Day 127

I slept in! I woke up just past sunrise. I must have just missed Lee.

I broke camp and repacked the buggy. I headed into town. 

I put in the miles

I had consistent cell service for the first time in days! It felt good to contact friends and family. Debbie had messaged me on Facebook. She and Rachel wanted to buy me lunch in Sanderson!

I stopped at a rest stop just outside town. I a package of poptarts for breakfast, and took rest. At 9:30 a.m., I continued into Sanderson Canyon.

I made Sanderson, an old railroad town nestled in the canyon walls.

Frank waved me down! He is the owner of the Ranch House, a restaurant in town. He told me he was expecting me for lunch! Debbie and Rachel would be arriving around 11:30 a.m. We hung out and drank a couple sodas. 

Frank and his wife Tiffany grew up in Sanderson. They opened up a restaurant recently. Frank was prepping food for the 4th of July. It is a big event in town. Sanderson’s population of 800 doubles. It’s a homecoming. 

Debbie and Rachel showed up! They are from Houston but purchased a ranch in Dryden last month. Their family has liked it so much they haven’t been home much at all! 

They gave me a cooler with iced down waters, and a pack with all kinds of things inside. I was running low on baby wipes too!

We headed inside and shared a great meal: enchiladas, they were so good! The restaurant was technically closed, but Frank and his wife Tiffany opened just for us! 

It was a great time, we talked about the journey and all kinds of other things. Just past high noon, we said our goodbyes.

I hit town. It was hot, the sun beat down.

I made it to Lee’s house! He was at work, but the guesthouse was open just as he promised. It was cool inside!

I showered and did laundry. I watched Seinfeld and took a nap. I readied the buggy for the road. 

Lee came home around 6p.m. He invited me into his home and cooked us a home made meal of biscuits, bacon, and eggs for dinner. It was so good!

Lee used to be a Pastor in Austin. He loves the Big Bend area and currently works at the visitor center in Langtry. He is also an incredible wildlife photographer. 

Lee also keeps venomous snakes and spiders! He showed me rattle snakes, tarantulas, black widows, and all kinds of creepy crawlers. Eeek!

We hit the store, bought a few gallons of water, and headed west to scout the road to Marathon. It was beautiful.

Traffic has slowed considerably over the past few days. In fact, its almost non existent. We were the only vehicle for miles and miles.

We dropped water checkpoints at mile markers 35 and 45 for the road ahead. Just in case! 

The sun set.

Lee is a herper! Something I didn’t know existed. He travels the roads at night looking for rattle snakes and other things upon the road.

We found one! Not sure if I have mentioned this before, but I am scared of snakes and spiders! Lee picked up a baby rattle snake with a tool he had! Wow! 

As much as I don’t like snakes, I was happy to join Lee on his herping adventure. Lee is incredibly knowledgable about reptiles. He educated and instructed me on many things. Things I might need to know here in the southwest. It was actually kind of inspiring. It reminded me of fishing.

We made it back to Sanderson around dark. Lee would be up early in the morning, and I would sleeping in. We said our goodbyes. I retired back to the guest house contemplating the road ahead. I slept great!