The long slog back east
Ah, the long slog east. This won't be the longest post, because as the name suggests… it was a long slog to the east. So not much to say about it, but the final evening was good.
So, (my favourite way to start a paragraph apparently) we got up at a reasonable hour to hit the road. Having showered the night before, this removed one less bit of admin in the morning. Our standard out here had become: get up, drive an hour, have breakfast in van, do stuff. Only this time the do stuff would be more “drive another 6 hours”.
Yes, we had 7 hours on the road today. Crossing from Arizona, almost non stop through New Mexico and then into western Texas. Van Horn to be exact, near where we had stopped for fuel on our way north to Carlsbad Caverns the weekend before.
We do wish we had time to visit old Tombstone in Arizona, or El Paso properly, but time wasn’t really on our side today. Nonetheless, we arrived at a fairly basic but well looked after RV park in Van Horn, Texas after 7 hours driving plus stops on the way for food, fuel etc. We were around 2,400 miles travelled in total (whole trip) at this point and were grateful for a veteran’s discount and the gracious host allowing us use of her detergent for a laundry load. Again, thank you so much, my hiking jacket was a bit pungent by this point!
The next morning the temperature had dropped to -8°C and the grey waste valve had frozen solid. Thankfully we had emptied it the night before, but still not ideal.
After leaving the RV park and sitting back in my chair, I felt a sharp stabbing pain like a wasp sting in my right shoulder blade. Ellen pulled over quickly and we ripped my coat and t-shirt off worrying it could be some nasty bug or worse, a scorpion. We couldn't see anything, nothing fell out of my coat or t-shirt. Baffled and still in a bit of pain, I looked down at my coat and then spotted a yellowish spike poking through the inside. A little souvenir from Arizona it would seem, a Saguaro cactus needle. We still don't know how it got there or how I had been wearing this coat the last day or two and not noticed, but there we go!
Panic over, a quick freezing fuel stop and tyre pressure check and we set off for yet another 7 hours on the road. Only this time there wasn’t an hour time zone change to factor in. So in good time we made it to a campsite on Canyon lake. A beautiful spot where we finally got the chance to bust out the new hammock Ellen’s sister and Brother-in-law had bought us for Christmas.
As is so important to do now and then when travelling in a confined space such as a van, Ellen and I spent the rest of the afternoon doing our own thing seperately. Ellen took her Leicas and bird books and headed out around the small peninsula for a couple of hours. She was particularly pleased to pick up an additional 14 species for her list!
Meanwhile I indulged myself in reclining in said hammock in the sun (but in a coat due to the cold) whilst reading Nick Offerman’s latest treatise ‘Where the Deer and the Antelope play’ which I had picked up at the west Saguaro National park visitor centre back in Tucson.
As the sun set, we decided we couldn’t be bothered cooking tonight and in need of a meal out, we headed back to the local town we’d passed on the way in for some proper BBQ. Ellen’s sister had told us the best places for BBQ were the places that, in the U.K. at least, you wouldn’t look twice at. Where you think, “hmm, maybe not”.
She was right. Looks are not everything here in Texas. Why spend a fortune on premises and fancy advertising when the food speaks for itself I suppose. (BBQ obsessed man moment) the brisket… you could cut it with the edge of a fork on a light breeze… that’s it, that expresses how good it was. The burnt ends… wow… and the pork ribs followed the trend. Bare Bull BBQ in Startzville was fantastic, even the local sheriffs there for food and the game would surely agree.
We retired for the night back to camp via the grey dump and then turned in for the night. For tomorrow was San Antonio and the Alamo!
