down in the west Texas town of El Paso

Seven hundred and fifty miles later, we're sitting in the living room of CY and Ms. Leslita in El Paso, TX. CY made us a lovely vegan Moroccan stew, and we're now ready to rest and prepare for the trip ahead.

We left Corpus Christi as the sun rose over the bay, and we stopped along the bayfront to take pictures to show where we began. From Corpus, we took a straight shot up to San Antonio, and then west on I-10 to El Paso. It's straightforward from a navigational standppoint, but we were on the road for twelve hours, with frequent stops to rest or stretch or take pictures.

We are much further west than C has ever been, and it has been interesting for me to relive the geography and geology of West Texas through her. We went from the flat coastal plains to the rolling hill country, to the dry and desolate plateaus of west-central Texas, to the dusty mountains of west Texas. The air is dry here, and already, my lips are starting to chap.

Tomorrow, the plan is to go to the store to buy sodas, lip balm, and eye drops to combat the fierce dust, and then to explore southern New Mexico as much as we can in a day. The trick will be in trying not to succumb to the urge to do the "look-and-spit" tour of the western US -- there isn't much point in being out here if we aren't going to stop and look at things, at least... is there?