---- Geneva Saint-Amour <genevasaintamour@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:
> Are there any vanagon buddies out there along the I-10 (and side roads) route across New Mexico and South towards Big Bend?

Geneva, I sure envy you getting to go to Big Bend in December.  What an awesome place, and one of the best spots in the U.S. for camping in winter.

You asked about "Vanagon buddies" along your route.  You do know that once you get past El Paso you will be traversing some of the least populated country in the lower 48, don't you?  And once you turn S from I-10, the only "towns" will be villages with maximum population of maybe 3K souls, most much, much smaller, and many tens of miles apart.  Counties in that part of Texas run to over a hundred miles across, and county seats to under a 1,000 people.  One county, Loving, along the New Mexico border has only 80 occupants.  The historical marker on the Mentone (county seat) town square states that there is no recorded birth in the entire history of the county, and only one recorded death.  Whether that death occurred in Loving County is questionable, as the man was dragged by a horse across the state line, and may well have died in New Mexico.

I hope you can get into not only Big Bend National Park, but Bend Bend Ranch State Natural Area and other terrain west of Big Bend National Park, and Black Gap State Wildlife Management Area.  The drive from U.S. 90 through Pinto Canyon in the Chinati Mountains down to Ruidosa and Candaleria is one of the most awe inspiring desert drives in the U.S., but only go if you are confident of driving very rough roads.  Chinati Hot Springs is a great place to recover after wilderness travel, but only go if you are tolerant of nudity in others.

Also, if you can, try to see Balmorrhea State Park with the largest spring fed swimming pool in the U.S.  The pool is open year round (constant water temperature of 72 F), and has a large population of native fish and other interesting critters.
--
David McNeely