Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1999 15:39:24 -0700
To: [private email]
From: campbell@ufomind.com (Glenn Campbell, Las Vegas)
Subject: Re: July-August travel schedule

Here's what I remember of the Big Bend area....

One of the reason's I wanted to go there is because I had just 
seen the movie "Paris, Texas," which was filmed there
(in Terlinqua).  (The video is worth seeing to get you in the
mood.) Being
a Bostonian at the time, the isolation was intriguing to me.
The area has the same feel as Rachel.  Miles of nothing 
interrupted by occasional trailers.

You definitely won't run into many tourists.  I think their
main season is winter, pulling in a lot of the "sunbirds" 
in their RV's.  They seem to be the people who buy 
property in the area, since there is not much economic 
activity.

I didn't spend much time in the national park itself, just driving
through the park and stopping at the visitor's center.  I didn't 
see any destination that grabbed me, so I moved on.

In the town of Lajitas, I arranged to raft down a lazy
portion of the Rio Grande.  (There are several companies
on the western-style street.) More strenuous trips were also
offered.  We stopped for lunch on the Mexican side.  I never
saw a drug runner -- or anybody.

Lajitas is the start of the longest daily school bus ride in
the nation.  Kids must travel 90+ miles each way to the school
in Alpine.
Marfa and Alpine are the only towns big enought to have supermarkets
or fast food (Dairy Queen) -- or schools beyond elementary.
These towns are like islands in the ocean -- still many hours
from the nearest big city.

In UFO circles, the city of Marfa is known for its "ghost lights"
which are said to appear east of town.  There is supposed to be
sign at a rest stop on the highway.

Mexico doesn't look any different from the US around here -- just
desert.  The crossing towns are very small and dusty, with not
much for tourists.  (The main crossing for tourists is El Paso/Jaurez,
where there is a very startling difference between the two sides:
modern city vs. shantytowns.  Very educational.)

You want big and empty, you got it.

Glenn