On to Big Bend... still

As we continued on... and on... and on... on Texas' highways, we were almost positive we would run out of gas before reaching the next town big enough to support a gas station. The scenery along these roads to Big Bend are gorgeous but the lack of fuel was becoming a source of concern. Then we reached Fort Davis.

This tiny town had a gas station (yay!) and a bonus: Fort Davis National Historic Site. This is one of those places that most people don't know about, mainly because they are in isolated areas. I happen to think this is a good thing. Because of its isolation, the area and buildings have not been damaged by careless visitors or vandals. These buildings have been here since the mid 1800s and now, because of the National Parks Service, it is being preserved for future visitors.

Back on the road, refueled and trying to make up lost time, we tackled the last leg of our trek to Big Bend National Park. As the sun began to set, I was startled by 3 javelinas right on the side of the road! I'd never seen javelinas before - not live ones anyway. I wish we'd been able to take pictures but these are not friendly creatures.

On and on, mile after mile we went. Then, after a Border Patrol checkpoint, we decided to take a break on the side of the road. With only one vehicle per hour traffic, it was no problem. Except for the fact that we were still within sight of the Border Patrol shacks... and Dennis had "posed" for the cameras as we went through.

After a quick snack, we were goofing off and laughing like we'd lost our minds, when we saw a Border Patrol wagon heading towards us. That's when Dennis informed us of posing as he rode his bike through the checkpoint. 

 The grinning officer approached and asked if we were ok. We assured him we were and that we would be on our way soon. I think he saw Dennis' pose and came over to see if he was crazy. His supposition seemed to have been confirmed.


Speaking of Border Patrol and the numerous checkpoints we've been through, when we began this trip, Azoica had never driven through one (well, only as a passenger). The first checkpoint she came to, she stopped 5 feet short of the line where the officer was waiting. Then, when she crept up to the line, the officer had to tap on the glass for her to lower the window. He took pity on her and just asked citizenship and sent waved her through.


While this was going on, YoManBob - a seasoned traveler that has been through many checkpoint with us - was just sitting in the passenger seat, waiting to see what would happen. Then, as they were sent on their way, the whole group started laughing and speaking every Spanish word they knew. At our next stop, Dennis and I assured them that, if they were stopped by Border Patrol, they were on their own!


Back to the last checkpoint. This road was so absolutely empty of traffic, we decided to lay across the road. This may have been a good "planking" op but I really dislike that particular fad.

After driving forever on this empty road, we reached the Big Bend National Park...... sign. The Visitor Center was still almost 50 miles away and the campground was another 20 miles after the Visitor Center. sigh 

We seem to have reached the sign just in time for this cool photo, though.