Crossing Texas and New Mexico

From Houston, we never seem to make it beyond Fort Stockton. It's sort of an oasis in the middle of nowhere and the only logical stop. As a result, most major motel chains are now represented there and most of the local motels are on the way out. I was pleased to see that most of the properties advertise free wireless Internet. I can remember not too long ago that you couldn't even get online with an AOL dial-up account.


When we got to town, I pulled over and did a POI (points of interest) search for hotels in Ft. Stockton and came up with a nice list on my Mio 520 GPS screen. All you have to do is tap on the listing and an info page pops up. To phone the property, you need only tap on the phone number and the Mio, which was connected to my phone via Bluetooth automatically makes the call and you can talk over the speaker. After learning that all my first choice hotel were already booked, I grabbed a room at the EconoLodge, which promised Wi-Fi.


After dinner and a walk through the historic district I settled in for a pleasant evening online, but the system was down and never got back online during our stay. Bah! I made do with my Treo and checked email in a disgruntled mood.


Breakfast the next morning wasn't much to writ home about. There was not one healthful item offered. It was all carbs and sugar. Not a piece of fresh fruit or protein in sight--not even orange juice!


By lunch time, we were in El Paso and starving having passed on breakfast. One of my favorite firms in the whole world is the El Paso Saddle Blanket Company that sells interesting imports from all over the world. I noticed that they had moved since my last visit with easy freeway access, unlike their last location, which flummoxed most GPS systems.


In the men's room there, I had a little shock when I opened the door. There was a woman standing at the sink. She was quite attractive too. Naturally I looked at the door to make sure I had entered the men's room. Indeed I had. Oh well. Just to prove it, I had my picture taken with her. She wouldn't tell me her name. Maybe that's because she was a mannequin.

Now we were really ready for lunch. We hadn't had Chinese during our trip, and we glad to spy a Chinese Buffet. It was absolutely the worst place we've ever eaten bar none. It gives all Chinese food a bad name. Everything was greasy and cold. There was only one vegetable dish--soggy broccoli and rubber beef. It make our Super China Buffet in Moscow really super. Yuck, and they only had about eight choices instead of a hundred or so that we expected. Double yuck.

As we crossed New Mexico, I remembered the sacred mission I had been charged with to bring back Hatch chilis. I finally found some canned ones in Las Crusces at an Albertsons, which is an Idaho company, and it was on Idaho Avenue. Ha! I've arranged to receive gunny sacks of fresh Hatch chilis when they are harvested at the end of September, even ristras. So, if you want any, let me know.

Next we took a detour to the charming Spanish colonial town of Mesilla for some photos in the main plaza, which was filled with cars. What a shame. They should ban autos.

Just before crossing the border into Arizona on Highway 90 we scored some gas at $2.41 a gallon, the lowest on the trip so far.

All across New Mexico, the desert was brown and forlorn looking as opposed to the greenery of Texas. However, as soon as we crossed into Arizona, it looked as if someone had turned the sprinklers on--everything was green and lush. Barrel cactus were in bloom, ocotillo were leafed out, and the saguaros were magnificent. However, I noticed just the skeletons of dead chollas of various species. Arizona is recovering from a drought and the chollas didn't make it. What a shame.

Of course, we didn't see a single saguaro or ocotillo in New Mexico. I remember as a kid watching cowboy movies and stating proudly when a movie was filmed in Arizona because of the unique sahuaros and ocotillos. However, I was amazed to realize that I had seen a few ocotillos in the desert just before El Paso. Strange. How did they get there, and why aren't they in New Mexico? I suspect it's a function of altitude with most of NM over 4000.

We arrived at our distination at the end of the day for overnight with friends in Central, Arizona. They have Wi-Fi, but it's hard wired, and I'm too pooped to monkey with it. Maybe I'll find a hotspot in the morning.