We covered 440 miles today, from Mineral Springs, to Carlsbad, New Mexico. It was a beautiful day for driving and we had the big wheels on the road my 8:00 this morning. I think it only got into the mid 60’s today, but the sun was out, and this was the first day I wore my winter uniform… shorts and a t-shirt, and it felt great!
One of the nice things about driving through Texas, is you get to see the first signs of the south west, cactus plants! Check out the “Beaver Tail” cactus’ below… they were all over the place!
We were an hour on the road, and I could see smoke! Thankfully it was not coming from the RV… We drove right past the fire, which turned out to be a farmer burning off farm fields… they do that down here! You could see the smoke for miles! We saw this last year over at the Salton Sea, in California.
Of course, everything is TEXAS is BIG! Check out the windmills below… we are back in the land of the mill! This farm was just off Hwy. 20 on the West side of Texas, and was big! This was by far the biggest farm of windmills, Judy and I have ever seen… there were thousand’s! Don’t know how many, but lots, and went on forever! Lots of wind too to keep them turning!
After counting thousand’s of windmills, we could not believe we would see more of something else… What else??? Oil Wells of course! This area of Texas is covered with oil wells. Check out the great job Judy did with the camera at 70 MPH! Yup, in Texas you fly! There were oil wells all over this area… and they were all working!
When you have all that oil, you need a refinery to process it into fuel! Here is a tanker unloading crude oil at the refinery.
Most of our trip today, was over land like to see below… flat, and even flatter… not too many hills for our Duramax to climb today. By far, the largest crop we seen in the fields today, was Cotton! The biggest mining we saw today, was Potash by far!
We hit New Mexico early this afternoon, and went back to the future again! We are now 2 hours behind Ontario… Makes for earlier Leaf games, that is for sure.
We made it to Carlsbad, New Mexico, tonight, and will be touring the Carlsbad Cavern’s tomorrow… will hang around for a few days maybe… but it is going to 23 deg. F. tonight… which is below 0 for you Canuks up there… Bring in the hose time! Problem is, we are at about 3,200 feet here in Carlsbad!
Till tomorrow…
Oh, how this made me miss Texas!
ReplyDeleteYou'll LOVE Carlsbad Caverns! I did. =]
Our first year on the road we hit the Carlsbad Caverns and I just loved them. We took the tour in the morning and then freely wandered the caves in the afternoon. Be sure to hike down through the Bat Cave entrance too. I love to see those first signs of Cactus along the way when heading west as well. You are now in the Guadalupe Mountains and that's why it's cold. If you want to avoid EL Paso just slip up to Roswell and head west through the scenic Apache Pass to Tularosa and Alamogordo. Don't miss White Sands New Mexico if your going that way. There's a good Rocket Museum in Alamogordo too.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you are in New Mexico already!!..moving right along!!!..enjoy the caverns!!
ReplyDeleteBoy, that was a long day. Carlsbad is on our list in about a month from now. We're excited to visit the caverns.
ReplyDeleteCarlsbad Caverns are a fantastic visit! We sure enjoyed them. You're right in the middle of a lot of very interesting places right now. Have fun touring around while you're there!
ReplyDeleteGreeting to the Hollings.
ReplyDeleteI am not one for popping anyones bubble, but, those wind mills aren't wind mills. Those are Wind Generators. They are producting electric power. As a Texan, I Thank You for giving us that extra bust of confidence.
I really enjoy your blog and wish you a safe journey.
Carmen
Howdy Hollisters,
ReplyDeleteTHERE ARE OVER 14,000 WIND TURBINES JUST BETWEEN ABILENE AND SWEETWATER, TEXAS; IT'S ABOUT 100 MILES!!! One every 300'apart!!!
Be sure and 'do' Carlsbad Caverns!
My 85 year-old aunt WALKED IN & OUT
of there.. Go to Roswell,NM and see where the 'spaceship'crashed!! IT REALLY DID!!! A friend of a friend of my wife's ex-b-i-l has a portion of it!!!
Have a wonderful trip and don't wait on Kelley & Al.. They'll get there!!!!!!!!!
It is a nice trip on up to Roswell John, and the drive from there to Tularosa and on over through White Sands is a neat drive. Well worth the trip.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that the trip is going well so far.