For seventeen miles you follow the 137 south. The surface of the highway is so poor that were it not for the line of shattered telegraph poles that run parallel to the road, you would find it impossible to tell the difference between the highway and the open ground. It takes you an hour to reach a junction where the remains of another highway, the 158, cuts east/west across your path. Its condition is marginally better and, for the first time since you left Stanton, you are able to increase your speed to thirty miles per hour as you head east towards Sterling City. From there you will make your way along Highway 87 to San Angelo.
It is nearly noon when you see a ramshackle town appear out of the heat haze that dances on the road ahead. Now the temperature is well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and, as you drive along its deserted main street, you think about stopping to rest for a while in the shade.
If you decide to stop at this town, turn to 85.
If you choose not to stop but to continue driving to Sterling City, turn to 290.