旅途回響｜每一次旅行，都留下印記

Itinerary 旅行日程

2023年利用五月Memorial Day連假出去玩，周四五白天遠距工作，下班開車，周四先住在Fort Stockton小鎮，是附近唯一還有Walmart可以買菜的小鎮，周五到國家公園外的小鎮Terlingua住旅館，待到周一早上離開，開八小時回Austin。

May 25 (Thurs): Austin >> Junction >> Sonora >> Fort Stockton
May 26 (Fri): Fort Stockton >> Alpine >> Terlingua
May 27 (Sat): Terlingua >> Chisos Basin >>> Emory Peak Trail
May 28 (Sun): Terlingua >> Boquillas Canyon >> Rio Grande >> Window Trail >> Fossil Exhibit
May 29 (Mon) “Memorial Day”: Terlingua >> Alpine >> Fort Stockton >> Eldorado >> Mason >> Austin

*To save 2 days for driving, on Thursday and Friday we worked remotely on the laptop at local cafe or hotel lobby*

Border Patrol 邊境巡守站

沒錯，國家公園位處美墨邊境，到處有邊境警察，記得要帶證件自保啊!

往南從Alpine開往Terlingua路上順順的路過，但往北從Terlingua到Alpine，就被攔下來了!

警察只問一句「你是美國公民嗎?」我當時在駕駛座太緊張回答「***」 然後警察什麼也都沒看，就放我通行了。

We passed by one station in Alpine. We simply passed by when drivng south from Alpine to Terlingua. But we was pulled to the station when driving north from Terlingua to Apline.

With all the cameras, guns, and soldiers around, I was really nervous!

“Are you a U.S. citizen?” asked the officer.

Google Address: https://goo.gl/maps/Em14tuQqaJWcMUR66

Be sure to bring your legal ID, passport, student VISA, I-20, EAD card or whatever documents you can identify yourself!

Advantages 讚的

住宿兩人房一晚大約170鎂含稅，沙漠中能有電有水已經很不錯了!

小木屋有一張雙人床、冷氣、熱水淋浴、毛巾、盥洗用品、網路、小冰箱、微波爐。很乾淨整潔，沒有風沙或蟲蟲。

公用廚房，老闆提供早餐自取，貝果、冷凍鬆餅、牛奶、麥片、果醬、能量棒等，冰箱還有很多很多罐番茄醬、美乃滋、沙拉醬等，此外也提供旅客飲用水、廚房紙巾、付費啤酒等自由取用。

要開伙的話，廚具、鍋具、盤子、刀叉、砧板、瓦斯爐也有。

還有兩個冰箱，開放給客人放自己帶來的東西，還蠻髒的，我帶了酒精噴去消毒。

清晨被滿天星星和銀河包圍，晚上籠罩在七彩夕陽下搭營火，四周是三角火山、海底岩層平台，奇形怪狀的石陣，仙人掌、石蓮，很有沙漠的感覺!

We booked a cabin in Ten Bits Ranch for 3 nights, which costs around $170 per night including tax.

Overall the stay was pleasant. Hot shower, breakfast, toilet, comfy bed, wifi, drinking water, air conditioner… They are pretty good for me!

What can you ask for in the middle of a desert?

Highlights of a few good things:

One comfortable queen bed and cooling air conditioner.
Hot shower, lots of towels, shampoo, soap available.
Beautiful stary sky at night! Best before 5AM.
Mini fridge and microwave in the room.
Some people built a bonfire in the evening. Good vibe!
In the shared kitchen (“Cantina”), the host offered lots of breakfast like bagels, jam, milk, cereal, energy bar, and frozen pancake. Also there’s plenty of drinking water, kitchen towel, beer, ketchups, mayo, salad dressing … Look into the fridge and find more! They offered 2 shared fridges for guests, so you can bring your food here.
Cantina offered cooking utensils like a gas stove, pans, pots, knives, cooking oil and plates. We cooked some vegetable omelets for breakfast.

