11/15/99 – Unexpectedly, we visited the Boyhood home of President Bill Clinton- Hot Springs, Arkansas. The town really went out of their way to honor this man - you decide for yourself. Hot Springs National Park was the true nature of our visit. We would classify this as more of a monument than a park – but they didn’t ask us. The park consists of the Forestyhe Bath house. Very popular during its day, however by today’s standards, it would rank up there with your high school gym locker room.

11/16/99 – We celebrate our 5 month anniversary in a 32 acre field of volcanic dirt digging for diamonds. Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas offers diamond hunting to the public. It’s a fun activity (for the first 30 minutes). Go if you want to enjoy a day digging and sifting in the dirt, but don’t go with great expectations. Some people do find diamonds and other gems – however the majority find blisters and dirty finger nails.

11/17/99 – We make it into Texas and prepare for a long drive to Big Bend National Park. On our way through Dallas we encounter road construction on the Hwy. Now folks – when there are signs posted along the Hwy that a particular lane is closing, that is your clue to get out of that lane. It does not mean waiting until the last possible second, then squeezing your way in front of people who have followed the rules and waited in the appropriate lane. We happened to be positioned in the correct lane behind a group of tractor-trailer trucks. A man driving a van (in the closing lane) waited until that last possible second to attempt to get over. Naturally, he was not going to squeeze his way in on the 18 wheelers – but he felt inclined to run us off the road to avoid the (Lane Closed) sign blocking his lane. We gave him a disapproving honk on the horn and he proceeded to stop his van on the Hwy and get out. He walks back to us and after a few !@#$ &*( and !@@&*($ words yelled at us, he wants to know if we have a problem. Folks – road rage is a reality. We just don’t understand. We obeyed the rules, yet we were the ones to be run off the road and attacked because someone with a testosterone problem can’t wait in line like everyone else.

11/18/99 – Abaliene to Big Bend National Park is a long flat drive. Incredible open space dotted with a few oil pumps and windmills. We entertain ourselves by honking and waving to the cattle along the roadside. They seem as happy to see us as we are them. You can drive for 20 miles without seeing another soul. When a car (normally a pick-up) does come into view, arms are waving in joy at the sight of another human. After living and working in a city environment for 8 years, this was an incredible experience. So much land, so few people. We enter the National Park just as the sun begins to set. The mountains and mesas are bathed in pinks and purples. The entire trip, we have been so excited about getting "out West" and this area truely feels like we made it.

11/19/99 – Roadrunners are everywhere in our camp. We ride our bicycles to the Rio Grande and hike down to the Mexican Border. This is such a cool experience for us. We imagined the Rio Grande to be much "grander". The water was running fast, however the river was not very wide. We understand during the rainy season, the river is very treacherous.

11/20/99 – We decide to move the Rig to another camp within the park. It’s not recommended for RVs as the road is very steep and winding. We take it slow and pull over a few times to help keep the engine cool. It was definitely worth the effort as we were rewarded with some incredible hikes. We took a short hike to watch the sunset through a rock formation called the window. Meanwhile the moon was rising up behind us over the mountain named Casa Grande. Spectacular! The hike back to camp was eventful. We didn’t pack our headlamps as we didn’t plan on staying as long as we did to watch the sunset. Needless to say, it quickly got very dark. We let our eyes adjust to the moonlight and started down the trail. Tim was in the lead and heard rustling in a bush. My heart leaped into my throat and immediately prepared myself for battle with a bear. Once we regained our senses, we found we were surrounded by 5 javalines (wild boar). Luckily, they were as scared of us as we were of them and they froze as we passed. For the remainder of the hike, Elise serenaded Tim with her rendition of Jingle Bells to alert other "creatures of the night" of our passing. Now - we never leave camp without at least one light – no matter what time of day we hike.

11/21/99 – Another incredible day in the park. A 12.5 mile hike was rewarded with an ice cream cone (and foot massage).

11/22/99 – One final hike while in Big Bend. Because the park is very remote, you just don’t stubble across it. People are there because they planned to visit this incredible area. With that in mind, you start to run into the same people during your visit there. It seems we ran into all of our new acquaintances during our last hike. We have found the neatest people to be those who purposely search out the more remote locations. They have a real appreciation for natures’ beauty and life in general. It’s so easy to get stuck in our daily rut. These folks realize that and don’t take life for granted. Rather they realize life is a precious gift. So the moral to this slight sermon is – Turn off the TV, get off your ass and take a walk.

We leave the park and head Northwest to meet some Alfa Romeo club members. Once again, incredible hospitality by 2 very talented and entertaining folks. We were given an opportunity to experience ‘small town living’. We were amused that letters addressed with just a first name and the City/State (no Zip code, Street name, house number or last name) actually were delivered to the correct person. Now that’s kind of cool. People know each other within their town. You know, we couldn’t even tell you half of the names of the people that lived on the same street we did, let alone the names of people working on the same office floor where Elise worked.

11/23/99 – After a nice hike with our new friends, we move on down the road to MacDonald Observatory. We were informed that the road is not suitable for the RV. The time does not allow us to ride our bikes or walk. A man hears of our situation and offers to give us a ride up the mountain. He’s a strange fellow but extremely knowledgeable of the observatory. He provided us with a very informative tour. We stay for the star party that night. This is an outdoors event open to the public to participate in star-gazing through some of their telescopes. That was by far the best viewing of the Moon and Saturn we have ever seen. The Moon was displayed on video screens and the guide pointed out specific land formations as well as NASA landing sites.

11/24/99 - 11/26/99- We take a few down days over the Thanksgiving day holiday. We treat ourselves to a campground with electricity and cable TV. Holiday parades, football games and 24 hours of Clint Eastwood movies were on the agenda. Thanksgiving came with all the fixings too – Turkey and pumpkin pie cooked up in the Rig.