March 15 - Day 15

We were on I-10 all day - riding on the interstate isn't as bad as it seems.  There is no cross traffic to worry about and the shoulder are very wide, so we are further from traffic than when we are on a two lane highway.  The ride is loud and monotonous, but at least you don't have to look behind you the whole day.  Here we are in the morning going down the on-ramp.  Speed limit is 80 - we were in no danger of speeding. 

Sixty miles into our day we hit our 1000th Mile!!! Still a long way to go, but a nice milestone to cross.  No big celebrations, but we did snap a photo. These are the most clouds we've seen so far on this trip! 

There isn't any vegetation taller than 4' tall in this area, so when looking for a good spot for breaks, overpasses are the only source of shade we could find.  This one had a great incline, perfect for stretching out on. 



We had to stop at the border patrol station - a drug dog was checking all the vehicles. Luckily stale gatorade and snacks don't smell like marijuana.  Speaking of gatorade, we have both lost our taste for it - drinking mainly water now - we have some electrolyte pills that provide what Gatorade does, so we take those instead of forcing down the Gatorade.  Not sure what has happened to our taste, but it sure doesn't go down well any more. 

Anytime I get really hot I crave vinegar, so I've needed to find a vinegar fix the entire trip.  When I worked for Davey tree in NC, I would carry a bottle of apple cider vinegar in the truck and take a shot a couple times a day.  So far on this trip, pickles have done the trick.  I get pickles with every meal and have a couple jars of them in the trailer.  When I ordered pickles with my pizza, the waitress shot me a pretty strange look, but hey, it works. Not sure what my body needs from the vinegar, but it's a very specific need that doesn't go away until you quench it with vinegar.   

Sometimes no overpasses are available, so we find any amount of shade we can, even a sign post can shade your face.

We stopped for the night at Plateau, Texas after 85 miles of riding.  Here is the typical landscape around Plateau.