Westward HO !! – DAY 2

September 12, 2008

WOW, what a day it has been. We been in 3 states today, driven some 700 miles in about 12 hours and found a great RV park at the end of a very, very long day.
We were up about 6:30 and were pulling out of the Eagles Nest at 8:00am and headed West.

The cloud remnants of the storms the day before still hung in the sky and painted beautiful hues of red as the sunrise touched the mountain ranges on either side of the highway.

First it was Eagle Mountain rising to the south that caught our attention as it reflects the sun’s glow.

Shortly after, the Sierra Blanca Mountains to the North with low hanging clouds proved the next piece of Mother Nature’s artwork.

We still had about an hour or so to complete our Texas leg of this trek. Through El Paso and into New Mexico we stopped at the Welcome Center and found some beautiful cacti, yucca and other flowering plants on the grounds.

We also noticed about this time that our gas mileage seemed to improve over the previous day’s performance. I must admit I checked all the trailer tires and added air to each – to just 5 lbs below maximum…..that additional inflation and the fact that Debbie started pushing us up hill, helped us start seeing about 13 Miles to the gallon !!! YEA !

I know I commented on how boring the West Texas drive can be…but it doesn’t hold a sobering candle to the west ward bound drive in New Mexico and Arizona. I think what makes it sooooooooo boring is that it’s a huge huge area without any living thing to break up the scenery….so you see this mountain range in the distance and you are still looking at it 30-60 minutes later……AND IT LOOKS NO DIFFERENT … only the trains hauling cargo trailers come and go thru the event-less scenery .

So have you ever seen a copy of ARIZONA LIVING or DESERT BEAUTY ? You know, a magazine of a desert- scape with an awesome looking Saguaro Cactus on the cover. There are best known for their human shaped appearance. Well, did you ever wonder what happens to those cacti that don’t make the cover of ARIZONA LIVING ? You know, the non-Paris Hilton cacti. I found them in southern Arizona on Hiway 8 between Casa Grande and Yuma. It’s along this highway that the ‘everyday’ el-natural Saguaro Cactus lives.

If the pics seem blurry, it’s because Debbie wouldn’t slow down.

Finally we pulled into Yuma Arizona and into the Shangri-La RV park. It took no time to set up and we were drinking a cold frosty one before the sun finally set beyond the horizon….


Tomorrow California and the Beach.