Up early again to brave the 38 degree chill. We walked up to the eastern dunes to try to get a look at the sunrise. Dawn is such a beautiful time of the day. As the rest of the campers still slept, Cali and I did a big loop down off the dunes and through the day use picnic area.
I’m always anxious to get driving once I’m up and getting things packed away, but I forced myself to slow down and go through all the rehab exercises Mark had given me for my hip. I pulled out my folding chair and sat in the open space that the slide out creates and got busy. Afterwards, I did a ten minute meditation but my mind wasn’t having it. It was bouncing all over the place. We were out by 11:00. A quick stop by the office to drop off the $4 bucks I shorted them on arrival and a quick phone call to Abilene State Park to Reserve a spot for the night and we were rolling hard across the Permian Basin, the oil rich plains of Texas.
Dog is my co-pilot
Odessa, Midland, Big Spring, the endless desert scattered with refineries, oil wells and all of the businesses and adjuncts that provide for them. Trailer parks filled with temporary workers, equipment dealers and big truck stops. Arizona, Southern New Mexico and West Texas, it’s a hardscrabble stretch of country. I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever see a proper tree again.
Then around Sweetwater, I started to see a change. Bigger, greener shrubs were appearing on the rolling hills and the GPS took me off on empty, single lane farm roads for the final 30 miles into Abilene. I passed through wind farms and croplands and things started greening up. Nice ranches dotted the hills and I saw people actually out walking for the pleasure of it. I didn’t see another vehicle until I reached the entrance to the State Park.
Trees! Big, beautiful trees. There is a lake adjacent to the park. A big, red muddy looking thing. I tried to find a way to hike over to it but couldn’t figure out how to get there. After setting up, I took Cali out to explore a bit of the park. We hiked some short trails and checked out the Buffalo Wallow, a reed choked little pond with a fishing dock. Not sure I’d take any fish out of there. We did a couple of miles, about as much as the hip can handle. It lets me know by sending pain to my knee.
We rested and researched our next stops while hanging in the RV. A nap, some phone calls, then I cooked myself up an omelet and ate it in the dinette while watching an older couple a few sites over, the only other campers at our end of the park, unload their motorcycles from the back of their truck. Cali and I decided to try another trail over towards the north end and wandered that way as the oldies putted by on their bikes. We went out a short ways then turned and started back when the visual cues of the migraine began to appear. It was pretty much on by the time we got back to camp. I took some Imitrex and layed down and that about ended any other plans for the night.
Heart on the Wing 