Archive for Uncategorized
January 28, 2007 at 7:48 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Seeing the Google Earth image of our campsite last night started me thinking. It’s amazing how we can go somewhere but not really know much about what’s around us, until we start asking questions and poking around. In this case, I had realized we were in an oil field when I spotted a derrick by the road, but had no idea how many oil wells were surrounding us.
This morning I decided to make some mental notes as we drove through west Texas along I-20, and then Rt 285 north from Ft Stockton to New Mexico. Tallying up the things I saw as we drove turned a “boring” drive into a really fascinating one. Everything was worth noticing: oil wells, small gray deer among the cedars, ranch gates made of stone, sagebrush, mesas and buttes.
The things we saw today tell me that we have crossed the line from low elevation and arid climate to a much drier high desert climate. At first, I-10 cuts through rolling hills, revealing cliffs of yellow limestone and millions of years of geologic history in sedimentary layers. Then around Ft Stockton, the ground becomes flatter and the plants gradually become more and more scattered. The cedars that help define the hill country are almost gone. The temperature drops more rapidly in the desert air at sunset (it was 37 when we arrived and has since dropped into the 20s) and even Emma’s hair is telling me that humidity is much less than it was a couple of days ago in Austin.
We decided to skip Marfa and head north to Carlsbad Caverns. Emma’s still nonchalant about the caves, but Eleanor and I want to see them again. The last time Emma was here, she was still in the womb, and Eleanor was carefully walking down the cave’s natural entrance, eight months pregnant.
We’ve parked at the only place in Whites City, at the entrance to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Whites City is basically a tiny intersection at 3600 feet elevation, bearing the usual tourist stuff (restaurant, gift shops, motel, post office, etc). It’s a cousin of many such places around the country: Wall Drug in South Dakota, “The Thing” in Arizona, “South of The Border” in South Carolina, etc. Whites City is not nearly as interesting as those larger brethren, but definitely cut from the same cloth.
It was once much more of a tourist trap than it is today. Along the highway leading here, you can still see the remains of dozens of black-and-red billboards advertising the place in its heydey. The few readable signs are a tip-off to how long ago that was. My favorite said, “WHITES CITY. KODAK FILM — FLASHBULBS”. When was the last time you bought a flashbulb?
Best Western has taken over the former Whites City motel, but it still features a low-budget RV park out back, of the type you see all over the west: a dusty (or muddy) dirt parking lot, decaying facilities, questionable electric, wide open spaces and a view of the highway. Full hookups, $20. Many other western parks are cheaper, running as low as $10 but there’s no competition in Whites City, so they can charge more.
There are about six or seven rigs here in the lot. It’s far from a luxury resort, so they must all be cheapskates like us, or unwilling to make the 20 mile commute down from Carlsbad. The first hint of the park’s status is the broken gate with a fragment of splintered wood sticking out. A sign warns that trailers must swing WIDE to avoid hitting the gate. They’re not kidding. It took us two tries to make it through without a long scratch on the streetside of the trailer.
At our site, the first electric outlet we tried was mis-wired (reversed ground and neutral according to our tester), there were no caps to the sewer outlets, and the grill is completely rusted and burned out in the bottom, rendering it unusable. A heap of old Whites City billboards are piled just beyond our site in the cactus. Deep muddy ruts at the edge of the campground give testimony to a mighty battle that recently occurred with a large RV that was apparently trying to turn around and got stuck. The entire place has an air of benign neglect.
But we don’t care. It’s just a place to park for the night, and as long as the water is potable and the sewer doesn’t back up, it’ll be fine. The high desert feels good, even at 37 degrees.
Housekeeping notes: (1) The blog is now on Mountain Time. (2) I can’t post pictures because we are on Verizon’s “extended network”. For some reason, the slow speed of that network doesn’t agree with our blog software and I can’t get photo files to upload. I also can’t successfully FTP them. So any photos you see in tonight’s or tomorrow’s blog entries are the result of my emailing them to one of my correspondents, who posts them for me.
Our Google Earth location.
January 27, 2007 at 7:01 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Hmmm… just when the weather gets nice, we have to go.
