Next Stop: The Texas Panhandle

Today saw our return to good old Pflugerville, Texas for the final repairs to the rig which will allow us to continue our journey in safety. Two new tires, a new ball joint and a sorely needed alignment now have the rig driving more smoothly, the steering wheel firm and steady in the hand. Although these repairs set us back quite a few hundred dollars (no surprise there), we're grateful that our "wheel estate" is more solid than ever, and this gives us a certain feeling of security for the road ahead.

Since we had three hours to spend while the repairs were being done, we hopped on our bikes, took our lives in our hands, and biked along the I-35 service road to the nearest movie theater to take in the newest Jeff Bridges film, "Crazy Heart". The film, with music by T. Bone Burnett, was satisfying on many levels. Lovely cinematography of New Mexico and Arizona certainly whet our appetites for the next chapters of our journey, and a few tears were indeed shed by us both over this tale of redemption.

Pflugerville, movies and rig repairs aside, we are now plotting a course north into the Texas panhandle, where we will make a stop to visit the town of Canyon---one of Mary's childhood hometowns. We will then turn west with the goal of reaching Taos, New Mexico on Saturday in anticipation of a joyous reunion with our beloved son Rene and his wonderful wife Bevin. We have not seen them since they left for Taos in August following their wedding, and this is the longest we have ever been apart from our son in his 26 years of life. Although Taos is rather cold in February, we will winterize the rig, make lots of soup and tea, and warm ourselves with the company of two of our favorite people on this earth.

New Mexico is home to a number of intentional communities of great interest to us, and with friends in Taos, Las Vegas (New Mexico), Albequerque and Santa Fe, we are sure to be even further warmed by the familiarity and comfort of old friends.

Texas has been kind to us, and although the Lone Star State is now technically our legal domicile, we feel that New Mexico and Arizona may indeed be where we will discover our new home. These are exciting times for us, and as we leave Texas behind this week, we look towards the West with great optimism and excitement. Off into the sunset to the Wild West we go!