A DAY IN BIG BEND

(MARCH 27, 2018)  Today, I went to Mexico, well almost.  I was really only a few feet from setting foot in a foreign land. I did toss a rock from the U. S across the Rio Grande into Mexico.

I got up earlier than usual this morning and found that it was raining and there was a chill in the air. It was 59 degrees and a light misty rain was falling as I made my way to the car for my trip to Big Bend National Park.


Alpine, Texas is the closest town with motels to Big Bend. There is a few local motels in Marathon about 20 miles south of Alpine but they were either questionable or booked up.  Here in Alpine there is a Quality Inn, Holiday Inn and a Hampton Inn. I chose the Quality Inn due to the great Tripadvisor Rating.

Staying in Alpine I am still about 80-miles from the entrance to the park. So I was up early and headed south back to Marathon where I picked up U. S. Highway 385 which will take me to the Persimmon Gap Entrance.

About two hours after leaving the hotel I arrived at the entrance station. The cost is $25 per car for 7-days. However my National Park Senior Pass saved me the entrance fee and I was on my way.

It took me almost an hour to make it from Persimmon Gap entrance to the Panther Junction Visitors Center; a distance of about 30-miles. The scenery kept getting better and better the deeper into the park I went.



Arriving at Panther Junctions I managed to pick up a few souvenirs and get my National Park Passport Book Stamped. The rangers here like at all National Park are exceptional in being friendly and helpful.  One of the rangers here told me that If I only had a day to spend that I should first head down to Santa Elena Canyon. She told me that the scenery on the way to the canyon was beautiful and the canyon itself was one of the most visited area of the park.

She was right, as the 30-mile route took me through some beautiful mountains. The drive took me a little over an hour to make as I kept stopping to take pictures and videos.

Santa Elena Canyon

Upon arriving at the canyon, I couldn't help but marvel in its beauty. Plus I was only a few feet from Mexico.  Yes I say fee as her the Rio Grande is some what underwhelming as the border between the United States and Mexico is only about 20-feet across.

After leaving the canyon, I back tracked up the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive and took a few side trip down the paved overlooks where I encountered more awesome views.  By the Time I arrived back at Panther Junction Visitors Center it was close to 2 in the afternoon. I decided to make my way toward the northwestern side of the park along the Panther Junction Road. Again this took me  almost another hour and I found myself saying good bye to Big Bend at the small town of Study Butte.

The Rio Grande

Here I headed north on Texas Route 118.  Some two hours later and 80-miles later I was back in Alpine. Putting an end to a wonderful day.

Big Bend is one of the least visited of our National Park, probably because it is so remote. But if you take you are ever in the area, you should by all means visit it. The beauty of this park will not disappoint you.

Tomorrow it is time to move on toward El Paso and say good-by to Texas and move into New Mexico.  Tomorrow I will have a decision to make. Either continue on to Albuquerque or start easing my way east and start making my way toward home.

We will see what happens.

TODAY'S MILES: 271
TOTAL MILES:   3757

UFO'S, AND BILLY THE KID

(MARCH 30, 2018) Today was a longer day than I anticipated. I knew it was going to be a long day mileage wise with only a few well planned stops along the way. It was not as well planned as I thought.

I left the Hotel in Las Cruces at 8:30 (Mountain Time) and head back across St. Augustine Pass on U. S. Route 70.  I again passed the White Sands National Park on my way to Alamogordo, New Mexico.

Using my Gas Buddy App I found a Shell Station in Alamogordo that had gas for $2.43, which is about 15 cents below any of the stations in Las Cruces. So once I filled up with gas and grabbed a cup of coffee it was off to Roswell, about 170 miles away.

The trip from Alamogordo took about 3-hours and  during which time I transitioned from mountain to the flat plains. The scenery was beautiful and made the drive enjoyable.

In Roswell, I stopped at the Alien Museum, which capitalizes on an incident that occurred in July of 1947.  Initial reports from locals fueled the belief that a alien space craft has crash near Roswell and that four aliens were on board. One of which was reported the survived.  For years local residents insisted that the government who had taken control of the crash debris and the alien bodied were involved in an cover up that reached to the highest level.

Interest in the events of 1947 remained high, but in 1990 the U. S. Military published reports stating that the crash was part of Project Mogul, which dealt with a high level nuclear test surveillance balloon. Never the less, the town of Roswell continues to embrace the UFO/Alien Events of 1947. The UFO Museum is dedicated to the "suspicious" events that occurred in 1947.

I paid $4.00 senior admission and spent about an hour walking through the museum, which is largely copies of newspaper clipping, affidavits from local residents and statement from military personnel.  It was interesting reading the the exhibits and if you are into UFO's and Aliens it would be worth a stop.

After finishing in Roswell it was off to Fort Sumner, about 90-miles north. It took me about an hour and a half to make the trip. This was probably the most boring part of the trip, as it was made up of ranch land, and more ranch land.

The village of Fort Sumner is home to "The Billy the Kid Museum." I drove past not intending to stop, but said what the heck and turned around and paid my $4.00 admission.  The owner, Don Sweet was on hand and offered some very amusing stories relating not only to Billy The Kid, but also about the history of Fort Sumner and the Bosque Redondo.


For $4.00 a stop at the Billy the Kid Museum is an worth a stop providing Don Sweet is there to answer questions and interact with visitors.


