Thursday, April 29th

Yesterday we walk from the junction of highways 380 and 70 to marker 295, a distance of 10 miles. We are on highway 70 now, with a new set of mile markers. The highway follows the Hondo River and is a study in contrast. On my left is the arid desert, with prickly pear cactus and shrub growth. And on my right, in the river valley, are green trees, green pastures, cattle, horses, etc.

There are many guard rails and concrete barriers that we walk behind for safety. For the most part, the walking is easy and much, much safer. We passed through the communities of Hondo, Tinnie, Picacho and finally Riverside, our stopping point. We startled a wild turkey on the way.

Today, we walked another 8 miles, to marker 303. Within a few minutes of starting our walk, we saw what we thought was a dog on the shoulder of the road, but thinking it can't be a dog, maybe a coyote or fox. It was too big to be a fox, so I thought it was a coyote. Arriving at the spot, we saw this cute dog looking down on us from the rocks above. We thought it very strange until we spotted the deer carcass on the shoulder. The dog was patiently waiting until we walked by to enjoy his deer dinner.

On we walked and said goodbye to the Hondo River. It continues its flow to the southeast where it flows into the Pecos River, while the highway takes a slight turn to the northeast.

Did I mention the wind? It has been windy ever since we started walking back in San Antonio. But today was exceptional. After walking 5 miles and climbing a steep hill, the wind really picked up. We walked another 3 miles and threw in the towel. Too windy ! Winds were 25 to 35 mph, with gusts up to 45 mph.

In the last two days, I have found a Oklahoma license plate, two New Mexico license plates and a No Hunting/Fishing sign. Stay tuned .....