Drive Time
7 hours
Miles Driven
460 miles
TA Center Location
TA Center Address
Goodbye Texas, Hello New Mexico
We waved goodbye to the bustling DFW and headed straight toward New Mexico, for our first stop of our 4 day road trip from Texas to Oregon. We felt a rush of excitement and just a hint of nerves as we left familiar roads behind, ready to experience life on the highway. Why are we heading to Oregon, you ask? Well, it’s all for some van flooring. We found a USA Company named DIY Van who installs composite insulated flooring — all in one piece. So that meant driving over 2,000 miles in our van, which made it our longest road trip to date! It took us 4 days to get there, since we weren’t in a hurry. On our way back home, we drove straight home with one person driving 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and the other person driving 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. We made it home in a day and a half, not too bad if you ask us.
On The Road
The road out of Texas is a surprisingly long one — out of the 7 hours we were on the road, we spent 6 hours still in Texas. We took 287 all the way to Amarillo, where we linked up to I-40. The flat plains seemed endless, but the occasional clusters of windmills and solar farms broke up the horizon in a mesmerizing way. On our way down 287, my Grandma was driving back home from Colorado and we actually passed her on the highway. That was a fun treat! It felt comforting to see a friendly face along such a big journey.
Texas roads are beautiful with endless views of windmills, solar farms, real farms, and charming small towns that take you from 70 mph down to 30 mph in a blink, so be careful! One thing we can’t go without on any road trip is snacks. Our go-to snacks are Cheez-Its, chips, a few sodas, lots of water, and something sweet. We usually stop by a Buc-ee’s or a Love’s to get our snacks, since we know what they have and know what we like.
We Made It To New Mexico
After 6 hours, we were finally passing the New Mexico state line. At this point, we had to decide if we were going to drive through Albuquerque, NM which would add on a few more hours, or stop before we get to Albuquerque to get settled for the night. Since this was technically our first night on the road, ever – we wanted to make sure we got somewhere before dark. So while we stopped at the Route 66 gas station on the actual Route 66, we had to make a decision. We decided that it was best to just stop at the upcoming TA Center, since it had good reviews on freecampsites.com and from the Google Satellite view, had a pretty open field behind where the trucks park. From the reviews, it’s out of the way from trucks and the noise and super safe.
Arriving at the TA Center in Santa Rosa, NM
Once we turned into the TA Center, we went inside to check with the clerk to make sure it was still okay to park in the dirt lot. As expected, they were cool with it, so we got back into the van and headed to the back lot. We got situated on the flattest space we could find, since we didn’t have the Flat Jack yet at this point. The sunset cast a warm glow over the open field, reminding us why we love life on the road — it’s all about discovering new skies and quiet corners. We settled in for the night and made chicken Caesar wraps with a salad for dinner. After a long day of driving, the simple meal tasted like the perfect reward. Once the sunset faded, we decided it was best to get a good night’s sleep so we could leave bright and early to head to Utah the next day. Check out day two!
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