March 1, 2023 - Lordsburg, NM to Chosa Campground near Carlsbad, New Mexico

We set the alarm for 7:00 this morning so we could get an early start heading to Carlsbad. We were on I-10 and joined by many semi-trucks as we made our way eastward. We stopped in El Paso, Texas for gas - $2.91 per gallon! WOW - GREAT!! The wind is really howling today and there are high wind warnings that we could encounter gusts up to 70 mph. YIKES! Unfortunately, I am not feeling very good today, so I spent a lot of time on the sofa sleeping while Tobey drove!

Further down the road we spotted a sign for Guadalupe Mountain National Park and we could see Guadelupe Peak. We had never been there, so we decided to stop. The picture above is Guadelupe Peak, which is the highest point in all of Texas at 8751' above sea level.

There is a nice visitor’s center with displays of the plants, animals, and birds in the area.



We took the short Pinery Trail from the visitors’ center to the ruins of the Butterfield Station (about ¾ mile roundtrip).

Rocks from the station wall

One of the station outbuildings.

From September 1858 to August 1859, stagecoaches regularly stopped here for food, water, fresh mule teams, and protection on their way from Saint Louis to San Francisco. A forerunner to the Pony Express, the Butterfield Overland Mail ran on this 2,700-mile route and was always completed within 25 days! John Butterfield had a 6-year contract with the government, but it was cut short after the start of the Civil War. Butterfield had 100 coaches, each costing $1,500, which would carry up to 9 passengers, baggage, and 12,000 letters and pulled by six horse or mules. The only wildlife we saw was one blue jay, but it was an interesting walk and we were glad we made the stop.


They had WIFI at the visitors center and Tobey needed to get online for a while, so I went back to the RV and slept then got YESTERDAY's post finished!

We headed north to Chosa Campground which is BLM land and a large, flat parking area about 1/2 mile off the highway on our way to Carlsbad Caverns. We joined over a dozen other RVs parked there for the night and pointed our nose to the wind. Fortunately, the winds were really mild overnight and we had a good night. Tomorrow, we are on to Carlsbad Caverns!