By nine o'clock we were hooked up, said our goodby's and hugs and left. All this happened with Jerry's help. He got tires up to the correct air pressure and got the car trailer out and helped load the car. Without his help we would have still been at the starting point at eleven. We drove through Albuquerque and picked up I 40 and headed East through the Sandia Mountains. At Moriarity we stopped for diesel and then drove to Clines Corners where we headed South on US 285.
This road took us through South Eastern New Mexico and into Texas. It is a 300 mile or more stretch of road that is flat, straight and is the shortest and quickest way to get from Albuquerque to Kerrville, TX. We saw prong horn antelopes, stray cows, some agriculture dependent on irrigation and lots of oil being pumped. Other times when we have driven this way it seemed to us that this area was pumped nearly dry and many wells were shut or being pumped very slowly. This time there was much more activity and even new wells being developed. We spotted at least six new wells and several new pumps. I think the rise in gasoline prices has been the underlying reinterest in this area.
This oil producing area is vast in that it covers several hundred miles of New Mexico and Texas. There is not much to see other than cactus and Creosote bushes and oil wells or oil storage tanks. Fortunately the roads are straight and the speed limit varies from 70 to 75. There was little traffic and frequently we drove for miles without seeing another traveler.
Shortly after five in the afternooon we stopped at Fort Stockton for the night. Here we get I 10 and head East for the 240 remaining miles to Kerrville. The speed limit in this part of Texas is 80 mph. We will get passed by most other drivers as I do not try to drive the motor home that fast. Happy travels.
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