Day 34 | San Antonio to Phoenix
Today we decided to jump El Paso and travel directly to Phoenix crossing a big chunk of Texas, New Mexico. This was about 1000 miles (1604 km) and estimated about 14 hours driving so a long day.
It was perfect conditions and we set off. Geographically San Antonio, which even in a drought is quite green with the natural cover being scrub (mesquite) with some grasses. As you travel out it just becomes rockier and the vegetation lowers in between irrigated cropping. It was a little overcast and as we approached the Mexican border east of El Paso there was even a little rain drizzle. We had a near miss with fuel getting down to the last 40 miles without a town in site. The car does about 350 miles on a tank and there aren't many petrol stations. Some were quite basic.
San Antonio to Phoenix - massive 15 hour drive today
El Paso is a major city and the Interstate travels through it very close to the border with Mexico. The border was quite low but it was possible just to tell what building was on what side. It seems that there was a lot of smoke and dust over there. There are also low hills with some haphazard housing. There is a great deal of highway construction going on and a complex road system. After El Paso we had to pass through a border patrol inspection point, where they stop all traffic which was a bit exciting.
We got into Phoenix about midnight and checked in to our hotel which is lovely and has a great view from the 18th floor.
Highlights:
Rosie | The hotel in Phoenix
Angus | Crazy conversations with service station staff
