..dancin' in the wind with a Chihauhua

Odessa to Albuquerque started out with good intentions.  We met Lee and Palma at the Pierman Vietnam Memorial to take photo and have one last goodbye to the group.  Since we arrived before the group, we had plenty of good opportunity for unobstructed photos of the memorial.

Seeing this again still gives me goose pimples.  The life-like expressions and body postures of the statues wrenches my gut with pure emotion.  Three men, one wounded, onhe carrying him and hailing a Huey for rescue and one looking back for the enemy is how Vietnam was fought.  Knowing that my husband hung out the door with a 60 caliber machine gun giving support and helping evac still gives me the shivers.

We found Santa Ed in the crowd and wished him a safe journey.  Ed is quite a guy and we four adventurers, Sultan, Dancer, Crusty and bubblegum, feel happy to call him friend.

The Run's Good Servants:  Shepherd and Preacher with Me and John-Bubblegum and Crusty.

As we said our goodbye's to the group, Lee stood at attention and paid tribute by saluting.

OK...we ride on toward our night's destination of Albuquerque...and along the way we lured Sultan and Dancer to the DARK SIDE...we watched them shake hands with two Banditios. Don't ask...just look them up. These were nice guys who took the time to give us good directions to Roswell. Well, they were nice to us..and as Palma said, "We are all God's children."  So true.

Lee and Palma take on the Hydration Team duties...thank you, little yellow trailer!

Somewhere along a dirty, dusty, road in West Texas or New Mexico..there wasn't a sign that told us we had entered New Mexico.

Alien encounters at Fraley's diner in Roswell

...definitely aliens..you can tell by the silly grins.

After eating at Fraley's diner in Roswell...our 400+ mile trip got very interesting.

No alien sightings...just the wind...howling and whipping us in multiple directions all at the same time. It was hard work holding up Blue Girl..but she plowed though and carried me through while I was thinking...I'm gonna die on this road...We had to stop every 50 miles for me to decompress and be able to breathe.  After one of our decompress stops, and we were actually able to go 50MPH, I saw Lee tap his brakes and then hit them HARD.  I shifted down and then braked hard. Lee swerved to miss....a CHIHUAHUA in the middle of the freeway! EEK! I slowed down and waited for the mutt to run back to it's owners (who should be fined for not having the mutt on a leash!!).  We rode over 300 miles in the miserable wind. 400+ MILES IN THE ICKY WIND. At one decompress stop when John asked me how I was...I said, My gawd, My gawd, I'm going to die...that's how I feel. At that moment - all I wanted to do was to be in a car.

But, we made it into Albuquerque safe, but certainly not sound.