As promised, we met up with my cousin Mark this afternoon back at Fort Davis. We took a quick tour of some the interesting houses in town and then piled into his truck and drove down to Marfa. I didn’t realize that’s where the James Dean film Giant was shot, as well as the Coen brothers’ new No Country for Old Men. It’s a cool little town, but is mostly closed in Tuesday: the bookstore, the cafe we thought would be good… We checked out a museum and an art installation, then headed over to Alpine for some Tex-Mex and a stop at the local bookstore.

All the while we caught up with Mark and exchanged news of the extended family and learned about some of the cool places he’s worked for the Park Service. Coolest place: Fort Jefferson on the Dry Tortugas. We finally headed back to our trailer and shared the gingerbread that Danine and Elise made this morning. It was a great way to cap a nice visit. I’ve said it before, but these visits with family and friends have been a really special part of our trip. Thank you, Mark, for spending time with us and reconnecting — hope we see you again soon!