Day 16: Good-bye New Mexico. Hello Texas.

We packed up the Airstream as fast as we could this morning and said good-bye to the Las Cruces KOA. And for some reason, “as fast as we could” is 1o am. And that’s without making breakfast! But I should give us a break. We are not on vacation. We are working from the road… and have to balance work and kids and sight-seeing and driving… oh, and our cat too. So, if you take that into account, 10 am ain’t too shabby.

If you are dragging an Airstream to Mesilla (as we were), please don’t turn into the old town section. The streets are super tiny. You’ve been warned. We found awesome free RV parking about a block away at the Mesilla Visitor’s Center. The small historic square of Mesilla is surrounded by old adobe shops (like the haunted Billy the Kid Gift Shop), a church and a few restaurants too.

We chose to grab some food at the beautifully decorated Double Eagle Restaurant. This place is a gem. It is a 150 year old residence turned restaurant and is said to be haunted by two young lovers. Yes, I know we go to a lot of haunted places. (Thanks Carrie!) But we don’t ever see ghosts. But we will keep trying.

Ava was super excited to sit in the now enclosed courtyard with her “fancy” glass.

And for this burger. The World’s Largest Chile Burger! It was bigger than Mila for sure. And it costs us like $22. But we all split it and even had leftovers, no less. And how was it? A little spicy… and a little dry. But it was our fault. We forgot to ask for a side of mayo. Us Californians need a lot of sauce.

And Mila’s review? That’s one tasty burger spoon.

Then we were off to the land of Texas. Yee-haw! Here we are crossing the border between New Mexico and Texas on the I-10. Just after the border, we hit the town of El Paso. After reading lots of stories online about the drug wars and killings going on just a stone’s throw from the city, we decided it was best to drive as far away from the city as possible before taking our first break.

So we drove and drove and when we were safely out of the city, there was nothing around us but empty land. So we pulled off the freeway and parked the van and Airstream next to a closed rest stop. The awesome thing about traveling with your “home away from home” is that everything you need is just steps away. Our driver, Dada Dan, was able to take a short nap in the bedroom…

… while the ladies and I hung out (a.k.a. ice cream time).

Driving during the day is still a little rough. This might be the last time we attempt to drive 250 miles during the day for a bit. Mila still hates being strapped down after she wakes up from her naps. We are actually still traveling with friends to our next stop but didn’t caravan this time for that exact reason. With all of our stops, we actually got to catch our first Texas sunset.

And after the sun dropped behind the mountain range, we made it to our next destination, Balmorhea State Park. And good thing we booked a couple sites that morning. Because all of the sites appeared full. Looks like someone is excited to find his name on the after hours check-in list!

Parking the rig at a new campground in the dark is no fun. But thank goodness for friends. Especially for friends who invite us to “cocktail hour”. Cheers!

the end,
marlene