Category Archives: Jim

photo of The View at Seminole Canyon

The Wildflowers of Seminole Canyon State Park

Teardrop Trail Log: March 23, 2016

We stayed in Seminole Canyon State Park our first night out, and found there had been recent rain in the high desert. That, combined with the time of year (late March) led to a profusion of wildflowers — the best I have ever seen in the arid Texas landscape. Marilyn and I spent a couple of pleasant hours photographing what we saw.

The light was perfect too. Many of the photos were taken less than an hour before sunset — the Magic Light that photographers love …

photo of The Golden Hour in Seminole Canyon

The Golden Hour in Seminole Canyon

Hiking in the Chisos

Photo of The Window Mountain Gap

The Window

Teardrop Trail Log: March 25, 2016

The Chisos Mountains form the core of Big Bend National Park, and have some of the most striking scenery. After driving in the day before and stopping briefly at the Park Headquarters near the Chisos, we decided to start by exploring them. It was about a 45 minute drive from our Study Butte campground, and we arrived in the late morning.

Photo of Chisos Mountains Visitors Center

The Visitors Center

There is a Visitors Center and a small store, along with a restaurant and guest housing located at the end of the road, and a 15-minute walk previews the main attraction: The Window. This geographic feature is formed by a gap between two of the mountains, and looks out over the western part of the park.

The short walk was a great tease, and after having a bite of lunch, we got some last-minute advice in the Visitors Center, filled our water bottles, and headed out on the Chisos Basin Loop — a little less than a two mile hike. We figured it would take about 2 hours.

Photo of Chisos Basin Loop Trail

The Chisos Basin Loop Trail

Listed as “moderate” difficulty, it was more of a challenge than we expected. There is quite a bit of vertical variation on the trail, and with the roughly 5000 foot elevation, I was noticing my lack of conditioning. Never mind — it’s a great hike.

The Window comes in and out of view on the trail, and you also get to see the back side of another feature: Casa Grande. I had a lot of fun taking pictures, and we both got some great images. We got back to the Visitors Center about 4.

Photo of Casa Grande in the Chisos Mountains

Casa Grande from the Chisos Basin Loop Trail

The Law West of the Pecos

Teardrop Trail Log: March 23, 2016

Not long after leaving Seminole State Park on our way to the Big Bend, we spotted a sign for Lantry, Texas. The Mothman had mentioned it, and Marilyn remembered that it was the home of Judge Roy Bean. Another sign mentioned a museum and we decided to see what was there.

I didn’t expect much, and the town itself looked abandoned. Some of the Adobe buildings had caved in, but there was a modern-looking building that advertised free admission to the Judge Roy Bean Museum across the street from the Langtry Post Office. Worth a look.

Inside, it turned out to be a Texas Pecos Trail visitor center, and had a small but well-curated exhibition. With a large glass case containing several artifacts, including the original Texas Statute Book he used, and several dioramas, there was plenty to capture our interest.

 

photo of The Jersey Lilley Saloon Bar

The Jersey Lilley Saloon Bar

 

Outside, you can tour the original Jersey Lilly Saloon, preserved where it stood. The “Opera House” (the Judge’s home) is a short distance away and is also open for inspection.

A beautiful cactus garden is part of the museum as well. With a well-preserved 19th-century Eclipse Windmill at it’s center, it a nice way to stretch the limbs.

photo of windmill

The Eclipse Windmill and Cactus Garden

 

Some of the ruined buildings in town turn out to have belonged to the Judge’s contemporaries and the state historical markers make for a good history lesson of Langtry and it’s original inhabitants. A great stop for the history buff!

 

photo of ruined house

The William H. Dodd House

 

The Lady and The Ambassador 

 

photo of car with trailer

They Pave the Way

Teardrop Trail Log: March 24, 2016

We’ve never named our car or teardrop. Prior to working with our friends on the Tiny House, it didn’t seem like much of an issue. They name all their vehicles however (the tiny house has been named Pandora — for all the reasons you can imagine) and it suddenly seemed like a good idea to christen ours as well. Trouble is, our vehicles do not have troublesome or quirky characteristics to help suggest a name.

So now we’re on this epic trip to Big Bend National Park in Texas. We stayed last night in the Seminole Canyon State Park (look for other posts on that) and today we continued to Big Bend. We’ve noticed on other trips that the teardrop generates interest, and by now we’ve come to expect a visitor or two inquiring how we like it, how much did it cost, can we see inside, etc, and have learned our teardrop is the best way to meet our campground neighbors. Last night was no different. One of our neighbors struck up a conversation around the teardrop, and suddenly we had two new good friends. Jim (good name, that) and his wife Suzanne are from Indiana, and he’s a wildlife photographer. Specifically, he is interested in moths and calls himself “The Moth Man.” They were going into Langtry, Texas last night to try for some specific moths that are native to the area.
Today, we stopped in Langtry ourselves — the home of Judge Roy Bean, the The Law West of the Pecos. Interesting place, but while we were touring the adjoining cactus garden (amazing!), I had a conversation with another guest who was interested in our teardrop. He was from Minnisota, and had noticed my Case/IH hat. Another pleasant encounter with a total stranger.

Later today, when we stopped for gas in Sanderson, Texas, we were approached by yet another curious person. Ed and his wife split their time between Sanderson and Rochester, New York, and wanted to know all the standard stuff about teardrops. Of course Marilyn spent 17 years living there, so we were off and running with a new friend.

