Odometer: 108,629
6:45: Marco is getting up. 7:45: I’m getting up. 9:00: we are leaving Albuquerque on Hwy 14 east and then take scenic byway 337 south. The road is leading up to an elevation of probably 6000 to 7000 ft. The landscape is very green up here, grassland with lots of trees and bushes. We see some very nice horse farms and lots of real estate signs ‘for sale’. It would definitely be an area we would consider for living as well. It is green and within an hour of Albuquerque. The villages we pass remind us a bit of inland Croatia. But some of them look like ghost towns.

After about 60 or 70 miles the terrain becomes flatter, the streets straighter and the bushes smaller and less dense – grassland with lots of cattle.

The further south we go the more captures are taking over and we are driving through desert regions again. In Alamogordo we have a quick look at the Space Museum (from the outside only) and visit a Pistachio Farm where we enjoy their home made pistachio ice cream. The pistachio trees originate from this region.

Next we visit the White Sands National Monument – snow white gypsum sand dunes. We leave our shoes in the car, take a bottle of water and the camera and head off for a walk through the dunes. It is fascinating, the sand looks really like snow, and luckily it is quite solid and easy to walk on. When we get back to the car it is already 5:00 p.m. therefore we decide take the shortest and quickest way to El Paso. We take a room at the Red Roof Inn and go directly for dinner, before unloading the car. We first try Tony’s Rib BBQ, but since they don’t have prime rib we pay the coke and leave. Next we try the Rancher’s Grill; they only have prime rib on weekends. We still stay and order a sirloin/t-bone and some salad from the buffet.