Balmorhea, TX

The drive from Las Cruces to Balmorhea was very relaxing, except for passing through El Paso. I-10 is under major construction through the city, and we discovered a bypass route around El Paso that goes through Fort Bliss, the massive Armed Forces base.

Once southeast of El Paso, traffic on I-10 was very light, and the speed limit was 80mph. We cruised at 75 mph, and the rig seemed very happy at that speed. I was glad that we did the wheel and tire conversion last year (see this article). This enabled us to drive at these speeds without worrying about a "ST" rated tire exploding (ST trailer tires are rated at 65mph maximum). I would never drive this fast in heavier traffic, but today we were keeping up with the commercial rigs, and being passed by most of the cars. Fuel economy on this stretch was 11.2 mpg, even driving at 75mph.

Beautiful straight highway to the horizon

This where I-10 and I-20 split

Truck seemed very happy at this speed. Note the outside temperature.

We are staying tonight at Saddleback Mountain RV Park, near Balmorhea, TX. We have stayed here several times, at $10 per night Passport America rate. Good utility hookups, huge pullthrough sites, desert landscaping with cactus plants. We need good 50 amp electricity, because at 6:00pm as I write this, the outside temperature is 92F, and we need both air conditioners running.

The Navigator among the cacti

The front cap of the rig, covered with bugs (dead)

We will drive tomorrow to Boerne, TX, where we will stay for three days.