Opps - Constuction zone

 No postings until I get a new charger....

Louisiana, Alabama, Mississipi to Georgia

Eastwards we went. My job was, as usual, to read the map and get us through the maze of roads near the cities. To announce in time the gas prices that were shown on huge signs along the road, and point out where to take off and on ramps towars and from gas stations. 

That is quite a job, I tell you.

Source: timesfreepress

Taking photos while nothing else can be done. Here some impressions from the last two days.

Early morning traffic was very light while 

driving through Shreveport, Louisiana

 everywhere along the I -20 we saw drenched fields.....

flooded woods and.....

 and swollen rivers. 

Around here hey must have had a torrential rainfall,

 while we were still driving through parched Texas.

ALABAMA

Rolling into Alabama: more green grass and budding trees.

Spring has sprung already here in those southern states.

There are not many Rest areas along the I-20.

In Alabama we only saw two and one was closed. 

                             We had to stop on closed weight stations to get a break from driving. 

Most of them were closed on Saturday and Sunday for commercial trucks and therefore empty.

MISSISSIPPI

Crossing over the mighty Mississippi

Mississippi River.

GEORGIA

Then entering Georgia in the afternoon. At the Georgia Welcome Centre I did a little bird watching while walking Dixie, and found a Mocking Bird (Gartenspottdrossel) singing in the trees near our parking spot. 

Lots of nice Camping areas along the Coosa River, Georgia

Driving through the capitol of Georgia was easier than we thought, though the traffic was busy with on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Atlanta, GA, Skyline 

Atlanta Capitol building, covered in real Georgia Gold with "Ms Freedom" on the top. About the history read more here.

"Six Flags" amusement park was packed with visitors today.

While we were filling our gas tank I spotted this Killdeer (Keilschwanz - Regenpfeifer) 

searching for food on a grassy area between the pumps and the road. 

Another spot found for the night, not far from Augusta, GA

Our route so far: tomorrow we will reach South Carolina and turn up north.

"Home is were the heart is"

Computer trouble - not charging

no postings until I 

got a new charger. 

Translation

____________________________

Fällt heute aus. Ich bin zu müde. 

Las Cruces, NM to Shreveport, LA

Leaving Las Cruces early in the morning we only had to drive through light morning traffic in El Paso. So sad to see the differences of two bordering countries: 

USA

El Paso, TX

and across the border - Mexico. 

But I liked their colourful houses. The I-10 ran us through more endless mesas until we entered Texas. The landscapes of New Mexico and western Texas showed signs of a mega drought the West of the US has been in for many years already. 

Tinder dry grass and vegetation all over.  Waterless dug-outs. At one spot I saw the carcass of a poor cow near an empty watering hole. Fire advisory signs were up at every turn. 

Western Texas also is the area with lots of oil business,

their signs marked a long stretch. 

After a night in Big Spring, TX we were greeted by a beautiful sunrise. 

The day turned out very windy and we decided to find a place to park near Abilene, TX. To our dismay all spaces in the local State Park were occupied. Spring Break, they told us; of course, we had forgotten all about that. 

But - as it turned out this was our lucky strike. 

Later, when we drove into Eastland, TX to stay overnight, I saw big plumes of smoke in the sky. A quick check on the internet confirmed that several wildfires had cropped up and one very close to that State Park we had looked at. 

Evacuation orders were given around the affected area. 

One never knows when a disappointment turns into an advantage. 

Today we drove, with the help of a strong tailwind, all the rest of the I-20 through Texas. We bypassed Fort Worth

and Dallas during midday, without any problems. 

Dallas, TX

Trinity River

East of Dallas the landscape looked very different. Tall pine and oak trees. 

More and more green grass, and first signs of spring. Texas Redbud were blooming here and there, and I also saw a few Mexican Plum trees covered with cream coloured flowers. 

What a relief for the eyes. Around 4PM in the afternoon we crossed into the state of Louisiana and found a place for the night. Sweet smelling 

Yellow Carolina Jasmine was blooming nearby. 

Our trip so far:

Translation 

____________________________

Wir verließen Las Cruces frühmorgens und fuhren durch El Paso in Richtung Interstate 10. Es ist schon traurig wenn man die Unterschied zwischen den beiden Ländern sieht. Den ganzen Tag fuhren wir durch endlose, trockene Hochebenen bis hinein nach Texas. Hier war die Landschaft sogleich vom Ölgeschäft geprägt. Überall war es knochentrocken.  Zeichen der jahrelangen Dürre die hier herrscht. Riesigen Weideflächen mit vertrocknetem Gras, ausgetrocknete Wasserlöcher und magere Rinder. Eines lag tot neben einem Wasserloch. Überall Warnungen wegen extremer Brandgefahr. Wir verbrachten die erste Nacht in Big Spring. Ein wunderschöner Sonnenaufgang begrüßte uns auf dem Weg zu einem der staatlichen Naturschutzparks. Dort wurden wir allerdings abgewiesen. Alles ist wegen der Frühlingsferien ausgebucht, sagte man uns. Daran hatten wir natürlich nicht gedacht. Doch es war zu unserem Besten, wie es sich später herausstellte. Wegen des stürmischen Seitenwindes kamen wir an diesem Tag nur bis Eastland. Am Himmel türmten sich Rauchwolken und auf dem Internet konnte ich nachlesen daß in der Gegen um den Naturpark Waldbrände ausgebrochen waren und Evakuierungen vorgenommen wurden. Glück im Unglück, daß wir dort keinen Platz bekommen hatten! Auch südlich von Eastland brannte es. Doch der Wind drehte auf Nordwest und wir verbrachten die Nacht sicher. Heute ging es mit gutem Rückenwind an Fort Worth und Dallas vorbei. Östlich von Dallas wurde die Landschaft dann zunehmend grüner. Grünes Gras, hohe Eichen und Kiefernbäume säumten die Straße. Zeichen von Frühling: lila blühenden Kanadische Judasbäume und kremfarbene, wilde Pflaumenbäume. Gegen 16:00 Uhr erreichten wir dann den Teilstaat Louisiana, und fanden auch gleich einen Rastplatz für die Nacht. Ganz in unserer Nähe blühte duftender Gelber Jasmin.

Tombstone, AZ to Las Cruses, NM

We were on the road early after sunrise. 

First we made a stop in Benson, to get some more bread. That was my lucky moment. 

While Peter was inside shopping I took a look around the parking lot. 

Behold! 

There was a reddish bird in a tree across the street. 

And no battery in my camera, it was still stuck in the charger. UGH!

I fumbled to get it out and the camera going - but the bird had taken off.Taking a chance, I locked the van and walked in the direction it had vanished. 

Pure luck! There - it sat high up in a tree, singing. 

A sweet call, very similar to our Northern Cardinal

After some photos I walked back to the van. 

Another was singing close by - and more photos!

First time I saw one of these was in 2006,  and right here in Benson, while staying at 

the Red Barn Campground. Today, I finally got it documented with photos.

Pyrrhuloxia (Schmalschnabelkardinal), a bird in the Cardinal family. 

*****

Endless hours of driving followed, over the high mesa, 

only interrupted by rugged mountains ranges.

Finally we stopped, near Las Cruses NM, on a rest area that gave us a wonderful overlook of the town and the Organ Mountains to the east. 

Another bird was found. A giant Greater Roadrunner made of discarded items.

Here some closer looks at it.

the sculpture is built out of...

of discarded crutches, keyboards, snipers, radio parts ...

and much more.

Isn't that amazing. Trash to treasure!

On my walk around the rest area in the sinking sun I found another unknown feathers friend.

A curve-billed Thrasher (aus der Familie der Sichelspötter)

Its song is similar to that of an European Common Blackbird (Amsel)

Nice spot here. Overlook over Las Cruses, New Mexico

Las Cruses by night

Our route so far. 

Holtville CA - Quartzsite AZ - Tombstone AZ -Las Cruses NM

Translation

______________________________________

Wir verließen Tombstone ganz früh am Morgen. Zuerst haben wir noch in Benson angehalten um noch neues Brot einzukaufen. Während Jens-Peter im Laden war habe ich mich auf dem Parkplatz etwas umgesehen. Und richtig - in einem Baum saß ein Pyrrhuloxia (Schmalschnabelkardinal). Den hatte ich schon einmal 2006 gesehen aber noch nicht fotografiert. Nachdem ich endlich die Batterie in die Kamera gefummelt hatte war der Vogel natürlich auf und davon. Doch ich suchte etwas herum und wurde belohnt. Er saß noch nicht weit davon in einem anderen Baum und sang. Als ich dann zum Wagen zurückging hörte und sah ich noch einen Zweiten. Doppeltes Glück!

Stundenlang ging es dann über die endlose Mesa in Richtung Osten, bis wir endlich, nahe bei Las Cruses in New Mexiko, auf einem Rastplatz anhielten. Hier hatten wir eine herrliche Aussicht über die Stadt und die Berge. 

Auch hier fand ich gleich einen riesigen Roadrunner. Alles aus rezirkulierten Materialien gebastelt. Krücken, Keyboards, Radioteile, Schuhsohlen und vieles mehr. Ganz toll!

Ein Amsel-ähnlicher Gesang machte mich dann noch auf einen Vogel aus der Familie der Sichelspötter aufmerksam. Ein Curve-billed Thrasher. 

Ein perfekter Tag.

Die kleine Karte zeigt unseren bisherigen Reiseverlauf.