I rested well last evening, with the bubbling of the oil flowing through the pipe to the storage tanks. I was up early, packed, and set out toward Hobbs. My goal today is just get in as many miles as possible, at least 20+.......that'll make tomorrow's trip into Hobbs a short day. Hwy 529 is a good road with a smooth, wide shoulder. Traffic was light because it's Sunday, but there was a steady stream of tanker trucks heading to the oil fields to load up from the storage tanks. The process appears to be: wells pump into the tanks, tanker trucks pump from the tanks and take to the refinery.
There are fewer wells along Hwy 529 than previous days. It seems they stayed north closer to Hwy 82, and I am traveling south of that. Or, maybe this part of the land has already been pumped out? Not sure, just not as many wells. Do all wells pump from the same body of oil, or is each well a separate source? I need to ask someone that.
The only human contact I had today was when a car pulled over, and the driver introduced himself as George McDonald, an attorney from the Ft Worth area. He had seen me on his way to Cloudcroft, and wanted to learn more about this guy pushing a cart down the road. George and I talked a while, he asked if I needed anything, and headed on his way. The guys who told me this stretch of road was desolate were right.......nothing but a few scrubby bushes and a few wells. Around the 22 mile mark the nice shoulder disappeared, and it was hit and miss after that. Luckily traffic remained light.
After 26 miles I decided to call it a day. It has been a good day with good weather. Found a nice field for the tent, checked to make sure no horses were around, and set up camp. It gets cool and dark pretty quickly around here, so I was soon in the sleeping bag and settled in for the night.
(I didn't take the picture above, just using to illustrate how many of these roads look out here.)
There are fewer wells along Hwy 529 than previous days. It seems they stayed north closer to Hwy 82, and I am traveling south of that. Or, maybe this part of the land has already been pumped out? Not sure, just not as many wells. Do all wells pump from the same body of oil, or is each well a separate source? I need to ask someone that.
The only human contact I had today was when a car pulled over, and the driver introduced himself as George McDonald, an attorney from the Ft Worth area. He had seen me on his way to Cloudcroft, and wanted to learn more about this guy pushing a cart down the road. George and I talked a while, he asked if I needed anything, and headed on his way. The guys who told me this stretch of road was desolate were right.......nothing but a few scrubby bushes and a few wells. Around the 22 mile mark the nice shoulder disappeared, and it was hit and miss after that. Luckily traffic remained light.
After 26 miles I decided to call it a day. It has been a good day with good weather. Found a nice field for the tent, checked to make sure no horses were around, and set up camp. It gets cool and dark pretty quickly around here, so I was soon in the sleeping bag and settled in for the night.
(I didn't take the picture above, just using to illustrate how many of these roads look out here.)
Sounds like your still going strong Papaw! Hope you are doing well. I thought that picture was awesome! But saw that you didn't take it in the very last sentence, hope your enjoying every day of it!
ReplyDeleteKevin
Hey Kevin, that looks like something you would take. Things are still good, and hope they are with you also. By tomorrow this time I'll be in Texas, and will stay there for about a month. Glad you are still following the walk.....keep in touch and tell your family I said hello.
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