After my visit to the museum, I made a quick stop at the grave of Billy the Kid, and his two friends Tom O'Folliard and Charlie Bowdre. The three are buried in the old post cemetery near the original site of Fort Sumner.  Billy's grave stone was stolen and recovered twice.  Today the stone is encased with steel bars to prevent future thefts.

It was late afternoon by the time I had finished in Fort Sumner and it was time to head toward Amarillo where I am spending the night. It took me a little over 3-hours to make the 170 mile drive to Amarillo.  Just east of Clovis, New Mexico, I crossed back over into Texas and again entered the Central Time Zone.

After stopping briefly at the Hotel to Check in, it was off to the Big Texan for Supper.  No trip to Amarillo would be complete without a visit to The Big Texan, home of the world famous 72-oz steak challenge.

The last time I was here was in December 1984, when my dad and I were traveling cross county to spend Christmas with my Sister and Mom. We both enjoyed our visit then and tonight was no different. My steak was perfect. Nobody tried the 72-oz challenge while I was there but the place was still crowded with folks who just wanted a great steak.

It was 10 o"clock by the time I made the 7-mile drive back to my motel. The end of a very long day. Tomorrow I have not real plans except to travel from Amarillo to Oklahoma City. I want to travel at least part of the way on Old Route 66.

TODAY'S MILES:  469
TOTAL MILES:     4729

THE LAW WEST OF THE PECOS

(MARCH 26, 2018) Today, I began my trek up the Rio Grande Valley. I left Del Rio at about 8:30 and headed up Route 90. This is going to be a miles day as my lodging for tonight is in Alpine, Texas. As Captain Augustus McCrae would say "a little fart of a town down on the Rio Grande."

After leaving Del Rio these is really not must in the way of towns, just a lot of wide open spaces and some beautiful scenery.  About 30 miles out of Del Rio, Route 90 crosses the Pecos River. There is a scenic overlook here that give you of grand view of the 1,310 foot long bridge that spans the Pecos River some 273 feet below.  This is the U. S. Route 90 High Bridge. The original Pecos High Bridge stands a few miles up stream was completed in 1892 to carry Union Pacific Trains across the River Canyon. The current bridge was completed in 1944 and in addition to carrying freight trains across the canyon, Amtrak's Sunset Limited cross the span as it runs between Sanderson and Del Rio.

I stopped here at the scenic overlook to snap a few photos of the bridge and the Pecos River which feeds into the Rio Grande a couple miles down Stream.

After crossing the bridge it is a little over 20-miles to the town of Langtry, Texas. Another little fart of a town with only a Post Office a small store and The Judge Roy Bean Visitor's Center and Museum. Yes, it was here the legendary Judge Roy Bean ran a saloon and held court as the only "Law West of the Pecos."

The Judge's original Jersey Lilly Saloon is preserved here and welcomes visitors who can see where the Judge held court in either the Billiard Room or more often on the front porch.  After a night of drinking in San Antonio the judge fell ill and eventually returned to his home in Langtry.  He never recovered and died in the billiard room of the Jersey Lilly on  March 16, 1903.

After completing my visit to the Jersey Lilly it was it back on Route 90 as I made my way toward Alpine.  Its about 150 miles from Langtry to Alpine and the scenery through here is beautiful, especially the part through Sanderson Canyon.

Some three and a half hours later I arrived in Alpine and after stopping at my Hotel to extend my stay an additional night I took off  to Fort Davis National Historic Park. Fort Davis played an important role protecting settlers, mail coaches and freighters on the San Antonio - El Paso Road.  Today the Fort is probably one of the best remaining examples of a frontier military fort that once dotted the landscape of the southwestern United States.

One Interesting note about Fort Davis is in 1857 the Army brought about 25 camels to the fort in an attempt to replace horses and mules who often struggled in the areas arid conditions.  While the camels were thought to be more efficient at hauling supplies than Horses and Mules and were patient and easy to manage, the other animals would panic when the camels approached.  Horse would often buck and throw their riders and mules would balk and refuse to move. The Fort Davis Camels were sent off to Camp Verde where they would remain for a number of Years.  Legend has it that years later off spring of these camels continued to roamed the area.

All of the remaining building at Fort Davis are original, and several of the building have been destroyed or fallen into ruins.  I had a very interesting and informative afternoon exploring the remains of the Old Fort. My National Park Senior Pass got me in for free, which was another perk.

After exploring Fort Davis it was back to Alpine where I am spending the Night.  Tomorrow is off to Big Bend National Park.  While Alpine is the closest town to the National Park, it is still about 80 miles to the visitor's center. So tomorrow I plan on spending all day in Big Bend.

TODAY'S MILES:     261
TOTAL MILES:       3483

MOVING DAY

(MARCH 25, 2018) Today was basically a moving for me as I leave San Antonio and Head west. By moving west I am hopefully saying good-bye to the the traffic of the Texas Cities.  Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio are all noted for their traffic and they lived up to it. If you travel during the week you have to plan you trips according to traffic.

Just a little side note, I really enjoyed my time in San Antonio and the River Walk was everything I had heard it was and it exceeded my expectations.  However, after spending more than 2-weeks in Texas I can say the people of San Antonio are some of the rudest people that I have encountered in the Lone Star State. This really stood out during my tour of the missions. The National Park Staff were exceptional as they always are, but the other people who operated gift shops that were associated with the churches and in no way connected with the National Park Service were the rudest people I have ever encountered. They were so rude that I left my purchase on the counter and walked away. The staff oF a couple of restaurants away from the River Walk were also rude and I ended up walking out of one place before ordering. As I was leaving the manager intercepted me and offer to comp my meal, which I declined. Without exception the people I encountered on the River Walk were outstanding and offered exceptional service.

