There are only 135 miles between the park we stayed at west of Albuquerque last night and the Loves Travel Center in Santa Rosa, NM, where we are overnighting, yet it took us just over four hours to complete the trip. We’re not fond of driving in high wind circumstances but the day started with great weather, so we said “ What the heck” and took off. Almost immediately the breeze became a gale, causing traffic movements to be more cautious. Even big rigs slowed down and several RVs pulled off the road. Our weather apps predicted better conditions, so we kept going, albeit at a much lower speed.
After what seemed forever, we pulled off the highway at Clines Corners, a small truck stop with parking for trucks and RVs. We recuperated for a half hour or so, then decided to proceed. Eastern New Mexico is unique in its own way and may seem boring to some, but long vistas of cattle country provide a look into the investment that cattle ranches have made in this arid landscape.
A positive side effect of the slower driving speeds was an unprecedented increase in fuel mileage. Knowing that our usual numbers while towing the rv hang around 10 to 11 miles to the gallon, we were pleased to see this:
Wow! Maybe there is something to the benefits of a slower speed!
We finally pulled into our rv site at Loves. Loves provides a limited number of overnight sites with full hookups and concrete pads across the nation, and while a bit noisy due to the big rig traffic, the sites are level, well lit, and have dog parks. Not a bad trade off.
We were once again presented with an awesome sunset!
Tomorrow we expect to head into Texas. Whoopee!!
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