Passed the 900 Mile Mark

and we'll be in Texas for a loooong time.
Now in Van Horn, David and I decided early on to again switch out on the ACA route after encounters with five dogs in the first hour of this morning's ride.

Everyone off the interstate, checking for illegals

We changed the plan from Tour de Mutts to Tour de Interstate. Sorry, dogs in Esperanza. You will have to find another leg to chew on.
Sixty-six miles, mostly on I-10 frontage road with occasional stops in once-prosperous towns such as Sierra Blanca where I saw a closed adobe and stone motel, beautiful construction, with rotting roofs and garbage-filled parking lot. Sign said "closed for temporary repairs."  Sad to see such decline due to high speed, industrial tourist style highway development. 
More blue sky above, desert terrain at eye level and chip and seal below. The border patrol is ever present, both in helicopters above and trucks and vans on the ground and one uniformed guy in spurs hauling a horse trailer...without a horse. We see them in the morning at our coffee stops and at lunch breaks.
If anyone checked out the wildfire link in the previous post, we are not climbing the mountain to the observatory. The controlled burns are done, but that area is still high risk. We are instead headed south to Marfa, not on interstate, about 74 miles south, then on to Alpine and again patch in to the ACA route.

Morning sun, Van Horn to Marfa

A newlywed couple (our age) tells us Marfa is a secret place for many high-level types to get away from it all. Well, we're about to invade their bliss.

Tethered surveillance balloon 30 miles from nowhere.