Now that my little rant is over, it was time for me to leave San Antonio this morning and head west.  I I had not real plan other than to reach my destination of Del Rio in time to watch the Duke-Kansas Regional Final.

I decided rather than heading west on Interstate 10 to Fort Stockton and then heading down to Big Bend, I would take U. S. Route 90 over to Del Rio where I would spend the Night.  It's only about 170-miles from San Antonio to Del Rio and I would just piddle along and see what I could find.

The breakfast area at the Comfort Inn was as mess due to a bunch of unruly kids who were in town for a baseball tournament. They were running wild and had spilled stuff all over the breakfast area, and their parents or chaperones were basically doing nothing.

I decided to bypass breakfast and hit the road.  After stopping for gas and coffee at a nearby C-Store, I soon put San Antonio in my rear view mirror and headed west.

An hour and a half later I found my self in the town of Uvalde. A brown sign directed me to the Briscoe-Garner Museum. As I said earlier, brown signs are fun.  But this being Sunday the museum was closed.  While parked I did a little research and found that the Museum was dedicated to for Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe and Former U. S. Vice President John Nance Garner; both from Uvalde.

Grave of Vice President John Nance Garner

Vice President Garner was a native of Uvalde, Texas and began his political career by serving in the Texas Legislature.  He was elected to the United States House of Representatives and served as the 39th Speaker of the House from 1931-1933. He also served as the 32nd Vice President of the United State under President Franklin Roosevelt. He held the office of Vice President from 1933-1941, when FDR replaced Garner with Henry Wallace.  Garner retired from politics and lived the rest of his life in West Texas.  John Nance Garner died on November 7, 1967, just 15th days before his 99th birthday, making him the longest lived Vice President.

Just west of town is the Uvalde Cemetery where Vice President Garner is resting. I decided to make a quick stop and pay my respects to this gentleman of history.

From Uvalde it was another 65-miles or so to Del Rio. On the way I past through the town of Bracketsville.  About 20-miles north of Bracketsville was where the John Wayne movie "The Alamo" was filmed. A complete movie set was built here and after the filming it was privately operated as "The Alamo Village Theme Park" but due to the remote location it was never successful and closed for good in 2010.

Whitehead Museum

Arriving in Uvalde a little after one o'clock it was too early to check in my hotel, so as I was driving into town I saw another brown sign. This one was about the Whitehead Memorial Museum.  I pulled over and check the website on my phone and saw where it was open from 1-5 on Sundays, so I put the address into my phone and off I went.

The museum is located in an older residential neighborhood just south of Main Street.  It is a pioneer museum with a number or replica building depicting the history of the Del Rio Area. I paid the $4.00 fee and off I went.

As I made my way along the path I  was surprised to come upon a replica of Judge Roy Bean's Jersey Lilly Saloon. But the real surprise came when I rounded the corner and discovered the grave of Judge Roy and is son Sam. Judge Roy fell ill after a night of drinking in San Antonio.  The very ill judge returned to his home in Langtry where he died on March 16,1903 in the billiard room of his Jersey Lilly saloon.  He was buried in a public cemetery in Del Rio, however due to his grave being constantly vandalized by souvenir hunters he and his son were reinterred here at the the Whitehead Museum

Surprisingly, the little museum has a number of very interesting displays and I ended up spending abut an hour and a half here. It was well work the $4.00, especially with the grave of Judge Roy being on site.

As I was leaving the museum the Texas Tech - Villanova Regional Final was just wrapping up. Villanova will be the third team advancing to the Final Four in San Antonio.  I hustled over to my Hotel for the Night and checked in just in time to catch the tip of Duke and Kansas.  I am not a fan of either but I despise Duke so I hope the Jayhawks send the Blue Devils back to Durham.

Today was a short day filled with surprises. Tomorrow will be another day where I will be piddlin' along U. S. Route 90 toward Big Bend National Park and Alpine Texas.

TODAY'S MILES:     165
TOTAL MILES:       3222

THE ALAMO

Mission Concepcion

Mission San Jose

(MARCH 24, 2018) I arrived in San Antonio last night and today I started the day by heading south of downtown San Antonio to the Old Mission Trail and the The San Antonio Missions National Historical Park The park is a actually made up of four mission that stood along the Old Mission Road. All four Mission were built in the early to middle 1700's and were a place of refuge for the native people of South Texas.



In the early 1700's Apache raids from the north was a common occurrence. This coupled with disease that was brought to the area from travelers from Mexico these native people face an end to their way of life.  They turned to the Missions for survival.  By entering the missions they essentially gave up their way of life in exchange for safety and a new beginning.

Mission San Jose

When they entered mission they accepted a new religion, and over time we made Spanish citizens. Most lived in an around the mission and their daily lives were regulated by the priests who controlled their most aspects of their lives, from daily chores, to education and prayers.   Families lived in small rooms along the outer walls of the mission and daily chores such as cooking, blacksmith, gardening were conducted in the inner courtyard.  Outside of the mission walls live stock were raised along with larger crops.  The men of the mission would hunt daily while some served as guard and sentry's. Each mission was completely self-sub staining.

Mission Espada

Today the four mission, Concepcion, San Jose, San Juan and Espada remain the center of an active catholic culture.  All four missions are still home to active congregations.

