Kim took a
picture of a lizard out at the petroglyphs yesterday that we can’t identify. About four inches from vent to snout with a long striped tail. Posted the picture on the
Reptile and Amphibian FB page. I have faith that someone in that community will
identify it.
**All responders agreed that it’s a juvenile chuckwalla**
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Alarm set for
5:30 a.m.; when it went off, I sat in bed, staring at it, willing it to turn
itself off. No luck with that. Kim didn’t move a muscle when it went off. The Dawn Chorus was already tuning up in the bushes
surrounding our campsite. More voices joined in as the morning brightened up.
It was full on
daylight by 6:30 a.m., which was a revelation to me because, well…I’m not up early
enough to see when the night ends and the day begins. Have never seen the point
of being up when it’s still dark out. Even though it was daylight, the sun had
not popped over Newman’s Peak yet. And at 6:30 in the morning, the temperature
was already 61o. 😲
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On the road just
before seven o’clock…only an hour later than planned. All my stuff was ready
and waiting by the door last night. Stashed ‘em in the truck, took the garbage down
to the dumpster, ate breakfast, took some letters to the mailbox and came back
to wait for the ‘boys’ to get themselves ready to rock.
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We brought the e-bikes. Whether we’ll use them
remains to be seen, but they might be a fun way to get around once we’re in the
park. Our bikes are on a bike rack behind the truck; my mom’s bike is smaller
and can be folded. Kim strapped it down in the truck bed; tonneau cover folded
back. Fifteen miles down I-10 the
tonneau cover flopped open with a loud, “Boom!” Roh, Roh, Shaggy!! Stopped to find that it hadn’t been
latched down...and that one of the support poles bent was bent in the flopping
over process. Kim is fairly certain he can straighten it but, ya know, it was
just something we didn’t need.
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Cracks me up
that Rapunzel says “Continue on I-10 East towards E I Paso” like it’s a cousin
to AI.
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I was driving on
US 90 on the way to Alpine, TX, when we encountered some large plywood ‘cutouts’
alongside the road. From our approach, all I could see was the back, which was
just plain wood. After we passed them, I glanced in the side mirror and
immediately turned around to go check ‘em out. There was no sign indicating
what they were about but one was of a man in a car with thewords ‘Giant’ and ‘Marfa’
on the license plate. Kim immediately asked if ‘Giant’ was the name of a movie
and as we walked along the display, I guessed that we were looking at James
Dean, Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson, maybe Cary Grant.
What an eclectic
group…and why were they alongside the highway in the middle of Texas scrubland? And who was the guy on the horse herding
cattle? And why does ‘Marfa’ sound so familiar? And isn’t it clever that music is
being played from those fake rocks?
Gabe looked it up online and reported that
Marfa was a town up ahead and that we’d just stopped at the “Giant Marfa Mural”.
Later I found out that it’s a bona-fide Roadside
America attraction. 🙂The
site describes it like this: Plywood tribute to the 1956 James Dean/Liz Taylor film
"Giant," erected by artist John Cerney in October 2018. Parts of the
movie were filmed at this spot. Solar array plays country music by Michael
Nesmith of The Monkees. Found this on another
site: Along a desert highway in Texas, between the tiny towns
of Marfa and Valentine, stands four 15-foot-tall cut-out murals of scenes from
the 1956 movie Giant. The movie—starring legendary Hollywood icons James
Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, and Rock Hudson—was filmed at the nearby Little Reata
Ranch. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning one for Best Director.
John Cerney, the artist behind the ‘mural’,
has numerous installations across the country. His website says this about the rancher/cows
display:
In 2024, Wyatt
Ranches commissioned the artist to add new pieces to his existing mural, first
painted in 2018. One of the vaqueros that works the ranches is shown herding
some cattle, and a gushing oil well was placed in the background. Oil and
cattle were major players in the movie 'Giant' from 1956. The solar-powered singing rocks were a fun addition. But I didn’t
notice the oil well; I’ll have to look for it Monday when we head back to Arizona.
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We arrived in
Terlingua after dark, which made finding our RV Airbnb a little difficult. And
when we finally found the correct RV, we couldn’t find the lockbox that the
instructions referenced. I had the code but what good was it without the
lockbox? Gabe and Kim looked all around the RV, while I was frantically
messaging Mariana, the Airbnb Host, asking where it was located and hoping that
someone didn’t call the police on us. I’m sure we looked more than a little
suspicious. Thankfully, Mariana answered quickly. Turns out there was no
lockbox, it was an electronic keypad on the second door from the front. Okay, they’re looking now. Got it. Thanks!!
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Interesting tidbit
about the camper: the first outside door leads directly into the only bathroom.
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Watched ‘Sing’ to wind down after 670 miles
on the road. It’s our first bit of TV since we left Charlevoix.
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