So, anyway...
Daybreak at White=B9s City is beautiful, no other adjective will do.=20 There are scattered clouds streaked with pink and orange to the north=20 and deep blue New Mexico skies to the east while thirty miles to the=20 south the mountain tops have fluffy white clouds clinging to them. The=20 temperature is in the 70=B9s, humidity is non-existent, and a light=20 breeze stirs the leaves. Loverly.
Even though we sleep in =8Ctil 6 AM, a first for this trip, we are still=20 loaded up, gassed up, watered up, coffeed up, and headed out by 7:15.=20 Since I want to check the mileage I have, for the first time during=20 this tour, filled the gas tank all the way up. I don=B9t like to fill=20 =8CBeamish all the way up because of the problem these cars seem to have=20 with pushing gas back out the filler cap when filled. Besides, we have=20 been stopping so often that filling up just wasn=B9t necessary.
Traffic is very light on US 62/180 as we head south toward El Paso,=20 Texas. The two-lane road is dry and smooth so I put the speedometer=20 needle on 75 and hold it there. It seems only minutes before we reach=20 the Texas border and see the first sign giving milage to Las Cruces,=20 NM. According to the sign, The Codpiece of America Tour has 171 miles=20 to go.
The highway immediately climbs into the Franklin Mountains, eventually=20 cresting at about 5700 feet, a pretty respectable elevation for Texas.=20 The =8CPine=B9s temp gauge climbs from 75 C to 85 C as we climb the=20 mountains but once over the crest the indicated engine temp plummets,=20 dropping to 75 C and then going still farther down. I point out to=20 Janet that if this little dude gets to running any cooler I can stick=20 a couple of cans of Vern behind the alternator bracket to chill =8Cem.
Janet asks what an =B3alternated backet=B2 is.
Sigh....
Climbing back into the mountains we run through the clouds, the=20 windshield misting over enough to require the use of wipers even=20 though visibility remains pretty good. The little bit of moisture is=20 well worth enduring to get the wonderful views of the surrounding=20 mountains streaked with white clouds.
Down off the mountain, I stop in the flats and put in a couple of=20 pints of water. The car is not running hot, but why push my luck?
An hour and a half later we are still pushing along at 75 when we find=20 a road sign notifying us that El Paso is 20 miles down the road. About=20 a mile after that we pass the El Paso City Limits sign. Thankfully, we=20 are able to skirt El Paso to the north on Loop 375, a brand new=20 four-lane bypass that really simplifies getting past the sprawling=20 city with some of the worst urban freeways in the country.
At the terminus of Loop 375, just before we climb back into the=20 Franklins for one last short hop, I stop and gas up. We have come 152=20 miles on the tank, perhaps 140 or so miles have been at highway speeds=20 from 65 to 75 mph with a couple of sections of stop and go traffic to=20 balance things out. I fill it up with 4.7 gallons of 91 test... I am=20 absolutely flabbergasted to find that the mileage was 32.3 miles per=20 gallon!
Loaded the way it is, climbing mountains, running at 75 mph... 32.3=20 miles!
I resolve to check the mileage again at some future date but for the=20 nonce I am a happy camper. I dump in a couple of pints of water and=20 off we go on the Intermountain Highway to climb back over a little=20 hump of the Franklins rising to nearly 6,000 feet inside the El Paso=20 city limits.
The Intermountain is another very good four-lane road though it=20 consists entirely of very steep grade. You haul up it, then haul right=20 back down again. Cresting the Intermountain we drop back down into the=20 valley and decide at the last minute to take Interstate 10 for the=20 last 45 miles to Las Cruces. This is a last minute decision because IH=20 10 is plagued with construction zones from El Paso to the New Mexico=20 border and I do not want to get caught in stop and go traffic. Since=20 the freeway looks clear and open, I decide to risk it and happily head=20 up the highway.
The road stays open and clear all the way to Las Cruces where I take=20 US 70 to cover the last 10 miles to our home. It is 11:30 AM when I=20 shut the engine down in my driveway. We have covered 210 miles in just=20 over four hours this morning.
Total mileage for the tour is 2,115 miles.
Both Janet and I declare the trip to be an unqualified success. We had=20 a ball! And we arrived home safe and sound with the machinery working=20 AOK.
Fortunately, we had the annoyance of the water loss and overheating to=20 contend with, otherwise the trip would have been so trouble free as to=20 make the Gods jealous.
The car did such a good job, was so comfortable, so stable, so=20 enjoyable to drive, so easy running that I am immensely pleased. The=20 aquaplaneing I consider my own damned fault for not doing what I knew=20 I shoulda done. The problem with the brand new JVC deck which still=20 remains to be diagnosed is just a noise level concern.
My only problem now is figuring a way to get to my map book into the=20 bedroom without Janet knowing it... gotta start figuring a=20 freeway-less route to SUNI!
Naah...
=8BColin Cobb, At Home In Las Cruces, The City of Broken Bottles.