Trip to TX

I made the long drive from Vail to Austin this weekend. I left Friday after work and took off to Albuquerque. My sister was visiting her friend Rachael there, so I spent the night at her place. My first stop on the way to ABQ was in good ol' Leadville. And where else would you find a gas station like this?
After about 3 hours of driving I was in a valley with the moon rising on my left and the sun setting on my right. It was gorgeous. The song I was listening to was erfect also. It was slowly building up as the sun was setting and just as it was sinking below the mountain horizon, the music perfectly calmed. One of those times when it seems that everything was aligned perfectly.
The rest of the drive was pretty tame into ABQ. I got in around midnight and finally had a little dinner. Went to breakfast with MEW and Matt the next morning at The Flying Star. It was really good to have food from somewhere other than the Vail Valley. Finally got on the road at 11 a.m. and took off like a... well I only went about 5 over the speed limit the whole drive so it wasn't that fast.

It was a pretty drive. Great terrain all around. I started to get a little sleepy, but more just tired. I never felt like my eyes were going to shut, just a little less lucid. Ate lunch in Carlsbad, NM at about 4 and woke right up. Hit the TX border and it was smooth sailing from there. In case you can't read the bottom of the sign, it says "Proud home of President George W. Bush." No comment.
Once I got on I-10, I tried my best to take advantage of the daylight and 80 mph speed limit. But the sunset in my sideview mirror kept catching my attention so I pulled over for a little photo shoot.
Austin came to me around midnight, but I lost an hour so it was really about 1 a.m. and I was pooped. The Red Bull and Paydays kept me awake but I was wiped out. That last hour or so of driving on 290 seemed like an eternity. I had to be super careful because deer were all over the side of the road and I had already hit a little bird in New Mexico. I didn't really feel like making deer sausage.


So here I am back in beautiful Austin, TX. Don't have alot of plans for the week but to relax, catch up with friends, and eat some Tex-Mex.