Day 30 - Headed East

 This morning we said goodbye to New Mexico for the last time on this trip. We will be spending the next 6 days in Texas as we head toward San Antonio, Austin, and Waco. Today's drive has taken us through vast oil fields on our way southeast to pick up I-10. 

We also drove through areas where they were "mining" gas.  Both are big business here.  Every so often we saw flames shooting in the air from tall pipes...supposedly to release pressure. 

The town of Pecos is the home of the rodeo but there was no rodeo happening today as we passed through town. It looked like something was going to happen with monster trucks though. 

Throughout town there were statues of boots...all kids of designs on cowboy boots.

 

After filling up the RV gas tank in Fort Stockton, we needed to fill our tummies. We found a small restaurant with great ratings to eat lunch as we lost an hour on our drive thus far. V's Restaurant serves incredible, delicious food. Jim had the Boss Hog Burger with fries, Mike had a cheeseburger, and Joanne and I both had the Grilled Chicken salad, each one enough for two. Everything was homemade and fresh! We took 3 go boxes with us as neither Joanne or I could eat but half of our salad and the guys had lots of fries left over. 

On our way out of town we got to see the big Fort Stockton sign as well as the Roadrunner statue called Paisano Pete.

Back on I-10 headed east we came across this...Jim called it the "8th wonder of the world"...

Our day ended with a steak dinner at a restaurant across the road from the little campground we stayed overnight in. The restaurant used to be a sheep barn.