Journal: Las Cruces, NM to Phoenix, AZ
Chiles and Cacti
Day 6 of the drive home, day 23 of the trip.
Woke up before sunrise and walked around a bit.
My motel had great signage as did Pancake Alley next door.
Went back for more photos later, mainly to capture the Big Chili Inn’s giant chile!
I chose my motel due to its close proximity to my breakfast destination: Nellie’s Cafe.
I had wanted to dine there for years, but was never able to coordinate with the 3pm closing hour. (And good thing I went, I just discovered it has since closed 😭)
Nellie’s used to have two locations, and I first went to the second one on Main Street in the 90’s. I would order Huevos Rancheros and Chile Rellenos and get a large container of Salsa to go (to nurse on the remainder of my road trip).
There were no Chile Rellenos to be had (😢) but the Huevos Rancheros were as delicious as I remembered.
I left Las Cruces at around 9am and headed west on I-10.
At Lordsburg, I left I-10 for US70 for a long and interesting detour to Phoenix via US70, AZ188, and AZ87.
It was worth it! From yuccas in New Mexico…
to cacti in Arizona…
it was very scenic.
Lake Roosevelt loomed on the horizon:
A strange water-in-the-desert aqua green
The above was my last photo for the day. I still had two hours of driving to go.
I arrived at my friend Barb’s home at 4ish.
Day 23 complete, 408 miles, 7 hours.
