Thus far, everything has been smooth and reliable! All equipment and vehicle related items are working wonderfully, which is excellent. First, we drove for two full days only stopping to sleep in Virginia and then in West Memphis, AR. Throughout TN and AR we enjoyed an array of culturally different billboards and truck decorations. One bill board asserted, "Thou shalt not commit adultery- You'll be ashamed and so will He." Another cautioned, "WARNING: Prepare to meet God!" One man's truck displayed the mission statement Faster Horses, Younger Women, Older Whiskey, More Money. If there is not an amusing message, there are always sets of three crosses to be seen. Coming from New England, it is all a wonder to me!
After Arkansas, we drove on into TX, through Dallas and stopped west of Fort Worth to sleep for the night. The thermometer read 23 degrees when we went to sleep that night. Silly us thinking we would drive south and find warmer weather! Thank goodness for a camper with a reliable furnace. That night we slept in a Walmart parking lot and, upon entering to use the bathroom, I was greeted by the Walmart security guard, armed and all.
The next day we drove south through what seemed like hundreds and hundreds of oil fields with small oil rigs slowly drawing oil from the earth. That is a sight to see - a vast sea of slow moving oil rig arms on seemingly infinite perfectly flat land. Texas is a land of its own. Truly, they seem to be a different country altogether. The greeting sign reads, "Don't Mess with Texas" and there are Texas flags all over. I've never seen a Connecticut resident with a CT flag on their porch. I continued to be awed at the mainly impoverished towns with gigantic professional sized football fields. It is amazing the role that football plays in Texas.
Details that remain a constant basically from Pennsylvania to Texas are the inordinate number of Cracker Barrel restaurants (I truly wish that I had started counting sooner). It has become sort of a running joke that we had better stop to eat at one in case its the last one for more than a mile. Southerners like their C. Barrel - no question there. Also, one does not need to travel far to find a gun store or rather a gun warehouse.
At last, after a long tim
e of driving across Texas, we came to the entrance for the Big Bend National Park. This is a 865,000 arce park which borders Mexico for 118 miles and is separated only by the Rio Grande River. Big Bend is unique and incredible because 1) it is like three amazing climates/parks in one with mountain, desert and river environments near each other and 2) it is virtually empty because it is pretty out of the way so only hard core travelers make it there. When we pulled into our campsite in Rio Grande Village, which is situated right on the river, we hiked up a small mountain and looked over the river at the small Mexican village, Boquillas. The amazing part is, it was sunny, 65, with the most incredible view of the Sierra Del Carmen mountain range (~9000 feet) and we were the only two people standing there. I then proceeded to play with and get totally beaten by a cactus. It had these little itty bitty fibers that embedded themselves into your skin but you didn't realize it until after it was too late.That day and the next we continued to be amazed at the beauty of each wonder we explored and how few people were their enjoying it all. The first place we went was Boquillas Canyon where Mexican's pedal their homemade goods and sing into the echoing Canyon. 
After climbing on the rocks and sand slopes of the Canyon and petting the rugged looking Mexican ponies which wander, still fully tacked, to nibble on the burned desert grass, we drove to the hot springs. Year round, water bubbles from the earth adjacent to the Rio Grande at a lovely constant temperature of 104 degrees. A concrete hot tub like box has been poured around it and the water flows over the edge into the River. I waded into the Rio Grande to make my illegal exit to Mexico only to find that the stones were too rough for my bare feet which haven't seen earth in months. Finally, before driving north out of the park, we unhitched the trailer and drove up the Chisos Mountain and into the basin. An amazing view but at least 10 degrees colder.
After climbing on the rocks and sand slopes of the Canyon and petting the rugged looking Mexican ponies which wander, still fully tacked, to nibble on the burned desert grass, we drove to the hot springs. Year round, water bubbles from the earth adjacent to the Rio Grande at a lovely constant temperature of 104 degrees. A concrete hot tub like box has been poured around it and the water flows over the edge into the River. I waded into the Rio Grande to make my illegal exit to Mexico only to find that the stones were too rough for my bare feet which haven't seen earth in months. Finally, before driving north out of the park, we unhitched the trailer and drove up the Chisos Mountain and into the basin. An amazing view but at least 10 degrees colder.All in all, it has been a wonderful trip thus far full of views that my eyes have never seen. We are dragging our feet here at the lovely Davis Mountain Lodge enjoying the soft couches, sun filled room and free WiFi. Soon we will head northwest to another campsite in an effort to move towards California.