Disadvantages 雷的

要去沙漠玩，自己多保重!

從公路要彎進去Ten Bit Ranch，有一段很原始很顛簸的土路，白天開起來已經很刺激，一條橫跨河床、荒漠、草原的土路，慢慢開要花上20分鐘，雖然只是短短2英里(3.6km)。晚上清晨五點出門真的全黑，沒有路燈，也要耐心慢慢開出去。

出了Fort Stockon之後一路上幾乎沒有收訊，一定要備好離線地圖。

晚上伸手不見五指的黑，記得一定要戴「頭燈」或「手電筒」，不要心存僥倖跟我一樣靠手機的小小手電筒。

晚上沒有特別冷，五月份晚上還有20度。我以為沙漠晚上會冷還帶了長褲都沒穿到。

房間裡只有一張小桌子和兩張凳子。真的蠻小的兩人用就滿了。

房間裡有wifi，但是出了房間以外的地方就完全沒有收訊，老闆好像是裝Verizon的基地台，我剛好也是Verizon，還有打電話出去成功。

沒．有．吹．風．機!!! 長髮的請注意!!! 我一開始也不相信沙漠可以吹乾頭髮，但是風吹一吹真的很快就乾了。如果很介意，請自己帶。

第一天到旅館，一打開門就一大灘水，民宿老闆叫我們不要管地板會自己乾，前幾天下大雨淹水的，什麼?! 這裡雨那麼大喔!

是的，沙漠也下大雨，跟台灣的西北雨一樣瘋狂，雷電交加、狂風暴雨，沒有兩三小時不會停。

晚上下雨時，天花板竟然漏水，一處在壁爐附近，另一處是馬桶正上方，還好床上沒事，小小幾滴還不嚴重。

下過雨傍晚蚊子很多，害我都沒辦法坐外面邊吹頭髮邊看夕陽了。

共用廚房沒有冷氣，至少我找不到開關在哪。裡面熱到沒辦法坐在那邊吃飯，我們後來都是清晨去吃早餐比較涼一點，或者拿回房間吃。

有兩天晚上大雷雨過後，共用廚房竟然跑出黃泥水來，洗碗越洗越髒，只好拿飲用水沖一下。

However, there are several surprises we encountered.

Dark, No signal, Storm

Anticipate a 2-mile unpaved road before you reach Ten Bits Ranch. It took us 20 minutes to pass through carefully because it’s a rocky river bed. High-clearing, all-wheel-drive car would be best!!!
I forgot to download the offline Google map! No cell signal on the road.
It’s really really really dark at night.
Not particularly cold at night. Around 20 degree C.
In the cabin, there’s only one small dining table in the room.
Wifi is available in the room. But there’s no cell signal out side. But if you’re a Verizon user, you will!
No hair dryer!! Totally OK because long hair get dried in the desert wind faster than you think.
We found a puddle of water at the door when we arrived. The host simply said just let it dry. But we took some effort to sweep out the water so we can use that door.
Yes there are thunderstorms in the desert! Water was pouring from the sky and knocking the roof.
During the storm, water leaked from the ceiling. Thankfully it’s not above the bed! It happened around the fireplace and above the toilet.
Mosquitos attacked in the evening after the rain.
In “Cantina,” there’s no air conditioner inside, at least I couldn’t find it anywhere. It’s too warm to stay inside for a meal. Usually we visited Cantina early in the morning, or prepare the food and take a 3-minute walk back our cabin.
After the storm, “Cantina” only has yellow water running. We ended up use some drinking water to rinse the plates.

Last Advice 建議自備

頭燈、個人藥品、吹風機、衣架、乳液、護唇膏、防蚊液、保冰袋、開罐器、筷子、飲用水。

I’d suggest bring these items by yourself:

headlight, personal medicine, hair dryer, cloth hanger, body lotion, lip balm, bug spray, cooler bag (for milk, egg, perishable goods), can opener, chopsticks (I love chopsticks!), plenty of water