Our first night of this trip was spent in the first place we stayed coming in to Texas last Spring… Littlefield, Texas, birthplace and childhood home of Waylon Jennings. Littlefield doesn’t have a lot to brag about but they get as much glory as they can out of Waylon. One of the many ways they celebrate his fame is by offering free camping (with hookups!) in a little city park, formally known as the Waylon Jennings RV Park. What a treat! We had it to ourselves last year and actually spent a couple of nights there, just exploring and relaxing. This year we had several neighbors but it was still quiet and uncrowded. The park also boasts the Fannie Mae Horseshoe Court (Waylon’s aunt) and a concrete shape of the state of Texas with Waylon’s boot prints and signature. Adjacent there are ball fields, the Lamb County Community Center with fairgrounds and bandstand, and a veterans memorial. I spent some time in the Memorial last year and found it poignant and heart-wrenching. Some folks were holding a ceremony in it this year so I kept my distance but I liked that it was being used.

We left Littlefield at exactly the same time that we left home the day before, headed toward Albuquerque, New Mexico where we look forward to shopping at Trader Joes. (We love Texas but we do miss TJs!) We used to joke that while our intentions were to get on the road at the crack of dawn, it was usually more “the crack of noon”! We’re doing better though… now it’s the “crack of 10:18”! The plan is to find somewhere we want to stay for a couple of nights before going up in elevation and down in temperature. I think we’ve acclimated to the Texas heat. When we stopped last night, the thermometer read 80 degrees and I had goose bumps!

ps. I’m having trouble updating the map. I think googlemaps is having trouble because I can do everything else, and the connection is good right now in Albuquerque. Anyone else having trouble with googlemaps?

We weren’t very far down the road when we stopped for lunch at a picnic area. I took this picture trying to capture the beauty of the Texas Hill Country in the background … bright green foliage against dramatic puffy clouds in a vivid blue sky. That effort failed but I did succeed in documenting that, at the time of our stop, both trailer tires looked fine. Just a few miles down the road, the tire nearest the trailer door blew out. We really didn’t feel it but Steve noticed another driver looking at us funny and pulled over. It’s a good thing he did as all that was left of that tire was a few pitiful shreds of rubber. Not the best way to start a long drive! Before we got it changed a DOT employee and a State Trooper both stopped to make sure we were okay. The Trooper suggested we should replace the tire asap and directed us to a tire shop in the upcoming town of Brady. As we drove off we passed another car changing their tire and I started to wonder if the tire shop and the Trooper were in cahoots to take advantage of travelers. Especially ones with California plates! Steve thinks I’m being paranoid but I don’t know…