April 06, 2015

Las Cruces, NM

As I write this, we are relaxing at Coachlight Motel and RV Park in Las Cruces, NM. Today's journey from Benson was another easy drive through desert terrain.
We were headed east, and there was a strong 30mph wind blowing from the southwest, which helped to push us along. We averaged 12.2 miles per gallon, driving at 70mph, which is better than the 11 mpg average we usually achieve.
The gusting wind was blowing up some dust, but it did not get to the point of causing visibility problems. There are large yellow signs in this area, warning of dust storms.


We passed from Mountain Standard Time in Arizona, to Mountain Daylight time in New Mexico, and lost one hour in the process. We crossed the Continental Divide just east of Deming, NM, at an elevation of 4585 feet, which is the highest point on our trip east.


As we were cruising at 70mph, we were slowly passing a mile-long eastbound freight train, which in turn was being passed by an eastbound high-speed Amtrak passenger train on a parallel track that had to be doing 90mph. We managed to capture a picture of the two trains.
These tracks follow I-10 for hundreds of miles

Coachlight is a motel with a small RV park attached, in Las Cruces. We have stayed here several times, and it is a convenient overnight stop at $18 Passport America rate.
Tomorrow we leave for Balmorhea, TX, which is a small settlement in the West Texas desert, near the junction of I-20 and I-10. We will pass through the city of El Paso, which is on the border with Mexico. Juarez, Mexico is just across the Rio Grande River. We will change time zones again tomorrow, losing another hour as we pass into Central Daylight Time.
A quick rest stop in Deming, NM


4 comments:

  1. Donna SmeedApril 7, 2015 at 8:45 AM

    It looks pretty Bare out there.We were up at trudys for Easter, got back last night, unfortunately forgot my phone so I will go meet her I palm dessert for coffee this morning. Another ride over the mountains. Drive safe, I'll see where you are tonight.

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  2. UnknownApril 7, 2015 at 3:55 PM

    Hi Donna, this is The Navigator. It was very hot when we arrived in Balmorhea, Texas today. We have had a very relaxing trip so far with absolutely no problems to date. Check our blog tonight, as The Driver will do his usual update

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  3. DavidApril 7, 2015 at 4:01 PM

    The last two days of driving have been through bare, empty desert, but that makes for a relaxing drive. Interchanges are few and far between, the highway is mostly straight, and traffic is light. The only busy part was coming through El Paso this morning, and I discovered a bypass route, as I-10 through El Paso will be under construction until 2018. The bypass is a good highway that goes through Fort Bliss.

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  4. Donna SmeedApril 7, 2015 at 8:59 PM

    It's really cooled off, and even rain forecast tonight, kind of a nice break actually, especially knowing it won't be long before the good weather returns. I'm surprised it's so hot in Texas right now. It really does look like an easy drive though.

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