The Rambler

The past several weeks have provided us with amazing experiences amid spectacular natural beauty. We based our explorations mainly out of Alpine and Terlingua, Texas, then moved on to Elephant Butte, New Mexico for a few days of mostly hanging out. We spent a lot of time being tourists during all of this, getting out to see and experience the spaces we inhabited. As a result I have a ton of pictures and links to share in this post. I do hope you enjoy them - I have certainly enjoyed re-living our travels as I put this post together!

I have always been captivated by the desert landscapes of northern Arizona and southern Utah, but I'd never been to southwest Texas and southern New Mexico; boy, have I missed out! Like Arizona and Utah, this area is also desert, but it is also much more mountainous, making it uniquely breathtaking, awe-inspiring, and humbling. Distances are vast: broad, flat desert plains are separated by mountain ranges that pierce the horizon. There's rarely any real depth perception in what you can see; a flat image lying before you, a jagged junction between the blue sky and the colorful shades of brown, buff and red earth and rock, distance registerable only by the rarified haziness of those far-off features. It is simply otherworldly, strange and stark... and unspeakably beautiful.

It is amazing that things can live here, but not only does life exist in this arid environment, it thrives. There are so many different types of plants, including various cacti, sotol and agave, creosote plant, and ocotillo, my favorite of these desert plants. The geology is so amazing as well. Sedimendary, metamorphic and igneous layers are prominently intermingled, uplifted, and eroded; fossils can be found near ancient lava flows and ash layers; and quartz-laden rocks can be found everywhere. Spectacular!

As we traveled through this alien landscape we went through areas almost completely devoid of any sign of human presence but for the road itself. Where we encountered structures and population centers, they were often accompanied by trash and detritus scattered about; indeed, we usually could tell when populated areas were ahead by seeing the telltale trash miles out - plastic bags flapping on bushes, aluminum cans and plastic bottles alongside the road.

There is much more I could write, but I should get on with the pictures and links. Before I do that though, just know that for all the beauty we've seen here, we've also seen that the southwest is at the same risk of overpopulation, overcommercialization, and overdevelopment as any other place on earth. We've seen way more development than decay, and it is far more accessible today than it was when there were no interstate highways, air-conditioned vehicles, cell phones and the internet. It should be protected as the fragile, wild and lovely system that it still is.

Ok, onward. The following will be as brief as I can make them...

Alpine, TX

Within 24 hours of coming into Alpine and the Lost Alaskan RV Park, we felt like it could be home. It is a historic, friendly, artsy little town, the hub of West Texas, from which you can take cool day trips to numerous amazing places. Several times we went downtown, exploring the shops and art galleries, perusing a very diverse selection of books at Front Street Books, and finding good food and drink and live music at several fun restaurants and bars, including Bock Burger Takeaway, Cow Dog Food Truck, Railroad Blues, and The Ritchey (which has a cool history), where we got to see live music from Charlie Maxwell. At Railroad Blues one night we met a friendly local named Joe, and encountered him again one evening at the Ritchey; he told us lots of fun stories about Alpine and the area. At one bar I spied a bottle of Sotol, a liquor I'd never heard of. Sotol is similar to Tequila but made from the sotol plant, which grows all over the area. I had to try it, and found it to be a very pleasant. I liked it so much that I bought two bottles of it while we were in Terlingua.

Alpine has a large high school, and Sul Ross University. From a back parking lot at Sul Ross is a hiking trail ascending about 200 feet up Hancock Hill, where we found the famed Hancock Hill Desk and spectacular views over the city and terrain below.

Fort Davis, TX

Fort Davis is both a town and the Fort Davis National Historic Site. We went to visit the historic site, where we purchased our annual America the Beautiful National Park Pass. We toured the fort grounds and buildings and learned more of the history of the area and of the expansion of the US. After that we hiked up a trail that overlooks the grounds and the town where we got spectacular views over the desert plains below.

