Flickr photos

There's a Flickr photoset of Rich's photos (much better than mine) available at for more looks at some of the scenery from New Mexico.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9448935@N08/sets/72157622992903339/

Music for the journey--final

See the World/Gomez

Love, love, love this video and song

Trip summary

As we were trying to get to sleep last night, we reflected on the trip, and came up with the following:


Length of trip: 12 days
Total distance traveled: 2276 miles
Longest day of travel: 660 miles (Alamogordo to Dallas)
Average gas mileage in our Prius for the whole trip: 45.6 mpg
Best gas mileage for a day of travel: 56.5 mpg (in 242 miles, Marcy driving....)
Different interstates: I-10, I-20, I-30, I-40, I-25, I-27, I-35
Different state highways: Too many to count

Number of speeding tickets: 0
Number of car accidents: 0
Number of injuries: 1 (Rich's fall on the stairs)

Total hotels/motels/cabins: 7
Best overnight stay: Tres Piedras, NM
Worst overnight stay: Gallup, NM (terrible hotel)

Parks/national forests/national grasslands visited:
Palo Duro Canyon State Park (TX), Capulin Volcano State Park (NM), Rita Blanca National Grassland (TX), Kiowa Grasslands (TX/NM), Carson National Forest (NM), Aztec National Monument (NM), Four Corners National Monument (NM, AZ, CO, UT, Navajo nation), Red Rock State Park (NM), Cibola National Forest (NM), Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area (AZ), Gila National Forest (NM), White Sands National Monument (NM), Lincoln National Forest (NM), City of Rocks State Park (NM), Monahans Sandhills State Park (TX)

Mammals seen:
Pronghorn antelope, coyote, jackrabbit, cottontail rabbit, skunk, javelina, porcupine, lots of cows and one African gemsbok (seen in the White Sands area--it was weird, but both of us saw it grazing just off the highway)

Mammals we wished we'd seen but didn't: elk, bear, kit fox, buffalo

Birds seen: 85 species (see 12/26 post for list)

Places we'd like to visit for the next trip to New Mexico: Cloudcroft NM, Trinity Site (location of first nuclear test), Very Large Array, Gila National Monument (didn't get there due to snow)

Music for the journey 12/31

This song definitely came to mind as we crossed the state line, and got closer to the end of our travels:

Texas/Chris Rea

Getting home

Alamagordo proved to be much nicer than expected, and on the morning of our departure was cold in the lowland areas, and with snow on the passes. We knew that the travel would be a bit difficult, but set off anyway. The passes were indeed very snowy, and the snowplows had only made it through just before we did. Originally we had planned to try to do some hiking in an area near Cloudcroft, at a park that includes a hike over an old railroad trestle. But with the snow there was no real way for us to go up the road to the park, so we just kept going. The road was pretty quiet, and we managed to see some interesting wildlife, including a porcupine that we had to stop for as he made his leisurely way across the highway.

Originally we had planned to stay in Pecos, but pulled in there at about 2. The prospect of dragging our stuff into one more motel, plus the (relative) proximity to home made it seem a better idea to just move on and make it a long day, but sleep in our own bed that night. With a little more caffeine and trading off more often we managed the last leg into Dallas, a total of just over 660 miles from Alamogordo. The road was a bit long getting through the oil fields (and now wind turbine fields) of Midland and Odessa. In the end, though, the drive was almost at its worst/most dangerous as we got into the Hurst/Euless area and into Irving, since it was just around 10PM and the crazy New Year's eve drivers were all out.

We finally pulled into our driveway and Smith was pretty excited when he realized where we were. The unpacking was relatively quick, and in the end we managed to re-set ourselves relatively quickly to home life. Smith had a great time inspecting the yard again to see what he'd missed out on, and then ultimately disappeared to bed. In fact, that's where all three of us found ourselves as the clock turned over past midnight, and we were sound asleep as 2010 rolled in. Smith's still recovering from his hard work on the long drive, and dreaming of snow, javelina, and car rides.