Roswell NM to Bowie AZ.

Cool again this morning, 4C, so we decided we need to get on to southern AZ and find some warmth.We crossed the Pecos River, a pretty small river up here, on the way to Roswell NM. The Roswell Cowboy Cafe called to us for breakfast. Better be hungry when stopping here!

#70 is a good 4-lane road heading west from Roswell, steadily climbing through scenic desert and hills to over 1700 M elevation, even though it felt like we were going downhill. Lots of desert scenery. Glencoe NM feels quite similar to Glencoe Scotland.

We stopped at Ruidoso Downs for fuel ($2.59) and a Walmart pit stop. As the elevation climbed the temperature fell to 1C at 10:30. Apache Summit elevation was 2330 M.

From Roswell down through Ruidoso, the temp fell to -2C, and snow was visible on homes and in the woods, and the roads were salted. Once we got to the much lower elevation at Alamogordo though, it warmed up to 14C. The forecast was for warmer as we move past Tucson tomorrow.

We did make a stop at a Pistachio store on the outskirts of Alamogordo, lots of yummy stuff for sale in there. Along in the same area we passed at least one car wash. I didn’t think to stop and clean the new salt off the van – the roads coming down through Ruidoso were salted due to freezing temperatures and damp roads, so we were salt-coated once again.

At the lower elevations it turned into a nice day, a sunny 10C. We could see the White Sands stretching across the horizon from miles away. By the time we stopped for groceries in Lordsburg about 4pm it was up to 13C.

We stopped for the night by 5pm, at Dwayne Mountain View RV park in Bowie AZ, $16 with electric. Nothing special as a campground, but it was time to get off the road. The campsite is just off the I10 highway, but far enough away that we couldn't hear the traffic from inside the van. It’s been 48 driving hours so far this trip.