We spent the night in Amarillo Texas. Leaving the hotel early the next morning, we had to give a wide berth to the guest exiting the elevator. A real rodeo cowboy, with a real cowboy hat, one with a real wide brim. I swear I could hear George Straight twanging "Amarilla by morning, up from San Antoine. Every thing that I got is just what I got on." I wondered, did he loose his wife and a girlfriend somewhere along the way? Not in that order if he did, mused Ron.
Just past Amarillo, the land sprouted wind turbines. A dozen or so at first, looking sheepishly out of place. Then there were a hundred, then a few hundred more, then thousands, as far as the eye could see in every direction. A few were close enough to see the cattle grazing among them. The huge Black Angus and longhorn steer looked like tiny black and white mice against the wind-harvesting giants.
Just before the New Mexico border the landscape changed again. Flat topped mesas appeared. They just appeared out of nowhere. After the vastness of the Texas flatness the mesas were stunning and even a bit shocking.
We were welcomed to New Mexico: "Land of Enchantment". There were no trees at all now, just brown leafless tumbleweed and shrub. There were no houses either, or schools or churches, or livestock. Even the wind turbines quietly disappeared. We began to climb steadily, and by noon we were at 6900 feet. There was snow in the distant mountains. As we got nearer, the mountains grew stranger. There were no trees, just rock. They looked like giant piles of rock.
We stopped for a picnic lunch at El Malpais National Monument, and immediately wished we had more time to explore! Very cool place in the middle of nowhere.
The entire terrain is lava deposits. The temperature had plummeted to 38, so we huddled against the welcome center out of the wind, and talked to the Ranger through the plexiglass (all National Park indoor facilities are still closed). A quick mini hike to warm up and stretch our legs, then back on The Road.
We crossed the continental divide, entered the Mountain Time Zone, and slammed into a sleet storm. As we summitted another mountain top, the sleet had accumulated on the ground, and the big lumbering tractor trailers slowed to a crawl giving the sleet, and each other, deserved respect. Just as suddenly as the storm appeared, the clouds broke and the sun streamed through once more.
We left I-40 about 100 miles west of Albuquerque (how many can spell THAT on the first try?) and turned North. This is where things got real interesting. The mesa formations became more frequent and more fantastic.
We drove through the desert for hours, just studying them, and wondering how on Earth they were formed. Finally, we crossed into Colorado not far from "Four Corners" and found The Shanti Peace Studio in Cortez, a small cottage we will call home for the next three nights. Tomorrow, Mesa Verde!!!
Car Talk
557 miles
Average mileage 31.7 mpg
Average speed 68 mph
Driving Time 8 hours, 12 minutes.
Question: Is the increased mileage due to 91 octane New Mexico gas?
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