I guess I AM a chicken after all....or, the longest 6-hour drive ever

This morning, I left Boulder to drive to Moab, Utah. What an absolutely gorgeous drive that was. I-70 from Denver through the Rocky Mountains is spectacular. I drove over Loveland Pass on the Continental Divide, at around 11000 feet. Then I descended somewhat, and I drove through some of the most spectacularly green mountains I could have possibly imagined. West of Vail, I drove through Glenwood Canyon, which was incredibly green and lush with sheer rocky faces on either side of the canyon and the Colorado River running down the center. It was spectacular. I stopped there for an hour or so and chatted on the phone with my friend Dave in Boston. We had a really nice talk, and I liked taking the break from driving and having good conversation in a beautiful locale. After all, I figured I had plenty of time to get to Moab, right?

When I got back into my car, my GPS said I'd arrive in Moab at 5:30. No problem. I continued onward, into the Utah desert, and then I turned off I-70 to Utah 191, just like the GPS said to. I was TEN MINUTES from my hotel, when traffic came to a sudden and complete halt; a car about 10-15 vehicles ahead had caught fire (I took pictures, above)!

After waiting there for 30 minutes or so, we figured we weren't going to be able to pass for a while, so several people decided to leave the main road and take a 4WD road just parallel to the highway. Janie did so great!!!! We drove up these crazy inclines, through some sand pits, and over some boulders -- and she handled it like a champ. (The second picture was taken from a hill on the 4WD road -- you can see the traffic jam on the freeway to the right of the photo.) Unfortunately, the road became VERY dicey (super-steep decline over some large boulders), and so the group basically decided it wasn't a good idea to keep going. So we turned back, and tried to take another path. Well, that one took us through a wash, and a VW van got stuck in the sand -- and Janie towed her out!!! I'm so proud of my little Jeep!

So here's the deal: some guys on 4-wheelers drove up the other way through the wash, and they said that my Jeep could definitely drive through it, but recommended that the other folks in SUVs not try it. So no one in the group decided to do it. Which left me with a decision: to test Janie's mettle by myself, or to abort the mission. And I decided to abort. I feel a little lame about that choice; after all, it would have been an adventure, and I have a car that's meant for that type of terrain. But I ultimately decided not to be a hero, and so I followed the rest of the group back.

When we got back to the highway, it was still stopped completely. So instead of waiting in the crowd, I drove back UP 191 for 17 or so miles to I-70, went back the way I came for another 20 or so miles, then turned south down highway 128, which takes you to Moab. I don't know why my GPS didn't take me that way, in the first place; it's east, so it's closer to Denver. And it was GORGEOUS. It travels along the Colorado river, and the scenery is spectacular....much better than on 191.

I finally made it to my hotel -- at 7:30 pm. Wow...the supposed 6-hour drive took 9 1/2 hours overall. Screw doing yoga in my motel room; I need beer, instead.

Denver and Boulder

On Monday, I flew from Atlanta to Denver. It was incredibly windy when I arrived. I had to walk out to my car, parked in the economy lot, and it was in section W (i.e., all the way to the far end). I walked it with my two bags, right through a headwind. It took me 20 minutes, and when I arrived at my car, I had dust, rocks, and all sorts of schmutz all over me.

Anyway, Sharon and David, my cousins in Denver, recommended that I spend a couple of hours at High Tea at the Brown Palace Hotel in downtown Denver. I've only ever done High Tea once before, in New Orleans a year ago. But this time, instead of appearing in a dress and looking cute, I appeared in jeans and sandals, with my hair blown into a rat's nest and dust all over my face. Fortunately, the folks at the Brown Palace didn't scold me too badly, and I enjoyed scones, clotted cream, tea, and pastries, all while listening to a harpist. The hotel is gorgeous, with a stained glass roof so that the light shines down onto the atrium where the tea is held. As much as I might be tempted to make fun of such a "ladies who lunch" type of event, I have to admit, it is a lovely way to spend an afternoon....

Later that day, I met up with David and Sharon. They are always so much fun, and this visit was no exception. I stayed with them for two days, and I had a wonderful time seeing them and re-meeting their children, Rachel and Jacob, who are now 30 and 27, respectively. (The last time I saw them, they were 16 and 13!)

