We kept loyal to our morning routine Monday morning, and then the internet cable was unhooked and stored, the slide outs were retracted, and the leveling/stabilizer jacks were stowed. In a large parking lot, the “old” Honda CR V was hooked up for towing and we were off, driving south on I-10 towards Tucson. A brief fuel stop was made at Picacho, and the drive continued south. At Tucson, I-10 turned east. It was a bit cool and windy, but the wind was at our backs. Interestingly, it rained, snowed, sleeted with a little sunshine thrown in every now and then. We overnighted in Las Cruces, New Mexico, at Hacienda RV Park, a very nice facility. Before turning in, we watched a couple of downloaded French detective shows.

On Tuesday, the RV park was in the review mirror shortly after 8 AM. We stopped a few miles east of Las Cruces for gasoline. It was overcast and windy, with the wind coming out of the west. As we entered Texas, traffic merged into one lane, and slowed to a stop and start pace as El Paso, Texas, came into view. Significant highway construction (or replacement) was the cause of the traffic snarl. Consequently, Kay suggested we take the mountain route north of El Paso to bypass the city, and it proved to be a relatively easy re-route.  We continued south and east on I-10 to Van Horn, Texas, and then turned south on US Highway 90. This was new territory for us. South and east on US Highway 90 took us to Alpine, Texas, where we turned south on Texas Highway 118 to Study Butte. Along the way, we saw several Pronghorn just south of Alpine, and as we neared Study Butte, a couple of Aoudad were along side the highway. The Barbary sheep (actually more a goat-like mammal), also known as aoudad, is a species native to rocky mountains in North Africa. It has been introduced to Texas via escape from exotic game hunting ranches, and is not an uncommon sight in the Big Bend area. There were also dozens of “tiny” houses south of Alpine, and many were shaped like domes. The area is known as a “dark sky” area and many people visit with their telescopes for astronomy. At Study Butte, we turned west and drove a half mile on Ranch Road 170 to Travelers RV Park, our home for the next 4 nights.

Using on their 50 amp electricity, setup was quick and easy. In the evening, we grabbled a quick bite of leftovers, and gathered with other “campers” around a couple of campfires and listened to a pretty good cowboy band until cigar smoke drove us away.