Early morning trail ride .. |
It's a family-friendly festival in Terlingua's Ghost Town, celebrating and promoting sustainable living in the Chihuahuan Desert.

It's proceeds were going to the Terlingua Community Garden to fund four 3,000 gallon rainwater tanks, a must for gardening here in the desert.
Like-minded guests and community members came together to promote sustainability through education, demonstrations, art, and music!
There even was a parade ...
Than early this week the campground filled up with a large group of Blue Bird Wanderlodge motorhomes for one of their Fall Rallies.
The Wanderlodge is a high end brand of Class A motorhome recreational vehicles that was built by the Blue Bird Body Company (now Blue Bird Corporation) in Fort Valley, Georgia, from about 1963 until 2009.
I've since learned from several very nice and proud members of this particular group that it was sold around the world to celebrities, dignitaries, and even heads of state. Notable owners include the former President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, country music superstar Johnny Cash, and King Hussein of Jordan, among others.
Features of the Wanderlodge that were unique when introduced in the sixties included a built-in safe, redundant heating and hot water systems that used electricity, engine heat or diesel, and fuel tanks offering range in excess of 1,000 kilometers (620 mi).
And than last Wednesday was the kick-off of the annual CASI International Chili Cook-Off.
The Chili Appreciation Society International (CASI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization raising money for charity (over $1,000,000 last year alone) for charity, promoting American red chili.

Each year CASI sanctions over 500 chili cook-offs internationally as qualifying events for the Terlingua International Chili Championship, TICC. This ultimate chili cook-off is held the first Saturday of November as part of a week long festival taking place at the society’s grounds, Rancho CASI de los Chisos, near Terlingua, Texas.
It's a Texas tradition of epic proportion -
complete with an annual proclamation from the Governor declaring "Chili
Appreciation Society International Day" in Texas!
There are hundreds of RVs and tents set up in little
villages across the desert for days before the contests start.
Everyone seems to be having a good time, there is plenty of
beer to go around but we've heard it can get pretty rowdy in the afternoon.
Lots of crazy hats and a few outrageous costumes. In the area known as Krazy Flats you will even start to see
a fair bit of skin as the day goes on!
If you don't need to be on the roads around this week you're
advised to stay off them since drinking and driving seems to be somewhat of a
problem every year.
Let's just say, without wanting to sound too snobby, and it
sure is to be very colorful and so on, but this is not really our crowd
unfortunately, and since there's also no actual chili tasting going on for the
public (how weird is that?) we've decided to skip the event.
We do get to have some of the fun though since the grounds over there only provide primitive sites and (porta-potty) toilets, so some of the nearby hotels and campgrounds, including us, allow visitors to shower for a $5 fee.
We're even running a shuttle van to and from the grounds.
Needless to say, you're much better off using your own bathroom for the time being since there are big waiting lines for the campground's and they're starting to look a little 'used'.
Needless to say, you're much better off using your own bathroom for the time being since there are big waiting lines for the campground's and they're starting to look a little 'used'.
OK, that's about it for now. In about an hour I'm off to the
hotel to watch the Trick-'n-Treating and Costume Contest the Resort is putting
on. Pictures in the next post!
Just for fun, here's a another shot from our local
Roadrunner:
And a late butterfly: