I was on my third day of my New Year's trip through West Texas. The great odometer change from 1999 to 2000 went better than everyone had thought, with little widespread panic, rioting and mass death to note. Another new year, same as always. For me, I was having lots of fun, hiking up Franklin Mountain in El Paso, and for New Year's Day 2000, Emory Peak in Big Bend National Park. I had stayed the previous evening in Alpine, from which I began a long and meandering drive north through the West Texas hinterlands. I left Alpine and went north into Jeff Davis County, which is very pretty, and visited the Davis Mountains Preserve. I didn't hike, but I did drive some of the roads and go to some lookouts. Afterwards, I drove north through the towns of Pecos, Mentone and Kermit, then north and west again into Hobbs, New Mexico. I was now in the middle of the flat parts of Texas and New Mexico, and it was blowing quite heavy, sustained winds of about 30 mph. I encountered a couple minor dust clouds along the highway, and some tumbleweeds, too.

The Lea county highpoint was on my agenda today. This is about as easy a highpoint as there is. It's located a few feet off a highway (NM-172) along a very gently sloping ridge of land on the north-west portion of the county. NM-172 is actually in the adjacent (Chaves) county, just west of Lea County, but the county line zigs and zags and just nicks the highway almost exactly one mile south of the junction with US-380. There is nothing out here other than flat land. On the east side of NM-176 is a rock cairn which signifies the likely corner of Lea County and its possible (probable) highpoint. I walked a little bit south about a 100 feet from the cairn, but the land is so flat the actual highpoint is not obvious. It is evident the land slopes away ever so slightly to the east. In any case, I probably stood on or near the highpoint. Good enough for me!

Back on US-380 westbound, the highway suddenly drops about 200 feet as it descends the Mescalero Ridge, which is a faint band of cliffs extending north-south for many miles. East of the ridge is the Llano Estacado, the name given to the flat lands north of the Pecos River in Southeast New Mexico and the adjoining parts of Texas. There is a historical marker along US-380 just a bit east of the junction with NM-176 explaining this name and its history. Roswell, known for its UFO attractions, is about 45 miles west. I spent the night there, and made it back to Phoenix the next day.