{"id":313,"date":"2012-03-17T18:37:48","date_gmt":"2012-03-17T22:37:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=313"},"modified":"2024-12-03T16:21:49","modified_gmt":"2024-12-03T21:21:49","slug":"times-three","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=313","title":{"rendered":"Times Three"},"content":{"rendered":"

Linda Burton posting from Sierra Vista, Arizona<\/em> while traveling from Austin, Texas to Phoenix, Arizona<\/em>— \"\"<\/a>I wake up on Central Daylight Time. Bright sun shadows the face of the Sierra Diablos across the street. The car is loaded by 7:23; I see I\u2019m almost out of gas. One stop, and then we\u2019re on the road. An elevation climb, my ears can feel the pressure change, we\u2019re going through a pass. A sign announces \u201cMountain Time.\u201d I\u2019ve gained an hour. But I\u2019m still in Texas, will be for a long, long while. The limit is 80 mph, I do not hesitate, I fly.<\/p>\n

The Eagle Mountains to my left, the Quitman\u2019s too; the Finlay\u2019s to my right. Peaks are 7,000 feet, wide valleys flatten out between. The GPS begins to show a darkened spot, a thick line very near the little car that mimics me. I stop and check the map; yes, Mexico is just there to my left, I know the Rio Grande is flowing there, the border mark.<\/p>\n

Traffic thickens, El Paso drawing near, with Juarez on the other side, a troubled city, always in the news. Murder Capital of the World, they say. I need more gas, but everything is tense, so many lanes, so many curves, I wait, to come out on the other side. A break somewhere past the UTEP sign, a gorgeous mall, set high up in the hills. I\u2019ve been driving for a long, long time.<\/p>\n

And then I\u2019m in New Mexico. The pavement changes, smooth, the lanes are wide, a sign assures you of a safety zone. Enchanted land, brilliant color, yellow flowers blooming in white sands. The Continental Divide! \"\"<\/a>I stop to get a picture, close, I was here so many years ago, when kids were young. Now I have cats. Jack yawns in boredom, a wild-eyed panther look. \u201cWe\u2019re really in the west,\u201d I say, \u201cwhere you were born.\u201d There is nothing anywhere but souvenirs; gas is 20 miles ahead, they say. Los Cruces is a US Customs stop; the Border Dog doesn\u2019t sniff my car.<\/p>\n

Keep driving. Arizona next. The road looks old, worn out. I gain another hour. No sign announces, but I know, Arizona doesn\u2019t favor Daylight time. Three time zones in one day for me. The headwind pushes back against the car; the freeway signs flash \u201cDust storms just ahead, pull off the road when you can\u2019t see.\u201d In the distance I see swirls, I am gone before they get to me.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m tired. I want to stop. Nature take some pity then, rewards me with its awesome sights; Texas Canyon has huge boulders like I\u2019ve never seen. I know that I can make it now, and sure enough, the sign appears where I\u2019m supposed to turn. I\u2019m headed southward now, where family waits for me.<\/p>\n

All\u2019s well, except I\u2019m not quite sure what time it is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Linda Burton posting from Sierra Vista, Arizona while traveling from Austin, Texas to Phoenix, Arizona— I wake up on Central Daylight Time. Bright sun shadows the face of the Sierra Diablos across the street. The car is loaded by 7:23; I see I\u2019m almost out of gas. One stop, and then we\u2019re on the road. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4586],"tags":[167,185,178,179,182,180,186,181,187,184,183],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=313"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6601,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313\/revisions\/6601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}