Transition to Texas

- June 29, 2021

Day 1: Mission Viejo, California to Gila Bend, Arizona, 351 miles

We saw some cool vistas, ranging from 4,000 ft elevation to below sea level.

This was the longest train we had ever seen!

We crossed the Colorado River. En route was Felicity, California, population 2, "center of the world." Maybe we should have stopped there?! We saw a humongous saguaro.

We stayed at a Space Age hotel.

We had a fantabulous pizza and salad at an Italian restaurant in Gila Bend. You never know what hidden treasure you will find! Of interest, Prince Harry (20x1 cousin) came here for pizza in 2011! What was he doing eating at a pizza joint in Gila Bend, Arizona, you may ask. Harry was completing helicopter training in the area as part of his military service. He ate a meat lover's pizza and was reportedly very nice.

Day 2: Gila Bend, Arizona to Las Cruces, New Mexico, 405 miles

We checked out the saguaros. John and I had been on our trip west in May 2020, but Emily wanted to see these intriguing plants, so we made a re-visit. They are so whimsical, like the Joshua trees.

Put up your dukes - Candelabra

Frida Kahlo with Bouquet - Air Dancer

We crossed the Continental Divide (the Great Divide).

We saw a real roadrunner and a recycled roadrunner. We've seen pictures and sculptures of roadrunners everywhere, so we're going to call it our trip mascot!

Day 3: Las Cruces, New Mexico to Fort Stockton, Texas, 282 miles

We covered a bit less ground this day. Everyone was tired and wanted a longer evening at the hotel. The drive was extremely windy, so it was tiring for John. We also 'lost' two hours the past two days with time zone changes.

We made it to Texas!

We saw lots of wide open sky. The background is Mexico.

I started seeing these similar looking plants (reminiscent of the century plants) in eastern Arizona. There were a lot in New Mexico and some in Texas. Image search says they are a type of yucca.

Day 4: Fort Stockton, Texas to Laredo, Texas, 362 miles

Phew, we made it! The drive was along a mostly two-lane state road. Aside from a few trucks and cars, and lots of police and border patrol!, we were mostly by ourselves. We've driven some rural places, and this was among the most! The geography wasn't at all what we thought it might be. It was much more green, with many canyons (but not too high of mountains, yay!). We had a little bit of scattered rain, but not too bad.

On the way out of town in the morning, we saw another statue of our mascot. We learned that the roadrunner is the state bird of New Mexico, but they are popular in Texas too.

Some pretty scenery along the route

About halfway through the drive, near Del Rio, Texas, we crossed the International Amistad Reservoir, a reservoir on the Rio Grande. There is a portion that is part of the U.S. and a portion that is part of Mexico, and it is jointly managed by both governments. (Emily informed us that amistad means friendship in Spanish.) On the U.S. side, it is part of the Amistad National Recreation Area which offers camping, hiking and water sports.

As we continued south, the land flattened out more and there were long straight stretches that reminded us of south Georgia. That is, until we had to pull over into border control to be checked out.

The officer was nice enough, but he appeared to be inspecting the edges of the windows.

A couple of more hours and:

Laredo, Texas: Population about 260,000, 10th largest city in Texas

After checking into our Airbnb, unpacking the car, and grabbing a bite to eat, we headed to H.E.B., the local grocery store my friend Portia in Dallas had already told me about. Then off to the university to see the campus and Emily's building.

Look at that Texas-sized grocery cart! It's almost as big as the FIT!

The campus is very pretty! This is Emily's area, as Music is part of Fine and Performing Arts. These deer were grazing next to the building. We thought that was precious until we saw ...