To Odessa, TX, and Carlsbad, NM

Today we drove from Austin, TX, to Carlsbad, NM.  We had not yet been west of Fredricksburg in Texas.  We expected all flat and brushy, which we eventually got to, but getting there was more interesting than we expected.  I'm fairly convinced that I saw a big brown snake with patterns on it sunning itself beside the highway - maybe a rattler? I-10 west of Fredrickburg (western Hill Country) had mesas and buttes that had some brushy plants as well as grey rocks!  It was kind of pretty and reminded us of Wyoming.  We turned north to Odessa, passing through some of the Permian basin oil field, but also saw lots of wind turbines on the bluffs (I think I saw them from the air on the way to Seattle last September) - there were a lot of them.  Lots of ranchland, but cows were hard to find.  My wonderful wife agreed to stop at the Odessa meteor impact crater.  I'm glad we went (not something one sees everyday), but it was basically a large round hole in the bedrock.  We knew not to expect much, however, and the free museum next to it was well done.  We could smell sulfur compounds from the nearby oil fields - kind of like being in Yellowstone or a general chemistry lab. We saw no snakes, just a lizard. We caught a glimpse of the Monahans sand dunes, however, I thought the ones along southeastern Lake Michigan were much more impressive. The temps got to 104, but the van AC held up as we traveled further northwest. Some of the towns like Pecos looked pretty beat up and somewhat abandoned - it seems that the oil industry is what is keeping them going. It got pretty flat, but we could see mountains in the distance as rainstorms rolled by (but only blew dust at us).  We were happy to find a Pizza Inn for supper here in Carlsbad, NM (there is one in Peoria, IL).  After supper, Katie and Karen swam at the pool, Kris watched the Disney Channel, and I blogged and watched the sunset!  Posting pictures is still problematic, but here is one.  By the way, now Karen and I have set foot in every state west of the Missisippi River except Nevada.