To Lubbock, Again

Posted Mon Jul 19, 2010 in

We are in Lubbock, again. We drove in over the weekend. I have work to do; Wife and Young Son will play. Older Son and DiL are here on vacation, so we’ll have some family time.

The trip in wasn’t bad at all. We left a little late, getting away about 1500 Friday (I’m always surprised how long those last couple of errands require) and drove to Ely, Nevada. We like to stay over in Ely and it makes the next two days much easier than trying to drive it in two.

The travel over Nevada is always amazing. This time of year the snow is gone from the mountains, but many of the slopes retain some green from the earlier dose of moisture. The roads are decent enough (we usually drive U.S. 50), there is little traffic, and law enforcement is usually close to the small towns that are about 100-miles apart. The radar detector alerts us in plenty of time and the GPS (TomTom 730) provides information about places to stay, food, and fuel.

Saturday night we stopped over in Farmington, New Mexico. There is a Holiday Inn Express there that is reasonably-priced and clean. We like it. The drive from Ely to Farmington was pretty easy as well. We hit a really hard shower just west from Green River. It cleaned the windshield well and cooled the drive for a hundred miles or so.

Temperature in the storm was about 60F. Once we cleared the storm again, the heat rose and stayed between 95–105F most of the way in. There was only one bit of construction, on U.S. 191 just north from Moab. That was also our first tag by LEO radar. The Passport alerted us in plenty of time and the officer passed us at police speed.

South from Moab we had about 20 miles of traffic before it thinned out. The remainder of the way to Shiprock (New Mexico) wasn’t too bad. There were a few heavy trucks, but there are lots of places to pass. U.S. 491 is a decent road most of the way, except for a stretch near Cortez, where the road is not in very good condition.

The stretch of U.S. 54 between Shiprock and Farmington was heavily patrolled. We counted four active radars (and the offices operating them) over a ten-mile stretch of road. My guess is that they get a lot of revenue from this portion of the road and so they patrol it heavily.

It sure was good to get out of the car for the night. I was really road-weary and I think Wife was suffering a bit. It’s hard on her to be stationary so long.

Sunday was hard. I woke late and was tired. The late start Friday and the long day Saturday weighed. We got away late — it was about 0930 before we left the hotel parking lot (Holiday Inn Express in Farmington, recommended) and about 1000 before we left town. We had to stop for fuel before leaving town as well. But, refueled and as-ready-as-could-be for the road, we headed out.

The Passport sang as we left town, but the signal wasn’t very strong. I suspect we had an LEO behind us somewhere, because the signal came and went several times over the next five or ten miles. I set the cruise for 80 mph (by the GPS; the car speedometer is about 4 mph fast) and went for it.

We paused in Cuba for a bio-break and to walk around the car for a few minutes. Refreshed, we headed back out. I posted to Twitter my location several times along the way. I even included a few images.

We blew through Albuquerque and then paused about six miles east from Cline’s Corners at the Texas Rest Stop there (DQ). I made an image of the Flying C Ranch (what the call the place) and took a few images of the stuffed (?) bear in the tourist trap souvenir store. Then we grabbed a bite at the DQ, then climbed back into the car and motored on.

On the interstate, we cruised at 85 mph. We crossed paths with one LEO, but there was so much traffic that we were basically invisible. We made good time.

We blew through Ft. Sumner (actually, I slowed quite a bit :) after stopping to refuel. The remainder of the trip was just a matter of grinding it out. I was tired, it was hot, and I was done.

We rolled into Lubbock about 1900 local time. I was glad to be done with that part of the trip.