The grass burrs are so bad here! Poor Zoe! Every time she heads into the grass, she seems to get at least one. I think the booties are in order again!
Lots of cool murals around town
 |
| Love this one on the telephone pole |
The old Holland House Hotel that was restored.
 |
| Oooh, a deer. OK, not that exciting until the next photo |
 |
| There were at least 20 deer in this herd with 2 bucks with nice racks that I could see. They were pretty tame and didn't run from me and Zoe (though I didn't approach too closely). |
 |
| Sleep spot for the night. Joined by another van, which always gives me some comfort. |
 |
Sunset from my van. Can't tell I'm in a parking lot in the middle of town from this shot.
|
2/5 - This morning, Zoe and I tried to do a hike Hancock Hill where there is a desk at the top that students had trudged up there to study in peace. Here's more on that if you're interested: https://www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/notebooks-hancock-hill-desk-alpine/
Zoe, though she had all four booties on, decided this trail was not for her. She is so communicative with her "voice", her looks, and her actions. I try to heed her requests, though I can't always. This time I did.
 |
| View over Alpine, TX |
 |
| This doesn't look as bad as it was in real life. Rocky and steep in places. |
 |
| Probably the nicest house in Alpine, TX. |
 |
| It is amazing how dry and brown everything is here. It seems worse than anywhere else I've been up to this point. |
 |
| Entering Marfa. Container art? |
 |
| Haven't see one of these in a long time! |
 |
| Hanging out at the Hotel Paisano in Marfa. This is where the cast of the movie Giant stayed when filming in 1955. Liz Taylor, James Dean, Rock Hudson |
 |
| Court house |
 |
| Inside the court house |
 |
Love this! It makes me want to go to church here! Here's what it reads:
Welcome
We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, widowed, trans, gay, confused, filthy rich, comfortable, or dirt poor. We extend a special welcome to those who are crying newborns, skinny as a rake, or could afford to lose a few pounds. You're welcome if you are Old Marfa, New Marfa, Not Marfa, or just passing by. We welcome you if you can sing like Pavarotti or can't carry a note in a bucket. You're welcome here if you're just browsing, just woke up or just got out of prison. We don't care if you're more Christian than our Presiding Bishop, or haven't been to church since little Jack's christening.
We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60, but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome keep-fit moms, football dads, ranchers, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, junk food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you're having problems or you're down in the dumps or if you don't like 'organized religion.' We've been there too!
If you blew all your money on the fantasy football, you're welcome here. We offer a welcome to those who think the earth is flat, work too hard, don't work, can't spell, or because grandma is in town and wanted to go to church.
We welcome those who are inked, pierced, or both. We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down your throat as a kid or got lost on the far West Texas roads and wound up here by mistake. We welcome tourists, seekers and doubters, bleeding hearts... and you! |
 |
| Murals just out of town displaying scenes/characters from "Giant" |
When traveling around sometimes I'll be in towns on Sunday (Apline, TX) or Monday (here in Marfa) and not too much is going on these days. If it's shopping, then no biggie, but in both cases it was museums that I would have liked to visit. It wasn't so important to stick around, but then again, I don't have commitments, so why not? I just can't seem to dawdle. I'm not really camping as I travel. I'm traveling. That's not necessarily what I think I want, but it is what's going on. As much as I didn't want to, I'm traveling fast. I'm not driving long distances to get to the next spot, but I am moving from spot to spot quickly. I think that if I find somewhere that inspires me, then I'll stay, but that hasn't happened much. The spot in Louisiana on the lake was one where I was going to stay one night and stayed 5; granted part of that stay was due to a cold snap and possibly icy driving conditions. Either way, it was nice to stay put for a bit. Maybe when one starts living a mobile life, there is just so much to see and it's hard to stop and not see or do something new. Maybe, even though I thought I could pass this stage, it's a stage that has to happen. I know that I want to move less, but I don't know how - yet.
Though there wasn't that much open today, I enjoyed my day. After walking around and doing all the touristy things I could, I stopped at Planet Marfa. It's a very cool outdoor bar that's dog friendly. I spent a while chatting with a woman named Julie, who very much reminded me of my friend Christine in VT. She knew Rachael Monroe, the writer. I had hoped to cross paths with Rachael (daughter of friends), but she is out of town for the month of February. It would have been nice to connect with someone while here, but such is life!
Things I like/love about this life:
- Do anything I want when I want
- See so many new and cool things. Even if sights aren't pretty, they can still be very interesting/grand/awe inspiring
- Get up and move if/when I feel like it. Zoe stays in bed until I convince her she needs to get up.
- I have no idea what I look like - I rarely think about looking in the mirror...
- I love having Zoe as my companion and protector.
