Day 40

We got underway at 9:30 am and hold on to your sombreros, Dad changed the itinerary. Instead of heading west on I 40 we went south on Hwy 54.  Now he said it was because of the weather but I know the real reason was because some old man in Elk City told him about a Mexican restaurant in Las Cruces, NM that was suppose to be excellent. Now we all know how he likes his Mexican food so low and behold guess where we ended up 5 hours later. That's right Las Cruces. I'm only a cat but even I can figure that out.
Hwy 54 was a long road out in the middle of nowhere. We went through several small towns. One of which was Vaughn, NM. We saw one gas station where the diesel price was $4.49 a gallon. After Mom revived Dad we continued on until we got to Carrizozo ( the crossroads of New Mexico) and thankfully Dad was able to find fuel for $3.99 a gallon. This is Billy the Kid country and if he was still around I think he would probably just open a gas station. Dad was able to reach an all time low of 8.8 mpg.
The ride wasn't bad (245 miles) I even came out of my safe house and  and looked out the window and gave the folks a thrill by sitting with them on the front seat. It doesn't take much to make them happy.
So here we are in Las Cruces and surprise surprise we went to dinner at that Mexican food place. It was call La Posta de Mesilla  and the food was really good (although not sure it was worth 245 miles ).  The restaurant has been in business since 1939 and the building has  been around for over 200 years. Billy the Kid, Kit Carson, Gen. Douglas MacArthur and Pancho Villa have all been inside those walls. And now so have we.
Tomorrow who knows where we will bed down.

Hwy 54 The road to nowhere

White Sands missile range

La Posta

The Organ Mountains

The folks