Libations: The Libators go Corner to Corner: From New Orleans to New Mexico through some Texas Panhandle

Traveling fast gives us some quick impressions of the places we move through and of the places we stay. I look for interesting things to see or unique restaurants to try as we move. We found some good places as we left New Orleans and headed toward northern New Mexico, starting with the last Harvest Host of the entire trip in Natchitoches, Louisiana. We also found a gem of a city park in Childress, Texas, ate at a famous steak restaurant in Amarillo, and met with an old friend in Albuquerque. We ended this leg at Russ' childhood home, all in time for Thanksgiving.

Parked for the night.

Worth a stop.

Lake Ray Hubbard.

Happy cat in John Paul Jones Park.

Childress Fair Park.

We were the only customers at the Childress Fair Park Campground.

Sunset in Tucumcari, New Mexico.

Wind Power in Texas.

Fried Catfish at the Big Texan.

The Big Texan.

The lights of Albuquerque.

Isleta Lakes RV Park.

The Sandias.

Margarita at Bruno's in Cuba, NM.

The land of spicy, stuffed sopapillas, Christmas style.

The long views of New Mexico.

Home. Cedar Hill (Russ' Mom's house).

Flying Heart Brewing and Pub in Natchitoches, Louisiana was a fantastic place to stay the night. The food was good, and the big, gravel lot where we parked for the night was right across from the small river. Unfortunately, it was cold (we used our propane heater), which isn't great for deep-cycle batteries. Our old batteries died completely at around dawn, shutting down everything, included the things that ran on propane (since they need some electricity to operate) and making our solar panels useless. It was an adventure to find a place in town to buy new batteries. Luckily, they actually had three! We ended up getting a takeout breakfast and coffee, and driving the R-Pod to O'Reilly Auto Parts to replace the batteries. It felt good to handle a problem and just keep going. I apprethat we don't get upset, with the situation or with each other. We just figure out what we need to do to fix it.

We then drove into Texas, staying on Lake Ray Hubbard in Garland. This was the fanciest RV Park we were in all trip. It had a pool, hot tub, fitness center, activity building, and access to The John Paul Jones Park which we walked at Sunset.

Louisiana Roadside Business was fun.

Tractors for sale.

A great spot for the night at Flying Heart Brewing.

Worth the visit.

A selection of beers.

Pizza and salad. The side salad was huge.

Sunset in Natchitoches.

Removing the offending batteries.

Don't mix up the leads.

Returning the used batteries for recycling.

Welcome to Texas.

The last gasp of the summer flowers.

Grackles making a racket.

Sunset over Lake Ray Hubbard.

John Paul Jones Park was beautiful.

Coming in (the airport was close).

Ultralight in flight.

The bridge (we drove out on it the next morning).

Chalk art cat.

Fantasy.

Dock and bridge.

Next up was Childress Fair Park Campground in Texas. I was concerned about this spot, because there is no reservation here; it's first come, first served, in a park with only five RV spaces available. The city put these spaces in on one side of their city park, and just have a metal box to take the money for the night, $15 per night. They had electric, but no water. It was one of my favorite spots on this trip. The park was cute, and they were setting up a huge Christmas light display around the small lake. We took another sunset walk, and I particularly appreciated that we got some fall color reflected in the lake. The covered bridge was nice, too.

The following night, we made it to Tucumcari, New Mexico and stayed at the Blaze-in-Saddle RV Park. I did the laundry here, paid bills, and appreciated being back in New Mexico. There is something about the landscape that is hard to resist. It makes me feel small and grand in the same breath. There is a sense of awe I notice as I move through the desert here.

We try to stop at Buc-ee's when we can.

Texas has a lot of wind power, ~30% on the ERCOT grid.

Unassuming but amazing.

We took the spot at the end.

Reflections on fall.

A nice trail for a quick walk after a long day's drive.

Covered bridge, but only a small part.

No idea.

Weird table with no leg room.

Getting under cover.

Russ was weirdly excited for the All Sups Burrito.

Nice roads in this part of Texas.

Train and truck.

I love how much graffiti there is on train cars.

More trains (not the same one).

ANOTHER train. Plus wind turbines.

The Big (kitchy) Texan.

As seen on TV.

It was decorated like crazy for Christmas.

No animal head or skull left unlit.

The food was good. I had the catfish.

The last of the Texas turbines.

Welcome to New Mexico.

So welcoming, they had two welcome signs.

I got my laundry done at Blaze-In-Saddle RV Park..

A blazing sunset at Blaze-In-Saddle in Tucumcari.

Our final day before getting to Russ' Mom's house was in Albuquerque. We have several friends and some family there, so we usually try to meet up with someone when we stay in town. This trip, we managed to have dinner with my college bestie and his partner. I didn't take any photos of our dinner out, but we went to the Park Square Market at their suggestion. It was nice to have each of us be able to select something different for dinner and still all eat together. It's been a few years since we've been able to see them, conflicting schedules have meant we missed each other for several years. Because I was so excited, I failed to get photos, so I asked for a picture of them together so I could include it here.

Nice.

Sunrise from the R-Pod window.

Tucumcari had some colorful murals.

This was at a Love's rest stop.

It stands alone. Clines Corners had cornered the market.

Decent into Albuquerque. It sits in a bowl of mountains.

The Rio Grande valley was a river of golden cottonwood trees.

Isleta Lakes.

The sunset reflections.

Meditation with a friend.

Breakfast bagel (open face).

Goodbye is for the birds.

We stopped to eat at El Bruno's in Cuba before we got to Russ' Mom's house in Aztec. It's so nice to have New Mexican-style food again. I love to be asked if I want red, green, or Christmas when I order. The drive north from Albuquerque is so stark and beautiful. Plus we enjoyed the last of the fall color in the Rio Grande valley and views of the Sandias as we drove the final stretch before a two week stop. It's nice to stop for a while, though, after all the traveling.