Day 6: New Mexico to Arizona

Today was another day of hot, dry, desert driving.  Add in winds upwards of 40 mph and that gives us dust.  Lots of dust, sand and tumbleweed blowing across the road, just like you see in the movies.  At times, it was all Blake could do to keep the camper on the road. We stopped at a Wal-Mart out in the middle of nowhere (literally) so Blake could nap and Zach and I could pick up a few essentials (like water).  It was quite a scene...picture this:  Zach and me, walking (sideways, against the wind) across the parking lot, Zach with his eyes clenched shut, and me clinging to the boy so he wouldn't be blown away!  When we returned to the camper, we found Blake spitting dust and sand that had been blown into the camper through whatever crevice it could find.  Everything in the camper was covered in dust!  Suddenly, everything had a reddish-brown hue. Oh joy. By the end of the day, Blake's forearms and wrists had quite the workout from battling the desert winds!  Conditions improved slightly as we crossed the border from New Mexico to Arizona when the landscape began changing as well.  As dusk approached, we finally spotted some elk along the road.  We arrived at our campsite late, but the night was clear and beautiful and the stars were shining bright in the ink-black sky.  Things were calm again and we settled in for a good night's rest.