I also went to Lookout Mountain yesterday, to the Buffalo Bill Museum. Although I was doubtful at first, I must admit it was pretty interesting. I never knew (a) that Buffalo Bill was a performer, (b) that he performed with Sitting Bull, (c) that he discovered and performed with Annie Oakley, (d) that he died impoverished due to poor business dealings -- even though his Wild West act performed all over North America and Europe and made him a fortune, and (e) that there was controversy regarding where he should be buried. (He apparently stated that he wanted to be buried at Lookout Mountain, but the folks of Cody, Wyoming wanted him buried there, since he founded that community.) His grave is on Lookout Mountain, and after his wife died and was buried there too, they covered the entire gravesite with concrete so that the folks from Wyoming couldn't come and steal the body....

I also never knew that he originally was awarded a Medal of Honor for his work as an army scout during the Indian Wars, but that it was later rescinded because he was not in the military! Even more interesting, though -- the medal was then reinstated years and years after his death.

The pictures above were all taken at Lookout Mountain. The first is the plaque at Buffalo Bill's gravesite. The second and third were taken during a walk that I took after leaving the museum, and just show the view from the mountain. The final picture shows Golden, Colorado in the foreground (you can see the Coors plant between the two mesas), with Denver in the background.

Today I left Denver and drove to Boulder. I took a hike this morning with Karen (a friend of Barbara's, my yoga teacher, who offered to house me here in Boulder), and then we went to a yoga class. This afternoon, I went to the Pearl Street Mall and wandered around all the shops and restaurants, and just enjoyed seeing the city. Boulder has some reminders of Austin, for sure (think dreadlocks, multiple piercings, baja shirts, and lots and lots of weed), but has many upscale shops and art galleries amidst the crystal/smoke/Nepalese shops. Oh, and mountains. Can't forget the mountains....

Just one disppointment, which is not unique to Boulder: here I was, in this incredibly picturesque scenery, among all these interesting independent stores, and what did I find? The Cheesecake Factory. And Old Chicago, Chico's, Ben & Jerry's, Haagen-Dazs, Paradise Bakery, Starbucks, Prana, and Patagonia. Why, oh why, must there be chain stores and restaurants everywhere? Is no town allowed to be unique anymore? So sad.

Hiatus Week!

So last week was my one planned hiatus for my trip so far. I went to a wedding in New Orleans, but I also had a doctor's appointment scheduled in Atlanta.

So on Tuesday, I left Colorado Springs and flew to Atlanta. I had my doctor's appointment (and a haircut) on Wednesday, spent some time with friends and got some well-needed rest in my own bed, and then on Friday, flew to New Orleans.

Friday night, a friend of a friend met me in New Orleans. We went out for dinner and drinks, and then we went to Harrah's Casino where I got my first Texas Hold 'Em lesson! The next day, I went to Mark and Charlotte's wedding. Mark is an old friend of mine, from before college (we grew up in different towns in Texas, but met at All-State Band), and then we were in Plan II together at UT (That's Texas, not Tennessee, BTW). We've remained friends ever since, and I really like Charlotte, his new wife.

The wedding was beautiful, and the reception was fabulous. It was held at Latrobe's on Royal in the French Quarter, and the music, dancing, and liquor flowed freely for many hours. Better than that, though, was the fact that Mark and Charlotte looked so incredibly happy. I met many interesting people that night: friends of Mark's from college, and from his PhD program at Berkeley, friends of his from his living in Europe, and many of his colleagues, both American and European. I also met Charlotte's family, and they are as warm and friendly as she is. It was an outstanding crowd, and I really enjoyed everyone there.

Saturday night, I went out to dinner at Napoleon House, and then had drinks at the Carousel Bar, with Denise and Brent, two other UT grads, and with Kerry, a friend of Mark's from Paris -- and now I have new connections for my travels, which is great.

On Sunday, I flew back to Atlanta for one night, and spent the evening with Keith, a new friend who is house-sitting for me while I'm out of town. I'm really grateful that I met him -- he's taking great care of the house, and he's going to be a friend of mine for a long, long time.

So that's it -- Hiatus Week! It was really nice. Now, it's back to the road.

The Lesson of the Long Weekend

On Friday, I left Gunnison and drove to Colorado Springs. I drove over the Continental Divide at Monarch Pass, which was pretty amazing. It was snowing up there, and I stopped many, many times to take pictures and to look at the scenery from up there. I've included a picture here, of the eastern view of the pass. Even with the snow, it was so quiet and peaceful up there.

