Windy in El Paso

As expected, it’s windy here in El Paso, Texas.

It was breezy all day yesterday, but went beyond breezy about 3 p.m.  By 6 p.m. the big, heavy dumpster lids at our RV park were flipping back and forth. The rig rocked a bit, too; at times it felt like we were passengers on a train.

Last time we were in winds like this we were at Red Rock Park in Gallup, NM, a beautiful but desolate city campground where nothing blocked the wind.  All afternoon we watched tumble weeds and sand fly at us and about once an hour we vacuumed red sand from our window sills.  This time, nearby Class A motorhomes and big fifth wheels are blocking the wind a bit, plus we’re at the military RV park at Fort Bliss where gravel, cement and asphalt cover the ground.  Not as pretty as the red rocks and pink sands of Gallup, but a lot less dusty.  

Less dusty for us anyway.  Visibility was less than a mile on the El Paso freeways yesterday and might get to that level today. And per the news, for a few hours high winds and zero visibility closed I-10 the entire 60 miles between Las Cruces and Deming.

I told Jim I was going to take a photo of the moon being obstructed by all the dust in the air.  Then I realized it wasn't the moon -- it was the sun.  It was just so dark it felt like evening.  To the left is a slight outline of usually very visible Franklin Mountains.