We decided that we needed a break from the Austin traffic and the stresses of every day life in the burbs so we headed out to spend a weekend checking out our land. We had not found the time to camp as much this year as we usually had so this was a perfect opportunity to do it. We left a bit later than expected so we arrived around dusk. Camp had to be set up quickly and the wood had to be gathered for a fire. It was strange to be in a place that had no burn ban in effect. It also seemed to be much cooler than home. By dark the temperature gauge in my truck read sixty-seven degrees. We were loving it.
Even with the camp fire, there seemed to be a million more stars in the sky. Out in the desert it is so dark at night, the closest neighbor being miles away. Even though our property sits just off a dirt county road, the only traffic at night was from the border patrol switching shifts. We are only eight miles from the Mexican border but there is a very large mountain range between us and them. The desert silence can be deafening to someone who is so used to the non-stop sounds of city life.
Around eleven we all went to bed and just a few hours later I woke up thinking border patrol was shining a flashlight in my face. It was the strangest feeling but when I opened my eyes, it was the biggest moon I had ever seen. It had come up over the mountains and was shining in on me with such brilliance that I never would have thought it would be the moon waking me. I realized how cold it had become and tried to steal a bit of blanket from Stephen who is a huge blanket hog.
One thing I discovered out there was that time seemed so different. There was about an hour less daylight due to the rise and fall of the sun in the mountains. I woke very early, about 5:30 or 6. The temperature in my truck read fifty-six degrees and it was July. It was amazing!
We started to walk our property line. The property ran two miles across the front, along the road and then all the way back to the mountains. During the hike we found many things we did not expect to see in the desert such as dragonflies and turtles. There were also jackrabbits, butterflies, many colorful birds, flowers, and crazy looking bugs. It was streaming with life.
The temperature rose to ninety-five degrees but had a nice breeze and felt cooler than back home. We were much more comfortable and were relieved to be rid of that hot sticky feeling. We had taken our sons, Billy and John, with us and they were enjoying the freedom to run wild... even though they were 18 and 16. We gave Billy a new nickname... Billyjack. He received this name for two reasons. First, he ran through the desert, jumping bushes, and chasing rabbits as if he had been one in a previous life. Second, he tried to ride dust devils by running and jumping into them. One was so powerful that it pulled his shirt all the way over his head with it hanging on by just one of his arms. It was a sight to see.... crazy boy!
My youngest son, John, spent the weekend hunting jackrabbits. He never gave up and just before we were leaving he finally got one. He brought it home and made jackrabbit stew.... I had none! The guys all said it was amazing.
This was the beginning of the end for us. Life as we knew it had changed and we really felt it when we arrived back home to over one hundred degree temps and no breeze; even the evenings were barely below ninety. People started asking us why we would buy land in West Texas and we knew that no matter what we told them, they would never understand.
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