Thoughts last night were to get away early and beat the heat of the early afternoon. Thankfully there was cloud cover so we could waste away another morning in another person's kitchen and cook a monstrous pot of porridge. Dessert was 10 eggs scrambled, I threw in the towel at 2 to leave Ken the trooper to mop up the remaining 8.
There is still a slight tailwind and the scenery is beautiful, so vast. Wildflowers have started to appear on the roadside. The only drama en route to Marathon is a slow flat for Ken so we've now figured it's an exact 8 pumps per psi for him to inflate the tyre. I know you were all wondering.
Marathon serves as an entry junction to Big Bend National Park 60 miles south - I would've liked to visit but it's a three day detour and the roads there are even more isolated. We arrived and the town is closed for business, the lunch places and coffee shop closed at 3. How can places wish to prosper when they open half a day? Though there is grocer where I could finally buy an selection of FRESH FRUIT!
Onto Alpine, another 30 miles and we get our first wet roads since Austin.
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| 128 carriages |
We reward the easy day and toast civilisation with a milkshake. No Sonic (sob) so it's a Dairy Queen. The intrigue of this shambolic looking fast food chain is increased by the Amish and Mennonites all queueing to get an ice cream cone.
We arrive at Liz's house in Alpine where she's waiting outside with a glass of wine. We talk for an hour and then eat fantastic roast squash and salad and curry and drink more wine. A tall and assertive Texan, Liz used to work as a Public Defender around these border parts, working mainly mainly drug trafficking cases. She's a fantastic lady, an exciting presence and it was interesting to hear her experiences.
Luckily for us it seems she knows everyone in West Texas and has mapped out our next few days. Tomorrow we'll visit her friends at the radio station in Marfa. This Rogers hospitality is unparalleled.
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