We got down to the breakfast when they opened. The doors were open but the sausage wasn’t ready until we were leaving. I had biscauts and gravy instead.

When I went to check out I asked them to remove the safe charge. For everything I said they had a reply. It didn’t seem that ‘the customer is always right’ was part of their thinking. They did take the charge off.

We can’t take a left to get back to the freeway so we need to go right, then go through a Home Depot parking lot to get turned around. Shouldn’t have been in such a hurry to get going in the morning. We didn’t go far before hitting rush hour traffic. I gradually moved to the left. I like to take I-17, but today the overhead signs said it would take an extra half hour to go that route.

Finally the signs say to take the next exit, major delay. I don’t and the freeway becomes empty. I finally move all the way into the HOV lane. Should have done this an hour again, but it hadn’t been moving much faster than I for most of the trip. I sail past the sitting traffic and where the accident had been. It cleared was we approached. We stayed in the HOV lane until other traffic started catching up to me.

We keep going to Tucson. We stop at a TTT truckstop. An older truckstop that doesn’t seem to sell much fuel, the truck wash closed in the last couple of years. But the restaurant and parking lot are well used. There is a Pilot across the street, that is where we fuel and store our RV’s when we drop in Tucson.

Saw a new Pilot Express just south a couple of miles from the Pilot. Not sure what makes it an ‘Express.’ Also saw one that looked like it was co-branded Pilot and Flying J back in CA.

Not sure if I mentioned this back on Tuesday but after we came down the hill into LA there were fire trucks on the side of the road hosing down the breaks on a trailer. Been there, done that.

Port of Entry is open at New Mexico, but no one was in the booth checking on people so we sailed on through. A few more miles and we stopped at a Pilot in Lordsburg. Arbey’s. A few long parking spots in the car area so we had parked there.

Next stop isn’t until Anthony, TX at a rest area. Past all the cow farms on the last miles of NM. Today are driving about 140 miles between stops. We want to make 600 miles again today.

We hit Phoenix during rush hour, now we are hitting El Paso at rush hour. We get a brief view of the border fence. Earlier today we had seen a few border agents, sitting, walking, driving.

For some reason the trucks in El Paso stayed in the 2nd to the left lane. I didn’t know the reason but I stayed there too. It was now getting dark and we want to make it another 100 miles.

Somewhere down the road I see signs for a ‘truck inspection station,’ I finally decide not to call myself a truck and got out of that lane. I soon realized this was a border check point, not a scale. The agent asked if I was alone, then if she (my wife,) was a US citizen, then if I was a US citizen. Most places we don’t even get asked that but we usually aren’t out after dark.

We get to the Quality Inn in Van Horn for the night. We check in and then walk down the street to McDonalds. I got a McRib and BB had a burger and fries.

As we walked back we walk past a gas station that might also double as a bus stop. There seemed to be people just hanging around including one lady sitting at a table inside with about 20 of the cloth grocery style bags.

We plan on leaving in about 10 hours.