Slow start today…we changed time zones and our body rhythm is
still an hour behind what the clock says; Kim was out by the telescope until
about 1:30 a.m.; throw in the train that rolled through in the middle of the
night…so yeah, we slept in. Come to
think about it, it was a slow day all the way around. And that’s not a bad thing.
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Our truck has a washable air filter and Kim really wanted to
get it cleaned…we’ve been through so much dust, etc. Closest car wash is in Alpine, about 30 miles
away…seemed a good time to get some groceries, too. Got back to the camp about noon, ate lunch,
then we decided to head out for a ride.
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Didn’t have any particular endpoint for our ride. Kim had a power cord go bad that he uses for
his imaging camera so we headed back to Alpine to see if the local Radio Shack
had it. He made his purchase then we
were able to hit the open road for the afternoon. Decided to take a road between Marathon and
Alpine (Hwy 67) and ride it until we decided to turn around. Scenery was fairly consistent…desert and
cattle range…but the road was good so we just kept riding. As it turns out, we rode into Fort Stockton
and came back to Marathon via Hwy 385, same road we came in on yesterday.
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| Xena, faithful companion |
We met Xena, wonder dog and faithful companion, today at a
gas station in Alpine. She and her owner came
riding up on a Victory motorcycle. Xena
has been riding around the country with him for the last 2 years…he says
they’ve logged 70,000 miles together. She
wears goggles, is belted into her own dog seat and looked to be having a good
time when we saw her…oh, and she also wears a ride bell…owner explained that
it’s just a little extra protection against those road gremlins…figures he
needs all the help he can get. She was
kind enough to pose for a picture before the both of them went across the road
for her to relieve herself. She has a
website, too, but I can’t remember the address right now. Will sleep on it and maybe I’ll remember it
tomorrow.
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Goodness but the trains have been busy tonight! Nine have come past in the last 5 hours…from
7 o’clock to midnight. Most are freight
trains and some are passenger trains…all of them make noise and shake the
ground. I sure hope they get it out of their system now and leave the wee hours
of the morning alone.
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Saw four roadrunners out on our ride today but wasn’t quick
enough to get a picture. Roadrunners are
fast and skittish. Unlike the pronghorn who merely moved a few feet farther
into the field when we stopped to take pictures of them…or the prairie dogs who
continued doing whatever it is they do while one chirped as I stood along the
road taking pictures…or the jack rabbit who moved once and then froze but kept
his eye on me while I took pictures…or the hawk who was on a fence post and
seemingly more interested in his next meal than me taking pictures of him. No, the roadrunners see you and they’re
gone. But that doesn’t stop me from
trying to get a picture. 😊
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Kim had a good time imaging last night…he was out there next
to Dave and Tally, two guys who also have a passion for astrophotography. By all accounts Kim took some great images
but just couldn’t get the stacking program to work. I don’t understand how it
works but I know some terminology. 😏
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| Vermillion Flycatcher |
I’ve been seeing a stunning small bird with a red head,
breast and underbody with a dark back and wings. Tried googling ‘red Texas bird’ but the
results weren’t the bird I was seeing.
Tonight I overheard two men, one who happens to be a ‘birder’, talking
about the red bird so when the opportunity arose I asked if either knew the
name of it. The birder man showed me a
picture of both the male and female vermillion flycatcher and it’s definitely
the male that I’ve been seeing. The
female’s color is more muted but I don’t know if I’ve seen any females. I’m not very bird literate and every
non-descript unfamiliar bird I see I tend to put in the sparrow category…I may
have seen her and lumped her in with the sparrows. I’ll have to be on the
lookout for her now that I know what I’m supposed to be seeing.
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Wildlife sightings: pronghorn, prairie dog, hawk, jack rabbit
and roadrunner
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Rode 136 miles today…temperature reached 83o
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