Februrary 25, 2008

Good thing they aren’t holding elections – I would run for mayor of Terlingua, TX. I have decided to stay here for a second night. I started the day by heading over to Santa Elena for a nice hike. Then I did a drive over to Presidio, TX along the Rio Grande along what I will say is the most naturally unsafe road that I have driven to date. Presidio wasn’t unlike most of the other small towns I’ve visited, with the exception of the large number of white SUV’s with logos on the doors – evidence of a border patrol station. While I didn’t find anyone speaking English in presidio, I also saw a lot of cars full of groceries and comestibles heading south.

Profiler: If you want to spot an RVer (sorry George & Dawn) here are the tell-tail signs – over fifty, white, from a state (or province) north of Nebraska, teva sandals, jean shorts, tan / sunburn. Common conversation topics: how low/high the prices are relative to [insert Canadian province], where I am keeping residency so I can keep my [insert hunting / tax / child college explanation]. However, RVer’s are accepting of all races, ages, and genders wherever they are.

Jerkalert: Being a jerk driving around in a truck for a couple weeks, it gives a body a chance to see a few things and ponder a few more…. WARNING: Political rant: [Hugh, go ahead and skip] Immigration – I invite anyone who supports the idea to build a fence, to come to Southwest Texas to see exactly where this multi-billion dollar fence would live. I am wondering if, when considering the choice to go through the desert, the mountains, and the river, if a fence is going to really serve as the incremental impediment that causes the contemplative border jumper to change his/her mind? A fence is a passive aggressive response to an issue that America doesn’t want to face – the more indignant we are that we have to speak Spanish at wal-mart, the taller the fence will be. Sure the border states will support the idea – if you told them you would invest a billion dollars into rubber dog-crap factory, they wouldn’t complain about that either.

Insert parable: In india, they had great trouble dealing with the cobras in their village – to get rid of the cobras, they didn’t try to build snake traps, they instead got rid of the mice and rats. Without prey to lure them into the villages, the snakes stayed away from people. I encourage people to avoid thinking of fences, and start taking daily activities to dissuade immigration. The most passive approach would be to ask your homeowner’s association to not assign the landscaping and maintenance contracts to companies that don’t comply with current I-9 requirements. Then, write to your congressman and ask them why I can’t find any sort of recycling anywhere in texas!

Pics: a) the mack homestead; b) driving into santa elena canyon; c) walking into santa elena canyon; d) a flower in the rio grande river basin; e) my camera has a ten second delay, then shoots three one second pics - this is the least funny of the pics showing me running from the timer.

Numeros
Today Miles: 181; Trip Miles: 9,598
Starting: Terlingua, TX
Ending: Terlingua, TX, via Presidio TX
Route: 170
High Temp on beast thermo 2/25: 96
Low Temp on beast thermo 2/15: -3
Surprising Cultural Group to see in Presidio: Menonites
Common trick in TX gas stations: ‘see inside for receipt’
Drama in Presidio: brush fire
Most common shortage at Hobby Lobby in sw tx: burnt umber oil paint