T is for Texas

We just got to Albuquerque, NM and found our way to the mechanical engineering building for some internet. We spent the past couple of days in Texas. Last night we camped in a state park just outside of El Paso on the border of Mexico and New Mexico. The mountains out there are gorgeous. Below are some pictures from our hike through the mountains and the caves.



Once we hiked to the top we decided to scale the mountain on the opposite side and walk around the long side. We got a little off trail and ended up hiking through this:

That turned out to be probably the longest day we've ever had. We woke up at 6:00am central time and drove 10 hours from Austin to El Paso, going through a time zone on the way. Before leaving Austin we had a little bike jam. There is a huge BMX scene there and a lot of flatlanders live nearby. Although the jam was small it was still fun to ride for a bit.


We stayed with Mark for the two days we were in town. It just so happened that we were in Austin the same time the Republic of Texas was happening. Motorcyclists from all over the state came down to show off their bikes and party. We headed downtown Friday night and were amazed how many bikers were there. There were guys having contests who can rev their engines the loudest. Robby Knievel was even there and jumped off a ramp over a couple of trucks. It was pretty funny to be in the middle of all of this.


Before leaving Austin we stopped in a Holiday Inn for some free breakfast. On our drive we passed a couple huge wind farms, and a lot of desert.

We stopped somewhere for some food at this Mexican restaurant. There was a 'Fancy Junk' yard right next door.



So we are going to be in New Mexico today and tomorrow, meeting up with Professor Selleck for a bit then heading to the Petrified National Forest before getting to Flagstaff, AZ.