Marfa, TX

Marfa is an artsy little town about 25 miles west of Alpine, known both for its history and as a cultural center. It has several cool historical buildings, including the Hotel Paisano. It was the home of Donald Judd, a famous artist. Much of the movie Giant was filmed in Marfa, and the TV series I Love Dick was set in Marfa. Marfa is famous for the Marfa Lights which can sometimes be seen over the desert at night between Marfa and Alpine.

We walked around Marfa and explored the shops and galleries, and had a nice time there. We also drove out to see the Marfa "Giant" Murals, a fun and worthwhile trip. Marfa is definitely worth visiting.

Terlingua, TX / Big Bend

We arrived in Terlingua (though strictly speaking we were in Study Butte) to find a dusty crossroads containing a gas station and a smattering of tourist businesses and RV parks. Despite the meager setting, we were immediately captivated by the impressive mountains surrounding us.

We wasted no time in the following days exploring different parts of Big Bend National Park. We visited the Chisos Basin Visitor Center and did a loop hike there one day. Another day we took a very slow and bumpy 14-mile drive on Old Maverick Road. We stopped several times to get out and look around at some of the cool stuff we found, including Luna's Jacal, a wash where I found logs of of petrified wood, a campsite near the Rio Grande River that required four-wheel drive to get into and out of, and finally the Castolon Visitor Center.

On another day we decided to do a Jeep tour with Far Flung Outdoor Center, on the assumption that with a guide, we'd get a unique perspective on the area. The tour took us, via a private gated entrance, into Big Bend Ranch State Park and to a long-abandoned cinnabar mine. This was super interesting, and our guide was very knowledgeable and entertaining. It was well worth the money.

On our last full day at Terlingua we went to Big Bend Ranch State Park and did a loop hike from the visitor center. Coming back from there east of Lajitas there is a wayside and historical marker for The Movie Set, where several movies and shows have been filmed. One of these is Streets of Laredo, which we were able stream and watch, and it was very cool to see scenes in the movie showing places that we had just seen.

Terlingua town center is a few short miles from the RV park, and we went there a couple times, once for dinner at the Starlight Theatre outdoor bar and patio, and once to explore the Terlingua Ghost Town, and peruse all the cool and wierd stuff at Terlingua Trading Company. Back in Story Butte we went to El Gordo's Grill, which everyone we asked said was the best Mexican food in town - and it was very good!

Elephant Butte, NM and Truth or Consequences, NM

With a bit of sadness we left Alpine to move on to our next destination, Elephant Butte Lake State Park. On our drive from Alpine, between Marfa and Van Horn, we saw a Tethered Aerostat radar System, or TARS, which is operated by US Customs and Border Protection. We began to see this some 5-10 miles out of Marfa, and puzzled over what it was for a good half an hour before we approached and then passed the site on the highway.

Elephant Butte was a short five-night stopover on our way to Silver City, NM, and though short, we made the best of it by checking out the two towns. Elephant Butte is mostly a town of RV parks, RV storage, and boat storage and repair, to support the tourism of the lake - not terribly interesting. Truth or Consequences (T or C, as the locals call it) is a bit more interesting as it has some hot springs - all commercialized and not free - and a somewhat active downtown, including the Truth or Consequences Brewing Company. While at the brewery we struck up a conversation with Edward, a T or C local who is a mountaineering guide, and who told us about the trail up to Turtleback Mountain, or Caballo Cone. This interested me, so the next day I did it. The trail is about 4.5 miles out and back, with a 2000-ft elevation change, and it took me 3.5 hours. This first picture is from the peak at 6000 feet, looking out over the lake and the RV park (our camper is down there!), and the second is what the peak looks like from below.

Boondocking!

This last picture is of our completed and minimal off-grid electric system. I finished this while in Alpine, and it is now capable of providing us wall power from our lithium batteries for up to several hours. As I write this, I've already obtained additional solar panels and will be building in the capability to add those into our charging system. With this we will be able to boondock for as long as a week, weather and water permitting.

Finally:

Last thing: I've updated my Sardines page, so check it out!