Texas took a while to leave. Not because I love it (though there is some sort of appreciation for it), but because it's so flippin huge. I stayed at Big Bend National for a couple days. Here's a tip for making money when you don't have a job:1. Take a hike to see the sunset regardless of how long it will take on the return journey.
2. Enjoy the moment once you arrive and then head back.
3. On the return journey, run real fast around the bends, kind of like a mountain lion, to get the attention of others.
4. When/If you do in fact run into other hikers let them know that they won't make it to the cliff and get back before it gets real dark and Jurassic park like.
4.5. Don't give the creepy stalker vibe (questions like 'where do you live?' is not a good question)
5. Once you've convinced them to try another day, lead them back to the camp.
6. By the time you return, it should be pretty dark and the folks you are taking back will hopefully be living it large in a big lodge a mile away so it's on you to give them a ride.
7. Do your duty to society and you will most likely make 5 bucks. And even though you insist that it was no hassle, they will demand you leave with money because gas is so darn expensive.
- Guadalupe Mountains was my next stop after Big Bend. Good couple of days. I met a handful of people from Austin, TX (the greatest city in the world at this point in my life) and camped around Guadalupe Peak. I made a wrong turn on the trail (carry a map, James) I was supposed to take and I didn't want to turn around so I ended up at the top of the mountain and the hike sucked but the time up there was amazing. William Least Heat-Moon would be so proud of me. I chilled with a couple from Austin, saw a mule deer, looked for a bottle of wine buried 14 years ago on that very peak, and talked about life with the first people I've met since leaving SA all on the highest point in Texas. The night was pretty much the coldest night I've ever slept in outside. Maybe I should have taken a sleeping bag to the top (You're an idiot aren't you James?). All in all a good time had by all.
Lately I've been doing a lot of driving. Some of the places I've stayed the last few days rival some previous places I've slept in regards to "stupid" and "unsafe", but my grandkids will be proud. Or at least somebody's grandkids will be proud and impressed (Hopefully, for the survival of my ego of course). I'm hoping to slow down a bit in the North of Arizona (Prescott, Sedona, Flagstaff, and all places that consist of Ponderosa Pine). We'll see how that goes because the South of Utah appeals and talks to me in my sleep for some reason. So that's where I'll be for those creepy stalker folks who have discovered this site. Catch me if you can.
Ok, I'm flirting with the possibility of being boring even to myself so I better get going. This blog is for el Capitan in the Guadalupe Mountains in West Texas (that's the second picture above. Muy impressivo!), for big business leaders who don't see a whole lot of problems with high gas prices, and Angie in the picture at the end of this blog just because I can do that kind of thing (I asked her to marry me but she didn't like the idea of that. I think we are too overly competitive for each other but that's me).
Honor the silence everybody. It's out there, it just takes a little bit to get to it.
James
1 comment:
Amos, give me your phone number so i can come have some laughs with you and your brothers. and yes, i love chan. i don't think i ever talked to him though. I agree though, what a guy!
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