Unfortunately, the weather all day on Friday was pretty bad, and the drive to Colorado Springs was no picnic. In fact, the fog was so dense about 15 miles before Colorado Springs that I finally just pulled off the side of the road, stopped for a coffee, and read a book for a while. But I finally made it to Dax and Amethyst's house.

I went to medical school with Dax and Amethyst, and I must admit that I haven't been the greatest about keeping in touch. I last saw them when they were both doing fellowships in Houston, which was many years ago now. But now they live in Colorado Springs, and they have two children, a 6 year-old boy named Alex (actually, he's "six and three-quarters!"), and a 4 year-old girl named Dara. And one super-athletic dog, Starbuck, who has this insatiable drive to play fetch. Literally. All day and all night.

So I lived with a family for several days. And it was fun! The basic rundown was as follows:

• Friday, I had dinner with Amethyst while Dax and the kids went to birthday party #1.
• Saturday, Alex and Dax had soccer game #1 at 8am, and then we ate pancakes and played for a while. Amethyst and I did a little shopping, and then got home so that Alex and Dax could go to soccer game #2 at 4pm (Dax is the coach). Then that evening, Amethyst took the kids to birthday party #2, and Dax and I drove around Colorado Springs and went to dinner.
• Sunday, Dax made us crepes for breakfast, and then he took me out for a spin in his new car, a fully-electric Tesla convertible (pretty fabulous, especially since the weather was beautiful that day). Then we all went to Manitou Springs to do a little wandering around. We came back that afternoon and I stayed home with Dara while she napped, and Amethyst and Dax went to Alex's soccer game #3. That night, we ate supper at their house, and after the kids went to bed, the adults watched Avatar.
• Monday, I took Janie in for her annual well-check (really, her 12,000 mile checkup), and then I took the Cog Railway up to Pike's Peak! Then, last night, I had dinner with the family, we put the kids to bed, and then the adults hung out in the hot tub for an hour or so, and caught up with where our classmates were now, and what they were doing.

First of all, Colorado Springs is beautiful. Dax and Amethyst live just north of Garden of the Gods, which is this amazing rock formation which spreads north/south through town. I have a picture of it here, with Pikes Peak in the background.

Now, as to Pikes Peak: I was not prepared for the weather on the peak. Despite the fact that it was 65 degrees in Colorado Springs, it was only 22 degrees up on the peak, and with a bit of a wind, too (16 degrees with the wind chill). I was not dressed appropriately, with my sandals and lightweight jacket on. I was pretty cold up there, for sure. But secondly (and more embarrassingly), I could tell that I was kind of goofy up there at 14110 feet! I went to the restroom, and somehow, couldn't figure out quite how to pull back up my underpants -- they seemed to be turned around somehow! Now, mind you, it's not like I have trouble with this in my regular life, so the fact that even using the restroom seemed confusing made me realize just how wacky I was up there. It made me think about Jon Krakauer's book about the Mount Everest disaster Into Thin Air, and about how everyone was so confused, even as to who each person was. Trust me, I got a clear visual of how this would be possible, as I stood there, unable to figure out my own underpants....

Anyway, it was a very mellow weekend, overall. I did a little sightseeing, but no hiking and no yoga. I took naps on both Saturday and Sunday. And I played with Alex and Dara and with Starbuck, watched a movie, and hung out in the hot tub. And laughed a lot. It was really nice.

It got me thinking about what this trip is really supposed to be. On the one hand, it's the opportunity to really see the country, to sightsee, hike, be active, take pictures, and get into adventures. On the other hand, it's an opportunity to rest, to relax, to catch up with people with whom I have lost touch, and to explore.

So I'm trying to figure out the balance between the two. And this weekend definitely demonstrated the beauty of slowing down, taking it easy, and being present. I had a really nice time playing with Alex and Dara, and playing fetch for what seemed like hours with Starbuck. I loved my crepe lesson from Dax. I had a wonderful time just chatting with Amethyst. So now I'm trying to figure out how to "do" this trip. Do I:

1) keep running to different places, with the occasional decision to stay in once place for several days? I'll get to see the most this way...

2) change the plan, so that I'm in no more than 1-2 places per state, and therefore able to spend a few days to a week in each place? I'll get to relax more this way, but won't see as many places.

