We departed about 9:30 and headed West toward Las Cruces NM. The drive was easy, and low traffic. We stopped at Guadalupe National Park only 39 miles past Carlsbad Caverns. Not much to see here if you don’t want to commit to a pretty serious hike. There are no roads into or around the park. We took a very short hike to the old Butterfield Stage Coach stop ruins. Not really a “hike”. It was pleasant enough, but not spectacular. Guadalupe Peak is the highest point in Texas and there is a hike to the peak that is probably a 8 hour round trip for those more adventurous.
We continued on through El Paso towards Las Cruces. Unfortunately we were unable to find any RV park openings in Las Cruces and I wasn’t confident the state park dry camping at Sierra Vista trail head would have any openings. We chose to stop at Anthony Texas just over the Franklin mountains from El Paso. There is a Camping World here and I thought it might have furnace parts that would fix our issue. There is also a gravel parking lot called a KOA campground adjacent to Camping World. We are very concerned about getting the furnace to work properly if we intend to continue this Journey long term. A note about Las Cruces. I chose that as our stopping point because I spent 3 years, every other week here supporting the LOSAT program. Donna was stuck home with a new born and 2 year old during that time. I wanted to show Donna around my old stomping grounds. Tonight I took her to Las Posta Mexican restaurant. It is the only surviving Butterfield coach stop. Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, Pancho Villa, and other old West characters used to hang out here. The restaurant is nearly identical to my memory from 25 years earlier. We had a great meal in a very historical building. Very cool.