Trans-Texas Expeditions

One of the questions we recieved is regarding the cost of the trip. I guess I should have been more clear in my original emails and postings, especially when you see that some trips like this cost thousands of dollars when you use go with an national organization.

The camping/road trip to Thompson Mountain, NM in April is free, gratis. It will cost you zero, zip, nada, zilch, nothing... Except for your own gear costs (which are more than likely already covered if you have been camping before) and any food costs (both on the road and at the campsite). We will be carpooling and caravaning from Austin to Thompson Mountain. The way we have done things like this in the past is by having passengers take turns paying for tanks of gas so the owner doesn't have to eat this cost all by himself, but even this is left up to the discretion of the people willing to take their vehicles on this trip. Make sense?

Keep the questions coming and I'll keep answering them here. We are going to have a good time in another couple of months.

Welcome, welcome to all of the new visitors that have found this blog by either a friend's recommendation or just stumbled on it by random chance. Feel free to ask any questions that may not have already been answered. Your questions and feedback helps us plan the upcoming trip to Thompson Mountain.

I will be doing my best to keep this blog regularly updated so interested parties stay in the loop on any new developments. I anticipate that our regular publishing schedule will be Sunday evening and Thursday evening from now on. That way you have something fun to read at the office on Monday and Friday. It's just a little gift from me, to you. ;-)

Enjoy your time here and let us know if you need anything at all.

Based on my previous posts, I'm sure some of you are wondering if anyone has ever been out to Thompson Mountain or if this is going to be some sort of boondoggle. Yes, there have been at least 3 other expeditions out there in the past 20 years, all with mixed results.

The first expedition was with Scott's parents and older siblings when they bought the place in the 80's. There is some disagreement over whether they actually made it onto the property because of the lack of good maps and directions back then.

The second expedition happened in July 2001. Scott, "Pop", his sister Leslie, his niece, and a buddy Clay all made the trek out there. After some consulting with the topo maps and a trusty eTrex, they were able to get to one corner of the property, but did not ascend Thompson Mountain. Instead they crossed the corner of the property and ended up on top of an adjacent mountain. This is the expedition where the petroglyphs and other historically significant artifacts were found.

The third expedition happened in September 2004. Scott, "Pop", Leslie, and I all made another trek. Because of the time we started the hike and the notes from the 2002 trip, we were all able to climb the 8000-foot Thompson Mountain (including a then 69-year old "Pop"). We took multiple pictures and waypoints, but we did not get to scout out the entire property and had to return to camp.

So far, no one has camped on the property (that we know of) and since the borders are not clearly marked, no one has seen all four corners. This is part of our challenge when we all make the trip in April. Are you excited yet?

Something that has come up is, what are we going to do when we get to Thompson Mountain? There are no facilities of any kind at the actual mountain site; no electricity, no water, no toilets, no phones. We have to pack in any supplies we need. Below are just a few of the possibilities of what we can do once we get there. Let me know if you think of any more.

• Camp on the Thompson Mountain site.
• Scout out the full 40 acres of the property.
• Search for any historical or archaeological artifacts; such as petroglyphs.
• Place a geocache at the very top of Thompson Mountain for other adventurers to find.

This is truly going to be a outdoors, wilderness, back country, type of adventure. If you can imagine how remote this place is and how removed it is from civilization, then you can imagine the type of fun we will have. This will be challenging yourself to exist without the comforts and convenience of modern living. Nothing else even comes close. It's going to a great time!

I had lunch the other day with Scott Thompson (of whom Thompson Mountain is named after). The topic of which routes we should take there and back came up. Below is what I suggested based on my past experiences and some research. Take a look and let me know what you think.

• Austin
• Fredericksburg
• Fort Stockton
• Sierra Madera Meteor Crater
• Marfa
• McDonald Observatory
• Van Horn
• Blue Origin site
• Virgin Galactic site
• Truth or Consequences
• Trinity Site
• White Sands Missile Range
• Socorro
• VLA
• Datil
• Thompson Mountain
• Roswell
• Carlsbad Caverns
• Guadalupe Mountains
• Odessa Meteor Crater
• Commerative Air Force

So what do you think? I'm pretty sure that I'm being overly ambitious by putting all of that on the route, but there really is a lot to do on the way there. I want to make sure I am capturing it all, so if you can think of more places to visit along the way let me know. If I had to guess, I would say that realistically we can only do about half of the places on the current list.

Although, truth be told, I would really like to be like this guy and make the same trip he did with more advanced equipment. Now that would be pretty damn geeky.

I received a question about what type of gear is necessary for the trip to Thompson Mountain. This is a camping trip first and foremost. Think of this as a complete back to nature type of thing. We will be on the road and in civilization for 1.5 days, but after that it's all tent camping in the back country of New Mexico. Here is what I will be taking with me.

• Standard camping gear
• Tent
• Sleeping bag
• Backpack
• Water (enough for day hiking)
• Food (enough for 5 days)
• Cooking Utensils
• Flashlight
• Survival Kit
• Topographical Maps
• Compass
• GPS
• FRS Radio
• Laptop Computer

You have to keep your own needs in mind for the trip as everyone camps differently. There is running water at the campgrounds, but no electricity. We will stop at some restaurants and grocery stores on the way there so you don't have to bring all your food with you. You may also consider taking some form of personal protection, such as a large knife or a handgun, for when we get on the mountain. You never know what sort of critters you may encounter.

Some of you may be wondering why the road trip to New Mexico is scheduled for the weekend of April 1. I assure you it is no April Fools trick.

Since Thompson Mountain is so close to both the Trinity Site and the VLA, it makes sense to try and visit them on the way there. Unfortunately, due to government restrictions, the Trinity Site is only open on the first Saturdays of April and October. Also, the VLA conducts free guided tours (as opposed to unguided tours) on those same weekends to maximize their exposure to the taxpaying public. April is also a better month to be in New Mexico as the temperature is closer to temperate at night and the rainy season has not yet started. If we tried to go in October, you have the potential for hunters prowling in the same general vicinity of Thompson Mountain, so that counts it out. Therefore, you are left with the weekend of April 1.

There are still some plans to finalize, such as when we will leave Austin and the total duration of the trip. We have plenty of time to sort out those details a little later. Keep the questions coming and keep checking back for more details.

I've received a few questions from the group about our destination. Although you won't find Thompson Mountain on any map, we can't let that deter us from making the trek. The nearest town of any size is Datil, NM and the exact coordinates will be revealed later. Part of the fun of something like this is letting the mystery build.

This road trip will be a fantastic opportunity to experience a part of this great country you don't see very often. The drive to Thompson Mountain is spectacular with the sort of vistas that evoke memories of John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, and the Old West.

I also received some questions about what we will be doing on the way. Below are just a few of the things to do on this road trip.

• Visit historically significant sites.
• Visit future spaceport sites. There were 2 at last count.
• Wardrive the entire trip.
• Locate any nearby geocaches.

This is going to be a great trip. Keep the questions coming and I'll answer them here for the group's benefit.

Welcome. This blog is your authoritative source for information about our upcoming road trips to interesting places in and around Texas. Today's post is the first of many regularly scheduled updates for our next big road trip.

Ours is an energetic, enthusiastic group with a love of both the great outdoors and high tech. You won't find a better set of road trip companions. The memories shared on a road trip with these guys will be unforgettable.

The next big road trip will be to Thompson Mountain, NM over the weekend of April 1, 2006. I'll give you more details in our next post, so be sure to check back later.