New Mexico to Arizona

After exploring downtown Grants, New Mexico and giving the ice a chance to melt from I-40, Tom and I continued our drive west toward Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona.

As we approached the summit of Campbell Pass, which sits along the Continental Divide on Interstate 40 in New Mexico, we were happy we weren’t going the other direction. Traffic on that side was at a standstill with semi trucks and other vehicles backed up as far as we could see. Then, just as we approached the city of Gallup, our side of the highway came to a screeching halt. We quickly turned off to eat lunch and let the traffic clear up.

We planned to eat at in our camper in some parking lot. But, as it turns out, the first parking lot we turned into had a Sizzler. And, we never pass up the opportunity for a good salad bar… not to mention the taco bar, pasta bar, dessert bar, and Texas toast!

Unfortunately, while Tom and I were eating in Sizzler, Aly was eating in our truck… anything she could sink her teeth into! Our sunglasses, a lint roll, tissue box… I guess she wasn’t as excited about our Sizzler stop as we were. So, after repairing our sunglasses, we found the closest dog park where a frustrated puppy could let off some steam.

The Gallup City Dog Park was perfect! Aly made a new puppy friend; also on a long road-trip. And, with just as much pent-up energy.

As we left the dog park and looked toward the highway, we could see traffic moving freely. Yay! On the road again! Unfortunately, it was short lived.

Once again traffic came to a screeching halt. Semi trucks were lined up on our side of the highway as far as we could see and the on-ramp was full of trucks with no where to go. After a long wait, which included snoring from both the back seat and the driver’s seat, we finally started moving. As we drove that stretch of highway west of Gallup, New Mexico we finally understood the backed up traffic we’d seen on and off all day. While we’d been taking our time across New Mexico to avoid driving in snow storms and on icy roads, many truckers weren’t so lucky. Both sides of Interstate 40 were littered with wrecked vehicles, mostly semi trucks. As huge tow trucks worked to upright the semis and haul them away, the highway shut down in one direction or the other.

The highway was still scattered with wrecked or abandoned trucks as we approached the Arizona state line. Then we saw the sign... our destination was within reach! But, first a good night’s sleep.

Tom and I have boondocked at truck stops many times in the past with no problems. So, when we pulled into a large truck stop just east of Petrified Forest National Park, we anticipated a relatively peaceful night’s sleep. Apparently, we’ve never boondocked at a busy truck stop in frigid conditions. While our camper has a nice quite propane furnace to keep us warm at night, typical semi trucks rely on their cab heater. That means they keep their engines running all night long. By the time it was dark, the parking lot was full and we had noisy diesel engines running within 6 feet on both sides of our bed the entire night.

Yet another learning experience!