3) stick basically to my itinerary now, but after Alaska, return back into the Southwest, so as to spend more time in the places there that I really liked?

I don't know how to answer all of these questions yet. What I do know, though, is that I really appreciate having time to relax, to talk, to be present, to read, and to think. That I really like being with friends. That I love playing with children. That a simple life can be very fulfilling. That, all this time, I've been wanting something dramatic to happen, when maybe what I need is something simple.

Durango and the Million Dollar Highway -- in the Snow

This morning, I'm in Gunnison, Colorado. I arrived on Tuesday in Durango. Oddly enough, I spent the entire afternoon practically at a Starbucks, because it was the first coffee shop I saw, and I needed a place to hang out for a couple of hours while I waited for Mary Cardin, whom I was supposed to meet and stay with that night.

While I waited there, I met up with Michael Rendon, a friend of my friend Marjorie's, and the mayor of Durango! He's really interesting, and we had a nice long chat before he had to leave to go to a meeting. As soon as he left, Mary showed up and took me for an early dinner with a friend of hers at a local place, Old Tymer's. After dinner, we went back to Mary's place, which is an amazing adobe up in the hills of Durango. She has an incredible roof which we climbed up to, and I was able to see all of the mountains around her home. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera with me onto the roof...

I also got to meet Mary's roommates, Denise and Sheena, who are wonderful and lots of fun. And I took a tour of the house. Mary's husband (who died three years ago) was an amazing artist, and her home is filled with his art, which is all of American Natives. I've included my favorite of his paintings here, but I took pictures of many of them.

Wednesday morning, I met Michael for breakfast at the Durango Diner....was given an enormous plate of food! And again, I had some outstanding conversation with Michael. In addition to being the mayor of Durango, he's also the ringmaster in a local circus! Also, he's traveled the world on $8000, and without taking an airplane. He's a fascinating guy....I'm so glad Marjorie introduced me to him.

I went back to Mary's to do laundry for the first time since I left Dallas (yippee!), and then took a little nap and did some yoga. Then I wandered through downtown Durango, which is really cute....just basically a long street of shops surrounded by mountains. At 5pm, I met Mary, her roommates, and several of her girlfriends for a beer and dinner. Again, Mary and her friends are all really wonderful people, and the conversation went on awhile, even after we arrived back at Mary's house, until about 10pm.

Mary, by the way, is really terrific. She's been through a lot, but she loves every single day, and truly believes that her life is wonderful. It was remarkable to spend a few days with her, and I can see that I have lots to learn from her. We talked quite a bit about my trip, and about my journey (which of course is completely separate from the travel), and she gave me many books to read and many blessings for both the trip and the journey. She was amazing. There's no way for me to summarize my experience there. I owe her many thanks, for her home, for her hospitality, and for sharing her life lessons and her spirit with me.

Yesterday, I had a Skype meeting with Patty, and then I left Durango and headed for Ouray (prounced YOO-ray). It was an interesting drive - about 15 miles north of Durango, it started snowing in the mountains! So here I was, driving one of my first times on some serious mountain roads, and it was snowing reasonably hard (on May 13, mind you). But Janie and her 4-wheel drive did just great. I took some amazing pictures in the snow (didn't include those here, sorry), we arrived in Silverton safely, and then we took the Million Dollar Highway from Silverton to Ouray. The weather was better on the MDH, but the drive was freaky -- on one side of the narrow road is mountain that goes up, up, up -- and on the other side is mountain that goes down, down, down. So in order to avoid careening off the road to my death, I "hugged the mountain" as Denise and Sheena advised me, and drove the speed limit the entire way -- which annoyed some people behind me. Oh well -- they've probably done this drive more often than I have. But it gave me lots of excuses to get off to the side of the road and take pictures, right?

I spent the day in Ouray, the "Switzerland of America". It's a really cute town, elevation 7700 feet. Has basically one main street, with little shops and restaurants. I met a glass-blower in his shop, and he let me come back and watch him work for a while. He's originally from Mississippi, but moved out to Ouray, and now he works every day until 3pm, and the goes climbing every afternoon. I left Ouray around 4pm, and then drove to Gunnison, where I am now.

I actually stayed at the cutest little motel last night, the Alpine Inn. A Polish couple owns it, and they obviously really love what they do. They replaced the countertops in the bathroom with granite, and put a little care package on my bed with toothpastes, vitamins, hot chocolate, all kinds of little things. Really cute. And they do all the work at the motel, too. It's been really nice, so I didn't leave as early this morning as I thought I might....instead, I'm writing this from my little room here, since it's nice and cozy here.

