never never never never.

Day OneThirtyFive, October 30, 13 Miles
At Mile 2636, Poptart 976/1000
Left Keith and Mary's about noon-thirty. Big thanks to them for putting up with us and for all the information Keith had for the last section. With a solid weather report and a short final section it was minimal packs. We all costumed up; Hawkeye as a banana, Kombucha a bumblebee, RT the Grim Reaper, DIY as an escaped convict and me as a disco girl/hooker. The banana proved to be wonderfully attention grabbing, which I was especially grateful for as my dress was rather revealing. Credit goes to DIY who chose his costume in about 4 seconds as the rest of us fussed about and went with perhaps the bravest outfit in this part of the world. I have also come to the realisation that the difference between 70's disco fashion and that of post 70's sex workers is nothing more than a year thing. The costumes are awesome though, way fun and a great way to finish the trail. I think we were all getting tired and ready to be done but this has injected smiles and enthusiasm into our group. Hiked some roads and met up with Keith at a BBQ restaurant. On trail. I have been craving Texas-style BBQ for ever and they always seem to be closed for the day, night or ever. Not this one. And it was glory, some of the best I've eaten. Back on the highway, waves and smiles (and some glares) from passing motorists and water from a friendly house. Turning onto dirt The Grim Reaper got attacked by a dog that was interested in him and him only. The banana, convict and disco girl having passed unharmed. The owner came down but seemed unconcerned and almost uninterested that his dog was aggressively attacking a harmless passer by dressed as Death. In sweet irony he got bit, although The Grim Reaper did receive a scratch for his troubles. The next house was significantly more friendly, thinking we were trick-or-treaters Edwardo called out that he had no candy, but did have beer. So we turned sharply towards his home, with three friendly dogs that had no interest in eating Grim for tea. Edwardo and his wife Lupe were the best and we had a great half hour break with them. Saw another tarantula, then the Banana found a handgun. Not really surprising, I was actually more surprised to discover it was nothing more than a super-realistic cap-gun. So we walked all badass and packing till we got bored and the banana tossed it aside for the next hiker to find. As the sun set and we hiked the road in darkness we were stopped dead by a rattle. A rather irritated diamondback rattlesnake was in our path and refusing to move. Before I could bust out a snake-flicking-stick it moved aside. Kind of relieved at that, my attempted good deed for snake and hiker alike may have backfired. It was big and pissed. Very quickly all agreed to camp, hiding from the wind behind some low shrubs. Despite all that we've come across this evening I'm still sleeping out 'cause I'm tough. Can see the lights of El Paso/Ciudad Juarez off to the east. So close.