Day 4 - (1/7/16) - TX to AZ

I woke up in a very crowded Texas rest area at 5:00 central time having a much better night sleep than the past two nights.  This is my last long day of driving to get to AZ.  The weather will be good through NM but then I'm looking at hitting weather in AZ. 

I stop for gas at the truck stop in Midland, TX (on long days I get gas 3 times). It was a beautiful clear sunrise.  I can see a piece of the moon and the planet Mercury near it.

Northern Texas is dotted with many oil well rigs like this one.

I get to see many trains hauling freight.  Here is a very long train as you can tell by the number of engines.

I'm making my way to meet up with I10 in western TX.  I will be passing to the right of the mountains off in the distance.

Yes you can go 80 mph and many do.  My cruise control is set st 65.  I am not in a rush and no desire to waste fuel.

I made it to I10 and through the mountains to El Paso, TX.

When headed east on I10 you need to stop for border control as I will later in NM.  

You can see the cloud bank ahead foretelling my future weather.

Driving through El Paso.  Off to the left those houses are in Mexico.

I did stop in El Paso to play a bit of disc golf and the closest one just off I10 was in a small park with the baskets 30feet from the road.  It was not an interesting course and didn't want yo chase discs into the road do I drove on.

Up the highway a short distance from El Paso is Mew Mexico.

Another train after passing through the boarder control checkpoint just west of Las Cruces, NM.  Check the clouds!

I made it to AZ with only a few sprinkles so far.

As I head down into Wilcox, AZ oh my.  Look at that nasty cloud I'm headed into.

Yea, I've been watching the radar all the way and I have done fun ahead of me.

Bam!  Rain to sleet to heavy wet snow.

I don't like the road conditions and the way people are driving so I get off in a side road an then there are sirens and police, ambulances, and Fire Vehicles on and off the ramp.  I check Google Traffic and there are multiple accidents east and west bound.  

I sit here for 45 minutes and we get 2" of heavy wet snow.

I restart my travels and here is one such accident.

Now down out of the hills closer to Tucson I run into this traffic merge where it says two lanes and to take turns.  This is the first I have seen of this, but have heard of them.

People in front of me wouldn't take turns causing a bit of confusion.

This end today with my last long leg, and the most interesting I will add, with another 695 miles put on my Prius Campervan. 

Brent

macaliney@hotmail.com