Big Blue's Trip To New Mexico

Gary Lewis wrote

....  Plus we encountered a LOT of wind, which certainly hurt the MPG.  In fact, at one point there was so much wind and, therefore, wind noise that the dummy driving forgot to shift into 5th.  ....

Glad you had a great trip!

And if you think leaving it in 4th is bad, several times I've found myself on the freeway in 3rd gear!  One time that was for over 20 miles.  In my defense, I'm sure the wind noise in my Bronco is a LOT louder than in Big Blue.  And the side-to-side shift throws in the NV3550 are very tight, so when looking at the shifter 3rd and 5th look about the same.  But it is a BIG difference in engine speed!

LOL!  I'll bet there's a BIG difference in engine speed between 3rd and 5th!  

As for more pics, here we go:

The first pair shows Big Blue in the same spot in Valles Caldera, with the one on the left showing the expanse of the caldera and the one on the right featuring the ranger's house.

The next pair shows some of the wildlife we saw on the road to Ted Turner's Vermejo on NM 555.

Then we have a pair of shots in Valles Caldera showing one of the many prairie dogs we saw.  That's the same shot with the one on the right zoomed in a bunch.

Last, on the left we have a view of snow covered mountains to the west of Vermejo, and on the right we have a view of a snowy valley near Valles Caldera.

Wow!  What a nice country (and SO exotic for the North guy I am)!

Gary Lewis wrote

Then we have a pair of shots in Valles Caldera showing one of the many prairie dogs we saw.

Hmmm... Caldera, does it have to see with Super Volcanoes?