Sunday Debacle

Post for Sunday - November 3, 2013 - Terlingua, Texas

As I entered my tent to go to bed, noticed that the air mattress had deflated.  Looked around for the air pump and it was dead.  Oh well...will not be the first time that I sleep on a flatten air mattress.  As you know I suffer from insomnia so I laid there for what seemed like hours until I finally fell asleep.

Woke up to what sounded like rain drops.  It could not be...the forecast I saw did not mention rain.  Then I remembered that the last time I checked the weather report was last Saturday and not Thursday when I actually came.  In all my years coming here it has never rained...it has snowed, there have been hurricane force winds, it has been cold and we have had dreary days...but not rain!

Looked at my watch and it was 6:00 a.m. but since the time changed tonight it was really 5:00 a.m.  Heard the guys breaking camp and then the rain drops ceased.  I went back to sleep knowing I had dodged a bullet.

Two hours later woke up again to the sound of rain drops that quickly turned into a full fledged shower.  It was 7:00 a.m. or a little after and it was still dark.  Heard people all around me breaking camp.  I thought to myself...why oh why did I not listen to my gut feeling?

It kept on raining and water was beginning to sip in through the back window and front door...worthless mesh tent!!!  I started packing up the stuff that I had inside as I mopped up the water with a towel. This continued for several hours as I waited for a lull so I could put my things in the car and then break camp.

That lull never came and I was beginning to get concerned because from reading accounts from several area blogs...I knew I could get stuck and never make it up the hill to exit CASI.  If I did make it, there is a wash on the way to Study Butte that can easily flood the highway and there had already been flooding earlier in the week and it had not rained as hard as it was raining now.

Finally it ceased raining and a rainbow could be seen...then a double rainbow.  Too bad my cheap camera could not capture it in its true glory.

Nothing went back in the car the way it came.  I am so glad I did not bring half the things I usually bring or we would have had a problem.  As I entered the tent to retrieve my things I dragged in tons of mud.  Then it started raining again!!!

I was wearing a white sweat shirt that by the time I broke camp looked brown.  My jacket luckily had a hood on it and it was totally drenched which in turn soaked my jeans.  I was a soggy and dirty mess.  I wanted to change but couldn't as my clothes were deep in the trunk and I had placed my shower as well as that cheap tent in big black trash bags hoping they did not break and spill it muddy waters.

As soon as I got in the car I turned on the heater on high hoping to keep from getting sick and hauled it out of there.  Was hoping to stop and visit with area bloggers but not in the sorry state I was in...sorry guys :-(

It rained almost all the way home.  I stopped at the Pecos River bridge rest area to dump the water from my tarps which unbelievably did not rupture as well as from the black bags.  One thing I forgot to mention as a tip for future chili-heads...bring large strong garbage bags to throw in your wet camping gear.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Should I break camp?

Post for Saturday - November 2, 2013 in the afternoon

After arriving from my wanderings around Lajitas and Terlingua, I inspected my shower and found it was dry as a bone and ready to be packed away.  My gut instinct was telling me to go ahead and take it down as I was not going to use it anymore...but NO....I ignored my feeling.

Then I looked in my first night/last night tent and it was a darn mess.  Though it is a veteran of many Chili Cook-off's...I had never set it up here.  It is 9 x 9 whereas a little smaller my Kodiak Canvas tent is 8 x 9. I can stand up in my Kodiak Canvas tent...it is like a hotel in the desert. While the 9 x 9 is a cheap dome mesh tent that you have to bend down to be able to enter it...not a good thing when you have a bad back.

My sixth sense was telling me to pack away all the unnecessary items...but again I choose to ignore my gut feeling.  What did I do instead?  I went riding around all over CASI with the guys in their mule.  By the time we got back the rest of the guys camp had dinner ready.

Let me explain a little about Saturday or at least the camps in my immediate area.  Most have been here a week or more and are looking forward to going back home and sleeping in their own bed.  They do not want to take anything back with them.  Everyone cooks up what they did not consume and shares it with their neighbor.

If they still have bottles of liquor those too are shared with passerby's.  We had a couple of virgins that arrived from Austin, Texas on Friday night and the guys graciously shared their food and liquor with them. The virgins were very surprised with the guys generosity...but that is just the way the guys are...a true class act...like their late daddy Mr. A :-)

Now back to breaking camp.....when I first started coming in the mid 90's no one broke camp early.  People cooked breakfast, had coffee said their good-bye's and then commenced the arduous task of breaking camp on Sunday.  I think the Guy's Camp changed all that at least around us.  Their camp is pretty big and though they do not have far to go...they want to be home, unpacked and ready to watch the Cowboys play on Sunday.

They started breaking camp Saturday evening and my contribution to their efforts was shining my Wakawaka light on them which in case you are contemplating buying one...DON'T...it is worthless!  My shower and tent beckoned my attention and once more I choose to ignore my gut feeling.

Once again lots of gallons of water were wasted as people do not bring empty milk jugs or water containers to bottle up the precious liquid.  Most people do not want to drive back home with full or partly full  fresh water tank.  I donated my six one gallon milk jugs to save some of the liquid but more than 200 gallons were dumped by the guys camp alone.

For the first time this year they had two bands playing.  One in the main pavilion and another one at Krazy Flats. I camp right smack in the middle of the two but being along the ravine facing Krazy Flats I get to hear them better.  In the past a lot of people went to the dances but for some reason very few attend now.  Most would rather enjoy a roaring campfire with their friends accompanied with a cold adult beverage which is what I chose to do.

 

Stay tuned for more tales from the desert and pictures to back it up.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Paranoid...ME?