Our courtesy parking spot last night
We’re being pressured by our airplane tickets again. That deadline for getting to Tucson is looming over us. It would have been nice to stay in Myron’s courtesy parking spot another night, and it would be even nicer to stay through the Region 9 Vintage Rally that starts on Thursday. But we’ve lingered as long as we can. If we stayed any longer we’d have to rush through New Mexico. As it is, I am sorry to be bypassing Big Bend National Park. That’s practically a crime.
We took the scenic route west from Austin, and didn’t join I-10 for about 150 miles. This was a great way to see more of the hill country, and generally get a nice feel for that chunk of Texas. Eventually we ended up on the interstate, and at that point the speed limit was a breezy 80 MPH.
That’s the highest speed limit we’ve ever seen in the United States, and I am told that it will go higher still as we head further west. For the record, we don’t tow over 70 MPH, although I suppose we could. Myron and I had a talk this morning about the problems of blown tires (he’s had a few and so have many other Airstreamers) and I am not eager to experience the joy of a trailer tire blowing at highway speeds. So I watch the speed, and checked the pressures this morning and all the lug nuts too.
We’re parked at the Caverns of Sonora RV Park about seven miles off I-10 in Sonora, TX. John had suggested we check out the cave tour but Emma is not psyched. She says she’s seen a lot of caves and they’re all the same. Too bad … because we are headed to Carlsbad next. But since she’s unexcited, we are going to skip the tour here ($20 per adult, $16 for kids) and just take advantage of the cheap pull through sites ($15/night water & electric) for the night.
One feature Emma does like about this place is the animals. Many deer are roaming around here, and a couple of peacocks too. The deer are natives, the peacocks are imported. I’ll shoot a picture in the morning and try posting it from one of the wi-fi enabled Texas highway rest areas.
Our Google Earth location. If you zoom out on Google a bit from our location, you’ll see a maze of little dirt roads and what look like house sites. Actually, I believe they are all part of the big oil field in this area. Nobody seems to live out here, but the oilfield roads go everywhere.
Over the past few weeks I’ve been working with Joe via email, to figure out when and where we are going to head into Mexico. We still don’t have a firm plan but a few ideas. The latest plan is to extend a trip beyond what we had originally considered. We’re looking at a cross-Mexico trip through Sonora and Chihuahua. Soon you’ll be hearing a lot about that as we figure out the details of traveling in Mexico.
One tip I got from experienced Mexico travelers we’ve met was to get Mike & Terri Church’s book, “Traveler’s Guide to Mexican Camping.” Chapters 2 and 3 of this book should be mandatory reading for anyone considering taking an RV into Mexico. I’ll explain the issues, and what we’ve decided to do, as we go.
January 26, 2007 at 11:15 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
This morning I met up with Liz Lambert at Jo’s Coffee. Liz is the owner of the retro-cool Hotel San Jose on South Congress Street (just a few blocks from Pecan Grove).
Jo’s Coffee
I hooked up with Liz because she’s interested in vintage trailers. So much, in fact, that her current project is to refurbish a bunch of old Spartan, Vagabond, and other 50s and 60s trailers, put them on 15 acres of land in Marfa TX, and sell them as condo units. I interviewed her for the magazine, and we’ll drop by the project in the next few days.
Liz’s hotel is also the major sponsor of a bicycle racing team. They use this Airstream to transport their bikes and equipment.
We couldn’t get another night at Pecan Grove, so we hitched up and moved out to a courtesy-parking spot by Lake Travis, at the home of Myron F. A beautiful spot, but we hardly had a moment to enjoy it before it was time to head off to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center to meet John for a personal tour. John, another Airstreamer, volunteers at the center and is on the Board of Directors.
The wildflowers aren’t in bloom this time of year, and many of the plants were dormant, but thanks to John’s interpretive guidance, it was still interesting. The architecture and design of the buildings and landscape are excellent. The center also boasts one of the largest rainwater collection systems in the world, which you can see a small piece of in the picture above. Giant 10,000 gallon cisterns made of native stone hold the rainwater. Since it’s off-season, entrance to the center is free this month.
