Author: sandcastle

South Texas

As we drove into Laredo, Texas, I found myself singing The Streets of Laredo, so I was amused to discover the lyrics on their web site. I now know one verse and the first line of two other verses. We only stopped there for diesel, lunch, and a truck wash but we never figured out how to weave our way through the semis to get to the truck wash so our RV is still filthy.  

The truck stop had both a Burger King and a Taco Bell so I was able to have a taco salad without Dave having to eat anything “Mexican”. That made us both happy. Dave went in to get our food and came back with a chicken taco salad instead of the beef I usually get. It was different. Not bad, just different.

We drove I-35 to it’s south end because it felt like the right thing to do. We’ve driven to the north end in Minnesota many times so it was fun to see the other end. Fortunately, when we came to the south end we were in the correct lane. If we hadn’t been able to turn left there, we’d have been on the bridge to Mexico. That’s not something we want to do right now.

In Laredo I saw a place named Wishy Washy Laundromat.

We camped at Falcon State Park and got the last site with hookups. It was available only because the person who had reserved it didn’t like it so didn’t stay. It was a pull-though on a curve that was a challenge even for our short rig.  It took two levels of blocks under the front wheels with the nose right up to some bushes to get us level enough for our frig to run without damaging it. There was good internet there, though.

We actually left that park an hour before checkout time! Of course, check out in the state parks here is 2 p.m. I got a lot of computer work done here.

We stopped at BK again for lunch. I got the burgers I didn’t get yesterday and Dave had more of their onion rings–one of his favorite foods.

In Mission, Texas, we checked into the Mission West RV Park for two nights so we could have a day to do laundry. This is a huge park but their short term spots are right next to a major road that was very noisy. So we spent part of those two days looking for some place better around here.

We would have loved to move into Retama Village or Bentsen Palms RV Park but could find no empty places at either of them. Retama Village is a co-op park and each site has a 12′ x 20′ coach house. Some of the houses are not included with the lot rent but some of them are. Some have bathrooms and laundry facilities inside. We first tried to rent one that also had a Murphy bed and kitchenette thinking we could literally move in and use our RV as a car to run errands and get work done on it. None available. Then we tried one that had a bath and laundry but nothing else except shelves on the theory that Dave could set up his piano inside and I could park my Segway in there and keep it charged up. None available. The one with the sofa bed wasn’t available, either. So we gave up.

The day we checked out of Mission West we visited the nearby World Birding Center. They have lots of exhibits about birding and a tram you can ride into the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park to hike the trails and watch the birds. It turns out you can put bikes, canoes, and kayaks on the tram as well. If we’d known that we might have taken my Segway and followed a trail out to a river overlook. You cannot drive into the park which makes it a great getaway from the hustle and bustle of Mission, Texas.

That night we checked into Sleepy Valley Resort still in Mission for one night. We stayed three. It was fairly quiet in spite of being near the same road that bothered us at Mission West. We weren’t quite as close to the road and we were along a quieter stretch of it. So we did a bunch more computer stuff including Dave putting a map showing where we are on this blog. While he was doing that I added a bunch of state and national parks to my databases of places we are headed. I also started adding restaurants from the diners, drive-ins, and dives website. It was fun to realize we’d already visited some of those restaurants.

On Monday morning we checked out of Sleepy Valley while noticing how many people still do laundry on Monday morning as evidenced by the clothes hanging on lines in the park. It’s nice to see clotheslines being used instead of dryers. So may places nowadays won’t let you put up a clothesline because they think it looks tacky. I think it looks energy efficient.

Before leaving Mission we bought propane for $2.20 a gallon, got haircuts, bought groceries, and had lunch.  

Then I enjoyed a bunch more roadside signs. “Boggus Ford”–how do you suppose they pronounce that and how do they keep the rest of us from pronouncing it our way? “Hurricane Evacuation Route”–via US 281 north. If I was evacuating from here I’d do it via Hwy 83 west heading inland rather than follow one that goes north the same as the coastline. “Another Closet”–storage facility. “Location for sale”–not just land but the location between the off and on ramps of the Expressway. “Pirate Cruise”–do they take your watch and jewelry as the price of the cruise?

Now we are at Tropic Winds Resort in Harlingen, Texas. A member park that let’s rif-raf like us in at a discount as part of the Passport America program. This is another huge RV park but this one has real grass and sites wide enough that you can’t look into your neighbors windows even if you wanted to do so. We are here for two nights as part of our new program of staying at least two nights every place we camp so as to not get so burnt out on traveling. We may even go over to the the clubhouse tomorrow for their hamburger dinner. We’d probably go for the spaghetti dinner tonight if I was sure they won’t put peppers in it. But we are in Texas so that’s too big a chance for me to take. Even my heartburn medicine can’t handle peppers.

