Day 4: Fort Stockton/Big Bend, TX

FRIDAY. After a restful night, and a Kamikazi attack by dozens of aggressive Asian Tiger Mosquitoes* this morning, we left Beaumont and headed west toward Houston and barbeque country. We hit a Starbucks (not Stuckey's) in San Antonio at 4 PM and said goodbye to traffic, civilization and green grass. The speed limit increased to a surprising 80 mph. Virtually alone on the road, we discovered how much fun it is to travel at high speed.

*Aedes albopictus, the Asian Tiger Mosquito, is a very aggressive daytime biter with peaks generally occurring during the early morning and late afternoon.


The lush green of Eastern Texas gave way to parched brown as we headed toward the Big Bend area. Today's highlights included jackrabbits, bighorn sheep, pronghorns, and windmill farms that seemed to stretch beyond the horizon. It was comforting to see green energy projects. Folks are mighty cordial in West Texas, including Officer McFriendly of the Texas Highway Patrol, who eerily resembled Broderick Crawford. The good officer pulled me over for speeding but gave me only a warning. One would think that 80 is fast enough, but somehow I still found room to push the limit. Ah, the freedom of the open road...

We discovered a whole lot of nothing in West Texas. Yet, there was so much in that nothingness. I couldn't help but imagine what it was like to ride a horse through Big Bend 150 years ago. This is truly the Wild West. I could almost see the Cavalry stirring up dust clouds, galloping across the desert.

Driving into the sunset this evening, mesas and buttes dotting the landscape, we both noticed the calming effect of so much space. Hundreds of miles of space. We are spending the night in Fort Stockton, about 250 miles east of El Paso. When Murphy had his walk tonight, the dry night breeze enveloped us like warm pudding. It felt smooth and sweet.

Enough blogging. Lottie Leadfoot must sleep now.