We came in on the national parks tip. Three words: Big Bend Basin. That's where you go, although the Guadeloupe Mountains were also quite picturesque and led to our first good run of audio. Luke posted some other stuff on this with more photos as well.
Our first stop in civilization was Austin, where I'd gotten us set to stay with my ETW alumni friend Julia Smith. Her and her roommates Zack and Andy were fantastically gracious. We arrived late, around midnight, but we hung out with Julia and Zack for a couple hours and I slept in absent Andy's bed.


In any event, I slapped my leg so many times I had a healthy bruise the next day, and we left happy and energized to meet Zack at another spot, then off to skinny dip at the elks lodge before finally returning home.
Big D
"Drink. Drive. Go To Jail? Another Government Lie," so sayeth the billboard with the power-suited woman lawyer outside Dallas. The highways are mad, huge soaring overpasses that must reach 75 or 100 feet into the air. The city center is all mirrors -- oil money booming the town out just as architects perfected that technique -- like a cluster of diamonds.

When we got there the scene was set. Paul did us up right, with a bucket of Shiner Bock and Blonde on ice and three truly Texas-sized steaks ready to throw on the fire. By and by Scott and Nikki made it on over and we filled out the spread with some loaded baked potatoes, fresh-cut tomatoes, texas toast and a delicious (yet inexpensive) merlot. It was the finest meal we've had since hitting the road. That's one of the things that's so cool to stay with your friends parents.
"You can't win a race on cheap gas," he says, so we supped and heard stories from Paul's old days. He helps run the North Texas Food Bank, but as a kid he grew up overseas in Saudi Arabia and Jordan, which is where he met Jo. At that time it was a pretty small community of Americans in that part of the world, mostly the children of a few businessmen and diplomats. I suppose it's mostly the same today, although the populations of both have probably grown.We also got to hear some dirt on ol' Tommy boy. He was Luke's long-time roommate and fast friend at Reed, but somehow we had to go all the way to Texas to hear about his trip to Mexico. Interesting. That's what happens when you let your friends have dinner with your parents and your sister and you're not around, my man. ;)
In summation, it was a great evening. Paul had to get back to work feeding the hungry in the morning, so we all headed out to that Duke's place, which I mentioned before. Outside their house is a sort of cul-de-sac/roundabout with some grass, a couple trees and a bench in the middle, so we hung out there for a while, having a little guy time, working on a bottle of Rye, enjoying the warm night air. In truth the main thing that got us back in to bed was the thought of Paul waking up for work and seeing us degenerates still awake outside his house.

In the morning it was time to blow. We collected ourselves, got some coffee and Kolatchies and then on the road through Oklahoma to Little Rock. After nearly a week we said so long to the Republic of Texas. So long, but see you again.