March 28, 2017 - Del Rio, TX to Marathon, TX

Another overcast morning and it was very windy.  The weather forecast called for light rain throughout the day.

Erwin took the Lil' Home (LH) to Murphy USA in Del Rio to get diesel fill-up while I waited in the Jeep at Broke Mill RV Park.

After Erwin got back from Murphy USA we left the RV Park at 10:30 am. Our next destination: Marathon, TX, known as the northern gateway to the Big Bend National Park. Last night I made a videophone call to Marathon RV Park to reserve a site for tonight's stay.

Getting ready for the road trip to Marathon, TX

It was foggy when we crossed the bridge over Amistad International Reservoir. It was hard to see things and places in the distance. 

There is an Immigration Inspection station off US 90, about 25 miles west of Del Rio. All vehicles are required to go through the station. Two questions were asked of us: " Are you a citizen?" and "Anybody else ride with you?". We had our documents ready, but the agent did not ask to see them. 

We crossed the bridge over Pecks River. The view was beautiful. 

We pulled into Langtry, TX, a ghost town with a Visitor's Center (population is about 25).  This town is where Judge Roy Bean's saloon and opera house are in. Admission is free. Inside the center there are dioramas that tell the story about Judge Roy Bean.  There is a nice Cactus Garden Interpretive Trail where you can see various Southwestern flora, such as, yucca, prickly pears, agaves, and more. 

Judge Roy Bean was "The law West of the Pecos." He was the West's most colorful judge of the peace and ruled America's last frontier in the last decades of the 19th century. He became a legend even in his own time! He died at the age of 77-78 in 1903.

Along Highway 90 we spotted several border patrol agents checking barbed wire fences along the side of the road.

We pulled over to a picnic area, few miles west of Langtry to eat lunch.  The weather started to clear up and the visibility was better.

We arrived Marathon, TX at 2 pm, checked into Marathon Motel & RV Park.  There are only two motels in that town.  They assigned us to Site #9 (the 2nd row away from the main roadway).

We then went out to sight see for the afternoon. There is no visitor's center in that town, but there is an outdoor building that has information posted on the walls. Marathon has a population of around 450. It was the principal shipping point for most Brewster County ranchers because its location in the relatively flat basin was more accessible for cattle.

The weather suddenly darkened and we had a dust storm!  It lasted for a couple hours. The wind speed increased as the storm got closer to where we were, rattling in our LH.  We were nervous, but, at the same time, excited because we got to see and experience our first dust storm.  After the storm was over the sky was beautiful again.

I went out for a drive on Highway 90 going west to see if there was a good spot for sunset photo op.  The sun was already down behind the mountains when I pulled over to the shoulder. However, the view was awesome.

 

~Edith