The road to Farmington, New Mexico

With most of the preparation done last night, we hit the road earlier than usual.  The day was clear and cool; hopefully the weather will hold for our 160 mile drive to Farmington, New Mexico.

The drive was along a very well-maintained highway.  The countryside was high-desert and alternated between canyons, mesas and open grasslands.  Towns were few and far between; this is some of the most remote country we have traveled to date.  Slowly, we kept gaining altitude and sometime after the small town of Cuba, New Mexico, we crossed the Continental Divide.  Most of the day we stayed around 7,000 feet, but began to drop as we approached Farmington.  Aside from a little wind late in the day, the drive was mostly uneventful.

The drive also confirmed how comfortable we are in the west.  With endless shades of brown as a backdrop, the subtle colors of sage, grasses, flowers and changing cottonwood trees really stood out.  An occasional outcrop of red rock completed the perfect desert scene.  We like this type of countryside and look forward to exploring more of it next year.

Farmington is a small town in the middle of nowhere.  It is the destination; there are no other towns anywhere close.  This is a gritty oilfield town that also serves as a regional commercial center.  You can find anything you need and most of the national chains stores have a presence.  There is even a small mall.

While setting up, we found a set-screw and retainer had worked loose from the infamous red cable between the coach and Jeep.  This needed to be repaired along with one of the rear lights on the Jeep.  We soon found the pieces and returned to the campground to make the repairs.  We’re starting to realize that constantly being on the move takes a toll on the equipment.

The campground is full of big-rigs like ours that will head for the FMCA rally tomorrow morning.  After visiting with a few of our neighbors, the rest of the afternoon and evening was spent reading, working with the computer and watching TV.

We look forward to pulling into the rally tomorrow and settling in for a few days.