Hello Austin, Are You Ready?

Wed, 13 Jul 2005 02:30:41 +0000

Julia took us to get delicious breakfast Tacos.

It's been a few days of heavy travel since Tucson, but now we're resting comfortably in the home of Joshua's ETW friend Julia. Sixto is happily chewing on his rubber bone and all is well.

Max will soon be a patent lawyer in DC. !$Ca'Ching$!

Tucson was fun, though unbearably hot. Mark and Josh beat the heat by holing up at Taelyn's and drinking. I on the other hand hung out with Rachel's lawyer friend Max.

Venison, grilled onions and zuchinni. MMMMMMM.

For America's birthday, Taelyn cooked us a mean venison meal, and we partied with some Tucsonites until about midnight. Then we went to the bar. The aptly named Surley Wench is a

pretty decent bar. Though they did try to kick us out when Taelyn tried to bring a bug

Beecho was a cicada that Taelyn me at the Fourth of July party. You're dyin' Beecho!

he had befriended inside. The night became rapidly hazy, as we continued the regimin of Wild Turkey and beer backs.

Wild turkey and beer backs: the offical drink of Vagabender

Friday July 8th: We high tailed it out of Tucson. Got started a little late, but made

When it's too dark to see much, you gotta spice up the pic a little.

White Sands by 9pm. Late dinner at Applebees made us feel like a part of local life on the outskirts of Alamogordo(which Mark says is Spanish for Fat Fort). We pirate camped between Cloudcroft and Mayhill, NM.

A flag sticker and a support our troops magnet should help ease vagabender's passage through Texas and rest of the South.

Saturday July 9th: After breakfast at the Cafe in Mayhill, we hit the road for America's most beloved Caverns, Carlsbad. On the way we stopped at a dollar store in anticipation of how we might be recieved in Tejas.

Cavernous and gaping, like the deficit and filled with blood sucking rodents, like the halls of Congress, Carlsbad Caverns just might be America's most beloved national park. The steady downhill grade of the descent into the caves revealed once again that fat Americans walk slow and fall down a lot.

Texans love to drive friendly (glug, glug). It's the Texan way! (glug, glug)

Driving South into the Guadalupe mountians, we caught our first Texas rainstorm. Big Thunder and Lightning abound in West Texas. We spent the

Sunny, and rainy with lightning and thunder

night playing guitar, making audio, and maintaining the fragile social bonds that keep the wheels of Vagabender spinning.

Sunday, July 10th: Hit the road driving South to Big Bend. We chased a huge thunderstorm the whole way. At Marfa, we decided to take the road less traveled and head for Texas farm road 170. This is the only place where you can actually

Nice view of the Rio Grande from TFR 170.

drive alongside the Rio Grande for a significant streach.

We rolled into Presidio, Texas looking for gas and found a freaky scene out of a Zombie movie. None of the gas pumps worked. We tried to stop and get cash. At the drive through ATM a couple sat in their truck in front of the machine. When we pulled in behind them the woman got out and gesticulated wildly at us. Finally a kindly local told us that the electricity was out and in order to get gas we'd have to make it the 60 miles to Lajitas.

The road along the Rio was amazingly beautiful.

Drunk on Lone Star long necks, the mayor of Lajitas gives us the stink eye.

When we got to Lajitas, we found gas, and Clay Henry III. Clay is a beer drinking goat, and the Mayor of Lajitas. Texas is fucking weird.

When we finally got to Big Bend we camped in Big Basin, the most incredible campsite I've ever

Just look at all that natural beauty

seen. Down in a hollow, surrounded by mountains, Big Basin is lush. We saw wild pigs. A lightning storm just over the ridge lit up the basin in flashes for hours.

Monday, July 11th: We packed the truck and hit the road for a long day of driving. We arrived in San Antonio at around ten and stopped of to

This corpulent officer is now all that defends the Alamo from shirtless West Coasters and their dogs.

see the pride of Texas, the Alamo. Honestly, I wasn't that impressed. Sorry Texas.

The 35 North from SA to Austin crawling with outlet malls. I thought all of central Texas smelled like shit until I realized I was smelling the inside of the Truck. Stinky.

Arrived in Austin to a welcome of beer drinking and sitting in the backyard with Julia and one of her roommates.

Tuesday, July 12th: AUSTIN! Eating breakfast tacos. MMMMM. We're planning on a crazy night in Austin and then on to Dallas.

Luke's blog

Hello Austin, Are You Ready?