The aroma of creosote and sage welcomed me to the desert as I awoke. What a beautiful aroma that is.
I showered on base at the new LogonaFitness Center which almost tempted me to do some bench presses, but I had a tight schedule to follow, at least for the first eight hours.
Amistad National Recreation Center is just 20 miles northwest of Del Rio. I stopped there to hike most of the Sunset Trail, a 2.1 o/w trail across desert terrain that takes hikers to a campsite and along a part of the man-made lake. It was at the lake and Spur 424 where I turned around, making for a 3-mile hike that lasted just a tad over an hour.
Canadian RVs were on the highway moving slowly back north. They were driving 50 in a 70, but of course I realize they can't go as fast as a car or a crazed van driver.
I showered on base at the new LogonaFitness Center which almost tempted me to do some bench presses, but I had a tight schedule to follow, at least for the first eight hours.
Amistad National Recreation Center is just 20 miles northwest of Del Rio. I stopped there to hike most of the Sunset Trail, a 2.1 o/w trail across desert terrain that takes hikers to a campsite and along a part of the man-made lake. It was at the lake and Spur 424 where I turned around, making for a 3-mile hike that lasted just a tad over an hour.
Canadian RVs were on the highway moving slowly back north. They were driving 50 in a 70, but of course I realize they can't go as fast as a car or a crazed van driver.
As soon as I came up to the beautiful Pecos River, a river I've crossed everytime I've driven home to Arizona from Texas, I get sentimental. It's Texas' own Colorado River, the way it cuts through the ancient rock until it flows into the Rio Grande at the look-out off the highway.
I stopped there for a breather, then drove down to the boatramp to get a boater's eye view of the river. A yellow sign warning boaters of illegalborder crossers and drug smugglers was posted at the boat ramp.
I stopped there for a breather, then drove down to the boatramp to get a boater's eye view of the river. A yellow sign warning boaters of illegalborder crossers and drug smugglers was posted at the boat ramp.
Across the river a goat family was traipsing along the brittle rock. A young kid was crying for its mother that was a bit away with the rest of her three kids. The mother tried to get to her kid's cry but I didn't stay long enough to see if there was a happy ending. Kids. They are something else!
The mountains from Mexico were coming closer and closer into view. The desert smells were getting stronger. This is my home. I felt refreshed the way Sammy gets excited whenever we approach our town and cross the San Pedro River. He smells home ten minutes before we get home, yet to him getting home is an excitement he plays out with the same enthusiasm every time he comes back home from a weekend road trip.
I stopped at Langtry, Judge Roy Bean's house and the Jersey Lilly but didn't go inside. Kevin and I had already done the tour around the old village on our first trip here. I only stopped because the travel center had free wireless internet. It was 11:15am when I stopped for 30 minutes, and it was already 73F outside.
The mountains from Mexico were coming closer and closer into view. The desert smells were getting stronger. This is my home. I felt refreshed the way Sammy gets excited whenever we approach our town and cross the San Pedro River. He smells home ten minutes before we get home, yet to him getting home is an excitement he plays out with the same enthusiasm every time he comes back home from a weekend road trip.
I stopped at Langtry, Judge Roy Bean's house and the Jersey Lilly but didn't go inside. Kevin and I had already done the tour around the old village on our first trip here. I only stopped because the travel center had free wireless internet. It was 11:15am when I stopped for 30 minutes, and it was already 73F outside.
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