Eric & I Drive West to Benson, Arizona

Leaving Midland on

 Interstate 20 West...

Oil Derricks are everywhere.

Eric & I travel in the slow lane.

We have no need for speed...

Burning off Natural Gas instead 

of capturing & selling it is common 

practice at West Texas Oil Refineries.

Our drive continues west

on Interstate 10.

A train traveling east.

Hudspeth County

Entering Mountain

Time Zone

Picnic tables covered by

Tepees at a Rest Stop.

The sliver of blue is the

Rio Grande River.

A complicated interchange

just east of El Paso

There are many miles of

roadwork along I 10 West.

New Mexico true

Welcomes You

We approach the

Welcome to New Mexico

Land of Enchantment span.

The blue sign on the right is

 another New Mexico true sign.

Eric & I spent the night at

the Las Cruces Walmart

parking lot before 

continuing West.

Deming is that way.

Eric & I are waved through

an Inspection Station.

Dust Storms

May Exist

Next 15 Miles

Continental Divide

Elevation 4,585 Feet

Welcome to Arizona

The Grand Canyon State

The Dragoon Mountains 

are beautiful.

Exit 306 takes us to Arizona

 State Route 80 East.

Entering Benson

Elevation 3,580

Founded 1880

Eric & I return to

Valley Vista RV Park.

A Late Lunch @ Abuelo's in Midland, Texas

 

Abuelo's Mexican

Restaurant

Abuelo = Grandpa

This Restaurant Chain has locations in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida,  Kansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

The Bar

A statue of a Mexican girl

pouring water from a jug

Skylights provide lighting in

The restaurant's Courtyard.

Eric and I sit in a booth nearby.

Our Nachos with four

delicious Salsas &

Chicken Tortilla Soup.

The Chicken Tortilla Soup is delicious!  

Eric pours our Platinum

Margaritas.

Eric's Faijita Chimichonga is

served with Sour Cream,

 Guacamole, Chili Con Queso

Sauce with Beans & Rice.

I chose The Laredo: Beef

Enchilada, Cheese Enchilada

& a Beef Taco served with

 Beans & Rice.

A closer look at my plate

Eric and I are very pleased with our choices.  His Faijitia Chimichanga is lightly fried.  The Sour Cream and Guacamole are perfect accompaniments.  My Taco and Enchiladas are perfect.  The well-prepared Beans and Rice are delicous Mexican meal essentials.  

The back wall of the Restaurant has a painting of a bustling

Mexican Town.

Abuelo's has rooms for hosting Private Parties and Events.  Besides Curbside Pickup, the Restaurant offers Catering options.  

Eric and I will be looking for other locations so we can continue to explore Abuelo's menu.

The Permian Basin Petroleum Museum in Midland, Texas

Eric & I visited the Permian

Basin Petroleum Museum

in Midland, Texas.

Oil Derricks in front of

the Museum

Eric at the front door

The Permian Basin started forming many, many millions of years ago as the sea life in an ancient sea died and was covered over with layers and layers of sediment that eventually formed rock.  

A Recreation of Ancient

Sea Life at the Permian

Reef

A display of Tiny Plants

that many, many

millions of years later

 would become Oil.

West Texas was Cattle Country before Oil was discovered here.

A painting of men 

working on an 

Oil Rig

Oil was refined into

Gasoline & fueled

cars in the Early

20th Century.

This Antique Pump Truck

made Gas deliveries in the 

1930s.

This Truck was used to carry

Explosives to Oil Fields

to "open up Wells."

Mobil Oil's logo was the

Red Pegasus for many

years.

An older Texaco

Gas Pump

Petroleum on the Air

Gas Commercials were 

all over TV & the radio.

We see Oil Company 

ads today.

Energy City has exhibits

for young children.

There are more displays that explain Alternative Fuels, Fracking, and Enhanced Oil Recovery. 

This is my favorite part of the Museum...

The Chaparral Cars

Exhibit

This Chaparral 2 D was built

in 1966.

This car is available for 

visitors to sit in.

There was plenty

of room for me.

The Chaparral 2F was built 

in 1967.

The Chaparral 2H was built

in 1969.

The Chaparral 2J was built in

1970.

Air was sucked up from under

the car & forced out the back.

And...

... this is the GS II B

Experimental Corvette.

It was built in 1963 by

Chevrolet Engineering

Center.

A shot with Eric & me and the Santa Rita #2 Oil Well.

It started pumping Oil in 1923.

We learned a lot about Oil Exploration, Drilling, and Fracking to increase Well Production.  The exhibits are very interesting and worth a visit.