June 1 Leaving Wood’s Canyon lake near Payson

Mileage 39216

Before we hit the road in Vinnie, we gowned up and went for a little ride. The road is adjacent to the Mogollon Rim and relatively flat and also some sections right along the rim were paved for our morning pleasure. Prior to any rousing cycling events we once again had to wait for the world around us to warm up. Bob would not consider leaving the van until it was at least 50, so we had a while to wait. Drinking coffee in bed, reading and……until the sun reached way over the trees.

Then we headed east along the Rim to Show-Low then south. This road we took was 91 excruciatingly long, curvy and beautiful miles south along the mountains in eastern Arizona. I decided it would be the Scenic Serviceless Century only for Air Force One and their equivalents---up and down, up and down, up and down.

Along the way we saw a lot of Arizona DOT humor like:

They saw an elk

Oh what a thrill!

Until they smashed it

On their grill

Those DOT folks – gotta love ‘em.

At the end of this most scenic road is the safest open pit copper mine in US. A whole mountain is carved and graded. The little trucks and factories at the bottom looked like miniatures. Did not expect this at the end of the road.

And then we kept driving. Nowhere to stay.

So we headed back into the mountains. I just did this! Finally at sunset we found the Blackjack Campground in the Apache National Forest. We are about 5 miles from New Mexico border. A new state tomorrow.

June 2 Leaving Blackjack Campground

Mileage - 39521

From the middle of the southern New Mexico deserts...just east of White Sands in Alamogordo. Where is that?? I did not know until today.

We woke up early again. Deb went for a walk while I did "the work". I always have to do "the work". Cooking, cleaning, coffee, everything but sewage management.

And he is more than happy to give up sewage management…

We crossed a scenic pass. Any pass thru the mountains with a couple of trees is marked scenic here. Headed across the windswept deserts.

We went through Airey, Derry, and Hatch all in a row adjacent to the Rio Grande.

Lovely towns. Salt of the earth, I’m sure. Airey, Derry, and Hatch.

Bob had to stop at the White Sands Missile Testing grounds. It actually wasn't too bad. They had a bunch of missiles out for view with a history of each. They also had a museum. Bob was dismayed to find that what they had marked as ancient history was younger than he is.

Talk about sobering! A museum where all the displays were post-1945, the year I was born. They had displays of "old" calculators that I actually used to use. "Old" tracking equipment from 1955, "old" rusted mess kits the soldiers used in 1950 at the base, etc. I have never been in a museum where all the displays were older than I was. Rotten place. I’m never going back.

Have you ever stopped at the White Sands National Monument? They say 275 square miles of gypsum white, glaring sand dunes. It was fun...crawling up and watching the sand swirl around your feet. It moves really fast. I stood still for just a couple of minutes and my feet had eroded away in the front and had little dunes forming in the back.

Wonderful experience! Huge dunes of blinding whiteness. We took our shoes off and climbed some of the dunes. It was not easy. You sunk into the sand and could hardly climb because there was no base of hard sand underneath. It’s all dry, loose sand.

So since it is about 90 degrees and we both have greasy hair, we found a KOA campground with a POOL and SHOWERS. Too cool. And electricity.

After three days with no shower, it was quite a thrill to hug a clean Deb. She wasn’t sticky anymore, and all those crusty spots had gone away. The aroma of fresh lilacs was much better than the musty odor of bear grease and dried sweat.

Off to Carlsbad tomorrow.

June, 3 Left Alam0gordo for Carlsbad

Mileage – 39812

We expected the drive out of Alamogordo to be quite boring, hot, and dry. We were surprised when we climbed some mountains and drove alone a narrow but beautiful mountain valley for much of the way.

Only 8 miles up and outside of Alamogordo was a little mountain community with apricot and other fruit trees and flowers. I felt right at home there. Why would anyone live in the flats below, except for the easy access to milk and bread?

The road continued on up to a skiing community, Cloudcroft, then dropped across the ridge into a 30-mile, mountain meadow. A stream runs adjacent to the road. Little calves everywhere. Then the road drops back into the gusty flats of chollo and yucca. Boy, is it ever windy this time of year!

