Our Long Route Home Thought I’d post a map here so you see where we are going.

 

Hot,Hot,Hot Traveling day #3 started out with FOG. In fact it was so foggy that I was down to 35mph on the Interstate! But then a faint glow appeared – the sun broke through and produced an unbelievable light show. Wow! But what was a rather cool beginning turned into a very hot day behind the wheel. A little bit of wind from the South, that was it. We left Texas and rolled into Oklahoma. When I think of Oklahoma the song about “The everlasting hills of Oklahoma” comes to mind. EVERLASTING HILLS OF OKLAHOMA  Writer Tim Spencer The everlasting hills of Oklahoma They hold a million treasures to be found Golden grain on hills of green Wave to valleys cool and clean Too bad some folks have never seen The everlasting hills of Oklahoma The everlasting hills of Oklahoma Are told of clouded statues in the sky Pioneers who long have gone It was performed by “The Sons of the Pioneers” and I sure like to listen to it. Texas Longhorn No more cattle here!   But of course, we couldn’t stay in Oklahoma. We had to roll on. Oklahoma City was quite a view. Not much of a cattle-town image left there, no Sir! Rather I’d say OIL BOOM TOWN. We sashayed through there on a Sunday morning, so it wasn’t too bad. Of course there always a few of those I call: Big City Cowboys, who seem to be in constant hurry an take every possible chance in traffic. At least they do annoy me quite a bit. But then it all came down to a slower pace. Oklahoma is sure beautiful in spring. First when we see all this fresh green, we realize that we would not be able to live in the desert year-round.   ARKANSAS - the natural State The State deserves this State motto for sure. It is such an experience to see all this stunning landscape. Light green fields wrapped in dark forests, neat farms with white fences, and it seems so clean. For both of us Arkansas was a first timer today. Finally we can fill in another State in that map way down below here. And talk about beautiful rest areas too. Ours is far away from the noise of the I-40 on a plateau having the most fantastic view for many miles. Tomorrow it’s Little Rock, Memphis, Technorati Tags: Oklahoma,Arkansas,USA,I-40 TN and beyond. But when the heat pairs up with a higher humidity it is taking a toll on both of us. Not used to that anymore, no! So, and with that I must say I’m taking a time-out in the shade of the rig before the sun goes down. Thanks for stopping by!

We came across a MURDER-SITE and went to TEXAS According to Bea the outside noise came down at 2am. I, however, do not know anything about it, because I was TIRED and SLEPT. Anyhow, at 6am this morning we were wide awake and felt the urge to get up. And at 7:30am we were on the road. I mentioned that we wouldn’t be doing other then Interstate driving. Of course I was wrong there as we left the Interstate at Las Cruces and instead went up HWY70 across St.Andres Mts. and into the Ruidoso Valley. We were surprised to see large parts of the desert floor covered by yellow poppies. If there ever was a nice stretch of road to drive in the U.S. it sure is the piece of Hwy70 leading along the Hondo river. It is also the home of the Mescalero Apaches. We saw numerous casinos! During a pit stop we came across a murder-site! You gotta read the pic here: It is obvious that this valley is blessed with a nice climate as cottonwood trees and meadows are standing in beautiful green. That changes the moment Hwy 70 leaves the valley floor and enters the Roswell  plateau.      From there on and until we reached Texas the landscape looks barren and grey-brown. I have mentioned it before: The few towns which we have to cross along Hwy 60 and up to Amarillo are the most stinkin’ towns in the U.S. They are real cattle towns and nothing else. The town of Hereford got it’s name of the cow breed, and another place is called BOVINE  (Bovine=latin for COW)  Interesting right?    Entering Texas means also another time zone. Central Daylight Time made our clocks jump another hour ahead, but we compensated by keeping on the road until 7:30pm.  Yes, it was a full day of traveling. Now we are stopped at a Texas rest area and try to post this on the Internet, but the signal is slooooow. We’ll be around tomorrow too! Thanks for stopping by!

