Hank – Once we got close to Harper, Texas and since then on our way to Junction, Kathy and I have not had a workable cell signal. This is even when we stop next to cell towers. We asked some locals once we arrived in Junction and got a hotel room. “Are you on Verizon?” It turns out you have to be on AT&T for it to work in these parts. Everyone says it gets better as we move west but they don’t know when.

We packed up this morning and left Harper. We followed US Hwy 290 to Interstate 10. Interstate 10 provided wide shoulders and lots of shredded steel-belted tire debris. It’s easy to get the impression that all they do in Texas is shred tires on the highway. We were thinking about going as far as Roosevelt, Texas, which would have been a 57 mile ride. But the light rain and cool wind convinced us to pull up short in Junction. We ate at a BBQ joint while we discussed our options. We decided to get a room and do a long day tomorrow to Sonora. Tomorrow’s weather will be less cloudy and warmer.

I got a flat on Hwy 290. I think that’s number three for me. I’m pretty sure it was a small, sharp rock. When I tried it out it dropped and disappeared amongst its similarly colored brothers that make up the road. I swapped out the tube and we were back on the road in 10 minutes.

Kathy – Our 43 mile day was a chilly one. The temps were supposed to increase as the day went on, but it seemed to get even cooler as the rain sprinkled on us and the winds increased. It was a cloudy grey kinda day. Lot of hills welcomed us. Our first nine miles were uphill. It got better once we rode on the freeway where the hills were more long and gradual. We rolled along the entire way into Junction, Texas. I was pretty frozen due to the cold, wind and rain once we arrived.

We decided to get a bite to eat since we hadn’t eaten much today and discuss our options moving forward. If we ride to Roosevelt it would be 18 more miles and then figure out where we would sleep tonight. The town of Roosevelt does not have any camping or hotels. We decided to stay put tonight in a hotel in Junction since morning temps will be in the low 30’s. We cleaned up and did laundry so we are set for the next few days.

We kinda mapped out our next nine days until we arrive in El Paso, Texas because there are such limited resources for us along the way. We also have lots of elevation and limited cell phone coverage. We might have a few challenging days ahead of us…but we can do it. No camping is available near our scheduled stops so it looks like it will be hotel nights for a bit. Not sure about the future but right now we have internet in the hotel so we can post to our blog. Depending on location that could change.

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