Shook off Mason the next morning, packed up quick and headed west. It's a nice enough town, but stuck a bit; the mostly empty Lea Lou bar closed down around 9pm to the Pet Shop Boys on the digital jukebox. I needed rest, and it was a good place for rest. On the way to Junction, Texas, where I would connect with I-10, I searched for the town of Grit. Could only find an establishment called The Wildlife Ranch, Inc., and it was closed, I sped on.
On the Interstate out west of Junction, the speed limit is 80 MPH, which means there's really no speed limit. I set the cruise for 88 MPH. "Eight you're great, nine you're mine", a former State Trooper once gave me the scoop years ago. He also debunked my suspicion of quotas in the profession, they were called activity points. Looking forward to robots taking over for human drivers, put the smokies back on the crime beat, but I digress, my feelings are known.
Arrived in Alpine in the late afternoon, the familiar skyline of mountaintop towers and civilization, the golden arches still has some swag out here. The town is the center of the Hook Of Texas, geographically, culturally, and academically, with a population of about six thousand. People seem to come and go, but there is a strong local pride about being local. Local this, local that, the friendly tourist sneer is fairly strong, and out in the open, I was fortunate to have a few contacts, I could avoid the scarlet letter T for Tourist. Perhaps my two previous trips would help my standing, I knew my way around, I had intention, I knew the lingo.