So today, it's on to Colorado Springs, to see my friends Dax and Amethyst from medical school. Another report later!

Santa Fe, Taos, and two Catholic churches

I've spent the past few days in New Mexico. After leaving Cloudcroft, I drove to Santa Fe. By the time I got to my hotel, unpacked, found a place to stay in Taos, and then went to the Plaza in Santa Fe, most of the shops were closed, boo hoo. But at least I ate fabulous New Mexican style food at the Coyote Cafe's rooftop cantina. The only problem with it was, that the only available seats were outside, and it was cold! I had no idea that Santa Fe would get so chilly in the evenings....it was in the low 50s, and the sunset was just happening. Turns out, it got into the mid-40s overnight.

Sunday morning was Mother's Day. I woke up and went to a yoga class from 10-12. It was pretty great, actually. I needn't have worried that I'd look like an idiot (those of you who know me, know I do this, right?) Anyway, it was really good. I came home, showered and changed, spoke to my family, and then headed out for the plaza. It was nice, just wandering around, not having to drive that day. I saw the St. Francis Cathedral, which was beautiful, and just wandered through some of the galleries and shops. Didn't do any of the museums, though. Next time, I guess. By 7pm, I was completely and totally spent. I went back to my room and crashed -- slept until 10pm! Then ate my leftovers from the night before, and went back to bed at 11pm. I slept until 8 yesterday morning.

Anyway, after I finally dragged my lazy bones out of bed, I packed and left for Taos. I took the "high road", which was amazingly beautiful. One of my earliest stops on this little trek was to the Santuario de Chimayo, which is a little Catholic church on the Chimayo pueblo. It was beautiful...they have a little outdoor chapel, with the river running right behind it, and a few icons (like the Virgin Mary in the photo). I went into a side room, where there was a (somewhat unexpected) statue of a priest blessing a skeleton (the picture is attached). Then I went into the shrine. I couldn't take pictures in there, but there was a mass going on, so I watched quietly from the back for a few minutes. Off to the side of the church, there is a room with "holy dirt" in it. The holy dirt apparently has healing powers. And the room you walk through to get to the holy dirt room is filled....with pictures of the sick, with pictures of military men slain, with baby shoes, with MRI and CT scan pictures of heads and spines, with back braces and head halos, and with an long bar hanging across the top of the room on which many, many crutches are hanging. It was amazing, the evidence of people who've come to the Santuario to be healed. I so wish I had a picture of that room, but photos weren't allowed in there, either.

Anyway, I arrived in Taos and stayed at the cutest little place, the Historic Taos Inn. I wandered around downtown Taos for hours, just looking at all the stores and chatting with the shopkeepers there (by the way, there are some characters in Taos!). But I had some interesting conversations, for sure: the first was with a woman in a crystal shop who tried to convince me to buy a book called "Animal Speak". She said that if you see an animal, you note what thoughts are in your head at the moment you saw the animal, and then you look that animal up in the book, and it tells you "so much about yourself". It was reasonably interesting, I admit -- but I wasn't convinced enough to buy the book.

The second occurred in a batik shop. The owner/artist's name is Gary Fey, and his work is equal parts beautiful, quirky, psychedelic, and just plain odd (he has one batik of a local native man dressed in drag....). He does batik in a nontraditional way -- he stretches the silk on a frame, and then just does the batik on the silk like a painter would paint a canvas. The funniest part, though, was when he made me put on 3-D glasses to look at the batiks. He said he was a 3-D artist and didn't know it, until one day he came to work with 3-D glasses on (!) and noticed that the colors are totally 3-dimensional.

The third occurred last night, while I ate supper at a bar that had some live music. This random guy, older than me, sat at the table with me and started chattin' me up. He had this large photo album with him, of pictures of rock stars and professional athletes he's taken pictures of over the past 30 years. He says he brings the book with him as a "conversation starter". After talking with him, I'm convinced that if one needs a photo album to start conversation, that one is not a particularly good conversationalist....hmmm....

So today I'm off to Durango, Colorado. Looks like my New Mexico adventure is ending, at least for now. But there's something about New Mexico that I really like. It's very casual and friendly, extremely sunny, and it has this soul to it, which I assume comes from the centuries of natives who lived there before long before the white man came. Cool. I like it here.

