Ft Stockton to Las Cruces NM

Today was a mixture of interesting sights as we traveled the last portion of Texas and entered New Mexico.  The day started out with a huge roadrunner (a welcome statue for Fort Stockton.)  We went into town for a quick stop at a Walmart when we spied this fellow below:

Further down Interstate-10 we were detoured off the highway onto a frontage road to accommodate bridge construction up ahead of where they literally had us drive off the road, across the shoulder, down through a grass embankment and back up onto a frontage road in an impromptu detour the highway department created apparently on the spur of the moment.  Now picture everything in every cabinet shifting back and forth.  Awesome...

Just to keep things interesting, we passed what appeared to be a rocket wrapped in black plastic and identified as a "wide load" with the usual escort cars adorned with flashing lights twice today.  One was stopped at an on-ramp to the Interstate near Fort Stockton and then we spied another in a rest stop where we paused for lunch.  The whole story we don't know, but it was impressive.

At the same rest stop we saw a truck loaded with wheels for railroad cars.  They appeared to be new and it goes to show what a variety of items travel down the road in and on trucks.  When you think of the Fedex and UPS and US Mail Trucks that passed us today, it is clear what we saw is just the tip of the transportation iceberg we witnessed today.

As the day wore on today, we climbed in elevation from mere hundreds of feet above sea level to as much as 4,600 feet of elevation at times.  Mountains appeared on the horizon and we passed between several ranges of mountains, buttes and more mesas.  It was nice to be back in the mountains after a winter in the southeast.

We passed through El Paso and saw the border with Mexico beyond to the south.  The city is always busy when we have traveled through it.  Today was no different.  We also passed the cattle yards here that perpetually frustrate me.  Necessary or not, I hate to see the animals penned up standing in their own excrement.  To me it seems inhumane and I'll always feel that way knowing there are green pasture alternatives within our country.  Pecan trees in neat rows and still waiting to sprout leaves are along the road here too.

By three p.m. we were across the State border into New Mexico and arrived at Hacienda RV Resort, one of our favorites along this part of Interstate-10.  The weather is mild and sunny and we soak it all in after dinner with a walk about the park.  It is hard to believe how fast this trip across the country has progressed.  We are now on Mountain Daylight Savings Time.  Tomorrow we will reach Tucson in Arizona.