My first stop was at Mission Concepcion, which was dedicated in 1755 and hasn't changed much in the past 300 years. It is thought to be the oldest standing unrestored stone church in the United States. As I toured the church I could still see some of the original frescos in several of the rooms.

My next stop just a couple of miles down the Old Mission Trail at Mission San Jose.  This is the
largest of the four missions and it is here that the National Park Service has it visitors center. Known as the Queen of the Missions, San Jose was almost fully restored to it's original design in the 1930's by the Works Projects Administration. Park rangers are more than happy to point out significant features of the ground such as the granary and the foundations of original that are no longer standing on the grounds.

I wanted to stop at Mission San Juan but due to construction, the road was closed and neither the GPS or myself could figure out how to get there. So I moved on to the final stop, Mission Espada.  Mission Espada was basically found near Weches, Texas in 1690 but in 1731 the mission was transferred to this location along the San Antonio River. The church that stands on the site today was completed in 1756.

I really enjoyed my visit to the San Antonio Mission. It was really educational and informative.  By the time I wrapped up my Mission visit it was a little after noon and I head by north and made a quick stop at the Alamodome, which is the site of next weekends Final Four.

I had though about getting to San Antonio next week and taking in some of the "free" Events relating to the event but starting tomorrow hotel rooms more than double so I am going to finish up In San Antonio today and Tomorrow and head west.

One of the Rangers at the Missions gave me some information about parking at the Alamo and I decided to make my way into downtown.  Thanks to the rangers suggestion I found parking in a parking garage just a block from the Alamo Plaza.

As I made my way toward the Alamo Plaza it was obvious that there was some kind of protest going on. Come to find out it an anti-gun protest. While it was billed as a Student Against Guns Rally, there were only a few "students" in the crowd. Most of  the people were adults that were using  the "students" to advance their cause.

The protest didn't seem to be getting much attention from the tourist and most of us seemed to tune them out and continue our visit to the shrine that is The Alamo.

San Fernando Cathedral

There was a line as expected to enter the Alamo but it moved very quickly and in no time I found myself inside where Crockett, Travis and Bowie and the rest of the defenders met their end. There is no photography permitted inside The Alamo and most of the visitors proceeded in quiet reverence.

After spending about an hour and a half at The Alamo, I walked about a half a mile to the San
Fernando Cathedral.This is the place where Jim Bowie married Ursala de Beramendi in 1831. Also in 1836 Santa Anna raised the blood red flag from one of the church towers signaling "no quarter" at the beginning of the siege at The Alamo. And inside the entrance is a small tomb that is though to contain the ashes from the men who died at The Alamo. Following the fall of The  Alamo Santa Anna had the bodies burned in a giant funeral fire. It was reported that those ashes were collected and buried here at the San Fernando Cathedral. In 1936 during renovations of the cathedral, a box of charred bones and ashes were found in a box buried beneath the sanctuary.  Those ashes now are entombed at the enter to the Cathedral.

This tomb is thought to contain the
 ashes of the Alamo Defenders

From The San Fernando Cathedral it was just a short walk to the famed San Antonio River Walk where I had a nice lunch at the Iron Cactus. The food was good and the service great. I chose to eat outside and it was fun watching people float by on the water taxi.

After lunch I spent a few more hours on the river walk and even stopped long enough to take a break and have a drink in one of the bars to watch some of the Loyola - Kansas State Game.  Most folks in the bar were pulling for Loyola and Sister Jean.  Yes Sister Jean is the real Cinderella and she is going to be dancing all the way to the Final Four here in San Antonio.

The Riverwalk

Before heading back to the Hotel, I decided to have dinner on the River Walk. I chose Casa Rio and had an outstanding Mexican Plate consisting of Cheese Enchilada, Tamale, Chili, refried beans and rice.  It was great.

By this time it was getting close to dark and I made my way back to the car. Almost 7 hours of parking in the garage cost me $11.00. But it was worth it as I was close to everything.

I made it back to my hotel by about 8:30 which is the the latest that I have been out on this trip. I really enjoyed my day in San Antonio and the Alamo and River Walk is a must for anyone.

Now that I am back at my Hotel I checked my Fitbit and see that I have taken 19,326 steps. Almost 10-miles. Time for a shower and watch the second half of the Michigan - Florida State Game.

Tomorrow I will hit the road hand travel to Del Rio and begin my trek through the Rio Grand Valley toward El Paso.

TODAY'S MILES:     52
TOTAL MILES:    3,057

MY LAST DAY IN THE HILL COUNTRY

(MARCH 23, 2018) Today was my final day in the Texas Hill Country. It has been a great three days and I have really enjoyed my stay here. Last evening I had dinner at a wonderful German Restaurant on Main Street. After dinner, I spent some time walking around Main Street. Fredericksburg is a wonderful town that is full of life and has a very vibrant downtown that is full of locally owned restaurants and shops.

This morning I really didn't have anything planned other drive down to San Antonio. I want to spend the Weekend in San Antonio and get out of town before the Final Four hits town.  I had thought about stay in San Antonio and going to some of the Final Four events but beginning Tuesday the Hotel rates jump and the cheapest room that I could find anywhere within a 30-mile radius of Downtown was $234 per night. That is way out of my price so after spending this weekend here I will be heading west to the Rio Grand Valley and then exiting the Lone Star State sometime toward the end of next week.

