November 11, 2023 Day 35 Tulia Texas to Moriarty New Mexico 286 miles
It rained over night but not too much. Now it is mostly cloudy. While we ate breakfast we watched a bunch of small birds drinking and bathing in one of the puddles of water. We headed out about 8:45 after filling with gas.
We soon encountered some newer nice homes on both sides of the road. They were all flying American flags. They had the same flag holders so obviously a group project.
When we arrived in Dimmitt Texas the town looked very run down but the houses on the west end of town looked newer and much larger. Sports must be a big deal here because they had a really nice baseball field and a really nice football field. Must not be much else to do in town.
In several places we saw more windmills. Most are turning. We could definitely feel the wind. It was more steady and not gusting. Unfortunately, it was a head wind that impacted our ground speed.
Three very large dairies were on the way today. They each had hundreds of cows. What a big job taking care of them. They had large stacks of hay and silage under white plastic covered with old tires.
A small herd of bison were on the other side of the road. They were fenced in so they are being raised for some purpose. Rob said they were bison burgers on the hoof.
What we think is the largest beef cattle feed lot we have ever seen was a little further down the road. Everything looked black for as far as you could see. Obviously no jerseys.
Texaco New Mexico came up next. The time zone changed about the same time. The terrain was very flat and contained very little. Some kind of cactus is growing everywhere rather than sagebrush. Looks like jumping cholla. It doesn’t grow very tall at least not here. A much taller version grows in New Mexico also.
Many long freight trains are going east. They are about 20 minutes apart. Going would be easy here because the terrain is so flat. We never did see any going west. One of the engineers blew his whistle several times when we approached going opposite directions.
Near Fort Sumpter is the grave of Billy the Kid and his museum. We didn’t stop however.
We saw two small herds of antelope. Doesn’t look like much to eat.
Penny’s diner is the only place to eat in Vaughn at least as far as we can tell. It looks like a diner from the fifties. Based on the rest of what is left of the town that would fit, The food was good.
The odometer turned over 37000 miles. Sometimes you really have to look hard to find an interesting event.
A medium sized field of solar panels came into view. With the amount of wind we were experiencing the windmills might generate more.
Oh my goodness there are a few head of belted Galloway cattle. Didn’t expect to see those.
A small part of todays travel was on Route 66. This is off season and was pretty quite. A lot of the little old towns are very dried up. The freeways do have an impact on local commerce.
Since we gained an hour by crossing into the Mountain Time Zone we got to the hotel a little earlier than originally planned. Therefore we did a load of laundry. That should do until we get home. We are hoping only five more days. That is if the Woodie keeps moving and the weather cooperates.
Spoffords Travel 