Don't Mess With Texas

March 28, 2007
Van Horn, Texas

After 5 days on the trip, I finally crossed over into Texas!!! Texas also has a sign encouraging motorists to "Drive Friendly--it's the Texas Way!" Notice the lack of 'please' and the reference to Texans defining their own way of doing things--which may or may not be the way y'all were used to doing things where y'all came from but from now on, y'all will be doing things the 'Texas way' or suffer the consequences!

The welcoming center had a great welcome packet with 2 "Don't Mess With Texas" bumper stickers. All free! One of the first things I noticed is how much the landscape reminded me of creamed peas--and then I remember having had the same association when I was a child making the trips to Texas back in the days of the old Route 66.It's the combination of white/beige grass with dots of small green bushes going on forever.




There are odd road signs in New Mexico and Texas that put me into a different time/space continuum. They read:

Dust Storms May Exist
Zero Visibility Possible

The way my brain is put together means that I’m immediately reflecting on what “may exist” means. Does it mean they exist in a different parallel universe? Can they exist to some but not to others? Are the dust storms subjective? Are they referring to all possible dust storms on the planet or just to this particular stretch of I-10? AND—if and when they exist in my world, zero visibility is possible but not required? A dust storm with great visibility? What does it all mean??? Twilight Zone!!!! Going into serious Alpha wave time!!!

As if to explain about dust storms, existential or otherwise,the wind began howling last night in Las Cruces, shaking the rig so hard I could hardly sleep. It has continued all day making driving more stressful. In Texas, the speed limit during the day for cars is 80 mph!! I just set the speed control at 64 mph and try to keep in the slow lane. The hardest part about traveling on Interstates is that there is not the opportunity to pull over and snap pictures when I see something interesting. The Mojave Yucca is all over the place and they are just beginning to bloom. The desert here seems very similar to the Mojave in California. The dirt is redder and there is a tad more green grass in the Spring but still, very similar. The Rio Grande was disappointing. It was so small--similar to crossing the Colorado at Blythe. But after driving through all this arid country it's nice to see rivers running through it.

Tonight I'm staying in the very small Texas town of Van Horn. The people at the RV park are so nice and friendly. They wanted to see Byrdie and thought she was something else--Texas speak for "only in California, I suppose." Dinner was served at 5:30pm and it was wonderful to have such familiar cooking: fried chicken, lots of mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans cooked at least 4 hours and big slices of bread. What a relief not to have to eat a salad or choose a soup. The wine was $3 a glass for the local label but I opted for good ol' iced tea. What a meal!

The wind is still blowing so hard I worry that the rig might tip over. My mind knows that isn't likely but it's noisey and I wonder how the German man traveling on a motorcycle and camping in a tent is doing.



Tomorrow, onwards through Texas all the way to San Angelo!