What's that smell?

We left good ole Abilene on a cold and overcast morning. The wind was wicked. Jim's cap blew off his head twice, and he had to chase it like a tumbleweed that got caught up in the wind. I had to wipe the grin off my face by the time he got back to the truck. Two c-130's took off before we left and I managed to get a picture of one of them.

The drive to Carlsbad, NM from Abilene is somewhat off the beaten path. Lots of open spaces with nothing but oil wells on it. And nothing in the air but the smell of gas...methane gas that is. Jim explained to me that is what comes out of the ground when the oil is being drilled. I could not imagine living in those parts. Smelling that stuff all day? Yuk! I had a headache most of the drive. I suppose you'd get used to it. We saw a sign that read, "Caution - Poisonous Gases", and then, not 100 feet away, there was a picnic area! Go figure!

The area from Texas to Southern New Mexico is dry, dusty, and desolate with nothing but oil wells. With everything so dry I know fires are a concern here. As a matter of fact, we came across two brush fires that had recently been started (probably by a careless toss of a cigarette butt). There were workmen gathered around to spray something on the smoking fields.




We did pass fields of cotton. Sometimes I'd glance out the window and think it was snow.




Every once in awhile we'd go through a small town. Most of the towns were broken down, stores closed, homes crumbling, and yards trashed. Sometimes there would be a regular town that seemed to be making it with today's economy.

Funny signs of the day:

I saw this on a hotel marquee but wasn't able to take a picture:
"Free Rooms! Tax $53.25"

Funny Street Names:

Run for Cover!!

On our drive from Dallas to Abilene, we saw a few funny things. One was a large Campbell's Tomato Soup can on the side of the road. We have no idea why it was there but I was able to snap a picture of it. We also saw one of those "God" billboards and I got off a quick snapshot of that, too.






A little less than 200 miles later and we arrived in Abilene, TX by mid-afternoon. Right before we got to the campground we passed this sign.



It's supposed to be for refrigeration service. Really.


We pulled into the campground and was greeted by an individual who looked straight out of the movie "Deliverance" and spoke just like "Larry the Cable Guy". That was a little frightening.

The campground was decent enough, and on our site was a beautiful mesquite tree with a twisted trunk that had a lot of character.



We didn't realize until later that this particular campground was right in the pathway of the Dyess Air Force Base runway. The fighter jets went screaming over our trailer. Our trailer was rocking, but for all the wrong reasons! Our floors actually vibrated from the sound. That night, the jets took off till midnight.

The best place to go when you arrive at a new place is the Visitor's Center, so that's where we headed. This visitor's center was in the Frontier Texas! building. Frontier Texas! is a neat experience and is fairly reasonable in price - $8 for adults, $6 for seniors/military. You can experience 100 years of the Texas frontier from 1780 - 1880. You meet some of the actual people (re-enactments) who had lived in that time, through film clips and holograms. At one point you sit in a theater in the round on seats that turn completely around to get the full effect of the show.

The Town of Abilene offers a "Round-up Pass" for $15. You can see 6 attractions at one low price. We opted for that and will try to attend as many attractions as possible in the time we have in Abilene.

There are 25 sculptures scattered throughout the town, and over the course of the next three days we will stop to see the majority of them.