Tag Archives: San Antonio

Not A Death Sentence

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Striving, Travel

April 9, 2022- The lady, who looked to be in her early forties, was bemoaning the fact that twentysomethings looked to her like babies. “I’m olllddd!“, she said to her dance partner, who is in his early sixties, and to me, who promptly told her she hasn’t seen old.

George Foreman famously said that forty is not a death sentence. He is two years my senior, and I would not be surprised if he were to add, “and neither is seventy!” I do not feel any worse for the wear, after a long and sometimes taxing jaunt across the southern part of the country. I feel no worse than I have in times past. Mother, a nonagenarian; my octogenarian aunts and older cousins; and a few older friends are all pushing the boundaries of what is elderly well past what we all thought of as old, even a dozen years ago. I chuckled to myself, appreciatively, a few days ago, when the manager of the motel where I stayed in San Antonio told the Uber driver, whom he was engaging to take me to the bus station, that I was an elderly gentleman. It’s a fine thing that people several decades younger will honour those my age, as I continue to honour my own elders.

On a related note, I sat down and did the math, relative to modes of transportation. The cost of a car rental, alone, far outweighs what I would have paid in gas and oil/lube, even at the inflated prices of the past few weeks, had I driven the Saturn. Time was the big factor in this journey just completed, which will not be the case in the still-potential trips of mid-June to mid-July and September-October. I will weigh several factors carefully, but my vehicle and I are joined at the hip. It was enjoyable to have driven a late model vehicle, with all the bells and whistles-food for thought, for the next car, when there is one. (It’ll be an EV, at any rate.)

Today was a full day, with an online gathering and two in-person events. I was told by a few people to rest today, and I did get in a nap this afternoon. Being with the three groups of friends was energizing, though. This evening, at Raven Cafe, was also rejuvenating. It was there that the above-mentioned woman made her plaint. As long as there is music and camaraderie, though, life is good.

The Road to 65, Mile 71: What If They Gave A Desert, and Nobody Came?

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Posted by on in Travel

February 7, 2015, El Paso to San Antonio-  The most notable thing about many deserts is the stillness, even on an Interstate highway.  I set out from El Paso around 10, after making a visit to Cracker Barrel, for a small but satisfying breakfast.  I don’t patronize chains very often, and hadn’t been in one of those bustling, overstuffed establishments with the big front porch, in almost three years.  It was fun to look at the plethora of snack foods and old signs from the 19th and early 20th centuries, and to play Triangle Pegs, a couple more times.  The service was good, and the food, forgettable.

The traffic headed into El Paso today was jammed up, tighter than Mid-town Manhattan.  On the other hand, those of us headed eastward were relatively few in number.  We got even fewer once the road passed the last turn-offs to Chihuahua.  The desert of the same name was equally austere, except for a handful of the region’s signature yucca plants.  Below, are the Franklin Mountains, the link between the Rockies and Sierra Madre.

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The silence of the Chihuahua occasionally gets broken, by the presence of tough, and alternately congenial and taciturn folks, who are gathered in towns like Sierra Blanca, Balmorhea and Van Horn.  The last is the largest community in the I-10 corridor, east of El Paso and west of the Hill Country.  I stopped for lunch at La Cocina de Maria, a “Mom” place that draws the locals away from the branch of San Antonio-based Chuy’s.  Maria’s enchiladas are strictly Tex-Mex, but with home-made sauce and the salsa that went with the chips was Maria’s own.

SAM_3836 Another aspect of Van Horn life:  If it seems nobody is giving any thought to reforesting the High Chihuahua, think again.  Mountain View RV Park is maintaining a healthy grove of pines.

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I pressed on, stopping only in highway rest areas, for the obligatory stretch and strut.  The mountains call, from a safe distance.  I will drive the stretch between Uvalde and Van Horn, on the way back to Arizona, but for now:  This is a view, looking south towards Big Bend.

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The Hill Country starts to beckon, around Ozona.

SAM_3838  Not long after that, I found myself pulling off at Sonora, a town named for the Chihuahua Desert’s western neighbour.  Like Sonora, California, the Texas version is not so much desertified, but gives off an air of tough and dusty.  The early oil riggers liked it here.

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By  the time I reached Junction, barbecued brisket was calling my name, so I pulled into Lum’s.

SAM_3843 The cafeteria style that distinguishes so many Texas barbecue places is in effect here, but the family that runs Lum’s is down home friendly and payment is after the meal, almost on the honour system.  I’m certain, though, that cheaters and meal-beaters would run into Bubba, if they had a mind to take advantage of the situation.  The brisket was good, and the sauce a bit mild, but satisfying.  I’d stop at Lum’s again, if I pass through Junction.

San Antonio, which I reached around 8 PM, was full-on bustle- it being Saturday night and all.  I will save visits to the Missions and King William District for my return trip.  It was enough to get to the East Side, rent a room at a little place called Spur Motel and head out to look for wifi, as the Spur is one of only four motels at which I have parked my carcass, that haven’t had Internet. It was reasonable, though, so I took my trusty laptop and headed to a nearby McDonald’s, always good for Internet service, to post the successful journey across the Texas Outback.

