Texas is really big.
Really, really big.
We just rode across it.
That took us a while.
Now we're in New Mexico, "Land of Enchanment". So far it's enchantingly empty and devoid of any signs of human life. Last night we stayed in Logan, population 1,000. It seemed pretty small until we entered Mosquero today. When we had all arrived, we'd increased the population of the town by 25%. Surprisingly, however, the high school has a decked-out computer lab, so I have a chance to write a blog entry. Woohoo! Oya, also, the school's mascot is the Fightin' Pirate. And the fighting Lady Pirate. Apparently no one told them about wenches. When you walk into the school, there is a giant 9-foot tall painted silhouet of a pirate holding a basketball. This town is awesome!
When I last wrote, we were in Louisiana. It was nice. Then we got to Texas. It was pretty wild. The last two weeks have flown by, with a lot of crazy Texan experiences. Highlights include:
- Carthage, TX, where we stayed in a sumptuous mansion.
- The ride from Carthage to Athens, on which Zach and I were sweep (the two people designated to be last for the day, to stay behind everyone and make sure that we all arrive safely) and we went roughly 100 miles on the worst-paved road known to man. Mind you, this road was not old and decrepit-no, it was intentionally paved with GIANT STONES in it. You could see at the very edge of the shoulder where the pavement had initially been smooth and pretty. Then they added stones to it. In case we had any doubts about this, we came upon a road crew that was busy adding stones to perfectly smooth pavement. I will never understand that road. Anyway, after assorted adventures, Zach and I made it into Athens around 7:30, as the sun was going down. So far we hold the record for the latest that sweep has had to be out. When we got to town we were greeted by incredibly friendly church folk (not exactly out of the ordinary), and we found out that rather than all staying in a gym, we were being split up into small groups and staying at the homes of members of the church. I ended up staying with Tom, a very friendly man in his late fifties. From the moment I got in the car and the radio began playing classical music, I knew that I had been assigned to the right family. Tom lives alone with his young son Andy in a house with a staggering amount of animal paraphanalia. This included a polar bear rug (in my bedroom), and a giant birdcage in his dining room with half a dozen live birds. Thomas, the other rider with me, fell asleep as soon as we got there, but I stayed up for a while chatting with Tom as "Tootsie" played on the TV in the background. It turns out that Tom is a Stanford grad who went into business after college, decided he didn't like it, bought his own company, and proceeded to travel the world for the rest of his life, doing work for his company. He said that he's spent more time in London than Dallas. Anyway, we spent a while talking about youth, how to decide what to do with one's life, the meaning of life, and other assorted topics. He was quite an interesting fellow.
SEVERAL HOURS LATER:
Unfortunately, I have to cut this post short. I ended up being called away as I was writing because we had to go to dinner. There was not going to be any dinner provided for us at this host location, but when we got to town the locals told us that there was a Cowboy Camp going on a few miles outside of town for the weekend, and they had free food tonight. We went over in the van, and discovered that it was an Evangelical Cowboy Camp. Which was cool. They gave us Cowboy Bibles. Basically, it's the New Testament, with bits of cowboy wisdom thrown in periodically. The food was pretty much all meat, so I just gave up and ate a hamburger. Hunger has finally overcome taste.
We chatted with the cowboys for a while, they sang some songs (mostly about Jesus), we sang the Star Spangled Banner (they were very impressed), some of us learned how to rope, and we drank some delicious cowboy coffee. Anyway, we have to get up at 4:30 tomorrow morning, so I'll try to continue this post next chance I get and summarize the rest of Texas.
Stay cool, wear lots of sunscreen.
Pace
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
P.S. I love you.
Evangelical Cowboys! We have those in North Carolina, too. I´m sorry they took you away from vegetarianism, but i´m glad you´re getting some protein. Miss you,
Lady Pirate Allie Rogue the French
That bike-thighed, spear chucking virgin was actually the archangel Michael (or was that Michelle?) stabbin' the antichrist!! Yup, that's the kinda art ya find in new mexico. Good to see you. I told Richard and Susie about your glass-eye and how real it looks.
auntie rachel
Post a Comment