Leaving Deming, NM, we drove by this beautiful church building. I have a real weakness towards Mexican architecture, and this one was no exception.
Today's destination was be somewhere in Texas by the end of day, which we did, but not quite as planned.
Right off the bat we witnessed an accident on the other side of the freeway, at a checkpoint. Do you see the vehicle with its wheels pointing to the sky? We do not know why the accident happened or exactly how, but of course we have our suspicions... All vehicles are to stop at the checkpoint where dogs sniff for whatever and the question "Are you US citizens?" is asked. So one might wonder if this vehicles was not willing to stop and rammed through... or whatever. There were several ambulances and a large number of police and border security agents that descended upon the scene. We drove off...
However, we, too, had to go through checkpoints, two so far, where the sniffing dog just looked at us, and we were given the opportunity to declare our citizenship. No problem. Then there was the incident of "close encounter" that I explained in the previous entry.White Sands National Monument
The pride of New Mexico, the white sands dunes, had been on my "bucket list" for a long time, and now it is fulfilled! (Frosty said, "That takes care of my bucket now." To which I said, "The problem with mine is that it does not have a bottom..." True.)
The white sands is a popular attraction in New Mexico, near Alamogordo, a US missile testing center. It ranges from 3890 to 4116f in elevation. There are approximately 275 total square miles of dune fields, of which 115 square miles (about 40%) is located within White Sands National Monument.
Creating a national park in the white sands formation goes back as far as 1898. A group in El Paso had proposed the creation of "Mescalero" National Park. Their idea was for a game hunting preserve, which conflicted with the idea of preservation held by the Department of Interior and their plan was not successful. In 1921-1922, the idea of a national park, an "All-Year National Park" near White Sands, was promoted. This idea ran into a number of difficulties and did not succeed. However, on January 18, 1933, President Herbert Hoover created the White Sands National Monument, acting under the authority of the Antiquities Act of 1906. The dedication and grand opening was on April 29, 1934.
We understand (and it looks like) that they actually plow the drifted sand like snow! And people participate in winter sports like snow boarding.
Can you see the laughing face here? I think she's holding a doll?
Is it ice? Is it rock? Could it be... sand?
Leaving the White Sands and entering Alamogordo:
Other sights along the road: billboards, billboards, billboards... And a looong train:
Painted facades and water tanks:
And then, one for the Skipper, a golf course!
And then it happened. We entered Texas, which was planned, of course. But...
Guadalupe Mountains
My plan to continue to Pecos was contradicted by Ms. Siri, whose voice the Skipper listened, and we ended up in the Guadalupe Mountains. It turned out well, for without the disagreement, we would never have encountered the majestic beauty here.
The big but was to introduce the next exiting stretch of our trip... We tried to find lodging in Pecos, Odessa, Midland and Abilene, but all our favorite hotels were already fully booked. As we spoke with one of the hotels, we inquired as to what in the world was going on that all hotels were fully booked, and the answer was: oil boom! So we ended up having to stop our day earlier that we intended and stopped at (drove to) Van Horn. Place has pretty much nothing to recommend it, except a big blessing: a gas station. Because Ms. Siri had sent us on a wild goose chase (well, not because of her, but she added to it), we realized that we were actually running out of gas! Siri said we had longer distance to drive to the nearest gas station that what our Pathfinder said we had gas for. We drove about 53 miles with our hearts in our throats (that's a Finnish saying, does it make sense?)... I was nervous, which reminded me of all those times when I was nervous before having to sing at any occasion. With faith and the Lord's blessings, that (above) is what what gas gage looked like when we pulled up to the pump and bought 19 gallons.
So, now we are happily tucked in, tank and tummies filled and heart full of gratitude that we did not get stranded on the road, for during the 40 mile or more, there were only two other vehicles on the road. It would have been real test of AAA's promise to bring us fuel if needed. For free. Twice a year, I think. We'll "cash in" on that perk another time. Or better yet: never.
TEXAS: ODESSA, STONEHENGE?
DR. SEUSS (ABILENE)
ANOTHER NISSAN ADVENTURE
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