Life after prairies...

Note:  We are in Tucson as I write this and it is Saturday. We left Missouri on Tuesday. The trip across was a series of long days and short stopovers, sometimes without internet access, so I left the blog writing until we landed here.

After multiple days of crossing the prairies on both sides of the border, we finally saw our very first sign that things were about to change on Wednesday morning. We saw this blip on the horizon just shortly before leaving the Oklahoma panhandle for New Mexico. It was the first sign of the mountains lurking just beyond the horizon.

Well, we never did get to really jagged mountains like the Rocky Mountains, but it was lovely to see the varied landscape in New Mexico:

And then off in the distance to the north, we could just barely make out a jagged row of teeth belonging to the Rocky Mountain Range. We never did get any closer, because we were turning southwards, but it was a happy surprise to see them.

We were heading for a campsite at Las Vegas New Mexico, and on the approach the landscape became quite rocky and covered with juniper and some pine, making it a very attractive western scene:

The campground at Las Vegas was at 6400 feet elevation and there was frost the next morning as we got up early for the route to Albuquerque. We also passed about 200 antelope on the route. By mid-morning we were flowing through the lovely Southwestern town of Santa Fe, lying in a broad high valley ringed with mountains. Although not that much higher than Albuquerque, this town gets a much more extreme winter climate with more snow and cold weather. The town itself sprawls across the valley floor:

I always like to capture some photos of local housing, as it gives a really good indication of the different cultural styles in different parts of the country. Here the style is heavily influenced by both the Spanish styles of Mexico, and the indigenous styles of the Pueblo Indians:

Again, the landscape changes in a blink, and we see some interesting rock formations and colours:

 Before you know it, we were cruising into Albuquerque where our friend Neil was waiting to connect with us.  Albuquerque was sprawling at the foot of mountains, a large city with a definite modern touch:

We needed to visit a Camping World and pick up a new mattress for the fifth wheel, on the west side of the city. Meanwhile our friend Neil had saved our hide by letting us ship a new thermostat to him ordered online from Missouri, so we could pick it up on route.  This new fangled technology certainly allows us to do miracles, but without good friends to help us out, we could not manage!! After purchasing the new mattress, we headed south of the city on the Interstate and met Neil at the Isleta Casino.

 Other than playing the pokies at the clubs in Australia, I had never been in a casino, so I was fascinated by all the glitch and presentation. Nope, I didn't play anything, we just went in and had a fine lunch at their cafe. Had a good visit with our friend, and then hit the road again, heading south and downwards (literally, as we dropped from 5,000 feet at Albuquerque to 4,000 feet at Truth or Consequences). On the route we followed the Rio Grande River and saw a lot of very lush and green (irrigated) fields on each side...

 At last, after a very long day, we finally pulled into the campground at Truth or Consequences just as the setting sun bathed the mountains across the river valley in golden light:

We toppled into bed and fell instantly asleep, the only sound being that of the snoring dog lying between us. Then suddenly at midnight we were both awakened by the unmistakable and ominous rumble of thunder. "Oh no" I thought. "Does Truth or Consequences get tornadoes?"  The lightening zagged throughout the camper. The thunder crashed. I quivered. Molly the dog slept  peacefully. The wind rose and whipped around our little camper, and rain lashed the roof. I was praying that the storm would somehow avoid us. I counted between lightening and thunder..."one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand".... This is the little mantra I was taught as a child to measure the distance of a storm. Three one thousand meant it was a mile away. Thankfully, the storm never got any closer than one mile and we dropped back to sleep, even though the rain fell heavily for some time after. In the morning, there was no sign of any real rainfall, the skies were back to a clear clear blue and nobody seemed to  have noticed the storm the night before.

We set off again and cruised through Hatch NM, home to many fine fields of chiles and pecan trees and then hooked up with Interstate 10 and headed down the long ribbon of concrete towards Tucson. You could tell we were heading into Arizona. The vegetation changed to Sonora desert, which to me was like driving through a cactus garden. All along the side of the freeway were strange desert plants growing all together in the most attractive of garden compositions. Yet, nobody had planted them..the artfulness was entire natural.

 About 50 miles before Tucson, we crossed over a wonderful rocky pass, just behind a rest stop. I think it is my favourite rest stop anywhere in the country.

Finally!  We pulled into Desert Trails Campground just west of Tucson mid-afternoon on Friday. We are going to "nest and rest" here for a couple of days to recover from the long drive, and to stock up on things before we start the Mexican side of the trip. This is the perfect spot for some R and R, The campground is a desert oasis, with cactus gardens tucked everywhere. As we drove in, this is the scene that welcomed us:

And this is our little rig, as we set up camp. It's even better today with the awning out and the chairs on the patio....a bit of relaxation in a lovely locale is just what we need to restore us. Even Molly approves.