Bang, Bang It's the Fourth

Well Ft Stockton is still flat, hot and ugly. There is only one RV park, and it's a bit better than a Wal Mart parking lot. Power is not constant, and Ron's 5th wheel isn't getting all the power it should. They did have a restaurant so we don't have to cook in the wind and the heat. Oh, did I memtion that West Texas is windy. Yes, it is.

We ate breakfast, which was pretty good and got under way about 8:30. Jim & I have fuel tanks that are larger than Ron's, so Ron is going to determine our pace. He's towing a 36' 5th wheel. That's like towing a 13' tall shoe box, it will hit the wind full force and just pull on the truck that is pulling it. This is Ron's first long trip with his SOB [Some Other Brand], so he is unsure of what mileage he should expect.

The trip to Silver City, NM was long, over 400 miles. It was all up hill. The elevation at Ft Stockton is about 1,200 ' and Silver City is over 6,000'. There was a fierce headwind all the way to Deming, NM. The 2 Airstreams just sliced right through this wind with little effort. That poor SOB just shuddered as its diesel puller towed it.

To make sure Ron had adequate fuel, we stopped 3 times. Each time the Airstream's tow vehicles took less than 1/2 a tank of diesel. Each time Ron took 3/4 of a tank. It was over 103 when we got to New Mexico, and have I mentioned the wind. We decided to eat lunch in our vehicles because of the weather.

It was about this time that Pat brought Seamus into the truck. Now Seamus has expressed his dislike for my truck in the past - this is why he rides in the trailer. I'm not anxious to travel for another 3 hours or so with the smell that stays behind, after Seamus has expressed his dislike for my truck. I do understand the need, so Pat and I just wait for everything to pass. ** I notice that Tom doesn't say that Seamus was a perfect gentleman in the truck--he slept on the seat above my head and looked out the window or slept with Iris. The trailer was over 96 degrees when I got him out--he was ready to get in the cool truck! Nothing passed at all!--Pat

At Deming, we turn North for the last leg of a very long day. I'm concerned about the SOB which will now be taking on a crosswind that is at least 25 mph. I slow us all down to 60 mph because of the wind. This road is a steady climb up, and with the crosswind my mileage drops from 12 mpg to just 9 mpg. I need to say that this is the worst mileage I have ever gotten. I want this leg to end soon.

We get to Silver City, and it's 10 degrees cooler than at the bottom of New Mexico. The Rose Valley RV Park will be our home for the rest of the week. It's a very nice, quiet park and we'll be a ble to see the fireworks from our site.

We made it. It took about 2 hours longer than I had planned, but we can only travel as fast as the slowest member. The next 3 legs of the trip are short. The only leg that will require a fuel stop will be the one form Ruidoso to Taos.

The fireworks were the night of the 3rd, and on the hill just west of the RV park. We all sat out in front of the trailer and enjoyed them a lot. The next morning we all went to town and picked our shady spot to sit and watch the parade. Pat & I have really enjoyed seeing 4th of uly parades in small towns. We've seen them in Cody, WY & Bloomington, IN before. This one was just as good, more than Bloomington because it had one band and they did not stop when the traffic lights turned red on the parade blocked streets. It had a lot of floats, and we were refreshingly reminded that New Mexico is a democratic State. Yahoo! No wonder the air hear is cleaner than in Texas.

The parade was a lot of fun, and then we went to the arts & crafts fair in the twon square. That was fun, we had a tamale dinner with rice and beans that was very good, and only cost $3.50 per. We looked around awhile and then decided to go home and get cool. It has been hotter hear than normal - we've been told - but it is still cooler than the bottom of New Mexico.