Deming to San Antonio, New Mexico

We spent some time watching the weather channel this morning, and hope our friends in the midwest and southeast are staying safe. I was glad to read that Sandra and Gordon are staying in Amarillo one more day.

Just about the time we had our Castle ready to roll this morning, the winds came up. We decided to take 1-10 all the way over to Las Cruces, New Mexico and pick up I-25 there, even though it would add nearly an hour to our travel time. We saw a sign the other day as we approached Deming, indicating construction delays on the shortcut from Deming to Hatch on Highway 26. Jim checked it out on the New Mexico DOT web site, and found that the traffic is being reduced to one lane, with an escort through the construction zone. That doesn't sit well with Jim, therefore the decision.

The wind wasn't bad as we traveled east on I-10. Jim had the cruise control set at 60mph and watched our fuel consumption. Every little while he would announce that we'd used another gallon of fuel. We were getting between 8.5 and 9.5 mpg on that stretch.

Once we turned north on I-25, the wind became a cross wind, and Jim had to really concentrate on keeping the Castle on the road. He did great. Riding in this coach is so different from the Bounder! I used to struggle and hold on to whatever I could grab if I needed to get up to get something from the fridge. Not in the Castle! It's smooth going, even in gusty winds.

Here is some New Mexico scenery shortly after we got on I-25 north.




I was able to get this picture of the Rio Grande River as we went past. There is quite a bit more water in it this time, compared to the last time we saw it.

We stopped to top off the fuel tank a few miles before we got to our destination. We paid $228.03 for 55.63 gallons, just about $4.10 a gallon! Oh, and that was just over half a tank full...

We arrived at Birdwatcher's RV Park in San Antonio, New Mexico around 12:30 this afternoon. The park isn't fancy, but the owner is a very spry 83 year old charmer named Jackie. I enjoyed visiting with her before we got our site. The park is located near the entrance to the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.

Here's a pastoral view from our front window with the goats and cows in the field nearby.

I know, I've posted pictures of quails before, but gosh, there are so many of them here, I can hardly avoid taking their pictures!

The clouds came in and the wind has blown. But it's not cold, at least not yet. If the weather holds for tomorrow, we're planning to unhook the car and go to the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.

Another safe travel day!