Day 227. March 21, 2014. GIANT country

LOCATION:  Marfa, Texas.  Far SW Texas, about 50 miles north of Mexico

WEATHER:  Nice and sunny. High around 70

We visited a desert research institute.  They have a cactus greenhouse with about 1000 different varieties.  Amazing

Then, we loaded up and left Alpine for Marfa, only about 30 miles.  Marfa is an artsy town.  Some benefactor has converted abandoned buildings around town to art galleries.  Its biggest claim to fame is that the 1955 film called Giant, starring Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean and Dennis Hopper was filmed here.  We visited the beautifully restored hotel where they stayed.

Our campground is near the town.  This pic showed how dusty and dry everything looks.

We walked around the town and found  a cute place to have a drink....Planet Marfa.

At the visitors' center, they let us borrow the Giant DVD.  We watched it after dinner.

Marfa is famous for its eery lights.  Every night about sunset, colored lights appear, that no one can explain.  Here is our campground showing neat sky.

DINNER:  Improvising, as there aren't grocery stores nearby.....it turned out surprisingly well.  I warmed up the leftover mashed potatoes, added sautéed garlic, onion and zucchini.  To that, I added a can of chicken, and seasoned with capers.  

Day 226. March 20, 2014. Housework!

LOCATION:  Alpine, TX....about 100 miles north of Big Bend

WEATHER:  Cold at night (need heat).  Sunny, 75 during day

This is a "work" day.  I did a ton of laundry, including all the sheets and blankets.  We replaced the carpet.  We really track in a lot of dirt.  Here I am, scrubbing the floor.

We also did grocery shopping.  I stocked up on back-up food, like tuna, SPAM, beans as we will be without a grocery store next week.  We picked up George's bike which was repaired at a local bike shop.  

Then, we "played".....visited a local museum, then went to Harry's Tinaka Bar.  A Tinaka is an Indian stone vessel for catching water.  Harry turned out to be a German!

 Saw way too many tattoos and piercings.  

Then we went back to the Saddle Club for dinner.  Great food.  We had cold cucumber gazpacho and a delicious steak hoagie

This campground, like many, has a library.  People drop off books, CDs, and DVDs, and pick up others.  I loaded up to prepare for the road.  We will be heading west again.

Day 225. March 19, 2014. Big Bend Brewery

LOCATION:   80 miles north of Big Bend National Park

WEATHER: Hazy.  Much cooler, especially as we climbed from desert to 4600 feet. High around 60

We packed up from Terlingua and drove north back to Alpine, Texas, retuning to a very nice campground where we stayed before Big Bend.  

We toured small Big Bend Brewery here in Alpine. All beers were very good.  Then we went to a bar in town that sells their beers.

George had their porter ....for $2.25.  There were lots of local characters.  We talked to these two cowboys

DINNER:  I had one hamburger patty left, so I split it and made cheeseburgers.  I also made some surprisingly good instant mashed potatoes with a bit of queso fresco.  Served with creamed corn.  

Day 224. March 18, 2014. Dusty and rough country

LOCATION:  Terlingua, TX.  Outside of Big Bend National Park

WEATHER:  Hot around 85 during the day

We took a drive west along the Rio Grande.  It was a wild, roller-coaster road.  Unfortunately, the Rio Grande isn't very "grande" anymore.  We read that 95% of the river gets diverted upstream to cities and farms

The river hardly has enough water for recreation, but we did see some people canoeing

We stopped for a picnic lunch under a teepee shelter

In the evening, we went to "the porch".  It is where locals hang out, drinking beer from the general store, and listening to musicians

Then, we had dinner at the Starlight Theatre next door with good food and live music.  We had an Axis burger, a different kind of deer found in Texas.

NOTE.... I have now added photos to Day 222, from Mexico

Day 223. March 17, 2014. Crazy St. Patrick's Day!

LOCATION:  Terlingua, TX, about 25 miles outside of Big Bend State Park

WEATHER:  Typical desert weather...hot around 80 in the PM.  Cool in AM and evening

We packed up from Big Bend and stopped at Terlingua Ghost Town. We met our friends for lunch on their way north. Terlingua (population 250) has an annual chili cook-off which brings 10,000 people to town.  So, of course we had to try the chili.  

Terlingua was a mining town, and now is called a ghost town, as the mining industry ended.  However, artists and old hippies have come in, and now occupy the shacks.  A lot of interesting/strange people!  Here is the cemetery.

