Leaving Fort Stockton late Monday morning, I had to agree for a while. Northern Indiana Flat only without anything very green:
This went on for about 50 miles. Then the land started to change. At first there were just mountains in the distance.
(I can't figure out exactly what mountains these are. There are a bunch of ranges in West Texas, and no one was able to be very specific - including Wikipedia, which was sort of disappointing. Here is an instance where an old school Rand-McNally atlas would have been helpful. The best I can tell, the mountains in these pictures are the Pecos, the Davis, or the Guadalupes. Or all three.)
Shortly thereafter (say, 80 miles northwest of Fort Stockton) there started to be giant moguls on the south side of I-10, although the north side remained flat. These hills were perhaps 50 to 100 feet high and pretty flat on the top. They weren't squared off like mesas, but looked more like someone had just sort of squished down the peak. They are rocky and brown and have some sage on them - unfortunately, there was nowhere for me to pull off to take a picture so you'll just have to use your imagination (or memory, if you've ever been out this way.)
The further northwest I drove, the more it became apparent that I was in the mountains. Occasionally the road went through a small cut-out in a hill, and I can't tell whether the whitish color you see is leftover snow (it's been cold) or sage. It's probably a bit of both.
These pictures don't do the landscape justice. It was very interesting and sometimes just plain weird. So, Friend Tom, I am going to have to respectfully disagree with you in part. I found the drive fascinating - at least, up until I hit El Paso, when it got just plain scary due to a gazillion semis driving at high speed in heavy traffic.
And then I arrived in Las Cruces, which I will be exploring over the next few days with Aunt Susie as my guide. Stay tuned.
New Mexico coming up -- For me, that would be a hard one to leave. My visits have all be in the northern part of state -- Taos, Chaco Canyon, Sante Fe, etc. It sticks with me as most beautiful landscapes I've seen.
ReplyDeleteAm so much enjoying your blog posts, Karen! Safe travels.
ReplyDeleteI drove by Las Cruces one early morning on I-10 in July of 1986. No occasion to stop, since I was heading to D.C., but just as the city came into view, several hot air balloons were rising off the ground in front of me. I'll never forget that scene. Always wanted to go back, though.
ReplyDeleteJohn Moore