Last night while walking around town after dinner I walked by the "Museum of the Pacific War" and the "Admiral Nimitz Museum." So this morning before leaving town I decided to check them out.  From Main Street they looked like small museums and I could kill a couple of hours before heading to San Antonio.  But looks are deceiving.

I started at the Museum of the Pacific. Wow, turns out it a very large museum and I ended up spending about 3-hours here.  This museum features artifacts and exhibits dealing with the Campaigns in the Pacific during World War II.  The attack on Pearl Harbor, along with Iwo Jima, Guam and Wake Island are featured prominently.  I ended my tour with a very interesting exhibit dealing with President Truman's decision to drop the Atomic Bomb which eventually caused Japan to sign the instruments of surrender on the deck of the USS Missouri.

After finishing my tour of the Pacific War Museum I went next to the Admiral Chester Nimitz Museum, which is housed in the old Nimitz Steamboat Hotel.  The Old Hotel was owned and operated by Admiral Nimitz's grandfather Charles.  The hotel has been a feature in Fredericksburg since the Middle 1800's. This building also served as the boyhood home of  Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz.

Today the hotel has been restored to house the Admiral Nimitz Museum and also features a grand ballroom and conference facilities.  The museum features a number of artifacts relating to the life of the man who would be Fleet Admiral of the United States Navy.

After spending all morning and the early afternoon touring this outstanding museum it was time to head toward San Antonio. It took me close to an hour to drive the 60-miles to the San Antonio area and then another 30-minutes to drive the final 10-miles to my hotel.

Tomorrow I am going to play it by ear depending on traffic.  I am thinking that I may do a tour of the San Antonio Mission and then do the Alamo early Sunday Morning when traffic and parking should be a little easier to navigate.

Today I also reached another mileage milestone as I broke the 3,000 mile trip barrier.

I know I have two night here in San Antonio and I will let traffic sort of set my course,


TODAY'S MILES:      106
TOTAL MILES:         3014

OUT IN THE WEST TEXAS TOWN OF EL PASO

(MARCH 28, 2018)  Today it was time to say good-bye Alpine, Texas, which was my home for the last two nights. Big Bend National Park was outstanding, but that is really all that is here, McDonalds, Pizza Hut and DQ are the only chain restaurants in this small town.

The was a chill in the air as I packed the car and my phone showed that it was 44 degrees in Alpine. I dug out the long pants and a light jacket.  This is the first time that I have worn long pants in about two weeks. I have a feeling that once I start heading east the need will become routine.

I am still about 250 miles south of El Paso, so I pull out and head up U. S. Route 90, which will intersect with Interstate 10 at Van Horn.

Just a short distance south of Marfa is a historical marker detailing the history of The Marfa Lights.  For years people have described seeing lights of some sorta of paranormal ghost lights, while other claim the light were some type of UFO. However, after conducting some scientific research most of the lights have been explained as car headlights, or campfires being reflected by the Atmosphere.

The scientific claims have done little to dispel the more popular ghost lights. In fact a viewing station with binoculars has been built here for those hoping to see The Marfa Lights.

About 30-miles up the road I come to the Town of Marfa, which is the seat of Presidio County.  Located on the Town Square is a beautiful old courthouse, which was built in 1886. The courthouse can be seen from just about anywhere in Marfa and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977

About 30-miles west of Marfa on the side of Route 90 is another unusual structure. Sitting all alone in the middle of nowhere is a tiny building with a glass front name PRADA.  Inside the locked door is an assortment of ladies handbags and shoes. PRADA Marfa was meant to be a "pop architectural art project which was first opened in 2005. Originally Miuccia Prada hand picked the merchandise that was displayed inside but shortly after opening the display was vandalized.

Today the building is alarmed and has very strong windows.  Additionally all of the Handbags on display have no bottoms and all of the shoes are for the right foot. This unique site in the middle of nowhere gets thousands of visitors every year despite Highway 90's small amount of traffic.

From Marfa to Van Horn it about 75-miles and for the entire route there are absolutely NO SERVICES.  No Gas, No Restaurants and No stores. NOTHING. So arriving at Van Horn I was ready for gas and a cup of Coffee from the Pilot Station.

Heading west on Interstate 10 from Van Horn, I think back to December 1988. This was the last and only time I was here. My dad and I traveled through here on the way to California to spend Christmas with my sister and my mom.  The thing that I remember is that we passed through here about 9 p.m. There was very little here except a small truck stop that we stopped at and just like today go some coffee before continuing on to El Paso. There was nothing else here back then. Today there is all kinds of stuff here. Good Memories of a wonderful trip with my dad.

Just west of Van Horn I crossed into the Mountain Time zone so It went from being 11 a.m. to being 10 a.m.

A couple of hours later I arrived in El Paso.  There were a couple of stops that I wanted to make here. Two cemeteries and a quick stop at the Sun Bowl Stadium.

John Wesley Hardin

My first stop was at Concordia Cemetery. This is the final rest of noted outlaw, John Wesley Hardin, who is believed to have killed his first man at the age of 15.  Through the years Hardin worked as a trail boss on cattle drives, a ranch hand, lawman, and lawyer but was most noted for being one of the old west most ruthless outlaws. It is believed that over the course of his life he killed 44-men.

John Selman

Hardin was caught and tried in Austin, Texas for the death of Deputy Sheriff Charles Webb. He was sentenced to 25-years in prison. He was pardoned by Governor Jim Hogg after serving 15 years of the sentence.  While in prison, Hardin read law and upon release he moved to El Paso, Texas where he practiced law.

