1st day on way to Houston

Ugh....Left Laurie's at 5am!  So sad leaving another sister!  :(

Drove south through Tucson and saw a gorgeous sunrise there.  We had "mountains" on both sides of us the whole day.  In Bowie we got a spectacular cloud show and there was a wind warning for every area we drove through.   Saw dust storms but none that we got caught in.

Hit New Mexico around 9am.  Still very windy and cloudy but much artistry in the cloud formations.  As we drove to the top of a hill we were awed by the sight of Las Cruces.....a large but quiet city in a valley with majestic mountains at its back.  What a sight.   At this point, and all the way through our stopping point, we saw many pecan orchards.   Row upon row of trees.  Wow!  And then it was cows!  The smell hit us first and then thousands of cows in pens, grazing, hanging out.  New Mexico was a lovely drive.

We got to El Paso, TX around noon and, boy, is it looooonng.  We drove I-10 through many over and under passes with all the businesses on each side of the highway and all the houses on the hills, up the hills, and around the hills.  It almost looked like a 3rd world country - in an okay way.  And can you believe the speed limit was 80mph!   Then in Sierra Blanco we had to go through the Border Patrol/Homeland Security stop.   After you stopped the car all they asked was, "Are you a US citizen? "  You say yes and you're good to go.   It seems like anyone could go through.   The hills just outside of Fort Stockton (where we are staying the night) are all flat tops - very cool looking.   We stopped at a Rest Stop that was unique.   The stalls were kind of in the open.   Quite pleasant really.   Temps were 83°, breezy, and it felt good there.  Check out the pictures.