Carlsbad to Santa Fe

I've had a very interesting past couple of days. Yesterday morning, I got up and went to Carlsbad Caverns. My pictures did not turn out very good, but it was totally fascinating. First of all, the tour begins 75 STORIES below ground! I went on a guided tour of the King's Palace Room, and that was amazing. I learned a lot from the guide. The "Queen's Chamber" and the formation known as "Eternal Kiss" were my favorites from that tour. The tour ended up in the Big Room, which I then did as a self-guided tour. It was absolutely incredible....the formations were unbelieveable, truly. I've attached one here, name unknown, just to show the sheer size of it (by the way, the top of the formation was cut off -- it went several feet higher than the picture shows!). The names for the formations, or speleothems, are interesting: "Fairyland", "Mirror Lake", "Temple of the Sun", "Chinese Theater", "Twin Giants", "Veiled Statue", and "Bashful Elephant" were only a few of them.

After I left Carlsbad Caverns, I drove westward to Cloudcroft, where I stayed overnight at The Lodge at Cloudcroft. The lodge's elevation is 9000 feet, and up there, aspens and evergreens grow, not the desert plants I saw everywhere else. It was really beautiful there.

This morning, I left Cloudcroft and drove to Santa Fe, but I decided to stop at White Sands National Monument first, especially since it's so close to Cloudcroft. It is unbelieveable, really -- white sand dunes as far as the eye can see. I've entitled this picture "Lovers at White Sands".

So finally, I'm in Santa Fe, and I'm here for a couple of days, which is really nice. Since I'm not driving tomorrow, I've decided to take a yoga class, at Yoga Source, from 10am to noon. For those in the know, Tias Little founded the studio and usually teaches that class, but he won't be teaching it tomorrow. (I've never met him, just heard about him from afar....) Could be fun, could be scary! But I'll never know unless I try, right?

Janie and I are leaving the itinerary behind....

Well, I did it. I've left the itinerary. I knew that I probably would, because it was quite ambitious, but I was strangely comforted by the structure of it. But yesterday it became impossible to follow, and now, I'm officially off of it, save for one hotel reservation in Cloudcroft, NM, which I made for tomorrow night.

Yesterday morning, I left Big Bend, and drove along the "River Road", which goes west from the park along the Rio Grande. It was a gorgeous drive. There's a picture attached; amazing how lush and green the desert is near the river. That's Mexico to the left of the river, by the way.

At Presidio, TX, I drove northward to Marfa, which is this tiny little town in the middle of nowhere which has turned into this major artist colony. I saw the Chinati Foundation, a contemporary art museum in Marfa. It's so surprising, given the small town in the middle of the West Texas mountains! The museum is housed in many, many buildings, an old army fort, actually....it took 2 hours to see just half of the exhibit (the other half is only viewed in the morning, so I missed it).

That afternoon, I drove to Fort Davis, TX, to see the McDonald Observatory. Unfortunately, they weren't doing an evening show last night, so I just stayed in town. I stayed in a gorgeous little cottage called the Butterfield Inn....the only weird part were the Cowboy Ten Commandments hanging in my room.

This morning, I went to the Observatory finally, and took a very cool tour of the telescopes there, and got to watch the sun live. Unfortunately, the tour took quite a while, and I didn't leave until after 2pm. I bagged Guadalupe Mountains National Park (didn't get to see El Capitan, too bad), but tried to make it to Carlsbad Caverns. No luck....the last tour of the caverns leaves at 3:30, and I didn't arrive until 4:30 mountain time.

Tomorrow, I have this reservation at Cloudcroft Lodge. Otherwise, I'm not sure what's on the agenda yet....Carlsbad Caverns? White Sands National Monument? Both? Neither? Hmmm....

Oh, and I've named the Jeep. Name's Janie.

1st death, and two hikes

What a day it was yesterday. I started the day by leaving Marathon, and driving back to Big Bend. I knew that at some point during this trip, I'd kill an animal on a road somewhere -- but it was surprising when it happened. There was a quail in the middle of the road. It tried to fly away to the left, and so I swerved to the right. But then, in the air, it swerved to the right, too -- right into my car. It flew off the front fender and landed on the highway. I was pretty horrified in general, but then I had thoughts of my ER patients who get hit, and I got a little overwhelmed by the trauma of it all.