- Having a shower and feeling clean feels like such a big deal and is so wonderful!
- When things are clean - me, sheets, clothes, counters, floors - it all feels so good. It's the little things!
- Meet great people
Things I do NOT like about this life:
- Showers. It's a lot of work to prepare for these showers and to try to keep everything clean in public showers. Campground showers can be pretty gross. I soooo enjoy showering in a house where I don't need to think about the dirty floors. I'm not really a germiphobe, but I can be a bit of one when trying to be clean...
- Zoe isn't enjoying this life. And she lets me know this! This is huge and plays a big role in my down days.
- Laundry is a pain, especially when I always feel like I need to move on.
- Making the bed is a challenge as everything is so tight. Thus washing my sheets takes some convincing... 😷
- Feeling lost
- I have no idea what I look like - I don't think about it until I see myself in a mirror... Maybe this should go in the positive list...
- Traveling with a dog is hard! Zoe plays a huge role in what I do and for how long. Even if I can leave her in the van while I go for a hike, it just doesn't feel right.
Wow, it's been a while since I've had a chance to write here. Let me finish up Texas.
From Marfa, I went to Fort Davis and Davis Mountains State Park and had booked 2 nights there just so I knew I wouldn't be moving again. I chose this park because the trails are dog friendly. What I didn't think about was the terrain. It is just like the hike in Alpine with rough rocks and goat heads so hard on Zoe. Though she tolerates the booties, she made it clear to me that she doesn't like them. I went to put them on and she decided to go lie back down on her bed. Hmmm. I definitely think she's better off with them and I feel more comfortable knowing she has them on, but she will decide to stop on the walk and now I think it is due to the booties. She especially doesn't care for the Ruffwear ones; maybe they are too small.
I toured the Fort, which was interesting and it's huge! I was able to take Zoe, but had to put the booties on due to the goat heads. We did a lot of walking there. I ended up going back a couple of days later because I realized I missed the Post Hospital and a couple of other buildings that had been restored back to the day. I'm glad I went back as the hospital was quite interesting. I had a procedure done to stretch my esophagus and come to find out that in the 1800s they were doing the same thing!
 |
| Zoe seemed quite interested in this guy! |
At the campground I found my site to be quite unlevel, so I got out my leveling blocks, which I had never used and had considered getting rid of... Thankfully, a wonderful gentleman, Jiles, was walking by and I asked him if he'd help me. I cannot imagine being successful without assistance! I'm sure there would have been many tears shed if I had to do it alone. Anyway, we were level enough and we had a nice evening sitting outside enjoying the spot. It wasn't a bad site other than the leveling issue, but because I wanted to go to the McDonald Observatory for star gazing the next night, I really didn't want to stay there. So the next day, I found another perfectly level spot and felt good about taking a drive along Skyline Drive. It's not the prettiest (I'm so used to the green of the north east), but I'm glad we went. We did hike a bit, but I didn't put Zoe's booties on so she seemed a bit tender footed.
I found out the Observatory didn't have an event that night, but they were doing one at the campground at the end of Skyline drive. I didn't want to drive up/down there at night, so I ended up catching a ride with my neighbors, Robert and Daphne. It was nice to visit with them and not to have to drive! It was super windy that night, so we left a bit early as we were freezing. I did get to see Pluto and four of it's moons through a big telescope they had up there. I feel super lucky that I've been able to see the milky way from where I lived in VT and at Blue Mountain Lake. So many people don't get that chance from their homes in the cities.
 |
| We didn't use all my blocks, but probably could have to get a bit more level. It was good enough! |
 |
| Nice spot under the tree to hang out. |
 |
| Little bird friend |
 |
| All curled up - not that she has much choice... 😞 |
Skyline Drive
 |
| The rock formations are so cool |
 |
| napping on a picnic table... I'm sure I shouldn't have let her do that, but she needed a flat surface to rest. |
 |
| View from Skyline drive when I went up for the Star gazing event |
2/8 - Next morning
 |
| It took a long time for the sun to shine in the valley where the campground is |
 |
| javelinas |
Headed North to Carlsbad. I found this drive to be one of the prettiest in Texas.
 |
| So few cattle on the range - or at least visible. They must need many many acres to feed one animal here. In VT, you need so little! |
 |
| co-pilot sleeping on the job |
I tried to see if I could stay at Guadalupe Mountains NP, but their 10 RV spots were full. I wasn't surprised and hadn't planned to stay there, but it looked so gorgeous so I figured I'd check. I almost didn't go in the visitor center because it said it closed at 4 and my phone said it was 4, but in reality it was only 3 due to the time change. Apparently, it can switch back and forth in this area depending on what tower it connects to.
No comments:
Post a Comment