Day 8: High And Low - We Go With The Flow

 I just couldn't resist this rhyme as it really describes our day. 

In my last posting I mentioned that US-70 runs at around 4000ft elevation. Today, our route dwarfed that number as our rig had to climb to 7500ft!  Yes, the mountains in New Mexico are very high - and steep, something that we had to experience when we climbed up to the San Augustin Pass in the San Andres Mountain range, which divides the high plains of Alamogordo from the city of Las Cruces, New Mexico. But before we got there we had a beautiful ride in the early morning hours right after sunrise, then stopped at the White Sands National Monument. We had seen this amazing natural wonder a couple of years ago and hiked in the dunes with our dog Molly. Here is the link to my old posting. Today we left after a short break at the visitor Center and started the climb up to the Pass. It almost ended in disaster. The grade is very, very long and we had almost reached the top when the van didn't want any more of it. Luckily, it came to again after a cooling break. (See picture below.)

          This mountain is Jack's Peak 7553ft

      Early ride from Roswell to Alamogordo

                      Little Adobe house ruin

Place names like "Hondo" or "San Patricio" remind us of old Western movies

                                This tower has been camuflaged as a tree

We drove through the Mescalero Apache Reservation.

Once down from the San Augustin Pass, we rolled into Las Cruces. The city has grown all over the place and is next door neighbour to El Paso, Texas

Below: the White Sands Visitor Center

Flower of the Yucca plant. They get to grow several meters tall.

The White Sands as seen from the highway. The white colour derives from a calcium deposit in the San Andres Mountains. Winds are bringing the super fine sand down into the valley where most of it deposits in the dune area. Beyond that dune area, extends the huge White Sands Missile Range of the United States. That area is closed to the public.

                The San Andres Mountains

    Dust haze over the Valley

Very befitting: We got an oversize load escort in front of us.

Cooling off at 5700ft

As we drive along the I-10 we come to an inspection station of the US border Patrol, but today they were all on a lunch break.

Never far away: The freight trains

After passing through Las Cruces we get on the I-10 which finally brought us over to Arizona and the never-ending desert landscape.

At around 4pm we were only 45minutes away from the city of Tucson. We pulled into a campground in Benson,AZ.

Tomorrow's trip will bring us to our destination, the Hot Springs Long Term Visitor Area at Holtville, CA.