Bluff to the Border

Before we left Bluff we stopped into the Trading Post below the Navajo Twin Rocks where Art popped in to buy Birthday and Christmas presents for Gillian. We had both browsed the Post the day before, and Art had noticed her very interested in a few items. We also found a new novel by Tony Hellerman who wrote detective novels set in the area, and including much of the Navajo culture. We had been introduced to his novels by a New Mexican lady we had met in Zihuatanejo some years ago. We also sadly discovered that the author had very recently died.

In a short while we were back on the road en route to Albuquerque, New Mexico. We had an uneventful drive over what could be charitably called a pretty poor road surface, via the northeast corner of Arizona, into northwest New Mexico. This area on all sides of the “4 Corners” area is mostly Navajo Nation Indian Reservation, with Ute Reservations occupying the northeast in New Mexico and Colorado. This was the setting of most of the Kellerman novels. The scenery is quite stark, relieved occasionally by some geological anomaly.


We watched Shiprock approach, pass us by to the right, and disappear behind us. Though it appeared close, it was actually about 10 Kilometers away. We would have liked to get a bit closer, but access is somewhat restricted, as Shiprock figures prominently in the Navajo Nation culture and has significant spiritual significance. A favourite nephew was disappointed to hear this as he would have loved to climb it!

We carried on east, through the towns of Shiprock and Kirkland, stopping for some grocery shopping and lunch in Farmington, where we turned south on highway 550 to Albuquerque. We drove through the city as rush-hour was winding down, then west again on the I-40 for a few miles to the Enchanted Trails Campground, where we were settled in by about 6:45.

In the morning, (4th of November) while Art hooked up the car and re-tightened the bikes on the bike rack mounted on the back of the motorhome, Gillian took the dogs for a walk. On her return, she settled the dogs in the motorhome and wandered next door to CampingWorld while Art took the opportunity to fill up with propane at the park. With the propane topped up, nothing we couldn't live without at CampingWorld (this time!) we were on the road again.

Ten minutes down the highway we pulled into a Flying J Truck Stop to fill with diesel, 850 km since our last fill. We took 58 US gallons, so about 9.1 MPG (US) or 11 MPG in Imperial measure. Not only does this rig have a bigger fuel tank, it gets better mileage than the old rig! (Notice we don't use the expression "fuel economy"!) Back in Albuquerque, we turned south on the I-25 which would take us to our appointment in Anthony, Texas on the New Mexico / Texas border. We stopped at a Rest Area for lunch just after noon--probably our earliest ever lunch stop and by 3:30 we were in Anthony at CampingWorld.

We checked in to confirm our appointment in the morning, the mechanic checking that the solenoid they had ordered for us was in fact the right one! It was. We also checked that the Bar B Que we were picking up for our friends in Mexico was waiting for us. Paul and Linda had bought a condo and were now traveling by car, not truck and 5th wheel, and had no room for their new cooker so we had agreed to take it to Zihuatanejo for them. So far so good.

HA! Knew things were too good to last!

Art went out to check the bikes on the bike rack (checked daily to ensure they had not worked loose) but couldn't find the keys! After looking everywhere, he remembered where he had put them down--on the hood of the car back at the campground in Albuquerque! A quick word with the service manager who was able to recommend a locksmith. Art made the call and arranged for the locksmith to come around in the morning.

We jumped into the car to find some dinner, but there seemed to be a severe shortage of good eating places, so we "ate in" that evening and had an early night.

The locksmith arrived early, shortly after 8:00 AM and soon had cut off a couple of locks and picked a couple more, for which he made keys. Unfortunately, it was the expensive locks the couldn't pick or re-key!!!! However, $60.00 later the bikes were unchained, and $20.00 in CampingWorld bought a couple more locks. We would buy good bike locks later at a bike shop or department store.

The moment the locksmith was done the motorhome went into the shop. The new solenoid was installed and a few other minor items attended to and we picked up the Barbecue. Now the problem was, where could we carry it? There was no room in the bins underneath, we had 3 20KG bags of Trekker's food in there along with chairs, boxes of parts and spares, sunshades, tables, etc etc. After several attempts, we finally figured where we would put it, and we were off by early afternoon:




We just followed I-10 passing through El Paso well before rush hour, covering 420 kilometres with one short rest stop, stopping for the night at WalMart in Fort Stockton about 7:30. We weren't in sightseeing mode anymore, we just wanted to get to Mexico. We went out looking for dinner, hoping to find a "Texas Barbecue" restaurant. We found one but it was closed, apparently permanently, so carried on looking around. One Chinese place, and one Mexican place. We opted for the Mexican. It was mediocre at best, did not have a liquor licence (not even beer and wine) so we washed it down with lemonade. Not impressed. Should have eaten in again, but neither of us felt like cooking.

In the morning we turned south on highway 285 to intersect highway 90, heading for the border town of Eagle Pass for out last night in the US. Once we got to where the Pecos River joins the Rio Grande the drive became quite scenic.


The Amistad Dam near the town of Del Rio has created a large lake which is now part of the Amistad Recreational Area. "Amistad" means friendship, and this dam which straddles the US Mexico border is a joint US/Mexican project. It's main purpose is flood control and water conservation, and it also supports a hydroelectric generation plant. The picture is of the bridge over one of the many flooded canyons.

Mid afternoon we arrived at yet another WalMart, in Eagle Pass on the Rio Grande, ready to cross the river into Mexico in the morning. We checked in with security and after the dogs were walked we set off to find an ATM as we were almost out of US dollars. Then up the street to a "Fuddruckers" (a Burger Chain) where we ordered a couple of large burgers and a couple of Coronas--Mexican beer as we were getting into Mexico Mode!

The food arrived and was, what can we say, OK. Not much better than that. We have not been impressed with the food in Texas so far, I mean you would think that Mexican food and Burgers and Beer in Texas would be great! We both decided that in future we will plan to eat in the motorhome while in Texas. It will take something special to get our attention next time.