Wind! 10/29/2013

As soon as we headed south towards Tucson, we felt the winds increase. Soon the winds were whipping, and dust was blowing across the desert through which we were driving. The dust was so thick that the distant mountains were obscured. Ray was white-knuckling the steering wheel, as we could feel the truck and trailer rock behind us. This lasted for about 70 miles from Casa Grande to Tucson. Ray did a great job getting us through this stretch. We found out after the fact, that a 19 vehicle pileup occurred on this stretch of road about an hour and a half after we passed through. Timing is everything.

The 400 miles we drove took us past walnut and pecan tree groves, several very long freight trains (100+ cars in some instances), the Continental Divide, many dust storm warning signs, one mountainous area, and several "South of the Border" wannabes. If you've ever driven south on the east coast down I95, you've seen the many billboards along the highway in North Carolina inviting you to stop in. New Mexico has ,"The Thing", "Butterfield Station", and "Continental Divide"(the roadside stop).

We passed a sign for the town of Truth or Consequences, NM, which prompted me to look up the origins of its name. Truly American.

We spent the night in a KOA in Las Cruces, NM--clean, convenient and quiet.