Flat country

September 19/09 - Fort Stockton, Texas
Mileage: 86.4 km
Total mileage: 3,249 km

We are camped tonight at I-10 RV Park. The host, a real nice older lady, was so impressed with our journey that she reached inside her coupon bag and gave us a 2 for 1 breakfast coupon for IHOP. Later, she gave us 1/2 a watermelon and brought chairs to our campsite. Haven't met anyone yet that hasn't shown us a world of kindness.

Left Pecos this morning into another headwind. Light, but all the same, requiring more effort. Deby took to drafting me and we increased our speed into it as a result.

The country is similar type of desert, but the brush is lower and there are not as many desert trees or cactus.

In the middle of our day, we came upon a few sections of extensive irrigation. Here we noted beautiful alfalfa, cotton crops and a large feed lot. Probably the only farming in the middle of this desert for miles and miles. Just add water and the desert grows beautifully.

Lots and lots of oil activity here. We started seeing it the day before yesterday when we were southbound through Artesia. Oil storage tanks and pump jacks all over the place. I thought this area would be pumped out as these must be such old oilfields, but not so. The pump jacks continue to whine and bang on.

We amused ourselves today as we travelled by watching for tarantula's and centipedes on the shoulder of the road. (Had noticed dead tarantulas on the shoulder for a couple of days, but today was the first live one I've ever seen outside of a zoo). Often enough little lizards would pop out of the grass and run along side our bicycles. Man, oh man are they fast.