Technorati Tags: Ruidoso Valley,New Mexico,Texas,USA

On The Road Again… We had the last cup of coffee with the PEI-Bunch and then we were off. Not very far to the first stop; at Coyote Howls RV-Park we used their dump station. We followed Hwy86 until it joins I-19 then I-10 at Tucson. From there is was Interstate driving all day until we stopped at Deming, NM. We were lucky as we had no strong winds to speak of, sometimes an unexpected gust that was all. Bea shot a couple of pics, the best I have put up here. Why- early in the morning   The wide open flats at Lordsburg, NM        When checking my email today I had an unexpected one from…you won’t guess it. It not a very personal letter but never mind, I got an answer on my question I had posted 6 weeks ago. Here it is for you to read. (in case you wonder) March 23, 2012 Dear Friend: Thank you for writing.  I appreciate hearing from you, and I share the vision of millions of Americans who want to take control of our Nation’s energy future.  My Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy is about developing every source of American energy—a strategy aimed at saving families and businesses money at the pump by reducing our reliance on foreign oil, expanding oil and gas production, and positioning the United States as the global leader in clean energy. Just like last year, gas prices are climbing across our country, and we are experiencing another painful reminder of why developing new sources of energy is so critical to our future.  When gas prices go up, everyone is impacted, and Americans have to stretch their paychecks even further. The hard truth is there are no overnight solutions to our energy challenges.  The only way to deal with this problem is through a sustained, serious, all-of-the-above approach.  Under my Administration, American oil production is at its highest level in 8 years, and we are now less reliant on foreign oil than in any of the past 16 years.  We have more working oil and gas rigs than the rest of the world combined, and we have opened up millions of new acres for oil and gas exploration where appropriate and where it can be done safely.  My Administration has also approved dozens of new pipelines to move oil around, including from Canada, which will help create jobs and encourage more energy production.  Thanks to our Nation’s booming oil production, more efficient vehicles, and a world-class refining sector that last year was a net exporter for the first time in 60 years, we cut net imports by 10 percent—or a million barrels a day—in the last year alone. My Administration will continue to look for every way we can help consumers—from relieving distribution bottlenecks to ensuring speculators do not take advantage of volatility in the oil markets.  To decrease our dependence on foreign oil, we established the toughest new efficiency standards for cars and trucks in history.  These fuel economy standards will double the fuel efficiency of our cars and light trucks by the middle of the next decade, which means filling up your car every two weeks instead of every week. But as a country that has 2 percent of the world’s oil reserves but consumes 20 percent of the world’s oil, we cannot just drill our way to lower gas prices.  The United States leads the world in natural gas production, with reserves that can last nearly 100 years—a supply that can power our cars, homes, and factories in a cleaner and cheaper way, and one that experts believe will support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade.  However, we must utilize this reserve without putting the health and safety of Americans at risk.  That is why, for the first time ever, I am requiring all companies drilling for gas on public lands to disclose the chemicals they use. Thanks in part to my Administration’s investments in clean energy—the largest in American history—the United States has nearly doubled renewable energy generation from wind, solar, and geothermal sources, and thousands of Americans now have jobs as a result.  By cooperating with the private sector, we have positioned our country to be the world’s leading manufacturer of the high-tech batteries that will power the next generation of American cars.  I have repeatedly called on Congress to stop giving away $4 billion a year in oil subsides to an industry that has never been more profitable, and instead to pass clean energy tax credits to cultivate a market for innovation in clean energy technology.  And I have directed the Department of the Interior to allow the development of enough clean energy on public lands to power three million homes.  The United States military—the largest energy consumer in the world—is also doing its part, making one of the largest commitments to clean energy in history. Securing our Nation’s energy future is one of the major challenges of our time, and will require the efforts of our brightest scientists and most creative companies.  Americans must summon the spirit of optimism and the willingness to tackle tough problems that led previous generations to meet the challenges of their times.  My Administration is making a serious, sustained commitment to tackling these problems, and I encourage you to learn more about our efforts at www.WhiteHouse.gov/energy. Thank you, again, for writing. Sincerely, Barack Obama

Technorati Tags: Why AZ,Deming NM,USA