Day: April 27, 2015

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Nogales, AZ, to Silver City, NM

I got my work done this morning, then went to Walmart to get a SIM card for my phone. That did not work out and that’s all I’m going to say beyond the fact that I haven’t missed shopping at Walmart. 😀

Fuel was $2.39/gallon and I took on 12.5 gallons ($30), which was almost three quarters of a tank and plenty to get me to today’s destination. It was weird to pump my own! I had to go in an pre-pay and did that in Spanish, too, adding yet another new linguistic accomplishment. 😉

I pulled out of Nogales around noon local time and headed for Silver City, New Mexico. I knew that there is a huge Walmart in Benson not too far from I-10 right on my route, so that was my first destination.

Coming up to Benson, there was a customs check point…

The two cars ahead of me slowed down and were waved through without stopping.

I was not waved through, so I stopped and quickly removed my sunglasses. I was asked how I was doing, given a once over, and told to go on. Much more pleasant than my inland customs encounter in Texas that I never blogged about.

Walmart in Benson had the Go Phone SIM cards, but no refills. I figured I could just buy the refill online with a credit card…

While there, I had a look at shoes because I wanted to replace the pretty walking sandals I wore right through this winter. The pair I bought in Mexico are good for short trips, but not long walks, and so a good pair of walking sandals I can wear with dresses and skirts was on the budget for this trip. Walmart has the exclusive North American distributorship for the very high quality, yet inexpensive, ‘Earth Spirit’ brand and I had a look at what they had in Benson. I found the exact model I just wore through in a different colour (neutral beige) and they had one pair left in my size for just $19! That was a no brainer of a purchase!

From Benson, I continued on to Willcox to use the internet at McDonald’s to set up the phone.

That didn’t work out too well seeing as you can’t buy time online with a Canadian credit card. So my phone is a brick until I can get a refill card. Thankfully, there’s a Walmart here in Silver City, so I’ll check there in the morning.

The landscape driving east along I-10 was much like my beloved rolling hills of southern SK, but the hills were a tad higher. Lots of olive green and bright blue sky.

Texas Canyon was amazing!

These rock formations are amazing!

These rock formations are amazing!

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Not even the most impressive!

Not even the most impressive!

Before I knew it, I only had five states left to visit…

Five states left!

Five states left!

!!!

!!!

I stopped at the New Mexico welcome centre, but it was, of course, too late in the day and it was closed.

It was spitting rain by the time I got to Silver Springs and cold. I had to pull out closed shoes, socks, and my heavy coat!!!!!!

Needless to say, I was not going to sleep in my truck. So I took a room at the cheapest place in town, which was NOT cheap, more than 50USD, the Motel 6. But it’s a rather nice room, with hardwood floors rather than carpet and there’s a fridge and microwave. I have a budget for this trip and if I run out before the four weeks is up, I run out and I rush home, that’s all there is to it.

So I got, in logged into my email, and found a HUGE out of the blue rush project waiting for me. Huge as in I have to type all day Weds, Thurs, and Fri if I want to get it done by the deadline. Needless to say, I’m getting a motel in Truth or Consequences tomorrow for up to a week, depending on the rate!

Pizza sounded good for dinner since I could have cold leftovers with coffee for breakfast. I was happy that there’s a Little Caesar’s here as that meant supper and breakfast for under 6USD and, as I’ve said in the past, I think their pizza is very decent.

Tomorrow, I am going to the Gila Cliff Dwelling National Monument. It is the only thing in New Mexico that I have to see. Not quite a bucket list item, but it’s something I’ve wanted to visit for a long time. I’ll then move on to Truth or Consequences. Lovely readers are expecting me after that in Albuquerque, then Santa Fe (thank you!), so my route is taking on a life of its own.

Even with hills and wind today, my gas mileage was at normal levels. I can’t believe the improvement!

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Comfortable

I think I might have mentioned it once or twice of the winter that the Isla casa didn’t have a comfortable spot for relaxation since both the bed and sofa were hard.

As some of you may have noticed, I have a somewhat leaner profile than when I first started blogging. It might have also been quite obvious that I am an apple shape, with all my weight concentrated in the abdomen area. To get a semblance of a waist, I had to lose weight everywhere else first. The end result was knobby knees, hips, shoulders, and buttocks that desperately need not just padding, but also springiness.

Working this winter was pretty much agonizing. Even after adding a cushion to the computer chair I bought, it wasn’t enough. It felt like I was sitting on daggers, hence why I had such a hard time focusing for long stretches of time. The gals on my weight loss support forum told me to look for a doughnut cushion so that the bones would not press on anything, but I couldn’t find one in Maz.

After so much pain during the day, work was finally done and my only options for relaxing were the sofa, which didn’t have a single soft spot, or the bed, which was barely better. I was okay leaning back on pillows, but not sitting up, and I had to learn to sleep on my back since there was too much pressure on my knees, hips, and shoulders on my side and I would wake up with bruises.

So I spent most of the evening last night at the desk on the computer doing emails and answering blog comments until my behind had firmly enough of all the abuse (the truck seat is no longer comfortable either) and I was tired anyway. So I went to bed and…

OH.

It was like sinking into heaven. The mattress was thick and had lots of give. I could roll over without all my knobby bits hitting a hard surface. For the first time in months, I was comfortable and not hurting. It’s amazing the things that the human body can get used to, isn’t it? Pain just became my new normal and I used walking to get out as many kinks as possible.

The room was quite dark and quiet and I fell asleep very fast. I woke up around 4:00 absolutely frozen, though, so I turned on the heat and went back to my comfy nest. I’m going to have to pull the flannel pajamas out of the truck and repack my overnight bag since I didn’t think to take into consideration cold nights when I was sorting my clothes.

It’s also quite cool this morning, so I threw a cardi on over my sundress to schlep down to the office for coffee (still very decent). I’m finishing up my breakfast, I need to get started on my work. I don’t plan to get far tonight and it will likely be a sleep in the truck night. After much deliberation, I have decided to skip Las Cruces and am heading for Truth or Consequences, as accommodation there is cheaper. Bu until I hear about work, there are no motels in my future, so I’m in no hurry to get there.