on the road: Los Cruces, NM - Tuscon, AZ
Another long drive, but the end of the trek. It wasn't that long in miles, but the lack of sleep was getting critcal.
The Holiday Inn Express in Los Cruces was the nicest place we've stayed, also the most expensive. The biggest room, with a couch, 3 phones, 'fridge & microwave, hair dryer, ironing board & iron, DSL (3 convenient cat-5 sockets), and WiFi. A pool and jaccuzi, but they were closed for repairs. And the best "complimentary" continental breakfast -- the warm cinnamon buns were delicious, and the hard-boiled eggs surprisingly hit the spot. Downside -- I could hear an alarm clock going off faintly -- next door, downstairs? -- for a very long time.
It was late when we found the motel, and late when we got to bed. We left close to the 12:00 check-out so anniemal could get a last dose of high-speed internet, since we're expecting just dial-up at Joanne's.
We stopped at the next town, Deming, hoping to get another state highway map. (The New Mexico welcome center was closed when we entered the state (the night before), but anniemal spotted a lone, misplaced map in with tourist brochures.) We were greeted by a cute and engaging young woman who gave us maps and more brochures. I took some photos of a Southern Pacific steam locomotive, and anniemal bought some postcards.
Deming once was a railroad town. The western interstate highways often parallel the rail routes. We've seen lots of long trains the last few days -- moving, passing on sidings, or waiting for blocks of track to clear. Containerized freight seems to have displaced most of the boxcars. There are still tank cars, gondolas with coal or ore, and lots of cars carrying cars -- automobiles. No more cabooses. I miss seeing trains. In my childhood in NC I could see two different major rail lines from my house. I loved the distant horns and the rumble of the cars. When we visited my mother's family in NJ, we were only a block away from a busy rail line with frequent commuter trains (to NYC) and freight trains.
Driving on, there was one sudden gust of wind on the road that pushed us sideways. I'm glad we weren't passing anyone or being passed at that moment. There were also a lot of signs in New Mexico about areas of possible sand storms and zero visiblity. (Don't stop in the travel lanes. Duh!) Pretty much the same as white-out snow -- or Tennessee-quality fog.
The rest of the drive was uneventful. Lunch at McDonald's, where they goofed with the order and I got a free double quarter-pounder cheeseburger. The first rest area in Arizona was not a welcome center, so no state map. The next rest area had no water, so no toilets. We got to Tucson at rush hour -- but that's nothing like the DC rush hour. We navigated to Joanne's with some confusion, but no wrong turns. We unloaded, and got to bed early. (Early for MST, not so early for EST -- no real schedule to reset our body clocks yet.)
The Holiday Inn Express in Los Cruces was the nicest place we've stayed, also the most expensive. The biggest room, with a couch, 3 phones, 'fridge & microwave, hair dryer, ironing board & iron, DSL (3 convenient cat-5 sockets), and WiFi. A pool and jaccuzi, but they were closed for repairs. And the best "complimentary" continental breakfast -- the warm cinnamon buns were delicious, and the hard-boiled eggs surprisingly hit the spot. Downside -- I could hear an alarm clock going off faintly -- next door, downstairs? -- for a very long time.
It was late when we found the motel, and late when we got to bed. We left close to the 12:00 check-out so anniemal could get a last dose of high-speed internet, since we're expecting just dial-up at Joanne's.
We stopped at the next town, Deming, hoping to get another state highway map. (The New Mexico welcome center was closed when we entered the state (the night before), but anniemal spotted a lone, misplaced map in with tourist brochures.) We were greeted by a cute and engaging young woman who gave us maps and more brochures. I took some photos of a Southern Pacific steam locomotive, and anniemal bought some postcards.
Deming once was a railroad town. The western interstate highways often parallel the rail routes. We've seen lots of long trains the last few days -- moving, passing on sidings, or waiting for blocks of track to clear. Containerized freight seems to have displaced most of the boxcars. There are still tank cars, gondolas with coal or ore, and lots of cars carrying cars -- automobiles. No more cabooses. I miss seeing trains. In my childhood in NC I could see two different major rail lines from my house. I loved the distant horns and the rumble of the cars. When we visited my mother's family in NJ, we were only a block away from a busy rail line with frequent commuter trains (to NYC) and freight trains.
Driving on, there was one sudden gust of wind on the road that pushed us sideways. I'm glad we weren't passing anyone or being passed at that moment. There were also a lot of signs in New Mexico about areas of possible sand storms and zero visiblity. (Don't stop in the travel lanes. Duh!) Pretty much the same as white-out snow -- or Tennessee-quality fog.
The rest of the drive was uneventful. Lunch at McDonald's, where they goofed with the order and I got a free double quarter-pounder cheeseburger. The first rest area in Arizona was not a welcome center, so no state map. The next rest area had no water, so no toilets. We got to Tucson at rush hour -- but that's nothing like the DC rush hour. We navigated to Joanne's with some confusion, but no wrong turns. We unloaded, and got to bed early. (Early for MST, not so early for EST -- no real schedule to reset our body clocks yet.)