Dec. 10, 2012 – Ozona, Tx. to Las Cruces, N.M.

At 5:30 a.m., I was hoping to reach El Paso. By 12 p.m., I doubted I’d ever get out of Ozona. But at 6:30 p.m., I was happily skipping over to Nate and Alanna’s house in Las Cruces, N.M.

What a roller coaster ride.

After two weeks of balmy Gulf Coast weather, the harsh Texas wind cut me to pieces all morning. I stood shivering for four hours on the Ozona on-ramp while cars and trucks thundered past without even looking at me. As my spirits plummeted, I opted for a lunch break at a nearby Sonic.

The break worked – I was picked me up minutes after my return to the ramp.

Ken was an old dude who played it straight, praising and (mostly) cursing whoever and whatever he wanted. He gave me some cold pizza and an extra pair of gloves before dropping me off at a rest stop 70 miles down the road.

West Texas is a scary place for a hitchhiker. With vast swaths of dry, empty desert land extending as far as the eye can see, getting stranded is a real danger. I wasted no time soliciting every car I saw, and soon found a ride from a South Korean tourist named George.

George dropped me off outside Fort Stockton, another boring patch in the middle of nowhere. I quickly got chatting with Pam.

She looked me over for a while after I asked for a lift.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh … hop in the back. I’m going clear through to Tucson.”

I was over the moon as I threw my back into the pickup truck and prepared for 300 miles in the back of the truck. I was soon wearing every layer I had to combat the wind, but I didn’t care – I’d be making it all the way to Las Crucas!

I carried a dumb grin all the way through the desert, waving to every vehicle we passed. The flatness soon gave way to increasingly impressive mountain formations, making for a stunning sunset.

Pam pulled over before darkness and told me to help her rearrange her gear – she couldn’t bear having me out in the cold and was determined to clear some space for me up front.

We pulled into Wendy’s for dinner 30 minutes later, then said our goodbyes just after crossing the New Mexico border.

I soon had my feet up in front of the TV at Alanna and Nate’s. By midnight, I had showered, eaten a tasty meal, and done all my laundry. I wasn’t going to think about Ozona ever again.