When I reached Big Bend, I drove the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive to the Santa Elena Canyon. The road is 30 miles long, and it took about 6 hours for me to drive the entire thing, with stops for views, pictures, and hikes along the way.

I did lots of little walks, but the first "hike" I did for the day was in the Burro Mesa Pouroff. A pouroff is literally a cut in the rock, where all of the rain drains in the area. To get there, you walk through the wash (literally, where the water runs after it pours down the pouroff) for about a mile. It's easy, except that it's a walk in sand; your shoes have nothing to grip. But when you get there, you realize there is NO WAY to see it without doing the hike. And it is HUGE. Really cool.

I did a couple of partial hikes, too: at the Homer Wilson Ranch, which has this tiny little ranch house (no longer used) in the middle of desert and with mountains all around; and at Mule's Ears, which I might have completed except that I really wanted to hike at Santa Elena, and was worried I might not have the time or energy to do it if I finished the hike at Mule's Ears.

But the final 8 miles of the drive are along the Rio Grande River, with some mountains right across the river. The mountains are the Santa Elena Mountains, and part of Mexico. The river along the drive is not very wide, and looks like it's shallow, although who knows if that's true, or not. But I can certainly imagine that people just wade across from Mexico; it looks totally do-able.

Anyway, I drove the length of the road, and ended up at the Santa Elena canyon, the mouth of which is in the picture above. The mountains to the right are the USA; the mountains to the left are Mexico. The hike goes along the mountains on the right (USA), and ends up in the slot canyon known as the Santa Elena Canyon. It is a totally amazing 2 mile hike round trip. The walls of the canyon are 1500 feet high! I saw lots of canoes on the river, too; next time I come here, a canoe trip down the river looks like it would be fun....

Last night, I checked into my hotel at the Chisos Mountain Lodge, which is in the park. My room (called "Emory Peak", for those of you who work with me at Emory) was cute, my dinner was well-deserved and delicious, and then I got to see the most amazing sunset through the "window", a large V-shaped opening between two mountains. I sat outside my room until it was very dark out! And right above me was the Big Dipper, which was cool. But I loved how inky black it was, and how, as my eyes adjusted to the blackness, I could see millions of stars. I could have stayed there forever.

One of the most amazing things out here is that, at first, the desert just looks like, well, desert. But inside this park are some amazing plants -- and the cacti are all in bloom right now! I saw ocatillo, which look like algae in a sea of desert, but stand gangly and green, with little red flowers at the ends; sotol, which has spiny leaves and puts up a woody stalk 10 feet tall each spring; lechuguilla, which is related to agave and puts up a stalk only once in its life, then dies; agave, which puts up a huge stalk that looks like a giant asparagus, then blooms these gorgeous yellow flowers (and then dies); strawberry pitaya, which is a cactus with the cutest magenta flowers; claret-cup cactus, which looks kind of like the pitaya, except its flowers are bright scarlet; prickly pears, which bloom with yellow flowers; and then, the giant diagger yucca, which is a tree out of of the top of which bloom 70 pound (!) stalks with huge white flowers. It's gorgeous, really. I can see why the people who work here love it so much.

Hike #1: Big Bend National Park

Today I finally made it to Big Bend. Wow...you drive through some pretty desolate areas getting to the park. The closest town to the north entrance to the park is Marathon, and it is a full 70 miles to the park headquarters, which is in the center of the park. And that wouldn't be so bad, except that 40 miles into the drive, you hit the actual north entrance, at which time the speed limit drops to a radar-enforced 45 miles per hour. So the 70 mile drive takes about an hour and a half all told, especially since, on the way back from the park to Marathon, there's a border patrol stop which takes some time.

Anyway, I left Odessa this morning around 8am, drove to Marathon to drop off my things at my hotel (the Marathon Motel and RV park!), and then went to Big Bend. I got to the park entrance around 11:30 or so. But then I had to stop at the Visitors Center to pay the entrance fee, drive ANOTHER 30 miles to get to the main headquarters, and then drive to the trailhead for the Lost Mine Trail.

I started the hike around 12:45 or so. The trail starts in the desert, then climbs through low mountain terrain, and then continues to climb into the higher parts of the Chisos Mountains, where the desert completely disappears and woodlands take over. I was warned the hike was quite steep, and was expecting it to be hard; it wasn't. I was walking up nice switchbacks, passing through the markers (there are 24 of them on the trail), looking at the Chisos plants and birds (there are LOTS of both), and enjoying the walk.

