
I was drawn in by what looked to be a real local old-school bar that was adjacent to our motel's parking lot.
The decor and crowd inside did not disappoint. I had a Budweiser so I wouldn't stand out, took in the scenery and then headed back to room in time to catch the latest Survivor episode with Skye, a family tradition.
We hit the road early the next morning, planning to get to Tuscon for lunch.
But not before stopping off and picking up an ostrich egg or two at old Rooster Cogburn's.

Or not.
Who knew that the Ostrich Ranch had seasonal hours?
What a bummer, particularly because we accidentally sped past it and by the time we got to the next turn-off we were down the road a good 20 miles.

When we saw road signs for Apple Annie's Country Store we figured we were in for something kitchy and we did get tha,t in a way, but it was nuevo-kitsch in the Martha Stewart vein, not good ol' Americana Route 66 kitsch
We bought a bottle of water and some home-made fudge, so as not to be rude.

I put on my stylish compression socks to help battle the pain and fatigue and boosted up my seat with a folded up furniture pad to change the angle, rubbed in some muscle-therapy cream and was good to go for another few hours.
We figured we'd clear El Paso by an hour and turn in for the night.

El Paso has always been a bit of a sore spot for me on our cross-country travels.
It started years ago, when as a kid we'd make the pilgrimage from LA to central Texas to visit my grandparents.
It was always in summer of course, which is when you least want to be in central Texas.
By the time you get to El Paso, you've been in the desert from the time you got out the Inland Empire, already a good day and a half of driving.
And you're just starting to cross Texas, which can take a couple of days.

Getting through El Paso took a bit longer because of rush hour traffic, but we were still feeling good, so pushed beyond the first town.
But then we hit the wall and decided to get some gas and stop for the night.
We've stayed at some funky places in the middle of nowhere, but this time we decided to keep on moving.
After getting away from that very sketchy gas station stop, we hoped it wouldn't be too much further.
We were both spent and ready for a good night's sleep.
Luckily it was only another 20 minutes or so until we found a nice place to hit the hay.

Jon Danniells
October 18
Up and at 'em — with Skye Danniells at Van Horn Texas.
I love sunrises in general more than sunsets.
They take more commitment.
Around an hour after the sun came blasting over the mountain, we hit a bank of fog that did its best to suppress the sun.
All to no avail.

We were trying to make it out of Texas.
And came so close.
Jon Danniells
October 18
Started the day on one side of Texas, been driving all day, still in Texas, just barely — at Tradewinds Tavern.
We stayed at the same hotel we did last time we were in Beaumont, Texas.
That time however was after we had a major vehicle malfunction and it was not the best of evenings, to say the least.
This time however we had had a good day of traveling and were on the last leg before rejoining Cindy in NOLA.
Unfortunately she ended up having to work on Saturday, so we wouldn't be seeing her until the end of the day. The plus side was that we could sleep in and take it easy on the way back to the Big Easy.
Jon Danniells
October 18
near Beaumont, TX via mobile
Looking forward to sleeping into tomorrow