Carlsbad in the Rearview Mirror

I hated to leave Carlsbad. We had such a great time there and it was a real nice town. Add that town to my list of favorites. (That list is growing!) Within the hour of driving we were in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park located in Texas right on the New Mexico border. The scenery was stunning. El Capitan is an 8,085 foot high monolithic landmark that can be seen for fifty miles.




But the highest mountain is Guadalupe Peak at 8,749 feet. We had to drive right through the national park to get to our destination so we "killed two birds with one stone" as they say.

Continuing on Interstate 180 we drove past the Salt Flats - wide open spaces and salt on the ground as far as the eye could see.




I got a kick out of seeing several of these while we were driving. They are called "stiles" - a step or steps over a fence. Luckily there was one at the rest stop area so I was able to take a clear picture of it. I thought, "What was the use of having a barbed wire fence if you had steps to go over it?" So that's your word of the day - STILES.



I was excited to see a REAL cowboy just riding along side the road - was able to snap a picture of him while we zoomed past him. Well, maybe zoomed is too strong of a word with Jim driving. Let's just say I was able to snap a picture of the cowboy while we passed him. I think the speed limit was 75 mph and Jim was going 55 mph - a full 20 miles BELOW the speed limit! Do you see my eyes rolling here? But he wanted to get good gas mileage, et cetera, et cetera.




We pulled into the campground in Vado, TX, in the late afternoon. We had traveled almost 200 miles, which might not seem a lot, but in truck/trailer miles, that's about 1.5 times the distance than a regular car, kind of like dog years, based on the numbness of my butt, the stiffness of my neck, hips, and knees. We were happy to just settle down for the night. We were awarded with a beautiful sunset.

What's that smell?

We left good ole Abilene on a cold and overcast morning. The wind was wicked. Jim's cap blew off his head twice, and he had to chase it like a tumbleweed that got caught up in the wind. I had to wipe the grin off my face by the time he got back to the truck. Two c-130's took off before we left and I managed to get a picture of one of them.

The drive to Carlsbad, NM from Abilene is somewhat off the beaten path. Lots of open spaces with nothing but oil wells on it. And nothing in the air but the smell of gas...methane gas that is. Jim explained to me that is what comes out of the ground when the oil is being drilled. I could not imagine living in those parts. Smelling that stuff all day? Yuk! I had a headache most of the drive. I suppose you'd get used to it. We saw a sign that read, "Caution - Poisonous Gases", and then, not 100 feet away, there was a picnic area! Go figure!

The area from Texas to Southern New Mexico is dry, dusty, and desolate with nothing but oil wells. With everything so dry I know fires are a concern here. As a matter of fact, we came across two brush fires that had recently been started (probably by a careless toss of a cigarette butt). There were workmen gathered around to spray something on the smoking fields.




We did pass fields of cotton. Sometimes I'd glance out the window and think it was snow.




Every once in awhile we'd go through a small town. Most of the towns were broken down, stores closed, homes crumbling, and yards trashed. Sometimes there would be a regular town that seemed to be making it with today's economy.

Funny signs of the day:

I saw this on a hotel marquee but wasn't able to take a picture:
"Free Rooms! Tax $53.25"

Funny Street Names: