My eyes open, then close a few times before I give in to the destiny of wakefulness, reluctantly. I had woken up a few times during the night with my mouth and sinuses all dry and a bit irritated; the effects of my "cold" and the dry air being pumped from the incessant fan of the room's heater. But, all in all I don't feel too bad; phase 2 of whatever seems to have passed. I take my time getting ready, enjoying the leisure pleasure of not having 600 miles to put behind me today.

I decide to try and send a New Year's greeting via my cell phone with the special card I bought for the laptop to enable me to do so. I try Verizon's Mobile Office and not surprisingly that feature is not supported in Fort Stockton. So I attempt to connect to Juno (for which I just signed up for it's ad-free Gold Service at $9.95/mo.) and lo and behold it connected at a blistering 19.2k (more than fast enough for a cell phone connection). After creating 3 "On the Road" groups - to get around Yahoo's max send list limits - I wrote a short note and sent it on it's way to all 3. Or so I attempted. While I had no trouble downloading all my messages from Yahoo! I was unable to send out a single one. Rats! I guess my New Year's salutations shall just have to wait.

While trying to send I glanced out the windows and... Yikes! It's snowing! Cool!! There's not a whole lot depth-wise, but everything's covered. Maybe I should just stay put... Nah! The storm front wasn't supposed to extend all the way south to Big Bend (100+ miles), and besides, I'm always up for a little adventure. So giving up on email I gathered my things, packed the truck, checked out, and headed off towards Big Bend. The snow has already slowed and though the air temperature is 29° there's hardly any accumulation on the road and nary a trace of ice.

Heading south on 385 towards Marathon, about 50 miles distant, I enjoy the passing scenery of snow-covered fields, grazing land by the looks of it, against a backdrop of rounded hills. The farther I go the slower the snowfall and after about half an hour it stops all together. The leaden skies have lifted a bit so that I can now see much more than the few hundred yards when I first started out. The air has warmed some and every now and then a chunk of icy snow tears off the truck with a noisy clatter. Quite a few vehicles pass me going the other way, heading home I suppose after celebrating New Year's Eve in Big Bend. In no time at all Marathon hoves into view and I stop at one of the two gas stations to top off the gas tank.

South of Marathon, past "La Migra's" station, the character of the land changes as the road now cuts through the low hills, curving around one, then another. The grasses of earlier have given way to bare, rocky ground and desert scrub. I don't see any cattle about anymore. I pass a ridge to the right of me whose side has been scalloped, exposing the pinkish yellow rock so that it reminds me of the jawbone of some huge, prehistoric beast, the fearsome teeth rearing several hundred feet above. Looking to the south and east are mountains, no longer just hills, of several thousand feet in height, lurking in the distance, barely visible through the obscuring clouds still pinned low to the sky everywhere I look.

Every now and then I pass an old, wooden windmill, or the remnants of one. There's fuel in those layers of rock so every now and then I also pass a collection of tanks and pipe and stuff. No drilling rigs though, at least not in view from the road. I notice a flurry of activity ahead of me on the road a bit, a couple of crows feeding on some road kill? Except one of them isn't flying off... Oh. That one's a skunk! With the bushiest tail I've ever seen on one of them! I slow down so I don't run over it as it ambles across the road. That's all I need is a piece of stinky skunk stuck to my undercarriage! (And of course I simply don't want to run over one of God's creatures if I can help it. I just mean that I really, really, really don't want to smush him!)

And then I pass a forest, yes a forest of yuccas, almost all with the spent flower stalk sticking high in the air. I've never seen such a concentration before. Of course I must stop and take some pictures though I must be careful of the wires when I poke my lens through the fence since it's electrified! Along here there's barely any snow on the ground, but interestingly, those prickly pairs whose pads are upturned seem to hold the deepest amounts still remaining. Interestingly also are the occasional pullouts I pass by. Barely more than a widening of the road they are nevertheless decorated with a few boulders, a couple of short trees, and a small collection of succulents. No picnic tables or historical markers or anything like that. Huh!?

At last! The sign indicating entry into Big Bend NP. I pull over and take a picture of me by the sign; proof that Chris was here! The Persimmon Gap Entrance Station is closed so I breeze right on by and head towards park headquarters at Panther Junction, another 25 miles or so. The clouds have lifted higher and thinned some so I'm hoping that the weather is on the mend for tomorrow.

I see a sign for "Self-guided Auto Tour" so I hang it left onto the graded gravel road. Luckily, there is a stand containing brochures (for 50¢) so I grab one and head down the road to Dagger Flat. The tour is basically of the different desert flora found here and though the day is still dreary and gray, I stop at each post (all 19 of 'em) to learn a little about where I am. The guide tells about several different kinds of yucca, the ocotillo, prickly pears, desert-adapted trees, and more. Interesting, sometimes enough to take a picture or two. At road's end there is a forest of yuccas and other plants, very pretty and driving back I am struck by the plentitude of them, all wearing their spiky crowns, some bearing a white, withered "feather" of last year's flowers. About halfway out I see my first roadrunner of the trip. Way cool!

By the time I reach the main road there is actually a small bit of blue in the sky above, and for just the briefest moment the sun's rays actually reach down to where I'm driving. But only for the briefest. Nevertheless, it's definitely brighter and so are my spirits as I wend closer to park headquarters. A few miles ahead is a fossil exhibit down a short paved road to the left. I park and get out to read about how this was all an ancient sea that has left behind a treasure trove of fossils of the countless ancient flora and fauna that once flourished in it and along it's shores. For instance the largest land animal skull, and the largest flying dinosaur skeleton, have been found here. The viewpoint of the plains to the east is quite exposed to the cold wind blowing through so I don't linger for too long because it's only 38° and no sun to speak of.

Yayy! Panther Junction! I pull into the parking lot and go into the Visitor Center to see about getting some maps and guides. It's surprisingly crowded and concerns about room availability at the Big Bend Motor Inn, in Study (stew·dee) Butte, 25 miles away, start creeping into my mind. I already know that the Chisos Mountain Lodge is booked for the week, and... so I don't spend too much time there - it's already 5pm - and I'm soon on my way down the mountain towards the East Entrance of the park.

But almost immediately I get stuck behind a van with a canoe on top going no more than 35 mph (the speed limit is 45 and even 55+ is safe along here). Lucky for me there is a spot to pass right up ahead, which I do. The road, Rt. 118, basically goes around the Chisos Mtns. as it drops down to Study Butte and ultimately the Rio Grande. I pass some roads which I make a note of for possible explorations later. I look to my right where I can see a mountain peak, lit by the sun, with a layer of cottony clouds that look as if they're "flowing" up and over its "shoulders". Very scenic! I don't know how it'll come out on film, but I of course make an attempt.

And 25 miles later Study Butte rolls into view and the Big Bend Motor Inn is almost empty, except for the collection of RVs behind it in the RV park. I book a room for 2 nights; as I told the woman behind the counter, "I need to plop down for a while". The room is basic, but very nice actually and I settle in, cranking the heat on, and cracking open a tall, cold one. I peruse the literature I obtained at Panther Junction to see what's to see here at Big Bend. I think the weather is supposed to be cloudy again tomorrow, but perhaps sunny by Thursday, so I decide that Wednesday will be an easy day where I'll just get up whenever and head for Boquillas where I can get a view of the river and then work my way back to Study Butte, perhaps taking the road up to the Chisos Mtns. Basin if time permits. It won't be the best day for pictures, but it'll have to do I guess. Thursday perhaps I will take the paved road down to Castolon, by the river, and then out to the ghost town of Terlingua, before heading up to Guadalupe Mtns. NP.