Back to New Mexico - Sunday, July 26, 2020

July 6, on our previous vacation, we were in a hurry to get out of New Mexico because of the 14-day coronavirus quarantine. We have learned since then that as long as we stay in our RV as much as possible, interact as little with locals as possible, wear a mask in public places, cough or sneeze into our elbow, shoulder or into a tissue, and frequently wash our hands for 20 seconds, it is okay to visit New Mexico. 

This morning, we left Lubbock, Texas, at 11:00 a.m. for the northwest diagonal drive toward Albuquerque, New Mexico. We took U.S. 84 from Lubbock to I-40 and then headed west. Our travels took us past cotton farms, sorghum fields, and freshly rolled hay. We could see for miles and miles. As we traveled closer to I-40, rolling, rocky hills replaced the agriculture.

New Mexico state line sign.

A conveniently placed turnout near the town of Fort Sumner had historical markers for Fort Sumner and Bosque Redondo Indian Reservation. It was also a good time to use the 5th wheel's onboard facilities. 

I was driving at the time and had been driving for about 100 miles. The gas gauge kept getting lower and lower. Gas mileage going up and down the hills at a higher elevation was 9.6 mpg. 

At this stop, we had only 80 miles left in our gas tank (per our truck's sensor). We knew we were getting close to I-40 and the town of Santa Rosa. 

When we arrived in Santa Rosa, there was a TA truck stop just before the freeway. I was happy to pull into one of the semi-truck diesel bays so we could re-fuel. From there, Bob drove the rest of the way to Albuquerque. 

As we headed west on I-40, we could see lots of storms around us and the rain came down in sheets on all sides of us. So far, we hadn't had any rain. 

A huge storm cell to the north of I-40.

Then, boom, all of a sudden, it was raining buckets with small hail. Lightning flashed in the distance around us. The rain lasted 10-15 minutes, and we had only a few sprinkles after that. Rush hour was just getting started in Albuquerque and we didn't have any delays.*

Albuquerque traffic at 3:45 p.m.

Our arrival time at High Desert RV Park was 4:00 p.m. Mountain Time. It took us six hours to go from RV park to RV park. It was sprinkling lightly when I went into the office to get us checked in. 

Sculpture at High Desert
RV Park entrance.

After hooking up, Bob took the pick-up to Camping World and Smith's Market.  I opened up all the doors and windows in the 5th wheel to let in the cool, fresh air. The late afternoon temperature felt so good after days of high-90 to low-100-degree temperatures.

We had breakfast for dinner: French toast with butter and pear syrup. I don't know why we waited so long to have French toast because it was wonderful! Our evening was very relaxing. 

Tomorrow, we will be in Colorado. Travel Bug out. 

*NOTE: Bob read this a couple of days later and pointed out to me that we arrived in Albuquerque on a Sunday afternoon. There was no "rush hour" traffic. This just shows how retired I am. I don't know what day it is! LOL.