Currently in Southwest Oklahoma.
Carlsbad was not an interesting place to visit.  I couldn't do the caverns because the elevator was out of service and I was told not to try the walk in and out with a bad hip and knee.
I did stay a few extra days because I met an attractive and interesting woman.  We had a date, but there were no sparks.  We did share a day of geocaching.  Oh well.

The drive here was interesting.  At first it was just industrial desert.  Then the land changed to grasslands and farmland.  Huge areas of grazing cattle and cotton fields.  Then rolling grassland.  Looked just like cowboy country from the movies.  I wouldn't have been surprised to see a real cowboy on horseback.  Mostly black angus, but I did see on place with some brahmas and even a Texas longhorn.  Saw a few deer.  By Maine standards they're stunted.

I passed through one town and only saw one person.  It was Sunday after all, so all the stores were closed.

Went geocaching today but called it quits after one "did not find" and one success.  It's cold, low thirties, and windy.  Not a good day to be poking around in the brush.

Arkansas tomorrow.

Still in Carlsbad.  Going to do some more geocaching and then head east.  Nothing to write about, no pictures to post.

Today I drove from Terlingua, TX to Carlsbad, NM.  The whole trip was through desert.  Carlsbad is still in high desert.
The first part of the trip was through almost featureless landscape, even looking out when cresting a rise or overpass there was nothing to see but brush for miles and miles.  Then I began to get into industrial desert.  There would be places with a couple of tanks and a tall pipe and a torch at the top of the pipe.  Sometimes there were five or six in sight, well separated.  Then I began to see signs about pipeline construction.  Then the truck traffic got very heavy.  Huge tankers and oversized loads.  The town of Pecos TX seems to be at the center of the activity.  Stopped for gas at a convenience store with restaurant and the place was full of construction workers.  Then the traffic got very heavy, with business sites every mile or two.  There was trash all along the sides of the road.  The road was in bad shape from all the heavy traffic.  Not a nice trip at all.

Fifteen miles from Carlsbad I began to see snow!  And, it was fifty degrees.  Here in Carlsbad you see dirty piles where they plowed.  I guess they got a good amount.

Not at all sure where I'm going from here.

Yesterday I drove to the other end of the park.  That is Boquillas Canyon and Rio Grande Village.
I would move there tomorrow and stay a few days except I need to do some legal work that needs services not available here in the park.  Not sure what the problem was, but my 12 volt system is working fine. A great relief.

I have always loved being in the desert.  This place is fantastic.  When I was a teenager I made many trips into the Mojave.  This trip has brought back many good memories.  You have never seen the night sky until you look up while in an isolated part of the desert.  I would like to come back and kayak much of the Rio Grande in the park. I'm not equipped well enough to do that this trip.
Also I'd like to have a smaller vehicle, jeep or toyota.  The unimproved roads are pretty rough on a full size pickup.

These pictures are of the Rio Grande in Boquillas Canyon.  The other side of the river is Mexico.  I can see where the first people to find this place would have thought it was heaven.  The hunting would have been good, and farming too.  Not many enemies would be able to get to you through the surrounding desert.

An interesting situation:

110 power is out. For the park, restaurant, and maybe the town. And for some unknown reason my 12 volt system is not working. And, I can't pack up and leave because we are having a windstorm and aliners are not good at folding or unfolding in high winds. I'm glad I have lots of bedding, including a sleeping bag. 2.5 gals of drinking water. I'm going to have to try to start the frig on propane. Haven't had much luck with that, up to now. Also I left my electric meter at home, so have no way of checking wiring. Still going to try some stuff. Heat is my big problem.

Four hours later the power came back on. In the meantime I find my 12 volt system does not work the way it should. That means I have to have 110 power wherever I stay. Without it I have no heating system and the refrigerator does not work. I may be able to get the frig working on propane. We'll see about that.

Did laundry today. One of the interesting things traveling the way I do is the people you meet. While doing laundry I had a long talk with a guy who works in a marina in Maryland during the summer and then does what he pleases when that closes down. He is currently traveling around the country on a dirt bike. This is the perfect place for that.

Another guy lives here and makes his living trapping bees. He has hives and occasionally gets a hive that way. His major income is from killing africanized bees. A major problem here. There were four deaths this past season.

Tomorrow I plan to see the other end of the park. Sunday will be a cleaning and packing up day.
 Leave on Monday.

Hooray! Frig is working on propane.  Really helps to wait until after dark to light it.  I can't see the pilot light in daylight.  Without the frig I would be eating most of my meals in restaurants.  Now if I have to live without 12 volt power I can.  I have a battery powered lantern, and a sleeping bag with extra blankets.  Cooking can be done with just the propane.  I'll miss the microwave and toaster oven, but can live without if I'm just traveling.

Big Bend RV and Adventures campground at Terlingua, Texas

Four hundred plus miles from Concan.  The drive finally felt like an adventure, even though it was exhausting.  The countryside was what I think of when I picture the southwest.  The first part was the hill country where I stayed.  High steep hill a quarter to a half mile away from the road.  Many groves of oak.  Dry washes everywhere.

Then I passed through the town of Uvalde and headed west.  Almost immediately the countryside was flat, with gulleys.  Vegetation was bushes every eight to ten feet, every now and then a cactus or a Yucca.  Once in a mile there would be a gate with the name of a ranch and a road leading away from the highway.  Sometimes you could see a house in the distance.  These are supposed to be cattle ranches, but on the entire trip I saw not one steer.  This is big sky country.  As I would top a rise I could see for many miles.  I'm certain that at times I could see mountains a hundred miles away.  I know that at times I was looking into Mexico.

After a couple of  hundred miles of that I entered what I would call canyon country.  Steep descents into canyons and then climbs out.  Lots of cliffs.  Where the highway would cut through hills the rock walls had layers that had been cut away by the wind so that the wall looked like a venetian blind.  The soil ranges from reddish brown to white.  I passed the Amistad National Recreation Area.  This is a huge reservoir.  From what I could see it was totally uninteresting.  For some reason plants don't grow next to the water.  So it's just dirt and then water.

Then I got to the town of Marathon and turned south.  Now it was high desert with mountains, mostly dirt and cactus.

Now I'm in the Big Bend National Park area.  Many steep, barren cliffs.  Very beautiful.  Today I just rested and did a little shopping.  Took a few pictures.  I'm going to take many more while I'm here.

Staying at Bec's campground in Comcan, TX.  This is a really beautiful area.  High, steep hills with deep valleys between.  Lots of live oak and scrub brush.  Driving around you see many signs, "road may flood",  "flood level" with a pole with foot markings up to 5 feet.

I went geocaching today, found three.  The drive was very interesting.  Up and down, and around those hills.  Saw a dead wild boar.

This is the cleanest campground I've stayed at.  Showers and toilets spotless, with plenty of room.

Goose Island, Lamar, TX
A dramatic campsite just a few feet from Matamoros Bay.  I'd love to be able to explore the whole park by bike and go kayaking around the island.  Unfortunately the weather has not cooperated.  Cold (50,s), windy, overcast.  Last night the camper rocked all night from heavy winds.
Plus, the camp wifi is horrible.  The camp won't let me use vpn for privacy and the connection is never solid.  So, I think I'll leave earlier than I planned and head further south.  We'll see.

Yesterday I found four geocaches.  One was at a location where there is a 1000 year old, massive live oak tree.  Never would have gone to look if there was no cache.  Glad I did.