The Road to 65, Mile 24: A Refuge and A Fortress

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Posted by on in Hiking and Nature, Travel

December 22, 2014, Truth or Consequences- It was a mild day, which I started with a lovely breakfast of Strawberry Pancakes and sausage patties, at Socorro’s El Camino Family Restaurant.  Once again, all the regulars were present; nobody named Strawberry, though.

I set out for my first visit to Bosque del Apache (Apache Woods), since Penny and I came here in 1983.  It made an impression then, and did so now.  There were more sandhill cranes back then, and one of the docents gave a reason for the relative decline in their numbers.  The cranes have become dependent on corn that is grown by a farmer, who is employed by the Refuge.  The farmer they had, left and so, if anyone is interested in growing corn, specifically to feed birds, and be part of an upbeat crew of wildlife managers- contact Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, US Fish and Wildlife Service.

I began my drive down El Camino Real (New Mexico Highway 1), with a stop at this defunct Catholic church, in San Antonio, NM.  This little village has few remaining residents,but it is still worth remembering.  Each small settlement along the Royal Road was once a major stop, for those on foot or on horseback.

SAM_3347 I was greeted, upon my entrance into the Wildlife Refuge, by a Greater Sandhill Crane, perched on a branch.  Of course, he flew off immediately as I got my camera ready to shoot.  Continuing on, I walked a 3-mile loop of Chupadera National Recreational Trail.  The whole trail, up Chupadera Peak and back, would’ve been 9 miles.  I had more on my agenda, so that can be done another time.  The cairns mark each length of the trail.SAM_3355 Watch out!  The snakes and scorpions may be hibernating.  Not so, the thorny bushes.SAM_3358 Out in the distance, lie the San Andres Mountains.SAM_3360 Ann Young was an avid birder, who has since passed on.  To make up for the relative lack of wintering birds this year, here is a video of one of her last visits to Bosque: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyecyGVWrto.SAM_3361 New growth is taking its place, all over Bosque del Apache.SAM_3363 From the window of the Visitor Center, one can sit for hours, just watching the various finches, wrens and hummingbirds eat their fill.  Many, though, prefer the findings on the ground and in the brush.SAM_3367 Believe it or not, a bald eagle is perched in the cottonwood tree on the right.SAM_3369 Trees growing up out of the sandbars create a safe haven for aquatic life, but also are a convenient place for raptors to sit and enjoy the view.SAM_3372 I walked this berm, around a marsh that is full, seasonally.  This is not the season of its fullness, but I got a sense of what it could be.  A Cooper’s hawk followed me around the loop, screeching, but never quite finding its favourite meal.SAM_3376 Raptors, cliff swallows and barn swallows make their nests in these sandstone cliffs.SAM_3383 SAM_3386 Here is an overlook, above the Marsh Trail.SAM_3389 When I climbed the path, this was my view.  Some say the Chihuahua Desert is more barren than the Sonoran.  Right now, I’d say they are correct.

SAM_3390 This is an oxbow of the Rio Grande, and trends towards dry, even when the river itself is full.SAM_3395 As you can see in Ann Young’s video, sometimes the bed under this boardwalk is full of water.  Not today.SAM_3396 SAM_3399 It is good enough for cattails, though.SAM_3400 My spirit friend was on the job.SAM_3401 Once back along the main flow of the Rio Grande, I spotted a Lesser Sandhill Crane, by its lonesome.SAM_3412 From the Eagle Scout Deck, more evidence of past drynesses and flows could be seen.SAM_3415 On my next visit to Bosque, I will focus more on the North Loop and the Canyon Trail.  It’ll also mean taking in a Fly-In, at sunset.

Continuing down El Camino Real, I came to a dirt road, which led me to Fort Craig, five miles eastward.  This National Historic Site is comprised of ruins, and figures in three sorry episodes of our nation’s history:  The Mexican War, which was its raison d’etre; the Civil War, during which Confederates from Texas tried to use New Mexico as a steppingstone to Colorado’s gold fields; and the Trans- Mississippi Indian Wars, which just led to more suffering and misunderstandings, on both sides.  That its ruins stand at all, however, show just how formidable Fort Craig was.  Walking these paths brought me back to the ramparts and walls of France, Belgium and Luxembourg.  The pilings below support the earthworks, which defended the fort against the Confederate force.

SAM_3416 This is what’s left of the Guard House and Jail.  Prisoners were segregated by race, as were the soldiers.SAM_3418 These are the remains of the Commanding Officer’s Quarters.SAM_3420 SAM_3421 The perimeter walls were more formidable than they look now.SAM_3425SAM_3426 Here is the Magazine Storage, where ammunition was kept safe and dry.SAM_3431 The Battle of Valverde, near Socorro, was a Pyrrhic victory for the Confederates.  They lost so much in materiel that they were unable to capture Fort Craig and hobbled on to Albuquerque, never gaining control of New Mexico.SAM_3435 I don’t believe I have ever cast such a long shadow.  Being tired by now, my course of action was to stop in the unique town of Truth or Consequences.  The story has been told by someone on my Facebook wall, but I will discuss it at length in “Mile 25.”

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