2,012 Miles and a U-Haul

[cyberbox2]

This isn't a Disney story but since I'm on the DIS now, I figured I'd share my current adventure!

So In January my wife's mother decided that she wanted to move to Elephant Butte, New Mexico where her parents and brother live.

My DW's parents got divorced the year we got married and although her fathers side of the family was from VA, her mothers family was from the southwest.

Well after a decade of pleading by my mother in laws parents to move nearer to then as they were getting older, she finally agreed.

So last Thursday, I rented a 17' U-Haul and loaded up her apartment, woke up the next morning with DW, DS and DD in tow and headed west.

We made it to New Mexico in 2 days stopping only for one night in Conway, Arkansas.

So we are here now and have unloaded and returned the U-Haul and am emerging ourselves in this desert culture.

Now we are beach/Florida/Disney people so the idea of 10 days in the desert wasn't easy to adjust to, but I must say it has been quite an experience!

We have visited El Pase, TX Las Cruses, NM and White Sands, NM where we rented sleds and sledded down BIG white dunes We even saw the courthouse in Mesilla where Billy the Kid was sentenced to be hanged and may even go to Lincoln County, NM to see his old stomping grounds, I loved Young Guns as a kids so this is one aspect of the west that interests me.

The hardest part of this whole trip is being only 12 hours from Disneyland and not having the time to go

We fly out of Albuquerque, NM on Sunday the 31st on a non stop into Baltimore, spend the night in a hotel there, do the inner harbor/Power Plant thing the next day and drive back to Richmond Monday night.

What a journey

This is White Sands

Another White Sands shot at sunset (where is the ocean in all of this sand?)

Classic Desert shot (had to do it)

Our El Paso lunch stop, this is as close to authentic Mexican as it gets!

 

[Tonya2426]

Great pictures!! Having never spent time in the desert, it does in fact look weird without any water nearby.

(And kudos to you for driving a U-Haul across the country!!!!)

 

[Renysmom]

Thank you so much for sharing the shots of White Sand!!!

You see I was actually born there (dad was stationed on the military base) and then we moved when I was 3 months old. I've never seen anything but the stock travel pictures when I looked it up on line... One day I will go there just to see it.

 

[cyberbox2]

I have many more White Sands photos I can share with you, these are just the one's taken from my iPhone, the rest I'll have to wait until I get home to share.

Having grown up vacationing in Nags Head and alway doing to Jockeys Ridge, every time I reached the top of a dune, I kept expecting to see the ocean!

 

[spaddy]

Great photos. I moved from Albuquerque to Pittsburgh so I know the drive.

White Sands is absolutely beautiful. I have yet to see any picture that really captures it. I count it up there with the Grand Canyon on the "Have to see it to believe it" scale.

I would love to see more photos. I love the southwest.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

Sooo, where's the pic of the elephant butt?







Ohhhh, BUTTE.....


Great pics!

 

[cyberbox2]

I know right, it's gotta be hard living in a town that's the "butte" of everyones jokes!

So here is a photo of the towns name sake, your guess is as good as mine.

Another shot of White Sands that I think helps relay the vastness of it.

 

[katscradle]

Wow! Awesome pictures..Thank you for sharing them.
I had seen very little of the United States..but this looks amazing.
Keep posting.

 

[DVCJones]

Speaking of long road trips.....The picture of Leo's Mexican Food reminds me of South of the Border on the way to Disney from Massachusetts.

See, I knew we could connect this thread to be Disney related.