During one of his trials, lawyer John Wesley Hardin made threats against John Selman who was the arresting officer.  Several days later, Selman saw Hardin playing cards in the Acme Saloon. Selman walk up behind Hardin and shot him in the back of the head.  Hardin was was 42-years old.

If you are wondering what happened to Selman, well his fate is unclear.  Most believe that he was killed several months later as a result of a drunken duel with U. S. Marshall George Scarborough. Both Hardin and Selman are resting in Concordia Cemetery just a few yard apart.

I had GPS Coordinates for both John Wesley Hardin and John Selman, so I was able to quickly locate both graves.  After taking a few photos it was time to move about 5-miles across town to the Fort Bliss National Cemetery.

Goose Tatum

Here are resting a well known actor and the early "Clown Prince" of the Harlem Globetrotters. I first visited the grave of Reece "Goose" Tatum, who was a multi-talented athlete excelling at both baseball and basketball. During his early years in baseball he was a teammate of Satchel Paige. But he is best known for his career with the Harlem Globetrotters.  The great Goose Tatum was inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.  He is resting in Section D of the Fort Bliss National Cemetery

Sherman Hemsley

A few sections over from Goose Tatum, is the final resting place of Sherman Alexander Hemsley, better know as George Jefferson from the All in the Family and The Jefferson's TV Series. While playing the flamboyant and egotistical George Jefferson on TV, Sherman Hemsley was a very private and according to some intensely shy.  He was a great actor and when on the set played his part to the hilt. But off camera he avoided the limelight of Hollywood.  He never married, and he had no
children.

Sherman Hemsley died from cancer on July 24, 2012 and because of his service in the Air Force, is resting in the Fort Bliss National Cemetery.

My final stop in El Paso was at the Sun Bowl Stadium on the Campus of the University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP).  After taking a few photos of the Stadium it was time to continue my westward trek on Interstate 10.

Just a few miles west of El Paso I cross into New Mexico. Yes, It was time to say goodbye to the Lone Star State.  I first enter the State of Texas in the evening of March 9, and no 19 days later I am leaving the state at El Paso. During those 19-day I hit all the major cities, Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and finally El Paso; traveling a total of 2,450 mile.  I guess you can say I gave a real meaning to the phrase "Miles and Miles of Texas."

Today I also logged over 4,000 total miles for this trip. I think it is safe to say that I am assured to top 5,000 total miles.

For the Next two night I will be here in Las Cruces, New Mexico.  Tomorrow I'm off to explore the White Sands National Monument and then in the afternoon, Visit with my old friend and former co-worker Dave Edmondson.

TODAY'S MILES:  355
TOTAL MILES:   4,109

THE TEXAS WHITE HOUSE & WAYLON, WILLIE AND THE BOYS

(MARCH 22, 2018) Today was my second day in the Texas Hill Country and a day I had pretty much set aside for a tour of the LBJ Ranch. Yesterday, while touring the LBJ Boyhood home in Johnson City my guide told me that I should get my house tour time first as they only allow 12 people per tour and there is often a long wait especially if you get behind a tour bus. 

There is a couple of thing that are a little unusual about this tour. In order to reach the LBJ National Historic Site you have to go through the LBJ State Park. You must also stop at the State Park Visitors Center and obtain a free driving pass that allows you drive through the state park in order to reach the National Park and the LBJ Ranch.

The Texas White House and the Cabinet Oak

After Picking up my driving pass from, I made my way to the Visitors Center at the LBJ Ranch and scheduled my time for the House Tour.  There was a tour bus already on site and I was given the 10:50 tour time. I had a bout 20 minutes wait so I went into the theater and watched the film about the ranch and the time that LBJ spent here

During his presidency he spent something like 490 days here at the ranch, which was a little more than a quarter of the time that he was in office.  He spent so much time here that it was referred to as the Texas White House.

He would conduct cabinet meeting in the front yard in the shade of one of the large Live Oaks. This very large tree was often called the Cabinet Tree. He also took great pride in entertaining visiting heads of state here and personally driving thing around the ranch.

My tour time arrived and our guide met use in the Visitors Center and led out to the yard by the Cabinet tree.  There is absolutely no photography allowed in the house and this rule is strictly enforced.

Now let me say right up front that I enjoyed the house tour and our guide was excellent. But my companions on this tour were some of the rudest people I have ever been around. There were three women in particular that were constantly involved in their own conversations and were such a distraction that several times our guide had to stop and wait for them to finish.

Finally about half way through the tour, one of the other gentlemen in the tour ask them to be quiet so that the rest of us could enjoy the tour. This obviously offended them but it served the purpose and for the rest of the tour they lagged quietly behind. 

Once the tour was over the gentleman apologized to the guide, who basically said she had no problem with it and he did something that she couldn't.  After the tour the three rude women hurried away from the rest of us and we thanked the gentleman for speaking up.  He again apologized to us.

After the house tour I was free to roam around the property. The ranch is still a working ranch today and it consists of about 600 acres.

Just a short drive up the road from the ranch house is the Birthplace and the Johnson Family Cemetery.  The original birthplace was destroyed many years ago, and President Johnson had a replica built that was often used as a guest house.

President Johnson was born here and lived here until he was about 5-years old. Then he and his family moved to the site in Johnson City that I visited yesterday. 

