We left the campground in Sanderson and continued west in the canyon for several miles and finally made the climb over the mountains on the west end of the canyon. A very nice drive and it was interesting to see how the rail road track snaked around the hills to keep the grade within reason while the highway just went over the hills and sometimes we were lower that the tracks. As you follow the tracks it is obvious to see how the rail road opened up the west to settlers and those wanting a better life or those in search of riches.
We took a little side trip off of US 90 to the town of Landry. This is the home of the Hangin' Judge, Roy Bean. There is a very nice museum and gardens and his original office as indicated in the
photo. A very interesting place with lots of items claimed to have been used by the Judge himself. There is a beautiful garden with lots of plants and flowers. A worthwhile stop for anyone interested in the history of the Old west, West of the Pecos, that is.
"West of the Pecos" is a phrase used in many stories and accounts of life in old west. It is a lot different West of the Pecos than it is to the east. The terrain is considerably more mountainous and there seems to be less vegetation, more rocks and rock mountains. Hardly anything but scrubby bushes and plants that can grow in this dry climate. It is obvious that it rains at times as there is indications of large washes that come down from the mountains and there are bridges over the wash to keep the water from undermining the road. You will see a ranch here and there but they are few and far between. Occasionally you will see an older RV parked under a metal roof that someone is living in. Not sure how they exist without any electricity but apparently they do. You See lots of windmills that are used to pump water for the cattle, but it is difficult to see how they can exist on the sparse vegetation that you see. Most of the cattle we saw looked slick and fat, so apparently they are finding something to survive on.
We fueled the motor home at Alpine. This is a very remote town and gas was $2.59/gal, but you do not want to get very low on fuel as it is 80 miles to Terlingua/Study Butte, with nothing in between. the drive down FM118 is a beautiful drive but slow. Lots of curves and some quite steep grades, but not long. Beautiful mountains and probably lots of wildlife but it was quite warm and early afternoon so not much was out in the heat. We are at the Big Bend Motel/campground in Terlingua. It is not very accessible as it is gravel/sand/dirt with a little grass but we do have 50A electricity, water & sewer as well as cable TV. There are several WI-FI's around and surprisingly my AT&T air card is working even in this remote area.
Tomorrow we will explore the Big Bend Ranch State Park.