3 Flags - Day 11

Start Location: Socorro, NM
Ending Location: Las Cruces, NM
Miles Today: 169
Trip Miles: 2914
States Visited: 7
National Parks/Monuments: 8
Low Temp: 61 degrees
High Temp: 84 degrees
Min Elevation: 3996'
Max Elevation: 5044'

Route Map:

We learned a valuable lesson very early this morning. Always check the alarm clock in the room and make sure the alarm is NOT set. The worst part was hitting the snooze instead of turning it off. We never did figure out how to stop it -- just turned down the volume.

When Bob looked outside the first time this morning, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. By the time I looked, it was a little overcast. We opened the door to go to breafast, and it was raining hard. But by the time we finally got packed up, it had stopped. We got a few sprinkles along the way and decided to don the rain gear to be on the safe side. Well, that made it stop raining, which was just fine with us.

We stopped once along the way in the morning and it was not my favorite rest area. Another one of those frightening signs. I don't understand why the snakes have to use my rest area. There were miles and miles of nothing but open space around and they have to use the same area that has been designated for people.

We have talked on and off about spending a couple of the winter months some place sunny and warm. One of the places we have considered is Las Cruces, so we thought we would check it out this trip. We grabbed a couple of maps and set out exploring. One of the styles of architecture is very different. Many of the newer homes are all adobe with flat roofs. We expected the traditional adobe house with a tile roof. We wandered through some model homes and loved the open interiors. We don't know if we will actually ever come back next winter, but at least we know what is here.