Across the road from the birthplace is the Johnson Family Cemetery. It is here that President Johnson, and Lady Bird, along with the President Parents and sibling are resting under the live oaks on the banks of the Pedernales River.  The cemetery is private and visitors must remain outside the stone wall. It's a very quiet and beautiful place for our 36th President to rest.

After spending almost the entire day at the LBJ Ranch it was time to move a few miles down the road to search for Waylon, Willie and the Boy in Luckenbach, Texas.

Luckenbach is really nothing more than a building that serves as a combination Post Office and Gift Shop.  Behind the post office is a make shift stage where local entertainers can perform.  There were a few more curious tourist here but not much was going on.

It took only a few minutes for me to grab something form the Gift Shop/Post office and snap a few Pictures.

By the time I finished in Luckebach it was getting later into the afternoon, and I decided to call it a day and head to the Hotel and get caught up on the Blog and edit some photos.

Tomorrow will be my final day in the Hill Country. I plan on visiting the National Museum of the Pacific War that is located here in downtown Fredericksburg. Then it off to San Antonio for the Alamo and the a tour of the Missions.

Hopefully, Saturday and Sunday will be enough time to explore San Antonio and then it will be time to head west. 

TODAY'S MILES:   74
TOTAL MILES:      2,908

THE ENTIRE TOWN SMELLS LIKE BBQ

(MARCH 21, 2018) Last night I stayed North of Austin in Round Rock, actually the address is Pflugerville. I spent the day yesterday in Austin and made my way back a few miles north of Downtown and spent the night. During the Night I was woke up several time by sirens screaming by on the highway adjacent to my hotel.

When I finally got out of bed and turned on the news I found out what all the reason for all the sirens. The Austin Bomber had been located and killed only about a mile and a half away from my hotel. He had actually been located at a nearby Hotel in Round Rock, and fled a few miles to Pflugerville.

As I was leaving the Hotel there was a noticeable police presence in the area and a couple of streets nearby were blocked off.  Seemed in addition to the crime scene where the suspect was killed he also lived in the Pflugerville area and evidently police were at a few of those locations.

Anyway, Austin can breath easier. Before leaving the capital city, I decided to make one final stop at the Austin Memorial Park.  It was just a short 20 minute drive and because I had accurate GPS coordinates I was able to quickly locate the three graves that I was interesting in.

My first stop was at the grave of Captain Frank Hamer. Captain Hamer was a Texas Ranger who tracked down the famous gangsters Bonnie and Clyde and participated in the ambush near Gibsland, Louisiana on May 23, 1934.  Frank Hamer retired in 1949 and lived in Austin, Texas until his death on July 10, 1955. He is also a member of the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame.

My next stop was at the grave of one of my all time favorite writers, James A. Michener. He wrote the novel Centennial in 1974 which documented several generation of families in the town of Centennial Colorado. This novel was made into a 12-part television mini series that aired on NBC from Octobr 1978 through February 1979.

Centennial is one of my all time favorite programs, I have the complete DVD set and end up watching it at least once a year. I never get tired of it and absolutely love it. Thank You Mr. Michener for giving us Centennial.

My final stop was at the grave of renowned golf professional and teacher Harvey Penick.  Mr. Penick was a top golf professional in the Austin, Texas Area. He was also the head golf coach at the University of Texas from  1931-1963. During his coaching career he led the Longhorns to 21 Southwest Conference Golf Championships.  He also coached many of the top PGA Professionals including Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite.

I got a late start this morning because I was wrapped up in the Austin Bombing News so it was mid morning by the time I finished at Austin Memorial Park. It was time to say good bye to Austin and head to what some would call the BBQ capital of Texas.  Lockhart, Texas is a small town about 40 miles southeast of Austin and is home to three of the most famous BBQ Joints in all of Texas. Smitty's Market, Blacks BBQ and Kreuz Market are all located in downtown Lockhart and all have a faithful following.

I decided to have lunch at Kreuz Market. It has the largest building of the three and the most cars. When you go in you order your meat, brisket, sausage, ribs ect. They charge you by the weight, I got basically a half a pound of Brisket which is served on butchers paper with light bread.  Then go and order you sides. I got Beans and Slaw.  The entire meal cost me about $12.50.

I had seen the three BBQ places featured in a TV Show on the Food channel and wanted to try one of them. So many times these TV Places are all hype and don't live up to my expectations.  Not true with Kreuz's. I love the fact that the meat is served on butchers paper and the food was simply outstanding. The brisket was very tender and had a great smoke taste. I really like the beans that were cooked with their sausage and onions. Over all if you are ever anywhere close to Lockhart Texas, be sure to stop and visit anyone of the Three. You will not be disappointed.

From Lockhart, I had a nice 60 mile drive through rural Texas to the town of Johnson City. This is LBJ Country and I stopped at the Johnson Settlement Historical Site. This is where President Johnson's Grandfather operate a cattle Ranch in the mid-1800's and would drive herds from the area to Abilene, Kansas.

This is also the Boyhood Home of President Johnson who lived here from the age of 5 until he went off to college. It was here on the front porch that young Lyndon would give his first political campaign speech in 1937.

I was the only one to take the 2:30 tour of the house so it was more like a conversation between my excellent guide and me. I love these one on one tours, and really enjoyed the 20-minute tour that turned into more like a 40 minute conversation.

After my tour of the house I walked down to the Johnson Settlement which featured the "dog trot" cabin of President Johnson's Grandfather and some other reconstructed building.

