Day 171 - Wed 15 Jan 2020 - Big Bend National Park day 1

From Marathon we head south to Big Bend National Park where the Rio Grande takes a distinct turn on its way to the Gulf of Mexico. The scenery is absolutely spectacular. We spot all different kind of rock formations, shapes and colours.

We are very lucky to find the last open spot on the campground. We did not expect it to be this busy here! It's easy to see why though. We're just in time to squeeze in a little walk before dinner. We drive to Boquillas Canyon and walk along the canyon for about an hour there and back. The Rio Grande is quite narrow here and we can easily spot some Mexicans camping out with their donkey on the other side of the river in Mexico. The Rio Grande is like liquid sandpaper and over about 2 million years it carved a gorge nearly 400 meter deep.

On the way we see a roadrunner, a turtle, some very nice crystals in the rocks, and circular holes in the rocks made by many years of grinding ingredients by the natives.

Today: 163km - 3h

Total: 20,193km - 399h19m

Day 170 - Tue 14 Jan 2020 - Mexico and Dark Sky

In the morning we check out the Amistad dam over the Rio Grande. Amistad means friendship in Spanish. It was built jointly by the USA and Mexico in 1963-1968 for $125 million in response to droughts and floodings. The dam is nearly 10 km long and 77 m high. Since half the dam is in Mexico, this also meant we stepped foot in Mexico! From the dam you can spot the bouys in the Rio Grande denoting the border between Mexico and the USA.

We drive along the Rio Grande and make a couple of pit stops for scenery and food. We see lots of prickly pear cacti, some Javelina (wild cute miniature pigs) and cargo trains that go on forever.

As we drive on the towns get smaller and the vistas get bigger.

We make it to Marathon for the night. They are blessed with the highest class of dark sky and there is a local Astronomer holding a session at night with a huge telescope. Even without the telescope we can see more stars than we have ever seen. With it though, we can see: Venus, Orion's nebula belt, the Andromeda galaxy, the Sagittarius belt of our Milky Way and the ultra rare zodiacal light (less common than the northern lights).

Today: 303km - 4h30m

Total: 20,031km - 396h17m

Day 169 - Mon 13 Jan 2020 - Fort Clark, Del Rio

We make an early start today to get to the Ford Dealer at 9am. Turns out the engine light did go out today but we pull in anyway. The technician confirms Martijn reconnected the hose correctly and he clears the fault on the car diagnostic software. Clever car.

Reassured we hit the open road. We follow Highway 90 which has become significantly smaller and rural. The scenery is changing to dry winter-grey prairy with shrubbery and low trees. The size of the ranches is increasing. We spot an Armadillo, roadkill...

It's a pleasurable drive. Just before lunch we drive around Fort Clark, an army garrison built in the late 1800's. Unfortunately the museum is closed for refurbishment.

Everything is bigger in Texas, including exhausts!

After lunch Niels and Martijn visit the Lauglin Heritage Foundation Museum where Jim gives them a private tour. Many hours later their heads are brimming with lots of new facts and anecdotes. The main focus of the museum is about the secret missions of the U2 and SR71 spyplanes. Jim has obtained many official documents which have since been declassified including the photo confirming ballistic missiles in Cube and starting the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

Janine found an amazing spot at San Pedro Campground in Amistad National Park. We're about 16km from Mexico and right by the Rio Grande! The sunset is breathtaking again.

Today: 229km - 4h07m

Total: 19,728km - 391h16m

Day 168 - Sun 12 Jan 2020 - Go West

Bit of a chilly morning... there is a thin layer of frost on the picnic table. We would have loved to stay since it was so peaceful and quiet here, but the open road is calling so we say goodbye to 'Sweet Home'.

First we stop off at Ikea, we're desperate for new bed sheets. Then we make a quick trip back to our house sitting address in San Antonio to return their house keys, oops.

We finally make it further West than we have been before! A nice feeling after all that backtracking. On the way we see a couple of oil derricks.

That engine light is still on so we definitely need to visit the Ford dealer tomorrow.

Today: 235km - 3h55m

Total: 19,498km - 387h09m

Day 167 - Sat 11 Jan 2020 - A good day

Fortunately the rain and wind left us around midnight and we had an uneventful night. After breakfast we head into Yoakum town. There is a car parts store that will read your car's diagnostic code for free. Turns out we have a 'Crankcase Ventilation System Disconnected'. Next stop the Ford dealer. There are no mechanics available, but the service department is able to confirm it is nothing serious and can be driven with. It should be easy to fix and most likely covered under warranty!

We have a little look around Yoakum but most of the old downtown consists of closed down stores. More of the Wild West we were expecting.

Back home Martijn has a nosey under the bonnet and spots a disconnected hose. Perhaps it became a bit dislodged after the oil change. Putting it back did not reset the warning light so we will have to pay a visit to the garage soon. At least we can still head further West again tomorrow.

Today: 25km - 1h

Total: 19,264km - 383h13m

Day 166 - Fri 10 Jan 2020 - Odds and Sods

It is very windy today. Martijn can certainly feel the trailer move a bit more as we head West again. We are taking a more rural route and head towards 'Sweet Home'. We see the more typical Wild West. Small towns, delapidated buildings, longhorn cows, cowboy hats, tick!

At the end of the day Martijn also spots an engine warning light coming on. The car seems to be holding up fine so we decided to push on to the campground and sort it out tomorrow.

After dinner the rains starts lashing down and as we check the weather report we see some bad news. Looks like we're wedged in by bad weather. To the West of us is a severe thunderstorm warning and to the East where we came from is a Tornado watch. According to the forecast it should all just skirt around us though. Fingers crossed...

Today: 242km - 4h04m

Total: 19,238km - 382h13m

Day 165 - Thu 9 Jan 2020 - Johnson Space Center

The boys have an amazing space exploration day at the Johnson Space Center.

We go into Mission Control room and the Astronaut Training Center (where they train for living and working in the International Space Station).

After that we visit a Saturn V that never flew due to funding cuts.

We touch a piece of Mars (that came to earth in a meteor shower).

And finally we go inside the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and the Shuttle Independence (which was used to test the Shuttle aerodynamics). The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft was used for the first test glide flights of the Shuttle concept and to ferry the Shuttle back to Florida after landing in California.

Today: 67km - 2h15m

Total: 18,996km - 378h08m