Eating the Breakfast of Champions.....Whataburger
Trip Start
Dec 22, 2008
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Trip End
Dec 29, 2008
Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Day one: over and done with....I am sitting here in the hotel room in Las Cruces. We just had pizza delivered and just hoping I can type everything before I forget it all and fall into the bed. It was a rough and long day but I think we can all breathe a sigh of relief that it has come and gone. Events over the past couple of months have been leading up to this day and it's finally through. This move has become the reality (almost like a slap in the face) that I knew was coming but didn't fully know what to expect. Today was our longest drive of the trip (we made it 623.1 miles in 12 hours and 10 min). Adding the Grand Am to the trip definitely added more time. At one point on 10 out in West Texas the speed limit was 80 and we were pushing a whopping 60, lol. At least we made it here all in one piece with no trouble at all.
Mike has never been past west of Boerne so it was definitely a new sight for him to see. I don't remember exactly which route we took to Colorado when I was younger but I don't think I have ever been out all the way to El Paso so it was fun (for a little bit) to go through the Hill Country and West Texas. One of the most shocking sights we saw was in Kerrville on the side of a hill there was a huge ELK! I didn't know there were elk in Texas! I had to call my dad immediately of course and let him know what we saw....I think we needed reassurance that we weren't both hallucinating. Some other wildlife we saw along the way: Ostrich, Deer, Javelina Hog, Cattle, Horses, Goats (Mike's favorite), Doves, a few Hawks, and lots of roadkill, eewww.
One of the most interesting things that we saw was the huge windmill farms that generate power. There were tons of them and at one of the rest stops we ventured into they had a information sheet saying that they were anywhere from 80 feet to 260 feet tall!!! They were huge!
We took a "detour" and instead of taking 10 all the way to El Paso, our trusty Garmin GPS took us up through Pecos and around El Paso. It was a little nervous at first being on a stretch of road for 20 miles at a time we wouldn't see a car, a house, or any wildlife but it turned out to be a gorgeous route taking us right through the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. I guess the GPS wanted to warm Mike up by driving through an "easy" mountain before we hit the bigger ones in Nevada and California. We were still in Texas when the sun starting to go down and it was quite a sight to see the sun setting on the mountain range.
I have tons of pictures that I took and I realized that to make the time go by faster I will just entertain myself by looking for stuff to take pictures of. So bare with me when I post 60+ pictures a day, lol.
Tomorrow we are heading out around 9am to Luke Air Force Base right outside of Phoenix. The weather says right now we might run into a few rain showers but that is fine with us if it's just rain. I don't know if the drive tomorrow will be as exciting as the drive today but then again we drove through West Texas and had a blast....how many people can say that?? Time for dinner and off to bed. Have a good night everybody!
*I have read all the wonderful comments and emails from everybody. Thank you for taking such an interest in our trip as we are. The internet connection here at the hotel isn't as fast as I can deal with right now so please have patience and I will respond to everybody. Thank you all for your warm wishes and prayers along our drive, they mean so much to us. We love you all!!
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I was going to ask if you were bored...all those pictures...LOL,.....KEEP 'EM COMING...and I LOVE WHATABURGER for breakfast.... breakfast on a bun ranchero with sausage, fries and a DP....... :)
Boy do I remember making that drive...
When we did it in '85, we went I10 all the way to California and then straight up I5. Very long trip, especially with a 3month old!! But they are fond memories. I wish you two luck and love in your new adventure ;=)
Enjoying your adventure!
Have been that route quite a few times and it is no fun! Larry and I took Aunt Linda back to California via Disneyland with us as a graduation present. I was 3 months pregnant and the two of them ganged up on me to continuously drive further and further that first day! I could have wrung their necks!!!!!! Am enjoying your trip and cannot wait until you get to California and the mountains, especially the Grapevine!
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May have made a mistake. I thought the Redwoods were closer to Redding than they were. Shasta Lake is beautiful, but know yall want to get 'home'. Check out either the Redwoods (the forest is several hundred miles long) and the Sequoias. They are amazing. Just a few spots to get out and walk.