The next morning we got up and celebrated Mother’s Day as well as Paul’s birthday, before we headed out at 9:30am. We found a Wal*Mart on the way out of town and picked up a new set of windshield wipers for the truck, since I discovered the existing ones were very lacking. And we filled up the truck for the second time.
Our destination was Van Horn, TX, which is about 120 miles east of El Paso. Passing through El Paso I was amazed at how much it has grown since I drove through there last about 20 years ago, but I am confounded as to why anyone would really want to live there! The daughter of our across the street neighbor now lives there with her Peruvian husband, who is a professor at the university, and one of my daughter’s best friends growing up in Oceanside married an FBI agent, and he’s trying to get assigned there. I understand the FBI gives you an assignment anywhere you desire if you can stand two years in El Paso.
We stayed at the KOA in Van Horn. We like KOA’s, they’re kind of like McDonalds, not the greatest in the world, but at least you know what you’re getting. This one was not one of the most exquisite KOA’s we’ve ever stayed in, but it was West Texas. And it was only $31.50 per night.
We pulled in after 9:00 pm because we had a two hour time change: Arizona doesn’t strictly adhere to Mountain time zone – they stay on California time during the summer, so the Zonies won’t be confused when the come to the West Coast to get away from the heat. And then Van Horn is in the central time zone in keeping with its farming and ranching heritage.
We’re traveling with our two kayaks on the top of the truck and two bicycles in the pick-up bed. The kayaks are lashed down with three ratcheted web straps. And all day long they were humming as loud as a jet engine due to their vibration in the wind. I should have remembered from our big adventure last year when that happens I need to tighten the lead strap. I’m old, I forgot, and for eight hours we were forced to listen to this incessant droning which was louder than inside a jet. About an hour before we got to Van Horn I remembered. Hopefully I won’t forget this ever again.
And it turned out to be another 450 mile driving day.
Molly and Coco have been troopers, sleeping most of the time in the back seat of the truck, and going potty when we stop every two to three hours. We were a little worried about Coco because on a previous one day excursion the Anza Borrego desert she became car sick and then vomited a few times. Thank heavens for Molly, though, since she used her innate mothering instinct to clean up the mess.
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