Sunday December 21, 2014 Van Horn, TX

We didn't get a real good night's sleeping in a strange room.  We were up at 7 Mountain Standard time.  The room had a small coffee maker.  It made one cup at a time.  There was enough coffee for two small cups each, which almost filled one of our regular cups.  We got ready to travel and put the bags in the cars.  We then went to the free breakfast area of the lobby.  They had a variety of items available but one of the waffle makers was out of service.  We had eggs and sausage and passed on the waffles.  I took a couple of apples.  We were on the road by 8:30.

Today our entire route will be on I-10.  We are traveling east to Van Horn, TX and have reservations at the Whitten Inn there.  Gerri tried to make reservations at a Hampton inn, but it was full.

Rock formations in Texas Canyon

We planned to drive 440 miles today.  We stopped at a rest stop in Texas Canyon, AZ.  I looked for a cache there but didn't find it.

Shortly after getting into New Mexico we crossed the Continental Divide.  We have crossed the divide in many places but it always seems strange to cross it here where there are no mountains.

At Las Cruces we ran into heavy stop and go traffic for several miles.  There was a serious accident further east.  We had to exit the Interstate and travel a frontage road for several miles.  While off the interstate we stopped for fuel.

Once back on the Interstate it didn't take long to get to Texas.  Once east of El Paso the speed limit went up to 80 MPH.  With light traffic we made good time and arrived in Van Horn at about 5 PM Central Standard Time.

We were a little leery of the Whitten Inn when we arrived to a nearly empty parking lot.  Before checking in we looked at the room.  It was old and a little threadbare but seemed clean enough.  We choose to stay.

We missed the shuttle from the motel

Chili Rellenos

Our next task was deciding where to eat.  The desk clerk recommended the Steakhouse next door.  We choose a Mexican restaurant, Papa's Pantry, about a mile and a half away.  We drove there and it was closed.  We went back to a Mexican restaurant called Chuy's.  There were a lot a of cars in the lot and it seemed busy.  The signs claimed it was the John Madden Hall of Fame.  According to the menu John Madden always eats there when he goes through Van Horn. He has been doing that since the late 80's.  The food was ok except for the type of cheese they used.  Gerri had a combo plate and I had Chili Rellenos.

On the way to dinner we stopped at the City Hall and I found a cache that was hidden on a Caboose on display there.

Back at the motel we finished settling in for the evening.  On closer inspection the room leaves a lot to be desired.  A very hard bed, the heater is either too hot or too cool and the shower curtain was too short.  I miss our RV and I'm sure we will miss it more before this trip is over.

We were in bed by 10 CST.  Tomorrow we have 480 miles to drive to Kyle.  The day drives get longer but we will be in Kyle over a week.