About 10 years ago while leaving Carlsbad Caverns with a friend of mine I was denied a stop at the Dairy Queen in Artesia with the statement, "We don’t have time now. We’ll stop at the one in the next town." However, this was New Mexico. The next town never showed up, and I was denied my DQ for a least three days. Today, however, after all this time and personal trauma, I FINALLY stopped at the very same Dairy Queen and had my blizzard. It was great.

We got to Carlsbad in the early PM, found a RV park at White’s City and then went to visit the caverns. Most of the tours are now self-guided so we selected two and went. It’s quite an experience. You keep walking down, and down, and down. And then down some more. And then you walk down some more. Luckily, after descending to a depth of 780 feet below the surface there’s an elevator to take you back up.

While we were strolling at the bottom of the cave we passed two young women resting on a bench. I casually remarked to Deb, "I sure wish they had told us that we had to buy the elevator tickets up top." One of the poor girls became quite agitated and asked me if that was true. I live for these moments.

The cave is quite fascinating.

And huge with fantastic array of configurations.

At dusk we returned for the bat’s feeding exodus. The rangers estimate that 300,000 to 350,000 bats reside in the Bat Cave. Using a low estimate of 250 bats per square foot, they take infrared photos of the roof and count the number of feet covered in bats. At dusk they all come swirling out of the cave’s entrance. There were so many at peak departure that we could not see the wall of the cave’s entrance opposite us.

June, 4 – Left Carlsbad for Fort Davis, Texas

Mileage 40011

Crossed the Guadalupe Mountains. They named a mountain El Capitan, but it does not compare to Yosemite’s. Sorry, Texas. Nice nature trail. Hot…about 95-100. Too hot to walk too far.

For the last few days the record temperature is 110.1 outside the van and 111.0 inside.

The min/max inside/outside digital thermometer is becoming a really fun piece of equipment. We refer to it constantly.

Then we headed off into West Texas. Not too many curves in these roads. Lots of dust devils taunting me chasing me to the road crossing. After the last big one I was got in, I do not want to intersect one again.

We stopped to get bread at a small IGA grocery store in Van Horn. I had been kidding Deb about Sunbeam white bread. I grew up on the stuff. We had been buying four and seven grain breads for our sandwiches. None of that here in Texas… nothing but Sunbeam white bread! I about cracked up. Even the "wheat" was just brown white bread. The only thing we could find that was even remotely tough and crusty was something packaged as "Jewish Rye". Welcome to the land of white bread.

We have also entered the Bible Belt. We’ve seen lots of "Christian" T-Shirts, and many of the roadside signs and advertising banners have "Jesus is Lord" or the Christian fish emblem on them somewhere. We ain’t in Kansas anymore.

Then we took a scenic route to Fort Davis. Slight trees…junipers and other desert trees and lots of lush grass. We must have gone 25 miles before another car dared to pass us on this road. The DOT has done a wonderful job making stonework around all the little arroyos on the road. Also they have encased the trees with stones. No one travels this road and it is beautiful.

Deb does not know how to eat cottage cheese and pears. The raving maniac was screaming at me when I did it right and she did it wrong. She puts a glob of cottage cheese on the bottom of the bowl and then puts whole pear halves on it. No sophistication whatsoever.

I, on the other hand, do it properly. I distribute my cottage cheese evenly over the bottom of the bowl and then dice up my pears into edible bite-sized chunks and distribute them over the cottage cheese. Then, finally, I pour a bit of pear juice over it and consume. Truly a joy unbounded! And note that I never have to stop eating to cut up a pear. Once I begin eating I can continue without interruption. Poor Deb. She’s just too stubborn to discover these new and wonderful things.

It’s Friday night so it’s our "eat out" night. We drove into Fort Davis and had dinner at an old hotel. To get a drink we have to make reservations "upstairs" and then join a private club for $3.00. I joined and was glad to have Deb as my "guest" for the evening. The drinks weren’t too cheap either. But the food was good.

Gas is down to $1.08 here.

June, 5 – Fort Davis to Sanderson, TX

Mileage – 40226

Keep in mind as you read Bob’s tale that this route was found in Scenic Routes of Texas. The route along the river was noted as "possibly the most scenic in Texas". The guidebook did mention that summer might not be the best time to travel this section as the temperatures become slightly warm.

