July 29 – West Texas

Leaving Las Cruses, we discovered near non-stop cattle feed lots between our campground and the Texas border.

There was also an used item outlet which seemed to advertise it sold everything people might want but may not need.

About 20 minutes into today's trip,

Replacing the feed lots along the I-10 corridor were brightly painted malls.

As mentioned in the past, we always keep our eyes on the winds as they can affect driving safety.  Fortunately, they didn't look as if they'd be a problem today.

Many overhead signs warned drivers about leaving children and pets in unattended vehicles.

The drive through El Paso was a slalom course of road construciton, although even with the many barriers, the road was in better shape than when we were here several years ago.  However, slow-moving, over loaded vehicles were still in evidence.

Immediately to our right (south) we could see Ciudad Juárez

in between which the fence separating the Unidted States and Mexico was clearly visible.

Before leaving the outskirts of the city, we passed a building whose messages seemed to be a bit of an oxymoron.

Before I forget … yes, there were many decorated bridges and sound barriers throughout the length of I-10 in El Paso which made Debbie wonder why those back home can't be made more attractive.

There was also an attractive sculpture.

Then the landscape changed dramnatically.

The police were still out there

Passing several agricultural fields, Debbie spotted a crop duster pilot at work.

A number of miles later, we reached a broder inspection station.  It was interesting that the commerical trucks were directed into one lane and all other vehicles into another.

This is the inspector who spoke to us, asking just two questions:  "How many people are in the vehicle?" and "Are you both U.S. citizens?"  Then, "Have a good day."

The two agents apparently checking the trucks were just chatting and dirinking water.  All we could figure out is that perhaps their concern has to do with non-commerical trucks

Continuing east …

One of many abandoned RVs apparently used in the past as a homestead

Just a hundred yards up the road from the prior breakdown

While much of the landscape is relatively to very flat,

there are occasional hills through which the road bed was cut.

Where blasting was required the exposed rock faces were often both colorful and even artistic.

As happened yesterday, we passed a lone walker miles from any town

The first evidence of oil production we've seen in since leaving California

Not even sure this walker had any any interest in the breakdown

Occasionally, we got the uneasy feeling we were being watched.

With temperatures topping at 100o, we  discarded concern about one of the signs we repeatedly saw along the road.

We spotted several dust devils … most of which dissipated as quickly as they appeared

One even appeared over a lake

Another decorated bridge in Fort Stockton

Our evening will be spent at the

This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *