"There AIN'T nothin' west of the Pecos River, Mr. Favor!"

Rowdy, there still ain't nothin' west of the Pecos River...nothing except some of the most ruggedly beautiful country I've seen anywhere, that is. If you're looking for homes and restaurants and entertainment and shopping centers, keep driving. But this is terrain that fires your imagination. You can easily visualize a wagon train of Easterners and displaced families of the Confederacy trekking through this brutal land and wondering if there was a safe place for them to begin again. Wondering how much further they'd have to push to find water or even shade. Wishing they had stayed back home and knowing there was no longer a home anywhere for them. Another of my misperceptions was believing that the road from San Antonio to El Paso was going to be a Purgatory of Boredom. A road similar to one I drove once from San Antonio to Laredo....tumbleweed on both sides and nothing else for miles in any direction. I couldn't find a place to pull off for the night so I kept driving until finally one of the big rigs pulled off in front of me around 1030 and I pulled off behind him. Six rigs and my little entourage found a safe harbor in the parking lot of a Chevron station. There was no where else to go. Here you walk your dog in sandy dirt and rocks. And you're just grateful that you have that. And the company of the truckers to ensure your safety. These men and women who drive are so tired after wrestling with a big rig all day and half the night that they don't have the energy to harm anyone....they might talk you to death ... but you're safe with them.Two crumbled deer carcasses and a red fox next to the road had me keeping my left hand on the headlight button in case something jumped out in front of me. I could stand on the brakes, douse the lights and, just maybe, save all of us from disaster. Back on the road early this morning after a fitful rest, I found that in daylight the terrain had changed considerably. And I was ravenous! I pulled off to an Exxon Travel Center at about the 156 marker. Pouring my coffee I asked where I could get a hot breakfast. "Just down the hall through the casino!" Eggs, refried beans and country biscuits. Now I was ready for the road. Walking out at the same time was a trucker. "Nice day!" "Yes, it is and nice country too. It's the first time I've driven through it." "Oh, yeah! Lotta snakes!", he shivered and grimaced. "I'm not afraid of snakes. What about bears??" "No, ma'am, no bears." Thank goodness. I'm terrified of bears. (Look carefully at the photo in the middle & you'll see a train streaking left to right across the desert) I glanced to the left. A plateau! Suddenly I had a flashback of my best childhood Christmas. We were living in Richmond, VA. Reading was my passion. Reading and horses. I asked Santa to bring me a book about a horse. On Christmas morning I woke my parents early to see if my book was under the tree. There were a dozen books... all were about horses and all were about the West. There I first saw an illustration of a plateau and began looking for photographs. A real plateau! Right in front of me ... how incredible! And in a flash I remembered my dream. I was walking across a plateau toward a Native American man in wedding attire. I looked down and saw that I also was wearing a beaded pale yellow buckskin wedding dress and mocassins. I had flowers in my hair. I looked up at the night sky as I continued walking toward him. The stars blazed overhead. The full moon looked down and lit our faces. Our families stood back in a circle around us. When we were face to face I saw that he was a white man but I knew him as an Indian and my husband. I woke up but that dream is as vivid as ever years later. Why do we dream things so different from our own lives? ARE we dreaming? Or are we remembering another life? Recently I read an article about a couple who recreated a Native American wedding ceremony for their own vows. Here is a prayer from the people who were here first.

God in heaven above please protect the ones we love.
We honor all you created as we pledge our hearts and lives together.
We honor Mother Earth and ask for our marriage to be abundant
and grow stronger through the seasons.
We honor fire - and ask that our union be warm and glowing with love in our hearts.
We honor wind - and ask we sail through life safe and calm as in our father's arms.
We honor water - to clean and soothe our marriage– that it may never thirst for love.
All the forces of the universe you created, we pray for harmony and true happiness,
as we forever grow young together.

I'm in El Paso and I think I may stay tomorrow. I'm not in such a hurry to get through Texas after all.