Oh Yes, The Wind

We were exhausted after our long 400+ mile trip Thursday, so in spite of some traffic noise from Interstate 10, we slept soundly. Usually on a traveling day we are up at the ridiculous hour of 7:30 a.m. and are on the road about 10. That way we avoid all of the rush hour traffic. But as we were going to bed I realized that just a few miles up the road we would enter Mountain Time and pick up an extra hour, so I told Terry to set the alarm for 8:30.

As I said in yesterday’s blog, Southern Star RV Park in Van Horn was a good find, exactly what I want in a Passport America park – easy access from the highway, level, clean, good hookups, and affordable ($15 night under the Passport America rate). As you can see, it’s not fancy, but who needs fancy for a quick overnight stop? We have added this one to our regular stop list.

When we got on the road it was breezy, but not too bad. A little over 100 miles brought us to the Loop 375 on the south end of El Paso. We took it north, bypassing all of the traffic congestion through the city.

We usually continue north on a couple of local roads into New Mexico and connect back with I-10 just over the border. But this trip we stayed on Loop 375 as it turned west and became the Transmountain Parkway. A mile or two further on we came to the U.S. Border Patrol Museum.

This is a special place for me because when I was a boy my dad wore the uniform and I’ve always had a lot of respect for the men and women who protect our borders, and the museum honors their work and dedication.

We spent a couple of hours at the museum, checking out the displays of everything from patrol vehicles to aircraft, robots, infrared cameras, and other tools of the trade.

My dad carried a Smith & Wesson .44 just like this for years, though it was not as fancy, with wooden grips and no engraving.

There is also a display of captured and seized items, including this homemade raft that four Cuban refugees sailed to Florida in back in 1994, and contraband weapons taken from smugglers and other border criminals. I’ll have a feature story on the Border Patrol Museum in a future issue of the Gypsy Journal.

When we’ve been back east for a while, I forget how hard the wind blows here in the Southwest. By the time we left the museum and began the long climb over the Franklin Mountains it had really kicked up. Between the steep uphill climb and the headwind, I think our miles per gallon were probably measured in quarts, not gallons.

Heading downhill we had a short 8% grade and then several miles of 7% and then 6%. The engine brake on our Winnebago really got a workout on that one!

Back on Interstate 10, we soon crossed into New Mexico, and another 90 minutes or so brought us to Deming, where we pulled into the Escapes Dream Catcher RV Park. By then the wind was really blowing hard and we were glad to be off the road.

The wind is going to be even worse today, and Sunday doesn’t look good either, so we’ll be here a while. But if you have to be someplace, an Escapees park is a pretty good place to be, right?

Have you entered our latest Free Drawing yet? This week’s prize is an audiobook of Crazy Days in Big Lake, the third book in my Big Lake mystery series. To enter, all you have to do is click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening.

Thought For The Day – Always remember you are unique, just like everyone else.

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