Until marker 22. And then, it becomes STEEP. Truly. And windy. Very, very windy. Funny how the hike lures you into complacency until marker 22 of 24; I really thought that this "steep" business was nothing but hooey! I was completely schooled.

But I finally made it to the top, looked over the two canyons you can see from the summit, and ate a nice lunch of PB&J and trail mix up top. Then I walked back down, and couldn't believe how high up I'd been at the top. I completed the hike and returned to my car at 4pm.

Tonight I drove the 1 1/2 hour drive back to Marathon, took a well-deserved shower, and then went to the famous Gage Hotel, where I ate dinner. (It was one of only two restaurants in town open for the evening; and the restaurant is famous, so why not?) My entree and wine were both delicious, but the salad blew me away; it was made of butter lettuce, with thin slices of tomatillo (tangy!), halved grape tomatoes (sweet), thinly sliced chayote squash (cool and crunchy), and then chile-rubbed pepitas on the top (super-spicy). Oh, and a jalapeno vinaigrette to finish it off. It was outstanding. One of the best, and most surprising salads, I've ever had. My kudos to the chef! Unfortunately, the price I paid for such a good dinner was literal -- it cost almost as much as my motel room did.

I have no pictures from today...I left my camera in my purse, but hiked with a pack, so didn't have the camera with me. Took pics of Casa Grande with my phone, but can't figure out how to get them onto the blog yet. Sorry.

Tomorrow, more hiking in Big Bend. For now, well-deserved sleep....

I am NOT a chicken....

I've finally done it. I've left everyone I know behind, and I'm striking out on my own.

Not that the rest of the road trip wasn't real, mind you; it's just that Dallas, Austin, and Houston are all cities in which I've lived, and I have family and friends in all three places. I stayed with people I knew well in all three cities, and so it was easy and comfortable.

Speaking of which, Houston was really nice; I got to see my friends Michael and Renee, and their son Anthony; and my friends Barry and Elena, and their children, Noah, Ariel, and Maya. I got to see all of my former apartments, Baylor College of Medicine, the Texas Medical Center, and all of the places where I used to study, eat, drink, and play while I was a medical student. And then on Friday, I went back to Dallas, and saw my entire family Friday night. Saturday, I went to the First Communion for my friend Stasi's son (and my godson), Calvin, and spent the afternoon with Stasi's family, which is always really fun.

But today, I left Dallas and headed West.

Mind you, this is a really big deal for me; I rarely, if ever, do anything purely on my own. I usually get about a thousand opinions, weigh them and judge them, make sure my parents approve of my decision, and THEN strike out "on my own", knowing that everyone else has vetted the decision and approved. So this is decidedly different. And I was terrified that I'd leave my parents' house, get in my car, and then wonder where in the world to go! And then become paralyzed by my inability to make a decision without their approval.

I drove from Dallas westward, and am now staying overnight in the thriving metropolis of Odessa, Texas. Considering Midland has 100,000 residents and Odessa has 100,000, I figured it'd be bigger. Or more impressive. Or....something. But out here, I see lots of blue sky, flat land, hardly any trees, and scrubby plants that look like tundra, except that I'm in Texas, not the arctic. Oh -- and lots and lots of actively drilling wells. I stopped in Odessa to find a place to stay, and then I struck out, in search of a restaurant for supper.

First, I stopped at a CVS to pick up some things I needed, and I asked the cashier where there were some good places to eat. He recommended I go to the west part of town, to Chili's and the other big restaurants. Hmmm. I drove 350 miles....to eat at a chain? I don't think so....

So I drove south on Andrews Highway, back toward my hotel, when I encountered this Mexican restaurant that had TONS of cars in front of it. It's called Ajuaa's, and it was PACKED, even at 6pm on a Sunday. Whew. At least, on my first day completely on my own, I didn't chicken out and go to a chain, but determinedly found a local restaurant.

Tomorrow I head to Big Bend National Park. It's actually another 4-1/2 hours away from Odessa. Given that I drove for 6 hours today counting stops, that'll put me at 11 hours driving -- and I'll still be in Texas! But after being on I-20 all day today, which was incredibly boring, I'm looking forward to some scenery, and some pictures for this blog. Until then....