Friday May 9, 1997
Big Bend National Park, TX to Fort Stockton, TX
US's Flag TX's Flag
Current Time
GMT (+0):18:38
Seattle (-8):10:38
Fort Stockton (-6):12:38
Fort Stockton, TX :
Latitude:30° 53' 38" North
Longitude:102° 54' 46" West
From Seattle:1670 miles
Altitude:2887 feet
Lodging:Hotel - Hotel 6
Map
Today's Travel:
Country:US
Region:TX
Route:SR118, US90, I10
Stop:1. El Paso, TX
Road Miles:986 miles
Linear:489 miles
Weather:Cloudy
Map
Available Photos:
All photo images © 1997-2000 Anthony Jones
Images may not be used without prior written approval.
Photo
Subject:Clouds pouring through the mountains.
Location:Big Bend National Park, TX
Larger image available
Photo
Subject:Mountains in the clouds
Location:Big Bend National Park, TX
Photo
Subject:Tarantula on the side of the road
Location:Big Bend National Park, TX
Larger image available
Photo
Subject:Curled up millipede
Location:Chimney Trail, Big Bend National Park, TX
Larger image available
Photo
Subject:5 inch millipede
Location:Chimney Trail, Big Bend National Park, TX
Photo
Subject:Petraglyphs
Location:Chimney Trail, Big Bend National Park, TX
Larger image available
Photo
Subject:Arch
Location:Chimney Trail, Big Bend National Park, TX
Larger image available
Photo
Subject:Distant canyon
Location:Big Bend National Park, TX
Trip to Date:
Day:29
Miles Driven:5238
Linear Dist:3377
Countries Visited:1
Regions Visited:8
Nights in Hotels:7
Nights with Friends / Family:14
Nights Camping:7
Nights in Hostels:1
Beers:81
Map
Entry:
Somehow my tent survived the night, I'm really not sure how. The rain finally dropped off some, but the wind got worse. Let's just say I didn't get much sleep last night. This morning I saw a huge spider. It was so big I saw it off the side of the road while driving by at 60 mph. I stopped and went back of course. It was a tarantula, and must have been close to 5 inches long. After that I went for a jog / hike, and since I'd left my running shoes in the jeep I wore Tevas. Thinking back I can't believe I wore sandals after seeing that spider! The jog was nice, and there were some petraglyphs at the end for a reward. I had to run against the wind (a steady 20mph blow) which was a lot harder than I expected, but at least it helped keep me cool. Big Bend National Park must be the place for big crawly things, I saw several dozen millipedes around 5 inches each, and a wasp like this that was better than two inches. Maybe everything is bigger in Texas.

After my hike I drove the 350 miles back to El Paso to get my car. Then I turned around and drove that 120 mile stretch of I-10 for the third time in two days. I only made it about 90 miles past the turnoff for US-90 (to Big Bend) before exhaustion forced me to stop for the night.

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