Junction, Texas seems like along time ago. It has been four days since I sat down to write so please bear with me as I gather my thoughts. We were on the road right after breakfast. We left the campsite by the river in Junction and started west again on route 10. This is a longer travel day but we were in the final chapters of our audio book so time went by easily.
Heading west on 10
We departed our westward travels toward Fort Stockton. Then headed south at route 67 to the town of Alpine where we took on fuel. We know from here to Terlingua fuel will be scarce and expensive. From the town of Alpine we headed toward Big Bend National Park on route 118 and almost immediately all cell phone service stoped - no signal. We drove on.
Dirt roads are just fine, no really
This is desolate country. I think we only saw a few cars in the 70 or so miles we drove. We did have written directions from Chris, the owner of Get Lost Tours, our destination for the next couple of days. Find the big sign, turn left , go exactly 2.5 miles and turn right onto the dirt road then go exactly.8 miles turn left and my house is the first on the right. Seems simple but when you miss one little thing. . . we we eventually found his place and Chris turned out to be a really good guy.
Exploring at Chris’s place
Instant friends. We were parked in his driveway for the next couple of nights. Apart from being a tour company he is also a Harvest Host, so a free nights stay, which is always welcome. We set up camp. Carol was content to sit with her glass of wine and read while I went for a bike ride. I rode down through the dusty roads which were a hard packed dirt. The landscape was almost lunar. Low scrub sparkly covered the surface and distant hills and rock formations made this a very interesting place to ride.
Riding the dirt roads
When I returned we then made supper and sat outside and watched the sunset. Back in the Doodle I played my ukulele a while and read a bit but mostly we just relaxed and got to bed early. We were meeting Chris at 8:30 for a full day tour of Big Bend. We slept well and after breakfast and a spectacular sunrise we were ready to go.
Carol and Harper for a sunrise walk
We met Chris at his Hummer. We had snacks and water packed. Harper was excited and was ready for a ride. Chris's place is about 15 miles from the park entrance and soon we ere traveling down one of the most washboard roads I have ever been on. Chris is a fountain of great information.
Travel in style on dirt roads
He seemed to know every variety of vegetation, all the geology of the park and of course the complete history of the area. He even seemed to know everyone that lives and works there. We traveled down to where the Rio Grande descends through a giant cleft in the rock. On the US side of the river the land is mostly flat with rolling hills and rock outcroppings. On the Mexico side is a sheer wall several hundred feet tall, just there, right across the river.
Standing on the banks of the Rio Grand
The Rio Grande at this point is only inches deep. We could have walked to Mexico quite easily. The day seemed to fly by as we toured the park. We hiked a few times and stopped at every overlook and historic building or marker. What a great way to see the park and even though we spent almost eight hours driving and hiking we only saw a small portion the park. It is huge and my require another visit some day.
That was is the start of Mexico
On our way back we stopped in the 'town' of Terlingua, the old ghost town and found a cool little place called the Chili Pepper Cafe, we got burritos to go and were soon sitting on Chris's porch eating, drinking and telling stories. A perfect ending for a perfect day. That night, I was hoping to see stars but a weather front blew through and we had a nice hard rain to lull us to sleep.
Our little camp in the driveway
Yesterday morning we were up and got our little camper ready for the road, said our good-byes and were soon heading north back toward Alpine. This was the third day without cell service, we were looking forward to catching up with family. Back in Alpine we did some grocery shopping at Porters, the local grocer, and what a great store. Carol got all kinds of stuff that we would never have in the stores at home. Lots of local Texas and Mexico brands of things. I purchased a new hose for flushing out the holding tanks at the garden shop, and walked Harper who loves to explore new places. She sniffed all along the side streets.
Walking at Fort Davis
From Alpine we headed north up to Fort Davis. Fort Davis National Historic Site is an historic place where the US Army had a fort from 1854 to 1891 and it is still mostly intact. We toured here for a couple of hours before head back to Alpine then over to Marfa.
Marfa lights viewing station, just look to the south at night. . .
Our son, Jason, said we must see Marfa, Texas. Apparently the Movie 'Giant' was filmed here in 1956 and the town became a center for creativity and the artistic crowd. We had booked two nights at the Tumble In RV Park months ago. Arriving in Marfa from the east, the very first sign that you are getting close, is the Marfa lights viewing area. Back in the 1880's some one noticed that you can see strange lights moving out across the mountains. Since then they have be observed by just about everyone who goes out there to look. And there is simply no explanation as to what they are. The cannot be observed up close. . . UFOs?, Swamp Gas? Spirits of Indians? No one knows..but, there you are.
Downtown Marfa
After a cursory drive through town, we arrived at the RV park in the late afternoon. The RV park is mostly just a dusty field with a few small trees. But, they do have electricity, water and sewer, all good things that we were in need of, after a few days without. We secured site number 3 and hooked everything up. We took nice long showers and did a long overdue laundry. Last night clean bodies lay on clean sheets, nothing better than that. This morning we had our coffee and an English muffin before heading into town to see what al the hubbub is all about. First off we found a cafe, Para Llevar, and had the best breakfast burrito ever. I got the recipe and will be making these on my griddle when I get home. What a treat.
Harper helped me eat my burrito
We then spent quite a while just wandering the town. Harper was welcome in every store. We visited galleries and stores of all sorts and the city hall looked like it should have been the state capitol Such a grand building for such a small town out here in the desert. I found the local art store, and a lady sign painter was working on the front door. We chatted with the guy in the store for a while then went back outside and chatted with the sign painter. Her work is excellent, and I am guessing, as with most sign painters her style becomes the look and feel of the town. She paints almost all the signs in town. Great work.
Chatting with the sign painter at the Art Store
Once our walking tour ended we found an ice cream stand, and Carol found a food truck that also sells cactus. She got a nice potted Prickly Pear, now if we can keep it alive for the net couple of months as we travel. . . . Ok I am gonna quit here, gotta wrap this up and get on with my evening. Hope everyone is well and happy. Will write again soon.
Below is a gallery of images, It has been a long day and I am just too lazy to caption everything. . .
