We set off this morning from our White City motel accommodations and headed towards Big Bend National Park. We took Route 285 south out of Carlsbad, a road we will not soon forget. Over the years, we have driven thousands of miles and had the pleasure of seeing some of this country's most spectacular scenery: Beartooth Highway out of Yellowstone, Going to the Sun Road in Glacier, Dragon's Tail in Smoky Mountains, Northwest Passage Scenic Byway (Route 12 in Idaho). Route 285 is NOT like those. By far, this is the ugliest road we have even driven. Starting in Carlsbad, and for at least 50-60 miles, the road is not only flat, ugly desert, but it is lined with garbage. This part of New Mexico is oil country, and as such, it must support the industry here. Where there are buildings, they are mostly manufactured housing or RV parks. The wind that whips up across the desert makes this area very dusty. We stopped at one intersection, and the dust cloud was so thick we couldn't see more than the front of the truck across the road. It was a clear, sunny day. But the grossest feature of the ride was the string of litter along 60 miles. Nasty!
After a ride of about 4 1/2 to 5 hours, we reached our stopping point for the night, Terlingua, TX, population 58, a small town just outside Big Bend National Park. We had reservations at Paisano Village RV park and Inn. The owners of the RV park built a small building that houses 2 rooms, and 1 suite. While the reviews for this place were excellent, we were still surprised at how wonderful it really was. We hadn't expected it to be so posh, with a walk-in rain shower, and premium linens.
Another delightful surprise was the restaurant we went to that evening. La Kiva is a small semi-subterranean restaurant and bar with an eclectic feel. The food was good, the atmosphere was great. We were blown away when we exited the building later on. We both had the same reaction: "WOW!" There were no exterior lights and the sky was papered with stars. What a sight!
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