We got an early start today due to the longer distance to travel to Van Horn Texas (330 miles). It was a fairly easy drive, straight west on I-20 then 40 miles west on I-10. It was mostly 70 mph with a light easterly tailwind.
Enroute, we travelled through the Permian Basin and the cities of Midland and Odessa, TX, the centers of Texas oil extraction and processing since the early 1920s. We observed a lot of activity going on there, with wells pumping, lots of trucks on the road and visible signs of people doing things.
The Permian Basin is a large sedimentary basin in the southwestern part of the United States. This sedimentary basin is located in western Texas and southeastern New Mexico. It reaches from just south of Lubbock, past Midland and Odessa, south nearly to the Rio Grande River in southern West Central Texas, and extending westward into the southeastern part of New Mexico. It is so named because it has one of the world's thickest deposits of rocks from the Permian geologic period and contains large deposits of oil formed through complex geographical activity over millions of years.
It also appears the Permian Basin is uniquely equipped to be a major producer of untapped domestic oil resources. Because of the Permian Basin, Texas not only receives an enormous economic benefit but also helps provide energy security for the country. The greater Permian Basin presently accounts for nearly 40 percent of all oil production in the United States and nearly 15 percent of its natural gas production, If the U.S. decides to become a greater player in the global oil market and believes energy independence is in the best interests of the country, this area will continue to grow and prosper.
The Permian Basin is also a major source of potassium salts (potash) which are mined from bedded deposits which were discovered in drill cores in 1925, and production began in 1931.
As an aside, the Midland/Odessa area has been a traditional Texas high school football powerhouse for many years and the old TV show Friday Night Lights, although focused on Texas high school football in general was based on the activity and interest in this area.
We are staying at a pretty good RV park in Van Horn Texas. It has decent Internet, 50 cable channels, maybe 2-3 worth watching and a cafe with home cooking in the park.
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Van Horn began as an Anglo-Texan settlement in the late 1850s and early 1860s to support the San Antonio-El Paso Overland Mail Route. Although U.S. Army Major Jefferson Van Horne is believed to have passed near the area in 1849 on his way to take command of what would later become Fort Bliss, the town is instead named for Lt. James Judson Van Horn who commanded an army garrison at the Van Horn Wells beginning in 1859. Lt. Van Horn's command was relatively short-lived, as the post was seized by Confederate forces in 1861 and Lt. Van Horn taken prisoner. Settlement was further stimulated by the construction of the Texas and pacific Railway in 1881.
Van Horn has become an interesting town, evolving from an overnight stop on the highway to now the home to Jeff Bezos's (the Amazon Guy) suborbital space tourism Blue Origin launch and recovery site.
It has had a large economic impact on the town with over 250 Blue Origin employees impacting the town housing inventory and economy. Although the economic impact has been welcomed.
Several suborbital tourist launches and recoveries have been made form the Blue Origin launch complex about 25 miles north of town on the 150k acres that Bezos bought in 2010. Here is some additional information about it all:
We saw a huge Blue Origin presence at the Kennedy Space Center when we toured there. Jeff Bezos is serious about becoming a major "player" in the commercialization of and involvement in the future of space travel. I expect you will hear more about his activities in future space activities.
We have a relatively short drive tomorrow to Las Cruces, NM. We are planning to get a few things for the rest of the trip home and dinner again at our favorite Mexican restaurant in Messila.
We had dinner at the RV cafe (Penny's Cafe). Not bad and didn't have to cook tonight. They also do breakfast and we might eat there tomorrow morning due to the relatively short drive to Las Cruces, NM.
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