We chose the southern route. Warmer and dryer.
Lake Charles Louisiana. Lakes, rivers, bridges, bayous, riverboats, oil
refineries, forests. There's a lot here. Driving from east to west, every
time we drive into a new state, we get an instant countdown to the next
state. The mile markers on the highway count from west to east, and south
to north. We had a few miles to go through to get out of Florida, and a few
each in Alabama and Mississippi. It's intimidating to drive into Texas and
see the first highway mile marker read 880 miles. You know you'll be
driving through Texas for days.
Two large cities to drive through. Houston. San Antonio. Both in the same
day. But, both on a Sunday. There's an accomplishment. Even with the
complete closure of Interstate 10 and rerouting around the middle of
Houston, we got through them both in the same day. And San Antonio. How
hard could it be to follow Interstate 10 through San Antonio? You can't
imagine how many ramps and changes it takes to stay on the same freeway you
came in on.
Junction Texas. "The front porch of the west." That's a nice slogan.
A rest stop in West Texas. House, white crowned, and black throated
sparrows. House finches in full voice. Cactus wren. Curve-billed
thrasher. Pyrrhuloxia. And a crow.
A fast two weeks. In those two weeks, a drive to Florida and back, with one
of those weeks devoted to a job in the middle. If you count long days
driving as work, we've worked a lot of long days. We're back in the home
state. Montrose Colorado. Got a new job here. A land conservancy.
