It is 8:20 a.m. and still in Texas as I'm writing in the journal. We had to double back to put a fresh tire on the Scout. So far we have driven 114 miles since that 1:30 a.m. attempt to find a tire which was unsuccessful So we had to sleep stay in the van along a desolate stretch of highway until morning.
We finally reached El Paso at 10:20 a.m. Texas has many moods, she is a vast state so it makes sense. The soil has changed again. Sand and stone have replaced the top soil and clay which was characteristic many miles and 3 days ago. The scene below looks like it could be used for an old western movie sans the railroad crossing signs.
Thank GOD we reached New Mexico. Have no plans to ever venture into Texas again ever.
I drove for almost 2 hours through part of the desert. The weather out west was quite different from the east coast ~ it gets very hot during the day, very cold at night and no humidity.
Entered Arizona at 3:34 p.m. with mileage reading 58,343.
Arriving in Tucson, AZ at 6 p.m. and 420 miles driven we are reluctant to drive any longer and take undue chances again so we're looking for a motel. Driving along I 10 at 7:15 p.m. in search of a place to sleep, an 18 wheeler passed us and wanted to know if we 'had our ears on". He said he'd seen our Scout parked along the roadside this morning in Texas and wanted to know if we got everything under control. Turns out he was one of the 3 guys who pulled us into the Holiday Inn parking lot way back in Longview, TX ~ that was 1,300 miles ago. Small world after all I guess 😏.
Found a motel in Tempe, Arizona and oh boy did it feel good to take a shower and wash my hair. I did brush my teeth at one of the gas stations when we purchased our tires. Now looking forward to sleep zzzzzzzzzz.
Saundra
