Late Night in Texas

A quick update.  We have been on the road all day beginning at 8:00 and ending at midnight in the small town of Childress, Texas.  I’ve never been to Childress; tomorrow it will be interesting to see the area.

This morning when we left Williams, the temperature was 22 degrees, had frost on all the windows and it was cold.  As we headed east on I-40, it was a real mix of landscapes from trees to desert, dry and barren to snow covered mountain tops.  This area has already had their first snow storms!  That actually happened a couple of weeks ago.  Beautiful country, beautiful country.

Not much has changed across the landscape in the five weeks we have been gone, only that the weather has gotten a little colder all across the United States.  We have passed the Borax plant, the Hyundai-Kia Proving Grounds (I didn’t discuss this one with you, so you will have to go research this one on your own), the golf ball house, the windmill farms, and the Cholla Power Plant, to name a few.  I felt a little smarter this time because I knew the names of the landmarks!

 

I am in awe of the mountains.  How they all look so different, some barren, some tree covered.  Some red, some brown; some sheer rocks and others like a pile of rocks.  One of the things I don’t think I mentioned on the way out was a region near Grants, New Mexico that has an abundance of black rock.  This is lava rock from volcanic activity thousands of years ago.  As you drive along, you feel like you are in the crater of the volcano with the way the mountains rise around you.  Just imagine, this is the land of dinosaurs!

We stopped in Albuquerque to visit a friend of mine from Maryland.  She and I used to work together for the government years ago.  Her name is also Kathi (spelled different than mine).  While passing through Albuquerque, I did manage to take a couple of pictures (as promised) of the bridges and artwork of which I spoke.  Albuquerque is very much into the arts!    

By the time we left Albuquerque the evening chill had set in.   The temperature took a quick drop into the low 50s and then the mid-40s.  The wind picked up and was gusting so much that Mr. Bruce had to work to keep the car on the road at times.  We got out at a rest stop and I thought we were going to be blown away it was so windy!  With the open ranges and flat lands, there is nothing to stop the wind.  

Tomorrow we will head to Monroe, Louisiana which is the beginning of our Southern route.  Louisiana is bayou country, totally different than any area we have  traveled through thus far - the land of Spanish moss, alligators, shrimp and more.  If you have some time, research the bayou and see what you learn.  You tell me something new! 

I will post a couple of pictures tomorrow.  It is now 1:15 in the morning and I need to hit the showers and get some sleep. 

Talk to you soon.