions on to get around El Paso the easy way.  Howard and Linda just did that a few days ago and thanks to Howard for blogging about the route.  Alternate RV Route Around El Paso Texas

No idea as to where we will be Thursday night except to say we will finally be in warmer air  somewhere in New Mexico under starry skies I should think.  See you there:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A ten-year-old Jewish boy was failing math. His parents tried everything from tutors to hypnosis; but to no avail. Finally, at the insistence of a family friend, they decided to enroll their son in a private Catholic school.  After the first day, the boy's parents were surprised when he walked in after school with a stern, focused and very determined expression on his face.  He went straight past them, right to his room and quietly closed the door. For nearly two hours he toiled away in his room with math books strewn about his desk and the surrounding floor. He emerged long enough to eat, and after quickly cleaning his plate, went straight back to his room, closed the door and worked feverishly at his studies until bedtime.  This pattern of behavior continued until it was time for the first quarter's report card. The boy walked in with it unopened, laid it on the dinner table and went straight to his room.  Cautiously, his mother opened it and, to her amazement, she saw a large red 'A' under the subject of Math. Overjoyed, she and her husband rushed into their son's room, thrilled at his remarkable progress.  Was it the nuns that did it? the father asked. The boy shook his head and said "No."  Was it the one-to-one tutoring? The peer-mentoring? "No."  The textbooks? The teachers? The curriculum?  "No," said the son. "On that first day, when I walked in the front door and saw that guy nailed to the plus sign, I KNEW they were serious! ==============================