May 6th - Albuquerque to Lubbock, TX

Put a diaper on Charlie and hit the road again. Drove a bit of freeway before traversing a series of two-lane, rural roads. Lots of miles between towns. Temperatures climbed to 106 along the way. Through Harvest Host, Angie had found Pheasant Ridge Winery that offered free camping in their vineyard in exchange for a paid wine tasting. 
​
Our host, Bobby, was a tall, mustachioed gentleman who had purchased the land with his father in 1978 and opened the winery in 1982. He was very knowledgeable about the global wine industry. The hour in his delightfully air-conditioned winery passed quickly. We enjoyed their white wines - a blanc de noirs, viognier and a dessert wine - more than their cabernet sauvignon. We bought four bottles.

We camped on a dirt lane in the shade of tall trees. Heard some unique bird song from some kind of long-tailed blackbirds, which we were unable to identify. There was no one else in sight, except from Australian shepherds in a distant yard. We loved how peaceful and private our spot was. We flew a kite for streak to herd. The dogs loved the freedom of being off-leash. The sunset on the high plain fields was magnificent. It cooled off enough that we didn't need to fire up the generator for air conditioning.