Joe: No other place speaks to my heart like New Mexico. Tonight we find ourselves in this really cute little campground in the hills above Las Cruces, New Mexico. This land, with its harsh desert vegetation, dry sandy gravel, and dramatically steep mountains provides an unspeakable view of nature. Killer green chili cheeseburgers don't hurt either.

Our day started a little like yesterday, with an early morning pack up, and a start to the drive in the rain. Although the wind was nothing today like it was yesterday. So, our gamble paid off. The last two days we've been getting horrible gas mileage. I was chalking it up to all the headwinds, but then Marji informed me that Roswell, NM was at just over 3000 ft above sea level. So, we've been doing some steady climbing for 2 days. It's amazing because it looks like you are driving across the flattest place on earth. But, in fact you are on a steady climb into some beautiful mountains. Today's drive eventually topped out at just over 7600 feet in the Organ Mountain-Desert Peaks National Monument.

We drove through Roswell, NM and the only aliens I saw were on tourist trap signs. That was not a surprise. What was a surprise, is what a cool town Roswell is. The women in the convenience store that sold me Green Chili Tortilla Chips and a six pack of local IPA were super sweet. They even carded me. Bless their little hearts. We also drove by the worlds largest Pistachio. Remarkably, it kind of looked like Audrey 2. I could eat twice my weight in Pistachios, so we avoided stopping there.

Of course we drove by the White Sands National Monument, and the Missile Test range of the same name. There is a big sign just outside of the test facility warning of you of potential delays of 1 hour if they are testing a missile. I think they are missing out on a serious tourist attraction. Missile rides ala Slim Pickens.

I can not convey the beauty of this place, and while I have job and family ties to the Northeast, I can not help but hope this is an annual migration. I know I will be happier for that.