Flights and Flights

Lou and I head out to walk Miko. We decide to take the Montezuma Quail Trail – a short one mile trail near the campground. What they fail to mention is that it is up the side of a mountain – a rise of some 200 feet which doesn't sound like all that much but according to my FitBit which tracks flights of stairs I've taken, it was 26 flights of stairs. 26 flights up and 26 flights down, all on a narrow rock strewn trail where the rocks slide under your feet. It was a great sense of accomplishment that we did this.

When we got toward the top, Miko flushed out three mule deer. All of a sudden, on this narrow path, I have a dog lunging on the end of the leash trying to get at those deer. Thank God, she didn't see the two Javelinas that were going in the other direction from the deer. It was a little hard trying to keep my balance and hold on to the dog.

When we finally got down the hill (mountain in my world), Miko picked up some cacti in her paw. We got them out and got back to the RV.

Today is a travel day. We drove to Van Horn Texas, a nice 90 mile drive. I finally got to see tumbleweeds in motion. They were flying across the road. If you look at the fence line in this picture, that is not grass, those are piles of tumbleweeds are smashed up against the fence. The picture was taken with my iPhone as I was driving since I still haven't found my camera.

I also saw a herd of antelope on the side of the road. Add another species to my checklist. Passed a lot of signs saying “Loose Livestock” and some of the biggest steers I've ever seen. There were many many cattle guards across the road.

We are staying in Van Horn, Texas at the Southern Star RV Park. We have a major highway on one side and train tracks with high speed freight trains on the other. After spending three days at Davis Mountains State Park where it was incredibly quiet, this is a bit of a culture shock. The best part of it is that I have phone service, cable tv, I have wicked fast internet and there is a laundry room. Tonight I am vegging out, surfing the net and doing laundry. Ahhh, life is good.