South winds of summer...

Thunderstorm rolling into Alpine

With the longest day of the year just past us, it is now officially summer although it seems like it has been so for over a month now.  We are beginning to realize that we are residents of the west and not the east.  I’m not sure where the official line between east and west exists or if there is such a designation, but it seems like it might run through Texas.  In Nacogdoches we were part of a much wetter ecosystem with many plants and most of the birds common to the eastern United States.  Now looking out my front window and seeing the stark mountains in the distance and the heat scorched earth of my front yard, there is no doubt we are in the west.

Rainbow after the storm

At the beginning of June, we were still taking our 3-mile walk in the evenings.  Most days by 8 pm it had cooled off and the breezes were picking up, if they hadn’t already been blowing all day.  But as official summer approached, the earth warmed sufficiently so that the evening ‘cool-off’ was more of a late-night affair.  We have switched our walks to early mornings and even so, we come home sweaty and ready for a shower.  But at least a walk is doable.  If we still lived in Nacogdoches we would not attempt walking that distance in summer.  The temperature might be nearly the same, but the humidity and lack of breezes would make any outdoor activity oppressive.  We do miss the green and the forests of East Texas though.  

Fading cactus flowers

Two weeks ago, the Texas Photographic Society held a conference at Sul Ross University here in Alpine.  It was great to go to talks and workshops on photography and I was able to visit with some old friends and colleagues.  I can't believe I ran into an ex-student and friend of mine that was in some of my photo classes at San Antonio College.  She and her husband live 20 miles away in Marfa now.  It never ceases to amaze me what a small world it can be. 

Mitre Peak near Ft. Davis

I went to Girl Scout Camp here many years ago...

One of our friends, Chad, was at the TPS conference and he stayed with us one night.  Our first house guest!  We had a great visit and just as promised to potential guests in one of my earlier blogs, we fed Chad at one of Alpine’s many food trucks.  

The one and only Teresa in front of her food truck

The breakfast burritos at G-Ma’s were yummy but G-Ma (a.k.a. Teresa) was the main attraction.  Teresa wasn’t all that busy, so she talked to us as we ate and we all exchanged stories about what had brought us to Alpine.  Teresa has lived all over West Texas from Presidio to Odessa, but she has been in Alpine for the last several years.  Her grandchildren call her G-Ma, thus the name of her food truck.

Placing our order

Rocks on the table keep the food from blowing away

As we ate Teresa told us story after story, but it was the one about leaving her ex-husband at the chiropractor’s office that had us dropping our burritos.  She swears she really left him there on the day she finally had enough, just drove off and never went back.  Said somebody had to straighten his ass out and she was hoping the chiropractor could do it.  Yes, Teresa can tell some good ones and the food is darn good too.

View from a nature trail at the Chihuahuan Desert Native Plant Center

We also drove to Ft. Davis while Chad was in town and visited the Chihuahuan Desert Native Plant Center and Botanical Gardens.  The center is located just a few miles east of Ft. Davis in a remote and beautiful area.  With views of the surrounding mountains, great nature trails and gorgeous plant specimens, it is a place we will be visiting frequently.  More so when it cools off a bit.

Cactus flower (Blind Prickly Pear) at Chihuahuan Desert NPC

Well, July 4^th is less than a week away and this year for a change, we will not be fighting everyone else in the forest for a campsite.  We will spend the holiday in Odessa with my mom and dad.  Sixty-four years ago on the third of July, my mom and dad eloped to Juarez, Mexico and got married.  We are going to celebrate with them this year.  It will be the first time in several years that we have been home for their anniversary and the Fourth of July holiday.  It should be a fine time.

More views from the Chihuahuan Desert NPC

After all the celebrations, we plan to take off to Santa Fe and then to Colorado for a few weeks.  We will try to find some new places to visit and new adventures and I will continue to blog, at least with lots of pictures.  But the main purpose is to get cool.  As beautiful as it is, when the south winds of summer blow across the Chihuahuan Desert, it is time to head to higher elevations.

Mitre Peak