Oklahoma-Texas-New Mexico

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We woke up to cooler temps - 41 degrees and bright sun. As we traveled west through OK trees thinned out, the landscape flattened, rivers and creeks vanished and homesteads were few. Once in Texas trees disappeared and the 360 degree view was wide open. Blue sky met brown fields as far as you could see. Tall granaries dotted the horizon and the dirt was red..Outside Amarillo we passed a stockyard with hundreds of cattle in holding pens. Highway signs warned “Danger High Wind Currents”. Windmill farms could be seen in the distance.
In the middle of the prarie outside the little town of Groom, Texas stands “the world’s highest cross”. We stopped to see it. In addition to the cross were bronze statues depicting the Stations of the Cross and the Last Supper. We enjoyed it.
As we approached New Mexico the terrain changed. High mesas came into view and desert vegetation like prickley pear cactus and yaccas became plentiful. I even spotted an antelope.
About 100 miles into NM we got off the interstate and headed north. We’re going to do some exploring tomorrow and start to see some sights. We took a little- traveled road to Las Vegas (remember it’s NM). We drove about two hours through desert and up a high plateau (6000 ft). The area was sparsely populated with cattle ranches. Made it to the Wal-Mart parking lot before sundown, another long day. ( We’re now in Mountain Time so we we’ve gained 2 hours since leaving home). Viva Las Vegas!

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Photos

Texas Cross
190 FT cross in Groom, Texas. built in 1995 of sheet metal covered in aluminum.

Comments

[Betsy]

Greetings from the Outer Banks. Ivan and I have been enjoying out time at the beach so far. I decided to spend a few hours at a coffee shop with wireless internet available and thought I'd check to see how your trip was going. Looks like it is going well. I'll follow along. Take care.

[Randy & Terri]

stopping?
Aren't you guys stopping anywhere? You have missed a lot of really nice places and interesting sights. You are retired. You can stop as long as you want whereever you want! Besides, when you stop, we might get some really nice pictures taken for those of us left back home.

[Shannon]

Dinner in Albuquerque
Hey Debbie and Frank - not sure how long you're in NM, but if you'd like a super yummy NEW Mexican meal, may I recommend a restaurant called El Pinto? And, if you're up for company, my dad and stepmom (Darrell and Karla) would love to have dinner with you guys most any time. Their phone # at home is 505-296-4626. Anyway...the restaurant is very good. And if you don't like spicy, you can ask for things sans green or red chile or you can ask for mild green or red chile. And you can always ask for the chile on the side (that's what I would recommend if you're not sure about the spiciness). Also, make sure to try some sopapillas while you're in NM.

[Shannon]

another suggestion
Okay...I know I already bombarded you with things to do and see in NM...but if you have a chance, another place you both would really like is Bosque del Apache. It's a bird sanctuary near Socorro, NM. (And the Owl Cafe in Socorro has great green chile cheeseburgers.) (ok...I'm making my own mouth water...and I already ate dinner!!!)

[Travels in the Cozy Turtle]

Dinner in Albuqueque
Thanks for the info on food and birds and the generous invitation to meet your Dad and Stepmom, unfortunately we don't check messages often and we're thru the area before you know it. New Mexico was neat.