Tonight we met up with my old friend Vicki, who moved down here about fifteen years ago, and took her out for dinner at the Salt Lick in Driftwood (just outside Austin). We were here last year. It’s a great spot for barbecue. It’s so popular on weekends that they have to enforce a 90-minute limit for diners. We used up every minute catching up with Vicki, and another hour in the parking lot outside.
January 25, 2007 at 8:07 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
I was awoken this morning by an unfamiliar sight: sunshine in the bedroom window. The dismal weather has broken, at least for a day. I had work to do, but at least in the late afternoon we got a chance to take a long walk along the Town Lake (that portion of Lake Austin that flows through downtown).
Town Lake looks like a river. From Pecan Grove it’s a short walk down Barton Springs Road toward Zilker Park and the trails that run along the edges of the lake. Today, enjoying the respite of sunshine after weeks of rain and cold, the locals were crowding the wide dirt and gravel trails, jogging, mountain biking, and pushing baby strollers.
Our loop was about four miles, but thanks to bridges and alternate routes you can program in any length you want. With the Town Lake trails, Zilker Park, a botanical garden, a sculpture garden, and the entire downtown, Austin has some great opportunities for pedestrians, unlike many other cities.
A quiet tributary to Town Lake gave these folks an opportunity for fishing and boating too. It’s nice to be able to take a picture like that in January.
On the way back along Barton Springs Road we saw a little of the neon starting to light up. Elaborate neon signs are all over Austin, but I won’t have time to get out tonight to shoot as many of them as I’d like. I wonder why they are so commonplace? They look terrific — colorful — exciting and retro.
January 24, 2007 at 10:12 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Last February when we were in Austin we visited the Whole Foods Market at 6th and Lamar. That’s just a few blocks from our location. It was such a fun time we decided to do it again. It’s a tradition now. Plus, we like to browse interesting food.
“Yes, we have some bananas”
In keeping with the local slogan, “Keep Austin Weird”, we picked out a smorgasbord of various odd items to sample and brought the whole pile home to spread out on the dinette. I was in a seafood mood so you’ll notice that influence on the choices.
From top center going clock-wise: marinated seafood salad; ciabatta bread; crab, artichoke & parmesan bisque; grapes, “Pink Lady” apples, Concorde pears; Cowgirl “Red Hawk”, “Oregonzola”, Parrano, and Shropshire cheeses; roasted nuts; roasted edamame salad; smoked rainbow trout, pepper-smoked mackerel, smoked Chubb, Yukon Salmon “candy”; emerald kale and sesame grilled tofu; more soup; grilled asparagus salad.
And not for tonight, we bought bacon cheese and mushroom sausage; Italian sausage with romano; and Buffalo chicken and blue cheese sausage; Cajun-rubbed catfish.
For dessert: Italian cream cake, chocolate mousse cake, and chocolate truffle marquise. But who had room? There will be enough for lunch tomorrow and another day.
January 23, 2007 at 10:00 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
We decided to take a few days in Austin, because we liked it here so much last time. Part of the fun is Pecan Grove RV Park, a funky oasis in the middle of Austin. This is an old-time park that the city grew around over the years, and one of the last RV parks where you can camp just blocks from downtown of a major city. It has a mix of permanent residents and transients like us, plus a few eccentric millionaires. Right down the row, Matthew McConaughey keeps his Airstream, but he’s not here at the moment — he’s in Australia shooting a movie.
Another feature of this park is an abundance of Airstreams. For whatever reason, Airstreamers are attracted to this place, and there are at least a dozen parked here, accounting for a sizeable fraction of all the trailers in the park. The drive over from Blanco on wet roads left our Airstream looking grim with streaks of dirt, so we’re currently the shabbiest looking unit here. If we don’t get some rain tonight I may sneak out and do a little washing.
This park, and the one next to it are endangered. Once at the outskirts of Austin, they are now sitting in the midst of prime real estate and hungry condo developers are making offers. In a few years I would expect them to be gone, so enjoy them while you can! Many others are, and the parks are full much of the year. We got the last spot this week.
