Another slow start kind of morning, left us in Jal until the early afternoon. When we didn’t immediately get up and get going, we knew we would need to stick around for Tyler to conduct a Zoom call. It’s much more difficult to do those on the road. Tyler was up, logged in, and making breakfast while I pulled out the coffee pot and made coffee for the first time in a few days. We stepped outside for a moment and realized there was a nice cool breeze. I asked if he would go on a run with me and he declined. So we came back inside and he got to work while I deep cleaned the trailer!
If you haven’t realized by now, cleaning is my therapy. It’s either cleaning or working out and since I had no takers on morning fitness, cleaning was the next best thing. Tyler was seated and the kids were still sleeping so I had the perfect opportunity to clean without messes being made behind me! Once the kids started moving, I propositioned them to join me in a morning jog. Ashton was a hard NO, but to my surprise, Addison agreed.
Since there was a perfect running trail around Jal Lake, we opted for a run. While we were on our first lap I noticed a fun little fitness area that we could utilize. We continued our lap, but on the second lap around, we stopped at the fitness area. We worked through the stations, trying out each of the movement recommendations. By this time, it was hot and I regretted not running earlier in the morning. It was nice to have company though and I was pleased that Addi stuck with it. We ran 1.5 miles and did a little of everything in the fitness area before returning to the trailer.
Tyler had his Zoom call and Addi and I showered. We waited for his call to be over and then promptly loaded up and started our travels for the day. After all, the day wasn’t getting any younger and we had a lot of miles to tread. We made our way back out of Jal, NM and into Texas where we spent much of the day traveling. We must have seen the whole state over the course of the last 3 days and it didn’t change much. I’ve concluded poor roads, FAST highway speeds, more tire pieces along the road than a Les Schwab, and super LONG desolate roadways. Like complete nothingness for MILES!
While the drive was long, our day felt short. When the radio wouldn’t come in, I remembered the Dateline podcast! I must have listened to 3 episodes of Dateline while Tyler worked and the kids sat quietly in the back seat. Ashton was able to nap for about half of the trip and I thought how I miss the days where napping in a car was a thing. Naps in general these days are quite scarce.
Early morning chats about getting to our friends in Arizona had us all longing to get there and enjoy a few days of down time. Don’t get me wrong, we are still thoroughly enjoying ourselves, but sometimes a day or two outside of the car is really refreshing. Earlier this week we weren’t sure where we would be for the 4th, but it seems we will make it to our friends in Arizona just in time!
Our main stop today was for dinner in El Paso, TX. Tyler found a well rated Mexican food restaurant to dine in. As we approached the restaurant, a car backfired twice and Ashton took off. We all looked at him as if he was crazy, but he couldn’t help the fear. He said he looked for cover but when he saw there wasn’t any he decided to run. Tyler joked the reason we brought him along was to have continuous laughter.
I think this was the first time we have had Mexican food in a restaurant in more than a year and I had the best enchilada I’ve ever had. At one point, we had the kids check on our locked but running pickup in the parking lot and Tyler and I pretended for just a moment we were on a date together alone. The restaurant was empty and so peaceful.
Another hour down the road was our destination for the night. The drive through El Paso was alarming. The whole town seems to be the color of sand. Houses are built into dirt hills in the most poor fashion. There was not a lot to see. It reminded me of some of the towns we traveled through today that were nothing but old run down houses and an inordinate amount of old trailers and travel trailers for rent. The towns were build around oil fields and oil drills were everywhere.
We arrived to Las Cruces, NM where we are staying at Siesta RV Park. We hooked up and quickly retreated inside to the cooler temperatures. When we left Jal this afternoon it was 106 degrees and it is now only in the 90’s. It’s amazing what a difference that is. We also saw rain today in our travels, but it dried about as quickly as it fell.
Tomorrow we continue West. We are a little more than 6 hours away from Surprise, AZ where we hope to stay for a couple of days. I am not sure we will make the full trek, or split it in two but we are getting so close!
It would seem if I just listen to a few more Dateline or Crime Junkie Podcasts, we will be there before we know it. Tyler isn’t nearly as enthusiastic about my selection.
What is your favorite thing to listen to on long car rides?
The Church Hideout 