While driving away from Uncle’s (the station in Sanderson), Marilyn commented on what a good ambassador our teardrop was — and we realized he’d been named. Shortly after, I realized that the Mazda has been such a good and reliably comfortable car on our trips — and not without her own bit of flash — that she was a real lady.

So now we have names for them both: The Lady and the Ambassador.

The Storm

Storm Wall near Plains, Kansas

Storm Wall near Plains, Kansas

Jim, June 24:

We’re tooling along in Kansas, and travel was filled with the joys of using the old atlas and The Girl for navigation. Paper meets high tech. Hot, Sunny and miles of flat, straight road ahead. The only thing to break up the monotony was a construction zone with very aggressive rumble strips to slow down the traffic. Normally we wouldn’t have noticed. But then, passing cars and trucks began waving and gesturing to us. “Oh, look, more teardrop fans!”, “Isn’t it fun that we seem to be attracting attention with our cool trailer!?”

rear view galley lid check

rear view galley lid check

Then Marilyn looked into her rear view mirror and noticed that the galley hatch was up. Hmmm. Perhaps we’re not as cool as we thought. Everyone was trying to tell us about the lid. *quiet chagrin*. We stopped and corrected the problem, and it became her job to periodically check on the galley hatch.

I’ve been through Kansas many times, and it’s normally quite dull, so I wasn’t expecting what I saw next. Out my side window, was one of the blackest skies I’ve seen recently with the clear indication of a wall cloud. Severe Weather! In other circumstances, I might have just tried to outrun the coming storm, but we were towing a small, light-weight trailer. On it’s first trip. Although it looks airworthy, I didn’t really want to try it. We needed shelter! Plains, Kansas wasn’t too far, and we could see a large grain elevator. We drove into town, headed straight for the elevator, and hunkered down. We had enough cell service to use our iPhones, and Dark Skies and Weather Bug gave us radar views of the storm. We spent the next hour in torrents of rain and blustery winds, but fortunately nothing worse.

Holiday Inn, McPherson, Kansas

Holiday Inn, McPherson, Kansas

We decided we could make McPherson, Kansas that night, and after a near rain-out the night before, and a near miss by a violent storm, we were feeling a little moist and beleaguered. The McPherson Holiday Inn would be just fine.

Road Trip Eats

Dairy Queen, Stratford, Texas

Dairy Queen, Stratford, Texas

Marilyn, June 24

What’s a road trip without road food – right? We drove across the flat landscape at the top of the Panhandle and pulled into Stratford, just a stone’s throw away from the Oklahoma line. The water tower and the massive bank of grain elevators, called the tin man and silos dominated the skyline and across the highway was unmistakable sign for DQ, a comforting sight in the middle of nowhere. Dairy Queen held special memories for me. As a child in Eldorado, Texas we used to pile in the car and go for soft-serve cones during the hot summers. Jim pulled into the parking lot, we opened the door and indulged in the familiar sights, sounds and tastes. In addition to the DQ menu, there was Orange Julius, another memory from childhood. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Ahhhh…..

 

 

On the Road Again

Teardrop Leaving Palo Duro

Teardrop Leaving Palo Duro

Mirror Shot

Mirror Shot

Jim, June 24:

Loaded up, ready to go. Having arrived in the dark, we didn’t get to see much of the park, so we took a little time to sight-see before hitting the road. Beautiful place, well worth a trip back. It’s on our list for a dedicated trip. The campsites are in the canyon, and the canyon isn’t visible from the park entrance. I’m sure lots of folks drive by on the highway and never realize there is something really special just a few minutes away. It also means that it takes 20-30 minutes of twisty-windy roads to get into or out of the camp sites. Great sightseeing.

Interstate Vista

Interstate Vista

After leaving the canyon, we passed through Amarillo (with a successful stop for Starbuck’s!) before getting back on the road. Several hours of straight and flat travel lay ahead.

… And the Rain Came.

Marilyn, June 24:

Camp Palo Duro in the Rain

Camp Palo Duro in the Rain

The sky turned from overcast to a full-fledged downpour as we finished breakfast under the canopy. Water started to collect and reshape the shelter. It was time to break camp and pack up as puddles collected around the campsite. Each time we pushed up on the canopy, large amounts of water ran off. We had to disassemble the kitchen as quickly as we could. Stashing the stove in the hatch. The two plastic totes with fold-over lids I had used for condiments and larger items had filled with water. We folded the wet chairs and forced them into stuff sacks. Wet items were thrust into garbage bags. As we loaded the trailer with all our wet gear, it became apparent that we needed a plan to deal with rain. We did our best to dry off and hopped in the Mazda to depart.

A Canyon Breakfast

 

Breakfast in Palo Duro

Breakfast in Palo Duro

Jim, June 24:

Although the sunrise was beautiful, the sky was mostly overcast and it wasn’t long before it started to rain. I quickly set up the canopy so we could enjoy breakfast, and Marilyn made short work of preparing the food. As was clear from the mocha incident of the day before, I care about my coffee. Most coffee that is available on the road is pretty poor, so we travel with an Italian stovetop espresso maker. We also carry a supply of dark roast sumatra from Anderson’s Coffee in Austin (best in the city!) They work great on camp stoves and I set out brewing my morning espresso. Add Bacon, Eggs, Toast, and Jam, and you have a breakfast that is a far cry from the chuckwagon of olden days!

 

Breakfast and Coffee

Breakfast and Coffee