I have good weather for the drive there. Rain isn't forecasted for Arizona and Texas until Wednesday. We'll have a wet Thanksgiving Day again, just like in 2015 when I last drove to WF to see Eric when he was last in WF for his initial HVAC training.
I love road trips, but I hate the leaving part. I tend to delay my departure by cleaning the kitchen. Well, enough cleaning. Zeke and Minnie are patiently waiting for me in the Honda.
I finally drove off at 10:05, just as NPR news finished up. I drove along the border, taking AZ80 from Bisbee east to Douglas and into New Mexico, then taking NM9 across the state to ElPaso. This stretch of treeless low-elevation mountains and open cattle range is heavily patrolled by the US Border Patrol
I made it to ElPaso at 3pm, but then heavy traffic slowed me down. A detour along the Mission Trail came too late, as the setting sun was threatening darkness before I had a chance to see the last mission, the Elizario chapel and its many chirping blackbirds in the plaza. I will have to come back when there's more light.
My first big meal came in Van Horn, a lonely cattle town off I-10. This town has seen better days, with several older buildings now bordered up and listed for sale. Fifteen years ago, when Kevin and I first drove through town on our way to Arizona, we chatted with a very passionate anti-Busher who ran the Trading Post. He basically owned a junk shop. That shop is now for sale and has been for sale for several years. The town's one famous landmark is the family-owned Chuy's Restaurant.
Chuy's Restaurant was made famous by Oakland Raiders coach and then sports announcer John Madden, who drove in a bus (his "Madden Cruiser") instead of flying to his games. Chuy's allegedly was one of his favorite restaurants and he became friends with the family after his first stop in 1987 . A padded wooden chair still bears his name, and 1980s newspaper articles and black-white photos of Raider players and NFL team banners adorn the walls. I must admit the decor is quite unusual for a Mexican restaurant. Instead of loud mariachi music, this place plays sports on their one wall TV. A "John Madden special" (chicken picado) of chicken breast and seasoned rice is still on the menu, but I had the more simpler flat chicken enchiladas with green chili. That filled the spot! I was the only customer when I walked in at 7:30pm and no one else came in while I ate. My server told me that a large group had just left. Opening hours are until 10pm on Sunday, which seems late for a small town, and the server was cleaning up as if she was closing for the night. This was a very enjoyable meal, and it beats a warmed-over burrito at the Love's truck stop nearby.
https://thetexasbucketlist.com/2017/09/the-texas-bucket-list-chuys-madden-haul-of-fame-in-van-horn/
I drove through the oil refinery towns of the Permian Basin late at night, getting through Midland and Odessa as fast as I could. I normally prefer daytime driving, but the smells of these towns gives me headaches. It's like being back in Northwest Indiana's steel mills and refineries off Lake Michigan. I never stopped for the night. Instead, I'd pull over for 30 minutes to rest while listening to my latest audio book "Edison" by Edmund Morris, his last great book before he died this past March. The bluetooth connection between my phone and the Honda's speakers works very well. I never did listen to local news once I got to Wichita Falls. I listened to so much of the audio book, that I accidentally shut down the car battery three times! This is why I never road trip without a battery charger.
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