To Amarillo...

We left Tucson this morning. My heart was heavy. Saying goodbye wasn't exactly easy for me. I thought about my friends and the fun I had and the people I met. I thought about the warm sun on my face and the birds in the trees. I was homesick for a place I've never truly lived in.

During the night, the snow had fallen and the normally brown and dusky mountains in the background were snow-capped and all white. It was strange and some how fitting for our last morning in town.


We were making pretty good time. Greg had decided on a short-cut on up through Silver City, New Mexico. We would be going through the Gila National Forest. At first the roads were pretty deserted, level, and the speed limit higher. But eventually the flatlands turned rough, and the roads zig-zagged higher and higher. The storm was at our backs, the winds howling and shaking the mini-van. We snaked our way through, sometimes over ice and snow, curling and bending with the ribbon-like road.


Greg was starting to get tired of the constant weaving through the labyrinth of road, so we briefly stopped. I got outside and took a quick picture. Although the view was amazing and the ride absolutely gorgeous, I knew that it was a treacherous place. If the wind blew any harder, I would have been in danger of being swept off the mountain-top.

It's not noticeable in this picture, but the road hugged these mountains and we crawled through them. Although we weren't going very fast, we still ended up shaving off a little bit of time and the prospect of getting to the hotel quicker did much to balm the stress of driving in such conditions.

It's funny how one minute you're riding through wintry white snow and the next you're in the middle of the sun-soaked desert. The rocks, the trees, everything seemed different.

I didn't get any pictures of it, but we passed through a cute, although somewhat deserted little town of Hillsboro, New Mexico. I was impressed with the many cafes and galleries. Though not a sign of human life could be seen, I was still smitten with the quaint town that boasts no more than 250 (give or take) citizens.

Is it me, or does the sky somehow seem bigger here in the Southwest? Although I love the beach and I love the mountains of the Carolinas, I still am utterly charmed by the Southwest scenery. Part of me feels like I should up and pull a Georgia O'Keeffe or Agnes Martin.

We made it here in Amarillo, Texas just after 11PM. We'll be staying here the night and taking off early in the morning. Our hope is to reach Memphis early. I would very much like to explore it a bit before we head on back to Asheville.