What a day! South Texas along the Rio Grande – New max temps…. 110.1 outside and 111.0 inside. Plus too many characters to mention.

We started driving around 8:30AM after Deb took a 5-6 mile ride around the countryside. There were four javelinas/peccaries roaming the campsite as we got ready to go. Ugly little critters.

Once again I rode in the morning without coffee. It gets hot so fast that as soon as I awaken I get my clothes on and ride.

As we passed from Marfa to Presidio there are, according to the guidebook, large herds of antelope on the plains. We saw one… not one herd, one antelope.

The countryside is quite boring between Ft. Davis and Presidio which is supposedly the hottest town in Texas. There is one paved street in Presidio. The rest are dirt. It’s a poor border town.

We drove from Presidio to Lajitas along the Rio Grande. Our guidebook calls this one of the most beautiful roads in Texas. Hahahahahahahahaha Right. There isn’t a straight section on any part of that road either horizontally or vertically. It’s dangerous and narrow. Luckily, there is very little traffic. It’s not so much beautiful as it is different. The Rio Grande is a muddy trench. Some of the rocks and geology are impressive however.

There are so many dips and arroyos. Some have depth measurers (sticks), but on others if it were raining you would take a chance. There is no way to know how deep they are if wet.

We finally got to Lajitas. That’s where we got the 110 temperature. Hot, dry, and dusty. Not too many people roaming about. We stopped for a lemonade and water. We also stopped at Terlinga, about 10 miles northeast of Lajitas. We had BBQ at When Pigs Fly, the local BBQ restaurant. Lajitas, by the way, is pretty much a ghost town.

Macon was in hog heaven at Where Pigs Fly. I snapped some photos of him with the other little piggies scattered about the establishment. Don’t tell him I had a pork tenderloin sandwich for lunch.

Then it was time for the high point of the day – Big Basin National Park. Right. There is no reason for this park to exist. There is nothing there. Just more rocks and cactus. It’s the worst NP I have ever visited.

Remember we have now spent almost a month in deserts. I don’t think either of us really likes desert all that much. We have seen lots of cactus, octotillo, and scrubby junipers.

We hoped to find an RV park in Marathon, but there was nothing very good there. We finally wound up at Sanderson where we stopped at a RV park run by a very nice lady named Charlene. Charlene arranged for us to take a shower in her old RV, gave us a rundown on the area, and even gave me a sotol shaft to use to make a walking stick. I have been looking for a walking stick for the whole trip. They cost anywhere from $12-90. Now I have one for free. A little sanding and this will make a great stick.

Charlene likes to talk. She gave me a tour of her cactus patch. Then went inside to retrieve pictures of her cactus. I have not yet seen enough cactus.

I think maybe the above sentence is sarcasm on Deb’s part.

What a night in Sanderson. There was not just a couple of trains, but at least 15 really long ones right next to our heads screeching along the tracks with whistles blowing at the intersections. Then there were the semis on the road slowing for the corner. Then thunder and lightening and rain moved in about 3:30. Jolted out the electricity. Jolted us awake with a couple of really loud claps. Lots of wind.

It’s our first rain and cloudy day since we started. I suppose we had better get used to thunderstorms.

June 6 Sanderson,, TX to Frederickburg, TX

Mileage – 40540

Finally! We are out of the desert and into some pretty, green country. This is known as the Hill Country of Texas. The AM was kind of bleak, but along about 2:00PM the sun came out and we got into the pretty country. We stopped by Judge Roy Bean’s place in Langtry, and we stopped for supplies and a Mexican lunch in Del Rio, another border town.

I don’t like Mexican music. I don’t like Country music. I don’t like Western music, and I seem to be stuck in the Bible Belt. I should not be here. People keep saying Y’Awllllll….. and Thank YYYYeeeeeewwwwwwwww……. And on top of all that I’m almost out of vermouth and vodka, and you can’t buy either one on Sunday. Vermouth is considered a "dessert wine".

Once we left Del Rio it greened up. It was still open range but not so bleak… then we headed a little north into "Hill Country". I’m happy again. Fields of flowers. Of course, this area is famous for the springtime bluebonnets (lupine) and we are too late for those, but there are still gaillardia and coreopsis and some purple things I don’t know the names of.

