Well folks, we’ve almost made it to the Gulf. We’re in Texas City, right outside Galveston, about to head to the coast for a late breakfast. We’re watching the weather channel and keeping tabs on the tornadoes across the country, hopefully avoiding those throughout the southeast states.
On Tuesday, we spent the entire day driving, driving, driving, and driving. We left Albuquerque about nine, after a pit stop at a glorious Dunkin Donuts. We got on the road, headed to White Sands, NM, by way of Truth or Consequences. We had heard great things about White Sands – imagine, a desert of white sand, in the middle of the desert, right here in the US. We almost drove right by it — we were distracted by the fact that White Sands is also a missile base. Luckily we U-turned in time to get back to the park, which proved to be worth the nearly 2-hour detour.
We drove into White Sands, map in hand, camera on, ready for action. Soon, it was obvious that we were not prepared for what this park was. A sign at the side of the road stated, “Pavement Ends” and suddenly, we were driving over hardened sand, straight into a scene out of Star Wars. The winds were incredible, and the picnic tables all had wind shields, giving the park an alien feel.
We found ourselves an empty parking lot with decent dunes, and then set ourselves up to climb up. The sand was made of gypsum and calcium sulfate, which give them a finer feel than regular sand. This also made it hard to hike up the sands, but when we got to the top we knew it was worth it. For as far as you could see all around you, there was just sand dunes upon sand dunes. The wind picked the sand up and swirled it into funnels, making the otherworldly feeling that much stronger.
After climbing down the dunes, we got back in the car, covered in sand, as we would be for hours to come. After a quick lunch in Alamogordo, we got back on the road headed for San Antonio, TX. By way of nothing. We drove for hours and hours through nothing. We kept hoping for a change in scenery, but that did not happen. We had thought that the drive through Texas would be painful, but that seemed to be nothing compared to New Mexico. Which lasted forever. After a dim sunset that was clouded by the amazing amount of dust in the sky, we finally saw the border sign. Texas. The border was underwhelming, flanked by nothing for at least 50 miles on either side.
We stopped in Pecos, which housed a few Chinese buffets and one gas station with bathroom. We moved on, hoping for more of a city with perhaps a roadside dinner. When we finally came upon Fort Stockton, our available options were Chinese Buffet, a IHop that we couldn’t find, or Sonic. As I had never been to a Sonic, I choose this, and we ate as though we hadn’t eaten in days. Then we immediately regretted this decision, but had to power through. It was nearly 11 pm, and it was time for the final push. We had nearly 300 miles to go.
Corelyn took the wheel, and we had to be strategic about the music we chose. R&B? Pop? Hip-hop? The book on tape was out, obviously. We settled on a mix by Ana, until we got to “Seasons of Love” from Rent, and Corelyn struck gold. “Let’s listen to the entire Rent soundtrack.” Done. This kept us singing for hours, alert and aware of the deer on the interstate and the flat, plain landscape.
We rolled into San Antonio, TX, at 4:00 a.m. As we opened the doors we realized how humid it was, and we parked the car and headed into the hotel. “Oh, you finally made it,” Bryan, the hotel attendant, said. He had clearly been waiting for us. We headed upstairs, and passed out by 4:20.
Just another day on the road.
[addtoany] Yum