Deming NM to Wichita Falls Texas

The usual crack-of-dawn departure happened at 8:30am, a little earlier than usual.  It turns out we had a travel day that was also a little longer than usual since we stopped for the day at 8:15pm

We left with a bright sunrise in our faces.  As the first few hours sped by, the sun hid behind an overall film of smoke that followed us for the rest of the day.

We stopped to make a few pictures along the road, or on parallel roads to share our adventure.

This was made at a roadside rest area which unfortunately did not have washrooms...  As you can see, we are surrounded by mountains off in the distance, no matter in which direction you face. The ground is relatively useless and grows scrub bushes and grass.

The structure you see on the left is a picnic table with benches and a concrete wall and roof to provide some shade and relief from the harsh winds.

This next stop was also at a rest area [without facilities], where some trucker stopped for a quick sleep, while some tourists stopped to see the scenery. I wanted to show you the effect of the prevailing smoke on driving visibility. It was not all that bad here, but in other places, you could see a few trucks ahead of you and that was about all. Smoke in the air definitely hampers visibility and photography.

Further along, we stopped at a cemetery to show the limited visibility. The water tower in the picture is quite faded away and it is only about 1/4 mile away...

Where we stopped happened to contain a very well decorated cemetery for Spanish speaking customers. Many graves were marked by artificial flowers and structures; some were quite professional, others, were much more personal and private.  Here are a few samples of the pictures I made there.

Further along the Interstate 20, I made these next two pictures.

Unfortunately, since we were very close to a prison facility with three levels of perimeter razor wire fence, a Jeep roared up to us asking what I was photographing. I told the gentleman and showed him the next two pictures, assuring him that I was only interested in the blowing sand, not the prison facilities.

He laughed it off, reminding me that photographing prison facilities is really not allowed due to National Security, and I assured him that I was only interested in the limited visibility.

He then told me that the visibility was due to fires in the area, and they were quite unusual, so shoot to your hearts' content, and have a safe journey.

These were the pictures I was making: an operating oil rig with storage tanks in the background, showing the restricted visibility due to the smoke.

Here is the other shot showing the reduced visibility along this row of telephone poles.

Fortunately, The previous picture was vertical, otherwise it would have shown the prison facility with its awesome razor wire triple fence. Careful composition or just dumb luck; you can be the judge...

This part of Texas is made up of scrub brush and waste land, and as we drove further, it got flatter and quite frankly, more desolate. 

We drove on to find our accommodations but they had no vacancies. Fortunately, the Days Inn next door had a vacancy and we are staying here for the night.  We found the recommended Olive Garden about a mile away, and they were still open while most other places were closed at 9pm.

We were well received by the owner and were allowed to leave with our half wine bottle after it was duly sealed in a purpose built bag.  Should you wonder wether the bottle was half full or half empty, let me assure you that it is now empty...