In my list of things to do on Saturday, the number one was to be the designated driver that afternoon to the Dia de los Muertos celebration at the Terlingua Cemetery, whose organizers go to great lengths to follow the original Mexican traditions associated with this date and do a wonderful job of it.
 

If you ever have the opportunity to attend, I would encourage you to do so, especially if you are not of Hispanic origin.  Even if like myself you are...it is an experience that will not disappoint and will enrich your understanding of other cultures.

Even being Hispanic...Mexican-American to be exact... I had never been part of the celebrations that take place on this date.  Sure I had seen them on TV and in movies but it was not until 2010 in Terlingua that I had the privilege to be part of them in person.

Like I mentioned I had every intention of being the designated driver but I changed my mind.  Why?  Call me paranoid if you like but as I was walking to my car after I got off to photograph the "other" cook-off...I caught the attention of a Sheriff's patrol vehicle.

He stopped on the opposite side of the road and watched me walk to my car.  I got in and was going to head to Study Butte to meet one of my blog followers who works there.  Well, this patrol car decided to follow me.

I pulled over on the shoulder, let him pass me then made a U-turn as I decided to head back to CASI.  He decided to turn around as well.  I tried to see if it was only my paranoia...so I turned off at the Old Ghost town...I will be darn if he did not turn in too!

In order to "shake" him...decided to park and get off at the cemetery...he looked my way and continued on towards "The Porch". No one was there yet as the celebration takes place at dusk. I walked around the cemetery as I waited for the patrol car to head back to where ever.  Decided I had had enough law enforcement attention for one day and went back to my camp.

What profile did I fit?  Out-of town middle age woman wearing a back brace and taking pictures???  Except for the back brace I think there are plenty of middle age women taking pictures especially this time of the year...OK...call me paranoid if you must!

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Lajitas Cemetery

Post for Saturday, November 2, 2013 - Lajitas, Texas.

After a kind invitation from the guys camp to eat breakfast I came back to my camp to take a shower. It had been a long time since I had been to Lajitas, Texas and I decided to rectify that.

The first thing I see as I exit  Rancho CASI de los Chisos is not good.  As I have mentioned many times on my blog and the sentiment is echoed in other blogs in the area...the heat (law enforcement) is stifling during the Chili Cook-off.

I personally do not leave the campgrounds after Wednesday or actually Tuesday is the last day I venture out. You better make darn sure you are 100% sober or you will get a free ride to Alpine courtesy of the DPS (Department of Public Safety) or as one blogger very appropriately calls them "Perry's Militia".

After this stop I did not drive far when I saw another person that was pulled over and a lady DPS officer was administering a sobriety test.  This guy bore a striking resemblance to JW of TFL but he was shorter, probably in his late 60's and drove a no frills motorcycle.  Poor guy he looked terrified!

It had been a couple of years...2007 to be exact since I had been to Lajitas.  Stopped coming once shower tents were invented, but that is a topic for another post.  This store did not exist at the time or if it did I do not remember it (I suffer from CRS you know).  Stopped to buy a 10 lb bag of ice and it cost me $2.75...it is a good thing I came to this town for something else other than ice since I could have stayed at the cook-off safe from Perry's militia and bought a 20 lb bag of ice for $5.00 and saved money, gas and aggravation.

During those times I drove here to shower, I would pass the Lajitas Cemetery.  For some odd reason I have always had a fascination with cemeteries though I have no idea why.

I guess seeing rocks over gravesites transported me to old western movies and how they buried their dead.

This being El Dia de los Muertos many had flowers and relatives visiting and decorating their final resting place.

Headed on back mindful of the 60 mph speed limit and going 50 mph. when a DPS trooper heading towards Lajitas stops and makes a U-turn.  Dang (actually I uttered something else) I just knew I was going to get pulled over for no reason other than a dirty windshield.  He rode my ass for a while...I am sure he ran my plates through and found I was not a wanted criminal and finally backed off.

I had already been gone for about 45 minutes or so when I came back to the same location of the first car that had been pulled over.  They had DPS, Sheriff's Department and an unmarked car at the scene.

If you want to go sightseeing....arrive early and do so before all the heat descend on the area.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Saturday in Terlingua

Post for Saturday, November 2, 2013 - Terlingua, Texas

Stayed up late last night watching the action at Krazy Flats, was hoping Terlingua Ed would drive by in his re-vamped U-haul and take me for a spin.  I guess I could of walked to the main road and asked to get on but I am too darn lazy to walk specially in the dark.

Saw this great big old RV or was it a 5th wheeler? driving around and around trying to find a place to camp at Krazy Flats to no avail...you need to have friends save you a spot or come early.  Friday evening is kind of too late to find a good place to set up camp.

I saw red and blue lights flashing but since almost everyone has different colored lights decorating their camps I did not think much of it.  I would later find out that a truck ran into a golf cart or some type of mule and that five persons suffered broken arms and they were taken by medical helicopter to some undisclosed hospital.

For the first time in a week I got me a good nights rest.  Glad I did because I had to make a couple of decisions:

1. Did I want to be the designated driver to the Dia de los Muertos celebration at the Terlingua cemetery that afternoon?
2. Did I want to attend the Chili judging competition and the accompanying events?
3. Did I want to go to Lajitas, Texas a place I have not been to since 2007?
4. Did I want to drive by the "other" Chili Cook-off event?
5. Did I want to take down my camp?

What decision did I go with?  Well, you will just have to tune in tomorrow and read the next post :-)

In all seriousness I am trying to sort out my pictures.  My Photobucket account is full and it is not letting me open up a new account.  Our local library is no help as they have so many sites blocked.  So please bear with me for as you know my experience with computers is "limited".

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.