Headed to Lubbock - Green turns Brown and Mountains Become Flat

7/4/25

Happy Fourth of July from Wolfforth, Texas!  It is kind of a suburb of Lubbock, although nothing here looks suburban.  

Today was another ‘just get here’ kind of day.  We were out of Alamogordo by 8:15 and with a time change, arrived here about 3:30.  

I really enjoyed the scenery today…. I didn’t expect to see a ponderosa pine forest in northern New Mexico, or the beautiful canyons there.  When we left that area, we were in beautiful green prairies that just went on for miles and miles.  I guess I expected desert and was happily surprised.  

Our route today took us through Roswell, New Mexico - the town by Area 51 - and this was a place we have wanted to see but it was never quite on our route.  Today we drove right through it.  I took a look to see what we might want to visit while there, knowing we had a long drive and couldn’t stay long.  We landed on a McDonald’s that is shaped like a spaceship.  Since we hadn’t had breakfast, we figured we’d kill two aliens with one stone.  

Well… today’s the 4th so the street our McDonald’s is on was closed for a street fair.  Most of the Roswell-y things are on that street.  Since we are in an RV and towing a pickup, we were hesitant to start driving down side roads trying to find a place to park.  Backing up isn’t an option when towing, so if we end up in a tight space, we have to unhook the truck and that’s not fun (ask how we know!) So… we just drove on.  Breakfast were some banana blueberry muffins I had made and stuck in the freezer.  

We were both surprised that Roswell wasn’t more ‘kitschy’ with alien things all over.  It looked like a normal town.  Of course we missed Main St., so maybe that’s where it all was.  Needless to say, we were disappointed.  

Eventually we hit the Texas state line.  Lots of flat land and green prairie that went on forever.  It was actually kind of pretty in a visitor, not-want-to-live-here, kind of way.  We did see the obligatory oil wells everywhere.  I kinda wish I had one.  I’m not greedy.  Just one.  

So now we are in Wolfforth, TX which, for some reason, is really hard for me to pronounce!  We were happy to see a note on the office door saying no fireworks allowed.  That will make Maggie REALLY happy.  She is also a fan of the grassy dog run here.  Here is a pic of our site with Steve hooking up our access to water and power, along with a big tower with the name of this unpronounceable town.  

Day One - Rough Start and Smooth Finish

7/3/25

We have been planning this trip since last September, and today we finally hit the road.  The last couple of days have been stressful as we tried to work in last minute appointments as well as prepare the RV for our 11,000 mile trip! Yesterday the inverter as well as the fridge weren’t working… fortunately both got resolved before we left this morning.  Our assistive breaking system, however, decided to be a butt as we pulled out of the driveway.  For those of you non-rv’ers, that is the system that brakes the vehicle you are towing when you slow or stop the rv.  It is a weird looking thing that sits on the floor in front of the drivers seat of the tow vehicle and hooks onto the brake pedal.  When the rv brakes, the magical wires and cables brake the vehicle (in our case, a Ford Maverick pickup truck) so that it helps to slow both vehicles and keeps the truck from trying to hit the back of the rv.  It took a LOT of starts and brakes in an empty shopping center before we were confident it was working as it should.  Forty minutes later, we jumped on I-10 and headed east.  

This trip we have Maggie, our 80lb dog, with us.  She takes up a LOT of room.  She’s a good traveler, though, as long as I (Pam) don’t get out of the RV and leave her.  She’s still trying to figure out the best place to hang out while traveling.  She’s tried to stay on the recliners but finally settled on the floor on her dog bed. 

Today’s trip was all about getting to Alamogordo, NM.  We’ve been here before so didn’t visit White Sands National Park this time.  We saw some very impressive thunder clouds as we drove along, but fortunately didn’t hit any rain or any of the wind New Mexico is famous for.  We also passed the kitschy tourist trap where you can see ‘The Thing.’  We actually stopped there  year ago and Erica and I checked it out.  I won’t go into much detail about that here… you’ll just have to stop yourself! 

Turns out the RV park we are staying in tonight is owned by the guy who also owns the brewery across the street!  One day in and I’m impressed with Steve’s location choices so far.  

After getting settled, we walked over to the brewery with Maggie.  All the seating is outside under shade cloths.  We ordered a couple of beers and their ‘nosh board’, a yummy mix of crackers, cheese, nuts, pickles, and the usual charcuterie.  They had a guy playing guitar and singing, mostly country, and after we left we could hear it from our RV.  We set up our chairs and enjoyed the show from a distance.  We headed inside once some of our neighbors set off a few fireworks and Maggie freaked out.  Fortunately, we brought her sedatives with us.  Hopefully tomorrow’s RV park is a bit quieter regarding fireworks.