One final stop at the visitor's center on our way out and the great State Park of Palo Duro is in the rearview mirror. The trip up out of the canyon was now a piece of cake, God-Bless those switchbacks!!! The following video is around mile marker 5 as we exit. All you GOT fans will appreciate!!!!
Travel day today. Final destination will be Carlsbad, New Mexico. We head south out of Amarillo on Interstate 27 (Don't tell Charles Kuralt) until we hit Lubbock, Texas. Not much to say about Lubbock other than it's the 84th most populous city in the United States and it is the birthplace of Buddy Holly!!!!!!
West out of Lubbock, TX and there ain't a thing to be seen other than miles of miles. Flat, treeless and extremely windy. By far the toughest drive yet. Death grip on the wheel as the winds are relentless. I am never so happy to survive Texas and cross into Hobbs, New Mexico. Instantly everything looks Mexican, i.e. buildings, colors, license plates and the overall nothingness between settlements. The wind continues to blow as we buzz into Carlsbad City. We spot a KFC and get takeout as we have another 20 miles south to reach Whites City where our campsite is located. Whites City is the gateway to Carlsbad National Park. Yahoo, my first chance to use my "America, the Beautiful" Pass! This campsite will also be my first non-State Park campsite and it is with trepidation I enter. I walk into the Gift Shop/Registration, still trying to get my blood flowing back into my fingers after the ride in and in the back corner I see a small, wiry man staring at me. He basically said "what do you want?". I responded, " to check in". He proceeds to throw the box of items he was putting on display against the wall and curses semi-loudly. Whoa! Somebody got out of the wrong side of the bed! He checked me in for two nights, gave me the old "find yourself a spot" and turned his back. Not a good sign. My first "private" campsite had trailers that had not moved in years. Flat tires on trailers, propane tanks everywhere, enough crap in the site to stock a Florida Flea Market and abandoned cars. Sweet! I slid into an open spot next to a small RV from Texas. The dude was sitting at the picnic table and was tough to engage in conversation. Finally I wore him down and he turned into a good neighbor. I found no need to take photographs, so I didn't. I would like to just leave it to everyone's imagination. What I did learn was that Texas and New Mexico with the oil boom has attracted so many itinerant rig workers that housing is at a shortage. Trailer parks take them in because of guaranteed occupancy and they never leave. OK with me, this place was just conveniently close to where I would spend the next two days. Curled up with my dog and my KFC and called it a day.