Rust and Dust and Bile

We have a Friday night off – there is something wrong with that - I’m pretty sure that’s the night people go to shows. Oh well...

We’re caravanning through Western TX with Thunderbirds, making what is generally the most aggravating and seemingly endless drive in the country breeze by painlessly as they follow behind our trailer in their red Ford, stopping for gas and snacks and meals and beer and hotels with us. One at a time they will ride in our van for a section of the drive, enjoying our AC and nicely breaking up the monotony of our inter-van interactions, adding some new humor and conversation to our sits at truck-stop diners.

Eastern New Mexico is generally one of the most beautiful stretches that we pass through. I recall one morning last summer watching the sun rise over the plateaus, illuminating all those deep red rock formations and endless plains, hitting its peak as we crossed the Texas border where the palette of the landscape immediately took on hues of rust and dust and bile. Though today, I must admit, it wasn’t so bad out the window once the accents and road signs changed over with the state line. There was a faint piece of rainbow above one rest area and the shrubs are still lush with the waning spring. We pulled over on the side of the highway to switch drivers and the crickets were chattering something wonderful.

Austin tomorrow! I think everyone is excited, though Dallas better be sympathetic to our hangovers on Sunday.