While I did wake up in the middle of the night, as always, long enough to book tonight's stay at Air B&B (Thanks to you, Freda for this recommendation!)--I went back to bed in this wonderful king-sized bed with three pillows and slept until nine!

I looked out my back door and saw the blue of mountains, looked out my front door and saw a beautiful courtyard lush with bougainvilleas and a fountain. 

Tonight I'll be staying in a "Charming old adobe house" in Las Cruces.  I'll leave here after breakfast and drive in that direction, so that I can see the White Sands Monument Barbel recommended as I head toward her house in Albuquerque.  I was just about to book a cheapo place in Ft. Stockton when the phone rang and it was Barbel, just in the nick of time.  As I leave town this morning, I'm thinking I might take a dip in the spring-fed  pool in the Balmohrea State Park four miles from here.

For all your San Antonio people looking for a great one-day drive, this is it.  I was heading toward the state park, but by the time I arrived, the gates were closed.  Nice cabins and camping facilities there, looks like.

I met a couple from Pecos who told me lots more about this beautiful region than I would have discovered on my own.  That's how it is traveling solo: people show up (and call) just when you need advice.  Someone told me you get even better help along the way if you carry a cane and walk stiffly, but I'm doing just fine without a cane.