Gunny and Eleanor at Rudy’s
This evening Gunny came over and we headed out for dinner at a local chain called Rudy’s for barbecue. Rudy’s is sort of unusual. You pick up everything a la carte and make your own meal from the pieces. Free samples of everything except meat on the bone (ribs). If you want a sandwich, you get some bread and whatever you want in it. No waitstaff either, and you bus your own table. All the seating is family-style with folding chairs. It has no frills, but there’s good food and a fun atmosphere.
Rudy’s slogan: The Worst Bar-B-Q In Texas
Once we were seated one of the staff dropped by with three free cookies for dessert. He told Gunny that his was the best jacket they’d seen all evening. Gunny’s jacket says “US Marine Corps” on it.
We’ll stay in Austin for a few days. There’s work to be done and more friends to be seen, plus I want to get over to Lamar Street at night to photograph some of the great neon signs over there.
January 22, 2007 at 8:20 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
This blog is for my friend Dr. C (but you can read it too).
Dear Doc:
Everyone tells us that Blanco is a neat little town, but when we drive through it looks like a small patch of not much. The Court House building, an ornate cube sitting primly in the middle of the green, has a sign in front of it that says you can rent it for events. The block of buildings across the street are the sort of half-rotted stone and wood construction you see everywhere in the old western towns, vacant of stores. I am reminded of your phrase about your hometown of Patagonia, that it is “a landfill in waiting.”
But if you look more closely, Blanco has surprises and small treasures. You have to stop and talk to people to get the real picture of this place. Last night at dinner with Jim, we met the mother of the owner of Riley’s Restaurant. She was a charming old lady, sitting in her chair by the entrance and chatting us up without guile or reserve. Today at the post office, “Chief” (of police? of the fire department — I wasn’t sure) came in to pick up a package and started a friendly round of ribbing and joking that everyone waiting in line joined in on. Everywhere we go, people are exceptionally calm and friendly. Those are the attributes of people who live in a low-stress region of the world, and who are comfortable with their places in life.
I took to asking people why they recommended we come to Blanco. The real estate agent in Wimberley, our friend John in Austin, the folks at the store …. all said that Blanco is the kind of small place that feels like the town they remember from their childhood: friendly, sweet, uncomplicated.
They’re right about that. Blanco even has institutions that haven’t been seen in other parts of the country in decades. The most-often mentioned local restaurant is a simple cafe carved out of the front of the local bowling alley. It’s a place where you can still get a decent dinner for $5.95, with two sides. The bowling alley itself is a throwback: 9 pin bowling with manual pin setters. They hire kids to set the pins up between frames. If you want to bowl, you need to reserve a week in advance and your reservation is “dependent on availability of pin setters.”
And if you look closely, or talk to anyone in town, you’ll find out that the block of decaying storefronts is undergoing a multi-million dollar renovation. The daughter of a car dealer, so the gossip goes, was given a pile of money to spend and she chose to spend it renovating Blanco’s one-block downtown. Makes you think maybe Blanco has an upswing coming.
I’d hate to see it become too much of a success. Fredericksburg, 40 miles to the west, is a tourist mecca with all the trappings and high real estate prices. Blanco is still a real town, with real (nice) people, and while it’s not an exciting place, it is a place worth visiting.
I worked in the trailer most of the day, but the tedium of work was broken up by two unexpected visits. Warren K is parked just a few sites away from us in his shiny new Airstream Classic 25. He’s a nice guy who has a rough medical history, out full-timing on his own and trying to enjoy life as best he can. When I meet people like Warren I’m always impressed with the healing power of travel. It doesn’t cure problems, and you can’t escape them, but it does provide perspective, new friends, and opportunities for reflection. That’s got to help.
Luc and Jane
Jane and Luc dropped by too — they’re 20-somethings (I think) roaming the country in a 1969 B-van with no particular plan except to see what there is to see. They knocked on our door just because we have Vermont plates and Luc is a Vermonter too. You don’t see too many people from Vermont in Texas, I guess. They brought over some brownies and we compared notes about places we’d been before Jane had to head off to her temporary job up in Johnson City. Once they have some money saved up, they’ll move east, but they were so nice that I hope we can cross paths again.
So goes a day in our life. Blanco ain’t Disneyworld but sometimes that’s better. Now I’m reminded of what you like about Patagonia. See you there, in a few weeks.
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