Deja vu Ozona

I was driving through west Texas and the sun was going down.  I turned off the freeway at an RV Park sign, and signed up for one night.  With a little time, I drove down town and had a strange feeling I’d been there recently.  Yes, I had stopped at the post office on my way east.  The postmaster and several locals had chatted with me as I purchased stamps for some postcards. 

This little town of Ozona, Texas (population 3,500) is the county seat of Crockett County and has a beautiful county seat building downtown.  Next to it is an historical museum along with a statue of Davy Crockett in the park.  These, plus some downtown  buildings  (one looks like an old bank) and even some bulk work along the park has an elegant beige stone that looks hand cut.  They say that Davy Crockett never stepped on land in this county but they do honor him with the county name.

I left Ozona early Sunday morning with a good nights sleep and a full day of driving ahead of me.  West Texas reminds me of parts in Eastern Washington.  I put in the books-on-tape of “Outer Banks”  and the drive went by faster.  The next two hours I pondered the surprise ending then pulled into a rest stop to make a sandwich and cold drink for lunch.  The sun is bright and I had to pull the curtain over the driver’s window to keep from burning.  My next big city is El Paso at about 2:30.  The new time zone gives me an extra hour of daylight.

It was a very long day of driving and my eyes were stinging.  I bunked down at an RV park in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The restaurant next door is closed on Sunday and I was starved!  I cooked in the van...sweet potato pancakes, and pickled beets (whole can).  Yum 

Regarding the Bridge from Hell

I got an email asking if I went back over the "bridge from hell" in Lake Charles, Louisianna.  Yes, I did...this time with my eyes open.  There was little wind which made it easier.  At the top I looked out at oil refineries, tanks and oil ships as far as I could see. The big oil leak was closest to this area...but out to sea of course.  I can  understand the mixed feelings when they were going to shut this down...a lot of jobs are here.

Fireworks?? 

So, what about all these fireworks stores?  Not just seasonal tents but two story brick buildings and permanent retail stores as well as those tents.  I casually asked what that was about in December…and apparently all year long.  I’ve seen them from Florida across to at least the west Texas border.

The only answer was “They like to shoot them off in the south.”  Do any of you know about this?

In the evening of Christmas Day I hear and see fireworks going off in the nearby sports field.