Ben's Blog is difficult to post a reply so I will do it here.
"Take a look at that great pic. Every time I look at it I am reminded of some memorable trips out West—either for camping and fishing in Yellowstone country or for more “mundane†activities. Nearly always we stopped at the Texline rest area (at the border between TX and NM) on 87 especially if we were headed out to the West rather than returning home. This pic was snapped by me early one morning as the sun was coming up at the rest stop. I can't be sure which trip it was."
Well that picture could not have been taken at the rest area on the trip with the Kaisers. It would have been too dark. We stopped at the rest area just before Texline, but Ben was so anxious to get to the KF National (or had to go to the bathroom) that he woke all of us up before day light. We drove may be 3 miles down the road and then he wanted to stop for coffee at a cafe just into New Mexico. It was right at 5AM at the clock at the cafe, still dark, and a number of ranchers were were drifting in. Ben and my brother went in but I stayed in the car and got a little more sleep. While the boundary between the Central and Mountain Time Zones in that area is the Texas/NM stateline I am still claiming Ben so woke us before 5 AM!
And...Do you know what a Honey Locust tree is? They grow 3 inch branched spikes (not thorns) from their trunks and branches. These can go through thick boot soles and 6 ply tractor tires. It seems the Texas Highway department landscaped that rest area with those trees. I expected us to have a flat tire, but fortunately we didn't.
