| Sorry, no pictures today. Didn't feel like a tourist. |
Today was easily the most windy day yet. It was fortunately mostly a
direct headwind, which although that kills fuel economy, doesn't
seriously move the motorhome around. But at times it was a direct
crosswind, and it was absolutely exhausting.
It wasn't long into the drive that I crossed into New Mexico and therefore into the Mountain Time Zone. Gained an hour, woo-hoo! The wind was definitely holding me back, but have I mentioned how much faster the motorhome is with the new fuel pump? It revs at least 300rpm higher, and feels faster too. I no longer have to put the tranny in "econ" mode to make it feel like it's working right. Seems like an overall win. Got to Santa Fe at about 1pm. Ended up parking at a shopping mall about a mile or so from downtown, and taking the BMW back ... walked around town, got some lunch, and then ice cream at Emack & Bolio's. Yes, Massachusetts readers, you read that right, E&B is in Santa Fe. The teenage employees thought that this was the only one, and didn't know how old it was or where the name came from. Surely can't be a coincidence though. The ice cream was quite good, but like the other E&Bs, it's no Tosci's. But it's way better than Blue Bell! I considered going west through the mountains to the Bandelier National Monument, which is supposed to be gorgeous, but it's a little bit cold here (in fact, it might get *under* 20 degrees tonight!) and with the absolutely huge wind, it just didn't seem like fun doing the drive. So, I headed back to I-40 to head west to Arizona. Stopped for the night here in Gallup, NM, which is about 20 miles from the AZ border. Relatively big town for the middle of nowhere. Should make the Grand Canyon shortly after noon tomorrow. I'm not yet sure how long I'll stay, but I don't want to cheat myself of any great experiences there! The computer says that home is only 1025 miles away. Back in Santa Fe today, when I was trying to decide whether or not to sightsee or make progress towards home, I realized that my mood has switched and I really do just want to get home ... so, the Grand Canyon is probably it for the excitement ... |
Thanks for reading!
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