Civilization!

It is our first week of being out of the wilderness in the last 5 months.  Sure, we have had day trips for groceries but that is such a rush you don't get to take in much other than the grocery shopping you came for.  But here we are in Midland, TX in a crowded commercial RV park just off I-20. 

Texas is in the boom-phase of the boom-bust cycle of the oil field.  And Midland-Odessa is a hot bed of anything oil.  Many,,, most of our neighbors in this RV park are here for work.  They have been in the park for months and may be here for years, however long the work lasts.  Having grown up in an oil town and living through the biggest of booms and the deepest busts, I know these people and feel right at home among them.

Midland RV Park is typical for the area, flat, dusty and featureless.  There are no picnic tables.  No real space between rigs so no putting out chairs and sitting outside.  But then again you would not want to, the wind ranges from uncomfortable to vicious.  On the plus side the electricity is good and does not go out several times a day like it did in Big Bend.  The WiFi is outstanding, best broadband connection we have ever had.  The local over-the-air TV signal is good too, and since our satellite dish crapped out on us AGAIN, that is a good thing.

We had hoped that Winegard (maker of the satellite dish) would have a certified technician in the area but no such luck.  We'll have to wait until we get to Albuquerque.  However, Whirlpool does have repair service so we will see if they can figure out why our convection oven won't cook food without doubling the time.

In the meantime we are having a field day with eating out.  We've had great Mexican food and were lucky enough to be there on a day that had a 5 in it.  Margaritas for fifty cents!  They extended Cinco de Mayo to three times a month.  Outback was a nice departure from our normal eating routine too.  That big ol' grease ball they call a bloomin' onion was awesome.