It is Thanksgiving break in Texas so the four of us; Brian, Johnna, Kent and I pack up and head for Big Bend National Park. We have a week and don’t want to waste a minute so we make the 550 mile trip straight through, 10 ½ hours from the kids’ door in Houston to our home for the week, Stillwell RV Park just 8 miles north of the National Park entrance. 6AM makes for an early start made a bit more tolerable by home-made kolaches curtesy one of Johnna’s buddies, delicious. Traffic is manageable and road construction blessedly light so the trip goes smoothly. A wind is kicking up and sandblasting everyone and everything as we set up camp. It is hazy and a bit grey spoiling long desert vistas. We hope for better weather tomorrow. Dinner is brats browned in a black iron skillet rather than grilled but they are still very tasty. We settle in and make our first pass at planning the week then all head to bed readying for our first day in the park. Kent’s phone is the only one that even sees the camp wifi, it is a bit less than promised. Looks like keeping touch with the outside world will happen only as we pass by visitor centers as we are out exploring.