Well that was fun.

I drove out to my brother's ranch in West Texas on Sunday, where we began conditioning ourselves for the extreme heat and sun that we would be experiencing in the coming days.  In order to do this we laid out by the pool several times a day and had cocktails promptly at 5:00 every evening.  After a couple of days of this brutal conditioning we struck out on our adventure.  First we had to provision in Midland.  Since we were staying in a house we planned on cooking and eating in for our days in Marathon and also once we got to Del Rio and the lake.

Midland was not a happy stop, Mike lost a wheel off the boat trailer as he was driving over an overpass.  Thus resulting in hours of working on the boat trailer (with the boat on it) to repair the hub before getting the wheel back on.  My brother Mike is one of the most resourceful people I know (including my Dad, my husband, and my son.) Speaking of my son, Jeff just happened to be working in Midland and he came running to the rescue to help his Uncle Mike out.  In short time they had done the repairs and checked the lights on the trailer all on the side of the road in 90+ heat.  What should have been a 1.5 hour stop for food and supplies in Midland ended up being 5 hours.  We still had 2.5 hours of driving to get to Marathon.  We would arrive after dark, 9ish as the sun sets out there around 9PM. 

Mike and Di had invited me along on a 'business' trip to the Big Bend area of Texas.  When you live remotely as they do you plan all your business to be taken care of in one huge circling swoop.  This trip was to drop off a headboard that Di had designed for a hotel in Marathon and then on to Lake Amistad to pick up their 5th wheel camper.  Once you leave the house, there is no going back until you are done.  I have lived in Texas all but 3-4 years of my entire life and had NEVER been to Big Bend.  They felt this was a sin and that it should be remedied as soon as possible.

Di is doing some decorating business at the Gage Hotel  so they had rented a friend's home to stay in.  (If you look at the website for The Gage, just know that the beds are not going to look like what is shown in a few months, Di is in the process of changing them...)

We even had an impromptu dinner party while there with some of their long time friends. (Di can throw a dinner party at the drop of a hat, and she can create dinner out of whatever you have on hand, she is amazing in the kitchen.)  No one turns down a chance to eat when Di is cooking.

The house was awesome!  Eclectic, with touches of modern art AND treasures of the southwest and Mexico.  The owner had built and decorated it on a budget and used LOTS of recycled objects such as commercial doors like you would see in a department store and the overhead bay doors you can see in this picture were used in the living area/dining area and also in the master bedroom.

Please disregard our laundry hanging on the doors, we didn't have a clothesline....

These 'glass bricks' are actually Patron Tequila bottles!

I love this sliding door!  This picture was taken from inside the bedroom that I slept in.  The wall stopped just above the door and it was open to the living room on the other side.  The other side of this wall was covered in corrugated tin.  Needless to say, I could live in this house!  Here is the AirBnB details on Casa Wilma if you are interested.

While staying at Casa Wilma it was just a hop and a 20 mile (at least) skip down the road to Alpine, a bit farther on to Marfa, where the classic movie Giant was filmed and you can see the famous Marfa Lights if you are lucky.  We had drinks at the Hotel Pasisano, and dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant in Marfa. It's their favorite place to eat when in the area.

We struck out the next morning heading south into Big Bend National Park, or as the locals refer to it "the park".

 I had been all but told by friends that I was crazy for going to Big Bend in July.  Normally the temps run 100+ degrees, but that morning when I stepped out of the truck for Di to snap this picture it was in the low 80's!  We had conditioned ourselves, remember.... 

This trip is to be continued.....  it's becoming another of my long stories.  Just know I have some beautiful pictures of Big Bend and the Pecos River valley to come tomorrow.