Goal: Reach Clovis, New Mexico
We learned that the song lyric, “Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping ‘cross the plains”, is COMPLETElY true. Last night the Oklahoma wind picked up. The temperatures dropped to last night down to 25 degrees fahrenheit. We were greeted this morning with 30 mph cold wind across the plains. The wind was gusting at much higher speeds. Luckily the furnace in the RV was able to keep the Wols Roost warm. The cats did tightly snuggle us, luckily with the the electric mattress pad all of us were able to sleep comfortably.
We drove 130 miles yesterday. The plan says we should drive about 210 miles today.
Today we got started on the road at 10:30 CST. The goal is to dash across Texas. Our path is to travel on I40 to Amarillo then south west on US 60 to Clovis NM. We climb onto I40 in a quarter mile from the Double D RV Ranch. Texas boarder 1/2 mile from camp.
Our views this morning, are undulating scrub land with trees hunkered in the washes. Grass faded as soil became sandy. Landscape more ravines and chasms. On a ridge near the welcome center was a huge wind farm.
About a half hour out, the rolling grass land is replaced by scrub. Every once in a while there is a cotton field.
Winds were gusting and driving was hard. Rob had to work at not clenching wheel. The traffic was steady with 18-wheelers taking freight of numerous kinds toward Amarillo.
As the land flattened out we saw more and more cotton on both sides of road.
At Amarillo, TX we left I40 and we turned south onto I27. Along I27 we saw our first BNSF train along this road.
At the south end of Amarillo we turned on to US60 and headed southwest. US60 follows the main Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) rail line as it descend from Amarillo plato. There were wheat fields once we past the industrial area.
The landscape varied between cotton and hay fields. We did get to see a large wind farm off in the distance. By in large the land was gently rolling with farms on both sides, and the rail line on the left of the highway.
Between Amarillo and where we pulled into a rest area to stop and eat our lunch, we counted 3 BNSF trains hauling well cars with double stacked shipping containers and/or truck trailers piggy backed on flatbed rail cars. We found it interesting that one of the trains was loaded with entirely containers and trailers owned by the J.B. Hunt shipping company.
Deryl had mixed up some tuna salad, and toasted brioche bread while we were breaking camp this morning. Hence when we came up on the rest area, Rob suggested that we stop for lunch. Rob pulled in to one of the truck & trailer parking spaces. Deryl was able to reach the lunch cooler behind Rob’s seat, and extract the luncheon parts. She quickly assembled the toast and tuna salad into sandwiches. She then served the cats a few kitty treats while we ate our sandwiches. The sandwiches were accompanied by a bag of potato chips. We ate our lunch without having to leave Clyde and touch Texas 🙂
Shortly after we returned to driving we reached the town of Hereford, Texas. There we saw a huge sign as we entered the town limits which read, “Hereford is the beef capital of the world.”
The first of the enormous silos was the Hereford Livestock Nutrition Center with a feed lot which must be measured in square miles not acres. There was also an associated meat packing plant.
In all we saw 8 of this sort of arrangement (enormous grain silo towers, feed lots, meat packaging plant) just along the highway in the town of Hereford. As a result we have no reason to question the validity of the sign we read as we entered town!
Continuing along the highway we continued to count trains, and make note of what they were transporting. Between Hereford and the next town of Friona, Texas there were 4 trains. One was a empty coal drag, which was interesting because there were 2 BNSF engines in the front and 3 more at the end. One of the trains was stopped at a grain silo with grain hopper cars, and that train had 3 BNSF engines and one Norfolk and Southern engine.
We ate the Fudge Brownies Deryl had packed while driving through the town of Friona. In Friona there were still more feed lots and grain silos. After Friona, there were cotton fields to break up the beef industry.
The cats started whining as we approached the town of Bovina. As we neared the rail yard in town we understood why. Bovina has an enormous fertilizer plant, obviously turning all the manure, from the feed lots into fertilizer for plants.
Between Bovina and the border we saw 2 more east bound freight trains, and our first west bound train.
Texico, NM! As we pull into the tiny town of Texico, NM, there is a road sign that reads, US 60, US 70, US 84! Who knew that there was a small town crushed between Clovis, and the Texas boarder. We now know that there is the town of Texico.
We grinned to each other; we had made the crossing without more than Clyde’s tires touching the road.
Between the tiny town of Texico, and Clovis we saw 2 more east bound freight trains, including 1 Union Pacific (UP) train of hopper cars which we assumed to be filled with grain.
Driving into Clovis, and finding our campground was an easy task. There were signs on the main road into town, and on Prince street. There again were good signs at the campground, instructing us where the RV entrance to the park was located.
We were greeted by the manager when we pulled in. He helped back us in to a wide space with hookups at midships. It was cold and windy here in Clovis, so we made quick work of hooking up and getting the electric heater going in The Wols Roost.
With in 15 minutes the cats were in the condo having their snack.
We are staying at Akers RV Park 4 blocks from main BNSF line, so we expect train horns as a regular background sound. If you can’t guess by now, Rob and Deryl both love trains. Therefore train horns is a pleasant tune to us.
While we were docking the trailer, we asked the manager where good restaurants were located in Clovis. He informed us that almost all the businesses are located on Prince St.
Once we were settled we went to Albertsons for groceries and Walmart for a connector for Clyde & command strips to rehang a poster.
Tonight we ate at home, Rob cooked up his pork, apples& onions, and sautéed asparagus dinner.
Weather was cold and windy all day. Tonight we anticipate the temperature not much above 30 degrees. The furnace should kept us warm. Between the “Fireplace” (which is an electric heater with a light show that looks like fire), and propane furnace house stayed @73 degrees last night. In addition we have the electric mattress pad which warms bed and the we and the two cats should sleep well again.