Updates / Directions / Desert Disguises

Time for an update on my next direction , finding I had misplaced a week , I had decided to stay put here in Terlingua for another couple of days , the chili cook off not being till next weekend , I sort of settled back for somemore exploration . Cruising the area , finding interesting people and structures is better entertainment than anything that is offered on the idiot box . So trusty laptop fired up I started to look at the trip across the rest of Texas to probably end in Deming NM . First a stop in Alpine to pick up some supplies and a few parts for "A" if they can be found , it's amazing how much stuff you can break on these desert roads ! Plus the thirty year old bones of "A" are tired like me and what to other vehicles is a small jolt , for us is kind of like riding a bike full tilt into a plowed field! No matter how well I pack and tie stuff down I can find at least one bump that sends things flying around in the back like I was driving through a cat 5 hurricane ! But I am geting better at finding the smaller ruts and bumps , which is like saying I only broke a few bones the last time ! 
The first leg of westward travel after Alpineis across Texas 90 to Marfa and Valentine to end up over to Van Horn and lay up there for a night , if all goes well that far , head up the road to bypass El Paso and trek to Deming and Columbus NM . If you really wanted to, the drive to Deming can be made in a day , but I have no reason to hurry and I'm sure I can find a few mud puddles to play in between here and there !
Last night , I thought about the directions this trip has taken me . I started out to visit friends and maybe find some relief from pain my broken bones and arthritis were causing me . I've found all that and more , the desert can give you peace and  relief from all the everyday stress we have come to expect  from our lives . I haven't seen a TV in over a month , the news I have gathered is from the internet news services and most of it I just delete , the political scene seems even more of a farce than ever before and is generally not discussed much around here , might be if you could get more folks to ignore these pathetic weasles , they would actually have to perform their duties ! I find it obscene that so much money has been spent on a presidential election and the best I can do is have a vote of no confidence for the lesser of two evils . Fortunatately being out here the whole process has a lot less effect on the residents than in some other places , I think the attitude of self sufficience and taking care of things on their own is what makes me feel so good about this place , not to mention the beautiful weather and being so close to nature. 
In conversation last night I was talking to a young student from Dallas and the subject of the local people was being tossed around , he was surprised at the amount of history this area has and the people he had met on his first day in Terlingua , I had just finished giving him a run down on some places to go to and people to talk to and the bar tender interjected that the desert was a good place for disguises . Not only to the creatures that live and utilize camoflage for survival , but als o the people . You may be talking to someone that has an extensive formal education , a song writer or a bandido on the run , you can be almost anything you want , but be careful and don't burn the locals , there is a price to be paid for deviousness and lack of honesty . You want to leave the rat race ? Fine ,don't bring all your problems and insecurities with you , just live and do what's necassary to get along . You are not likely to impress these folks with any kind of story you can manufacture , I've met writers , witches , cowboys , pilots , a CEO of a major corporation , two different artists that have work in major galleries , an internet dot commer that reportedly has made millions , some Mexicans whose residency and entrance tothe U.S. was questionable , another felow was an engineer for BMW motorcycles and now lives out in the desert , you name it they are here . We all share the same shady spots and speak the same language , "leave me alone "friendly and a great bunch of folks just wearing their camoflage , you couldn't guess their occupation or identity by just looking at them . 

I like it like that ....