We went around a bend in the road and (really) I thought there was a lake in front of us, but it was a field of blue flowers. I’ve never seen so many in one field. I was awestruck..

Bob keeps asking me the names at 40 MPH. Like I can see the flowers that close. But it is still windy. Now that it is more hot and humid the wind feels good, but sometimes it blasts a little too fast.

On top of all that, we were driving down the road and saw a zebra.

Why does anyone have a zebra? Just because they can.

Cozy little RV Park. Probably averaging $18/night. We have to start mooching some more or staying in Walmart parking lots.

I have planned a ride for tomorrow AM for Bob and Deb to Luckenbach, Texas. Yes, you have heard of it in songs country-western---Bob’s favorites.

June 7 – Fredericksburg to Ink Lake

Mileage 40860

Wonderful ride this morning! It was hot, but the scenery was fantastic and the road was mostly flat with only a few shallow rollers. The farms and ranches in the area are well-kept and picture-perfect. Lots of trees and water. Many of the ranches raise sheep and goats in addition to a variety of cattle. We stopped in Luckenbach, Population 3. Great town with many trees and picturesque old buildings. We saw one person and two chickens in the town. The town motto appears to be "Everyone is someone in Luckenbach". It almost has to be true.

It wasn’t even hot today. By the time we returned it was only 80 degrees. I felt I had been rung out. I drank and drank and drank while we rode and it still wasn’t enough.

Everyone talks about the bluebonnets here in Hill Country, but I have not heard mention how many other types of wildflowers bloom later. And in such proliferation. All along the roads and in the meadows.

This would make a great area for a week-long tour---sagged, of course. Too hot to carry much weight. Start at dawn when still cool and finish up by noon or so and swim the rest of the day.

We did a brief walking tour of Fredericksburg which has a large German population and had lunch there. It’s Admiral Nimitz’s hometown, and there is a large museum dedicated to him. There’s going to be a new museum dedicated to WWII in the Pacific, and George Bush will be there in a few days for the dedication. We’re not sticking around.

Fredericksberg is a Texas Carmel. Lots of shops and restaurants serving German food. Old buildings of stone and large lots. Good flowers in yards and on streets.

Tonight we’re staying at Ink Lake that is a pretty lake in the hill country. We’re in a state campground. This one is pretty crowded for a weekday. Texas does a magnificent job with their state campgrounds. They all appear to have many amenities. But we did pay $23 which is the most we’ve paid for any night so far. It’s overpriced.

We walked up to the end of the lake where the creek comes in. There was a little waterfall and clear, clean water (or it looked clean), so I couldn’t resist. Had to go swim to the fall. What a surprise! The water is almost the same temperature as the air. No wonder there is only one place in Texas where trout survive.

June 8 Ink Lake to San Marcos, TX

Mileage – 40930 to 41050 – End of Week 4

We did another 25 mile bike ride this AM. It was mostly on busier roads and not as pleasant as yesterday, but it still helped us get a feel for the area. The map CDs are worth their weight in gold for this kind of thing, and we’re beginning to find out how the GPS works. That will also help.

Once again I felt I was drinking enough, but obviously not. I was pooping out at the end of 25 miles, begrudging every little hill.

We had a great lunch at the Hill Country Cupboard in Johnson City, home of LBJ. The restaurant boasts "The World’s Best Chicken Fried Steak (nearly 3 dozen sold)". Naturally, we had to try it. It was full of locals, and the food was great.

I had smoked BBQ ribs…none of that fatty fried, steak stuff with white gravy.

We got to the RV park and took a dip in the pool while we did the laundry. We anticipate being in San Antonio tomorrow so we may work on the web site tonight because we’ll have full-speed access tomorrow.

I have been with Bob now almost every minute for a month. Luckily, this morning it was separate men’s and women’s showers. Matters of privacy….just forget it. He still makes me laugh though even while poking me with a fork as I type.

That wasn't a fork.

This Hill Country is much better than the western part of Texas that we already went through.

Went for our evening walk. We are in firefly country. Not too many of them. I thought I was hallucinating and asked Bob when it was the season. He had just gotten finished telling me they come out in late summer and then he started seeing them too.