After lunch, George talked to some guys at another table, and greeted them with "Happy St. Patrick's Day!"  They then told us that they were going to be in a parade later in the day, and invited us to join them.  They are retired military so super patriotic.  There was one float, with the Statue of Liberty, and some trucks and motorcycles with locals dressed in green.

After the parade, all the locals went to this bar, aptly called Passing Wind.  It is actually a private residence, but the ex-military guys beckoned us in.  We choked down some really bad beer (Bud). 

The place is decorated with a submarine and sailboat.

I'm sure they were going to party all night.  

We went back to our campground.  It is a nice, commercial one, although there is no shade.  Our neighbors are full-time RVers and have been traveling for 13 years!  

DINNER:  Some home-canned steel head salmon that a camper from Idaho had given us, from a river near their home.  Served with rice and green beans.  

The campground hosts made a nice campfire and we joined folks to chat awhile.  We even were able to buy some Jameson Irish whiskey so we could toast St. Patrick! 

Day 222. March 16, 2014. Rowboat to Mexico!

LOCATION:  Another day at Big Bend National Park, in SW Texas

WEATHER:  Cooler, high about 60. Sunny

We took a nature walk in the AM with the park ranger.  The focus was the diversity of the landscape here in the park....river, desert, mountains.

Then we and our camper friends from San Francisco went to the official crossing to Mexico.  First, the rangers told us the process and rules.  Then we walked down the path to the river.  The Mexicans on the other side, about 25 yards away, then starting singing.  One jumped in his rowboat and picked us up ($5 per person round trip).  

He  rowed us over and we were met by a group of men, asking our travel preference into town......horseback, donkey or pickup truck.  

We decided just to walk.  Then, they assigned us a guide.  He took us to Mexican immigration where lots of forms were processed.  Then, he took us to one of the 2 restaurants in town.  

We chose the non-touristy one.  We shared a platter of tamales, and had a Carta Blanca.  The señora cooking brought us some complimentary tostados  with refried  beans.  

We walked around the town with our guide The town is really poor.  No running water.  Some houses have a bit of solar electricity, if it is a sunny day.  Most cook with mesquite. After walking around, we went to their bar.  George tried a home-made drink called sotol, kind of like tequila.  

Then, we had to go back to Mexican immigration for more paperwork.

  There are about 50 families living there.  The nearest town is 5 hours away.  The people ride horses around.  The only industry is tourism.  After 9-11, the USA closed this border crossing, so the town almost just died.  The only income was when Mexicans sneaked across the border and left their trinkets and crafts on Oark trails,  and a jar for Americans to leave money for the purchase.  Some people still do this.  However, if the rangers see these trinkets, they confiscate everything.  Also, sometimes the Mexican horses and cows wander across the river.  The US officials take the animals away and sell them.  I feel so sorry for these poor people.   The border reopened in April, 2013 along with a $3.5 million US border station....to process a very small number of people who cross. What terrible bureaucracy!  Some of the people returned. 

We walked back to the boat, with children following us, trying to sell trinkets.  Then we were rowed back, and went through US immigration and customs.  It was an interesting trip.

We drove up to the highest peak in the park, and took a hike up the mountain.  Beautiful views!  It was a lot colder and windier there.

DINNER:  Omelette with potatoes, cheese, onion, garlic, and leftover stuffing from the portabello dinner a few days ago.  On the side, we had tomatoes and tomatillos drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice.

Day 221. March 15, 2014. Wading in the Rio Grande

LOCATION:  to Big Bend National Park.  Along the Rio Grande in far SW Texas

WEATHER:  Sunny. High about 75

We got up early in order to get to Big Bend.  We drove about 150 miles, but it was slow going.  When we got to the campgrounds, our friends whom we had met a few days ago had kindly reserved us a site.  There were only about 5 available.  

We drove across the mountains in Big Bend to get to our campground.  Really rugged scenery.  

In the PM, we went with our friends to a nearby hot springs.  It is on the Rio Grande.  We jokingly said that this looks like George is climbing back to the USA. Our friend Daniel  is in the background, along the Mexican side.

We walked to another part of the river.  Here are George and Daniel walking back from Mexico on the right. 

DINNER:  We grilled hamburgers over the campfire and enjoyed the nice evening outdoors with our friends.  

The ranger came by to warn us of 50 mph winds tonight.