Is it getting hotter?

Arizona bled into New Mexico with nothing new to notice except maybe a a twinge of tan burning through my 75 SPF sunscreen. We drove forever and ever through the desert. I'm pretty sure the only noticeable thing of the day was when I drove off from a NM gas station with my gas cap on my roof and then watched it get run over by a truck directly after it fell into the highway. I had to stop and by a new one. I want my $7.99 back.

How 'bout this gem? The New Mexico sign with a Schneider next to it! Just in case you were wondering who claimed this fella, that would be me. I called it a good 5 miles before we got to it. The flat terrain of the desert makes the Schneider game very competitive.



Ok...on to the scary town business. After crossing the Texas border, we realized that camping wasn't in our immediate future. There were no campgrounds anywhere, it was pitch black, and I'm afraid of Texans. So we pulled off the exit in a town called Vega. It was weird right from the start. The off-ramp spits you out on a two-lane road, so you are actually exiting into oncoming traffic. (I would later come to realize this is normal in Texas.) Every building was shuttered, there was a Texas Chainsaw Massacre style car graveyard, and even though there were two motels with flickering "Vacancy" signs, there were no signs of life anywhere. We didn't get abducted by any locals, if there are any, but it took a degree of ingenuity to figure out how to get on the on-ramp as well. Weird introduction to Texas.

We ended up sleeping in a crack motel in Amarillo, the "yellow rose of Texas." Pretty dingy joint, but we got to take a shower, so that wasn't so bad.

Consult the map: