Mr. Holladay's TOE: Bee Cave To Albuquerque

Today on Earth comes to you from the benches of the Sandia high above the city of Albuquerque. A crystal blue New Mexico sky with no hint of yesterday's storms is cool so far but the sun is beginning to heat the atmosphere and that morning cool is going to fade quickly. I just did a quick binocular scan of the sky near the sun but the waning crescent moon, about 24 hours away from new, is way too thin to be spotted. Look for the waxing crescent sliding up and under the evening Venus and Jupiter show this Friday. Those two planets continue to close the gap, now less than 10 degrees apart, between them leading up to their close dance at month's end.
In more, on Earth news, the earthquake list so far today is a short one, Oklahoma having already had 3 today to lead the US list. The volcano list from the USGS still has the Ring O Fire lit up, two dozen spots ALL around the Pacific that I recommend you avoid in your travels.
Since I missed the TOE yesterday, with 737 miles of driving, I'll catch up that adventure across another broad swath of the US.
I was awakened early (4am) with what sounded like rain and that was later confirmed with the flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder. The final bell that got me up and had both Nancy and I scrambling, her to her flight and me on the road, was the scary flash flood alert that my phone blasted at 5:20. The heaviest, flash flood portion of the rain just missed us but I still had wet car loading and a slow, windshield wiper start to my day's drive. My timing was perfect otherwise as that was the western edge of a system that seems to be drenching the eastern half of the country and before I got down to Rt 290 to head west the wipers were off.
I-10 in eastern Texas: scary busy, I-10 in central and west Texas: a lightly trafficked joy to drive. The hill country and wine country west of Austin gave way to road cuts through flat lying to slightly crinkled layers of sedimentary rock and then to mesas capped with the more durable weather resistant stone and for a time miles of windmills, slowly spinning a cranking out the kilowatts. Just before Ft. Stockton that all changed to a flat nothingness, nothing in the distance but haze. I refueled the car and myself at Ft. Stockton where I got off I-10 to head north on US 285. As I got out of the car I noticed the car behind me had tags from Maryland, a couple recently graduated from college in Florida but on a cross country adventure, leaving Maryland and following almost the same trip plan as I am. It's crazy out there; my guess, it being a small world, I'll run into them again in California!!
The drive north toward New Mexico brought back memories of my oil field days; lots of oil services trucks, drilling rigs, pump jacks, gas flares; someone has to provide the fuel I need for this adventure (just glad it's not me anymore). The flat ugliness of west Texas changed almost as soon as I hit New Mexico, the land began to roll again and mountains, the southern Rockies, showed themselves far off on the western horizon. But, even in Texas and certainly in New Mexico the arid world was GREEN. Yes, the desert was green. The rains of May awakening the desert world to grow and breed after years of drought. I passed vast expanses of yellow blooms ( I don't know what flower), as far as I could see on both sides of the road. Just out of Ft. Stockton I saw a Roadrunner scoot across the road (not sure if he went, beep-beep but he was quick!), then a couple of roadkill coyotes and up in New Mexico I wondered about antelope and there they were, watching the traffic pass with little concern; I was definitely out west!
I bypassed Carlsbad Caverns, seeing the sign to have lunch 750 feet below ground made me realize stopping there would take waaaaay longer than I wanted and then thought of stopping in the UFO capital of Roswell but grew more disgusted with the place the farther I drove into the town. There was absolutely nothing clever or original about it (whoo, the Arby's sign said "aliens welcome"). The main drag was lined for miles, end to end, with every known American fast food chain (some I didn't even know existed anymore), convenience store, big box store, auto parts store…our GNP - grossest national products, on display. There must have been 6 Micky Dees along Main St. Could not get through there fast enough. No pictures, seeeeeeya.
The drive from Roswell to Albuquerque was dominated by fluffy cumulus clouds, appearing 3D in the huge western sky, like on the Gulf Coast and filling the sky in all directions. Their flat bottoms all at the same height above the ground - the elevations where the air reaches the dew point - but seeming lower and lower off into the distance showing the curving away of our big planet from any point you stand on its surface. While there were hundreds of small cumulus clouds filling the sky there was only one giant cumulonimbus cloud and I drove for an hour (hours?) toward it. I did a short stop at the cross roads, train and auto, of Vaughn but by the time I continued the journey the storm had weakened and moved off to the east and while passing roadside puddles I journeyed on in sunlight.
Siri got me to the Firebaugh's lovely home without warning them (trying to begin to pay them back for the surprise appearance of Jeffrey at my fall party but falling far short). A tour, lots of catching up and out to dinner at El Pinto and the New Mexican treat of carne adobado, pork marinated in red chile until it melts in your mouth. I'm about to have the half not consumed last night for lunch!
I have to admit, this trip is going much better than I ever dreamed it would or even could. I'm a lucky guy with wonderful friends and family, all with gorgeous home in beautiful places, scattered across this amazing country that have welcomed me into their world's. Thanks to all I've visited so far and pre-thanks to those yet to come. And, all my friends have amazing friends and I hope you all get out and see them soon as well as get out for a wander, Today on Earth.

Cumulus