Nomad Life - Day 67

For some reason, I had a fitful sleep during the night - I might have gotten about four hours of actual sleep.  Despite this fact, I started teleworking as soon as I was awakened by my alarm (0500).  The morning routine was much different than usual because I was worried it might be difficult to get my car serviced at the nearby Subaru Dealer without an appointment.  Just this week, I realized I'd already traveled more than 6000 miles since departing New Hampshire!  As a result, regular service (and, maybe, more) was needed.  By 0615, I left Trish and Terry's home and drove west on Passeo del Norte.  I was quite surprised to see the morning "Glow Up" balloon launch but it looked spectacular against the dark horizon behind Albuquerque.  It's been a great weekend to experience the Balloon Fiesta!  I arrived at the Service Entrance for Garcia Subaru by 0630 and started teleworking again (iPhone Hot Spot with my work laptop).  Fortunately, I was one of the first customers when the doors opened and quickly found a quiet corner of the waiting area to continue my work day.  Over the course of the next five hours, I attended meetings, worked on small projects and generally waited patiently for my car to be serviced.  The whole evolution might have gone more quickly, except they recommended I replace my four tires and I agreed to this ("Winter is Coming...").  I ate some of the snacks the Dealer offered (both "breakfast" and "lunch") and had a few nice conversations with other customers who were waiting.  One of them, Tricia, had a lot of good ideas about books I should read and for maximizing my enjoyment of the Nomad Life - these were welcome suggestions.  Just after noon, I got my car back and drove the short distance back to Trish and Terry's so I could complete my work day.  During some short breaks, I packed up my car and cleaned up behind my stay.  It's been a wonderful few days at this quiet, welcoming home!  At 1430, I finished teleworking and got in the car for my roughly six hour drive to Hobbs.  One thing that I knew might impact my drive was a desire to visit another National Park Unit (Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument) that was only barely on the way.  I departed Albuquerque by surface streets on the far east side of town and made my way to I-40 - I thought I'd be getting on the Interstate but Google Maps took me east via a Frontage Road (the Old Route 66).  Just as I passed the town of Tijeras, I turned south (on to NM-337) with a lot of other cars (afternoon commuters, I think).  This road took me through deep canyons and narrow passes and didn't allow for any passing - this resulted in some major delays, since we encountered farm equipment and slower drivers.  Still, the weather was wonderful (80s, sunny, no wind), I had a good audiobook to pass the time and I was enjoying the mountain scenery.  About halfway through this drive, I came to the end of NM-337 and had to take a series of farm roads (although I guess they may have had numbers) in a kind of right-angle-zig-zag pattern across the prairie.  And that is what the terrain looked like: high desert with distant peaks as the only landmarks in any direction.  I got on NM-55 and this took me to the town of Mountainair and the junction with US-60.  I headed west a bit and found the little hamlet of Abo, which purported to have a unit of the National Monument.  After I drove about a mile from the main highway, I was pleased to find ruins of one of the Salinas Pueblo Mission buildings in sight of a small parking lot.  The Visitor Center was closed but there was no impediment for me wandering the halls and marveling at the many rooms of the historic buildings (1620).  The place was very remote and I only heard the distant sounds of birds as company for my visit.  It would have been nice to stay longer and learn more about the culture and early New Mexico Church history but, only then, I realized I needed to get back on the road or risk getting to Hobbs after 2100.  Retracing my route on US-60 to Mountainair, I then continued to the northeast on that highway as the sun began to descend behind distant mountains.  The speeds picked up tremendously, though, and I was very relieved to finally reach the junction of US-285, a major four lane highway with a speed limit of 70+.  For the next several hours, I made great time, nearly racing across the high desert.  My ears told me that I was descending from the "Mile High" experience I'd had during the previous week and the distant sunset painted the clouds and any terrain a beautiful pink color.  I never made any stops, even though I started to get hungry.  Instead, I tried to chip away at Google Maps' predicted arrival time.  I was mostly successful in this endeavor and made it to Roswell without much trouble.  At that point, though, a storm I'd been watching on the distant horizon for several hours indicated its arrival with a steady downpour.  There was just enough daylight left at that point that I could see that the weather was much better to the east and I made it my mission to find that clear.  It took a bit of time (and a couple of car passes) in US-380 but I made it into an area where the only distraction was the bright moon overhead.  With the weather (and almost all traffic) behind me, I drove as fast as I could toward Hobbs.  I only saw two other vehicles going in my direction until I reached NM-206 - I didn't see any at all before reaching Lovington.  After taking US-82 to the west for s short time, I made my way on to NM-18 (North Lovington Highway) and had an easy drive for the rest of the way.  The big "Hobbs NM" sign was a welcome sight as I got into town (2030) and it only took me about 15 minutes more to arrive at Bonnie's home.  I'd been in contact with my cousins (mostly Trish) all the way from Albuquerque and it was wonderful to see that they were still awake and relaxing together in Bonnie's living room.  I ended up staying with them until nearly 2200, eating dinner (light sn snacks) and trying to make a Manhattan (Cousin Bonnie's favorite drink).  After saying goodbye to everyone, I drove a short distance to my hotel, the Econo Lodge on North Marland Boulevard.  When I was checking in (2215), I realized I'd messed up the reservation and requested a smoking room.  Dreading what that would be like, I was pleased to open my door and only find a faint trace of cigarette smell.  I next took a walk (almost three miles) near the hotel - the weather was cool and pleasant but there was a trace of storm in the air.  With my 10K steps complete (2300), I began to prepare myself for the Memorial Service in the morning, I raced through the typical admin stuff and was able to get into bed before 2315.  I spent about 15 minutes reading and doing some puzzles I'd forgotten earlier in the day.  After that, I easily fell asleep.  Tomorrow will be a tough day...