By the time I finished my tour it was 5 p.m.,  the park was closing and it was time for me to head on to Fredericksburg where I am spending the night. The 30-mile trip west from Johnson City to Fredericksburg took me by the LBJ National Historic Park or as it is better known The LBJ Ranch or the Texas White House. That will be tomorrows first stop of the day.


TODAY'S MILES:    154
TOTAL MILES:       2834

LBJ & THE CAPITOL OF THE LONE STAR STATE

(MARCH 20, 2018)  It was another beautiful day in Texas, a little chilly when I was packing the care this morning in Killeen. As I pulled out of the hotel parking lot the temperature on the Honda was 44. I was late starting this morning by design as I wanted to give rush hour traffic in Austin time to clear out.

It was an easy 60-minute drive down I-35 to my first stop of the day at the Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library and Museum.  Traffic had cleared out and I quickly found the Museum's designated parking area adjacent to the Campus of the University of Texas.

Bible Used by LBJ on Air Force One
to take the Oath on Nov. 22, 1963

I found the LBJ Museum very interesting as there were several displays leading up to the 1960 election. There was political tension in the Democratic Party and I remember reading years ago that the Kennedy's camp was going to publicly off the Vice-President to Johnson during the convention. But Johnson was supposed to decline saying he could do me to help Kennedy by remaining the Majority Leader of the Senate. With Johnson as the leading democrat in the Senate and fellow Texan Sam Rayburn as Speaker of the House the the Democratic agenda was assured if Kennedy was Elected.

By offering Johnson the Vice President, and having Johnson publicly turn it down would go along way in delivering the Texas vote to the Democrats. The problem was, when Johnson was offered the job of Vice President, rather than turning it down, Johnson publicly accepted which enraged the Kennedy camp especially Bobby Kennedy.

During the hours leading up to the formal nominations, the party broke into two camps, the Kennedy Camp and the Texas Camp.  The Kennedy's looked for a way to withdraw then offer but could not come up with a way without inflicting more damage on the party.

At one point I remember reading that Bobby Kennedy was so angry that he stormed into Johnson's hotel room and had to be physically restrained by Speaker Rayburn and other in the Johnson Camp.  When all was said and done, the Kennedy-Johnson Ticket was nominated and went on to defeat the Republican Ticket of Richard Nixon and Henry Cabot Lodge.

But the rift between the Johnson and the Kennedy's never healed and Bobby Kennedy made no effort to hide his hatred for Johnson.

After President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in 1963 and Johnson became President he had a recording system installed in the Oval Office and more than 600-hours of of recorded conversations are housed here at the Johnson Library and visitors can listen to many of them.

One of the more entertaining conversations captured on tape is of President Johnson order new pants from a tailor. Take a listen to the 5-minute recording below.

I spent about 3-hours at the LBJ Museum and really enjoyed it. One of the displayed that I found especially interesting was the once dealing with the day in Dallas and the events leading up to President Johnson taking the Oath of Office on Air Force One at Love Field.  Featured in the exhibit is the Bible that President Johnson used when he took the oath and the suit and dress he an Lady Bird were wearing that day.  

After finishing my tour of the LBJ Museum I decided to leave my car parked in the Free lot and walk to the Texas Capitol and downtown Austin.

It's was a beautiful day but there was a sense of tension in the air due to the recent rash of bombing that had taken place in and around Austin.  Just this morning another bomb exploded at a FedEx facility down near San Antonio and another device was intercepted at another FedEx facility before it could be detonated. And as I am writing this I just got an alert on my phone that another device had exploded at a Goodwill Store in South Austin.

As I was walking about Austin this afternoon I was paying more attention of my surroundings and anything lying on the sidewalk or nearby.  Even a soda can caused me to give it a wide berth and to look before stepping over it. 

It was a little over a half a mile walk from the LBJ Library to the Capitol Grounds and I made it without incident. 

I was able to roam the capitol grounds and enjoyed seeing the statues depicting the great event in Texas History.  I was able to take a self guided tour of the capitol and was especially awe struck with the Capitol Rotunda.  From the star on the floor to the star at the top of the Rotunda it is a total distance of 218 feet. 

Following my visit to the Capitol, I made the walk back to my car and made the short mile and a half drive over to the Texas State Cemetery.  This is a bucket list location for me as many great Texan's are buried here, including the Father of Texas, Stephen F. Austin

One of the more unique graves is that of General Albert Sidney Johnson.  His tomb reminds me of a bird cage similar to that of President James Monroe's tomb at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.Also resting here is Navy Seal and American Hero Chris Kyle, Former Governor Ann Richards, Senator Ralph Yarborough.Senator Yarborough was riding in the Motorcade the day that President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.  Yarborough's feud with then Governor John Connally and other conservative democrats was one of the reason that Kennedy had decided to come to Texas. He had hoped to mend the rift between the two factions of the party.

Also resting here is Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, who was one of the most eloquent speakers that I have ever heard. I remember listening to her during my high school years and was just awe struck by the eloquent way she spoke.  I could listen to this wonderful lady speak on any subject for hours at a time. 

My visit to Austin ended with my visit to the State Cemetery and because of the notorious Austin traffic it took me almost 40 minutes to make the 15-mile drive north to my Hotel in Pflugerville, Texas.

Tomorrow the plan is to head down to Lockhart for some real Texas BBQ at either Smitty's, Blacks or Kreuz. Then I am heading over to the Hill Country for the next Couple of Days. 

TODAY'S MILES:    123 (Not counting the 14.6-miles I walked around Austin)

TOTAL MILES:       2680