A squished tarantula and being followed by a Tesla: How we got the story on SpaceX and Blue Origin – Houston Chronicle

I'm on my laptop, transcribing interviews, when Jon Shapley slams on the brakes. He is driving us along Texas 54, the remote road that connects Van Horn to Blue Origins launch site.

I just saw a tarantula crossing the road, he says. Should we turn around to see it?

YES!

Shapley whips the car around. And then, just as we approach the tarantula, a truck squishes it.

Tarantulas and space arent related, per say, but for this series of articles we just had to have a tarantula photo.

A tarantula crosses Highway 54 on Wednesday, June 30, 2021, near Van Horn.

Shapley and I were working on three stories dubbed Battle of the Billionaires. It was going to be about two very different communities humid versus dry, beaches versus mountains with one thing in common: a billionaire had chosen their community to launch rockets.

We started in Brownsville, home to Elon Musk and SpaceX. And when I say home, I mean that literally. On Twitter, Musk said his primary home is in Boca Chica Village.

This was confirmed when we spoke to Rob and Sarah Avery, the couple who live next door to Musk when he's in town. It might also explain why a Tesla tailed us around Boca Chica Village, slowly following us from house to house as we knocked on doors.

Other Teslas were parked on the street or in the driveways.Details are important in stories like this, and Shapley noticed that the Teslas werent their usual sleek selves. The electric vehicles were covered in bugs and dirt.

He was photographing one vehicle and had been sitting in front of it, taking pictures of the bugs, when the car turned on. The people inside were giving us a signal: It was time to move along.

Our time in Brownsville was great; Shapley and I ate lots of tacos. And more importantly, we talked to lots of excited students, business owners and real estate agents optimistic about the city's potential. SpaceX could be a game changer.

But we also met homeowners who were being displaced, fishers who couldnt easily access Boca Chica Beach due to road closures and environmentalists who were concerned about the wildlife refuge and state park next door to the SpaceX launch facility.

Our goal was to show the good things created by SpaceX and the conflict. We spoke to more people than I could squeeze into the article, and I am so very grateful for the time they gave us.

Shapley and I got a week at home before it was time to visit Van Horn,where Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin is located.

Van Horn is significantly smaller. After we interviewed someone in town, we often saw them again at the post office or a restaurant we chose for lunch. We became regulars at Boots and Scoops, where we met sources and stopped in for coffee and ice cream.

Similar to Brownsville, people in this community were generous with their time and their stories. We spoke to a student who met Blue Origin employees in high school and is now studying aerospace engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. I learned that Mayor Becky Brewster shares my love of Star Wars and Star Trek. She told us about the towns promise and its problematic water system.

And oh, did I envy Larry Simpson, the former newspaper owner who had an exclusive interview with Bezos. Not many reporters get one-on-one time with Bezos.

But we still needed a tarantula photo. Because details are important.

I returned to transcribing and Shapley resumed driving. Then he saw the unbelievable. There was a second tarantula crossing the road.Shapley pulled over and got on the tarantulas level meaning he was on his belly in the middle of the highway.

I kept watch for oncoming traffic as he took pictures and video of our eight-legged friend.

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A squished tarantula and being followed by a Tesla: How we got the story on SpaceX and Blue Origin - Houston Chronicle