Day 17 (March 17) Breezing to Van Horn, Texas

Wind decided to give us a lift for a change -- we left El Paso on a frontage road paralleling Hwy 10, and found ourselves having lunch in a ramshackle cafe east of Esperanza, 70 miles from our start. And that despite stopping earlier to fix a flat in Bob's tire.

A Texas state trooper (driving a hot Mustang --very tricky) had also stopped for lunch and was fascinated by our itinerary and diversity of types of bicycles.  Police have a very obvious presence in this part of Texas, from troopers in Mustangs to sheriff deputies in white Broncos.  Also we could observe the border patrols flying along dirt roads just to the south, leaving long trails of dust as they surveyed the fence boundary with Mexico.  Heading toward Van Horn, we saw far more law enforcement on our frontage road than any other traffic, even a horse trailer empty beside the road because the mounted officers were somewhere out in the bush. All have been friendly -- even when stopped at a border checkpoint, we found the officers more interested in the bikes than in sniffing out any possible wrongdoing on our part.

We entered the Central Time Zone, then dropped into Van Horn, a small but sprawling town among dry hills. Our distance for the day was 125 miles.  After dinner at Chuy's (self-described as one of John Madden's favorite stops) we retired, hoping for another 100 day tomorrow.

                           31* 2' 15" N / -104* 50' 55" W

Day 18 -- rain & ice on the way to Marfa

Light rain and temperatures in the mid-30s greeted us as we woke Tuesday for our ride out of Van Horn, TX, heading south for Alpine 100 miles away.  Cold winds and a steady uphill slowed us to 13 mpn, and a couple flat tires changed in the rain slowed us further. The hills to either side of the valley were dusted with snow -- down to ground level.  We heard from a State Patrol officer that ice had been reported on the road some miles ahead, and we found it.

The road was straight.  Many times we could see roadside power poles stretching in a line disappearing over the horizon far ahead -- and lo0king back, we could see them disappearing over that horizon too, at distances perhaps reflecting the curvature of the earth itself.

We stopped for lunch in Valentine, but there were  no cafes still in operation -- all shuttered-- so we had peanut butter sandwiches and headed on.  Most drivers were courteous and a few waved, but there were the one or two who came as close as possible-- inches-- (though there were no oncoming cars to worry about) while we fixd flats, intentionally showering us with spray from the road.

On the other extreme, in Marfa stocking up in a market, an elderly lady stopped to ask about the trip and when told we were heading for Florida she smiled but said she was worried for us, and would pray that night -- and promptly gave us a hug, although we were very wet.

Dinner at the Hotel Paisano -- headquarters for the film crew who shot the Rock Hudson/ James Dean/ Elizabeth Taylor classic "Giant." (This area was also featured in "No Country for Old Men" and "Blood Rising" although you wouldn't know it in the cold drizzle we faced.) We called it a day at 74 miles and stayed the night at The Thunderbird Motel.

                                                               30* 18' 28" N / -104* 1' 36" W