Februrary 26, 2008

A windy night makes it easy to get up early when you are sleeping in a tent. Good though – my wheels were turning before 8am which made for an easy day to make miles. The first 250 miles only involved a few small towns, gas management is key in West Texas because many of the smaller towns don’t have gas stations. Oddly enough, halfway between Marfa & Van Horn (74miles), there is a small building on the side of the road that is a Prada outlet! Sure, it is enough to make a person turn around, and then after reading the placard to learn that it is an art installation from 2005 – but with the nearest police station 38 miles away, the bags and shoes would be a tidy getaway.

I stopped at Hueco Tanks (near El Paso) to do a little hiking. It is a historic site dating back tens of thousands of years where the first inhabitants of the area painted the caves. It was the first park I’ve ever visited that required an orientation video. Lots of rock climbers bouldering around the formations.

Pics: a) just doing a little shopping; b) climbing aid at hueco tanks; c) if rockclimbing required wearing a tie, would hippies still do it?



ecStatics
Today Miles: 475; Trip Miles: 10,073
Starting: Terlingua, TX
Ending: Deming, NM
Route: 118N, 90W, 54N, 62W, 10W
Distance from Terlingua to Alpine: 78 mi
Gas stations / towns: 0
Border patrol stops: 1 (65mi N of Terlingua)
Questions: 5
Total immigration stops today: 2
Song: ‘Sometimes (Lester Piggott)’ by James