This morning I fail to receive the elusive "free continental breakfast", too late even though I check out just after 9. I jump out onto the highway and get my first look at New Mexico in the light of day. I will assume there is more to see than shrubs and fenced plots crammed with dairy cows I pass on the short distance to the Texan border.
Texas is the first state I enter to have a large monument signifying the border in addition to the usual signage. It may have been just because I was thinking about what to expect in Texas, but I suddenly notice a large amount of pickup trucks on the road as well.
After a drive shorter than that from Las Cruses NM to the border, I hit El Paso. El Paso, as you may or may not know is a perfectly fine city located right on the border of Mexico across from one of the most dangerous cities in the world: Juarez. The highway gets close enough to chuck a baseball into foreign territory, and thats about as close as I'm willing to get (living in Juarez will give you better than a 1 in 1000 chance of ending up in a body bag).
When I finish driving through the rest of El Paso, a surprisingly big town (and quite a nice place considering its neighbor), the highway opens back up and speed limits increase dramatically.
The Parade gets rained on shortly as the highway gets funneled through yet another Border Security checkpoint. Thanks to my low ride hight and open windows the drug sniffing dog makes to jump in the passenger seat but is held back by a border agent. I break out the camera to take a close up of the dog but the agent asking me questions on the other side asked me to "please put ithe camera away" (in a way that made keeping it out not an option of course
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Then, the monotony begins. Having driven thousands of miles over every terrain imaginable in just the past few weeks, wide open vistas lose their luster in fewer miles. Texas is huge, and mostly empty prairie.
I listen to music, talk on the phone a little, eat a rice crispy treat at 150kmh...
Thanks to the great visibility I see several trucks hauling more wind turbine blades the opposite direction and snap some more pictures. Even zoomed all the way out and 20 yards away, I cant fit a whole truck in the frame with a perpendicular shot.
I imagine the roads out this way had no speed limit back in the day, and in a practical sense, they still dont. I have a love-hate relationship with 5th gear in this car. In one sense, its great for practical around town driving, because you can be in 5th gear by 35-40mph and then you are done with shifting as long as you dont need to accelerate with vigor. On the other hand, cruising on the highway at reasonable speeds keeps the rpms at a thrashing level. On the other other hand, at unreasonable speeds on the highway, you are right in the powerband and get surprising acceleration for a wimpy 165hp 2 liter.
After High speed runs wear out, I go back to listening to music for the most part. I also figure I should show you all around the house while I'm at it. Here is me in the office where I get all my 9 to 5 work done:
Over here we have to living room, when I can host a guest or pull out the battle laptop:
Back yonder is the pantry, mostly filled with cheap dry-goods, and non-perishable drinks in the electro-cooler:
Front and center is the entertainment center, complete with gps, satillite and cellular connections to the populated world hundreds of miles away:
In the far back, out of view, I have my master bedroom (tent), kitchen (fold down propane stove), garage (tool box and floor jack) and spare parts (zip ties, duct tape). I suppose if you arent camping, or take out the back seat, that this road trip can be done with 2 people in the car. But I suggest you be on really good terms with said partner if you are to attempt 3+ weeks in the space of a very small closet.
Anyways, back on the road, I spot some 70's street metal, complete with vintage psychedelic paint job. This dude/dudette is sporting Jersey plates and commend them for taking a mega journey across the country in such a creep-van. Seriously, I 'd take a 78 ford pinto two steps from the grave across the country before this thing...
Finally I arrive in San Antonio after driving over 600 miles (from tip to tail, Texas is 773 miles wide in a strait line), about 2/3rd across the state.
One thing about Texas that impressed me was the fantastic shape most of its bridges, overpasses and elevated roadways were in. Being from PA, I'm more used to faded paint, surface rust, crumbling concrete and exposed rebar.
I drive into an seedy part of town and arrive at the first campsite I've been at that has a security fence. And gates that are locked at night. Adding to injury are the most ambitious mosquitoes to date, so I spray extensive repellent on myself before setting up camp. At dusk I treat myself to some gourmet 70 cent cup noodle and finally retreat to the safety of my green tent for the first time in 8 days. Its good to be home again
). The whole southern to eastern ends of the 40 acre farm are are bordered by a large river, with rocky mountain face on the other side of that, giving you ample space and seclusion to do pretty much whatever. We set off downhill from the farmhouse passing through a few farming gates on our way down to the river. With so much moisture and rich soil, the plants have grown 6 feet high on either side of the near invisible path we beat down in the miniaturized off-roading pickup truck. When we reach the flood-plane we take a left running parallel with the river, pushing through the brush and splashing through a muddy creek with the brown water almost spilling inboard. The knobby tires bite into the dirt and brought us to a stop on the rocky embankment of the river, just inside the tree line. From the rear bed my uncle tosses me a couple of empty cans and produced a shiny Ruger pistol from a brown carry case. What, did you think we were going down the the river to meditate?
