Day 3 - Marfa to Marathon

The day started with good news. Kaye had recovered from her sickness sufficiently to continue on the WTXOL today. It was also a better day for car problems, though we were not totally free of them. After breakfast we set off from Marfa around 9am, and headed south on US-67.

The convoy on US-67 going towards Presidio

This was a fairly straight road but offered some good views of the mountains along the way. At Presidio, we turned eastwards, and joined RM-170 (later FM-170) for a great drive for 60 miles or so. The road was a continuous roller coaster through the spectacular mountain scenery.

Joel's XK-140 heading down the roller coaster RM-170

The RM-170 follows the Rio Grande border with Mexico, with several viewing points.

Overlooking the Rio Grande - curious balanced stone formations  in the foreground

On this section of road, it was Joel's turn to encounter an ignition problem, but fortunately he immediately suspected the cause, and was able to rectify it quickly. This section of road was a most enjoyable drive with great scenery all around us.

High mountains on the Mexican side of the river

At Lajitas, the road departs from the Mexican border heading due east. A little later it enters the Big Bend National Park. The road steadily rose as we climbed the Chisos Mountains towards the Basin.

Heading up into the Chisos Mountains

At the summit of the road the Basin of the Chisos Mountains is revealed

Close to the summit Jerry's car decided that it was his turn to break down! It was a repeat of the complete electrical failure that occurred the previous day. Jerry's solution, was to grab a rock from beside the road and hit the battery terminal hard with it! This is probably not something Jerry learned from the Jaguar Service Manual, but was completely effective, much to the surprise of the Park Ranger who had showed up to help out. A short drive into the basin led us to the Lodge where we had an excellent lunch. The view from the restaurant is amazing:

View from the restaurant window at the lodge

After lunch we decided to take a short hike along the Lost Mine Trail. This trail yields some excellent views on the Chisos Mountains.

View east form the summit at the end of our climb

Casa Grande (7325ft) seen from the top of our walk

Lynn, Drew, and Jan on the hike

Throughout the day, the weather was ideal. Temperatures were in the 70's, with bright sunshine.At the end of the hike, we headed for out next overnight stay in Marathon. It was a 70 mile drive on a deserted road at good speed. On arriving at the motel in Marathon David's car refused to start again when hot. Up to this point we had avoided this recurring problem by leaving the car running at short stops, and only shutting down if the stop was an hour or more, when the engine cools sufficiently to restart. The mystery continues...

The Marathon Motel - one of the buildings in this 11 room Motel

We are staying at the Marathon Motel, at the edge of the small town of Marathon, Texas. Our night's sleep promises to be interrupted by the railroad trains that pass by at regular intervals, though the complementary earplugs may solve that problem! Before leaving for an excellent dinner at the Gage Hotel, we were treated to beer and snacks by Mike in his palatial suite that occupied the entire 2nd story of the building pictured above. Tomorrow we travel to San Antonio.