When we leave here we will head north on US 77 along the Texas Gulf Coast.  If you see us going by, wave.

TTYL,

Linda

West Texas

We’ve been traveling in west Texas for quite some time now so here’s some of my observations during those travels.

We stayed at the Lost Alaskan RV Park in Alpine, Texas, before and after our visit to the McDonald Observatory. Apparently, lots of other people do too. Among that RV park’s facility was this:

  

When we stopped for diesel, Dave used their window washing equipment to wash my side windows, too. They needed it after that little bit of rain with lots of dust storm we had.

We are not having the problems getting diesel I was afraid we might have. Most stations seem to have it now. Even the little two pump Fina station had one pump of unleaded and one of diesel.

We saw a herd of white cows. Dave said, “They’ve been bleached by the sun.”

The sign said this section of road is maintained by “The Raunchy Road Ranch.” Do you suppose Raunchy Road is where the bordellos used to be? Or still are?

Kids nowadays have no sense of tradition. I saw a cowboy wearing a baseball cap!

The road runner was doing just that until he saw us then he hesitated a moment. But he ran on before we had to wonder if we were going to hit him or not.

Coming down a hill we could see the road ahead of us made a 90 degree turn left then right. We could see no reason for it. There were no hills or fields to go around. And, if we were following a section line, wouldn’t it continue straight? We’ll never know the answer to that one.

I saw a sign that said, “Cowboy Mining Company.” I didn’t know you could mine for cowboys. I know some women who would like to do that.

We stopped at a Fina Station/mini mart/cafe in Terlingua/Study Butte for lunch. The people were very friendly. When I commented on that one guy told me, “Stop here and meet friendly strangers. Stay here and meet strange friends.” That was the same guy who responded to Dave’s big sneeze by saying, “Good one!”

There was an RV park right behind the Fina Station/mini mart/cafe. If we stayed there even I could walk to the store. But we were headed into Big Bend National Park and you already know how that turned out.

Well, most of how it turned out. I didn’t tell you about waving to the motorcycle riders only to realize it was our Escapees classmates, Mike & Julie. We stopped for a very short visit alongside the road.

And about the Burro Mesa Pouroff. In Minnesota that would be called a waterfall. Even if there was no water falling today. It only falls here during heavy rains.

We stayed the first night in Big Bend at Cottonwood campground down by the recently flooded Rio Grande River.  In that campground you are not allowed to run generators. Since our batteries were fully charged and we had no internet signal we had no problem having no extra source of electricity.  

  

The next night we stayed in the Chisos Basin campground where we could run our generator during approved hours but still had no internet signal so still didn’t need to run the generator. That campground was in the highlands so each campsite had a bear box to put your food in if you were tent camping.

  

It’s interesting that the computers appear to be the main reason we need supplemental power.

It was fun seeing so many people in the campgrounds doing what we grew up thinking of as “camping.” Tents and popup trailers everywhere. People cooking and eating outside. People hiking for the entertainment value of it. People actually camping, not traveling like us.

While traveling on down the road I found myself thinking about the people who cross from Mexico illegally and those who help them. I could suddenly hear some English teacher asking us to write a paper comparing and contrasting this with the Underground Railroad. I wonder what I would write? I wonder what you would write?

The sign said, “Longfellow Draw.” I knew he wrote. Did he draw?  With a pencil?  Or did that mean draw his gun?  This is Texas, you know.

We stopped in Langtry, Texas, to visit the Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center. He was quite a character. Here’s a couple of photos from there.

   

We spent a night in Seminole Canyon State Park. $17 for full hookups and the park had wifi. I got caught up on my computer reading but not on my posting. We probably should have stayed there another night just to do that since we are so often without any internet signal lately.

We did some driving around in the Amistad National Recreation Area checking out potential campsites. Governor’s Landing had water but no other hookups and only about half the sites come close to being level but they are cheap and private and we’ll likely come back here sometime.

In Del Rio, Texas, we stopped at the first WalMart we’ve seen in a long time to restock our supplies. After having no cell phone service for about a week, I suddenly had five bars of my carrier, T-Mobile. So I checked my messages and returned a call from our daughter. We talked for almost an hour so we may be caught up with each other again.

Driving south from Del Rio on Hwy 277 we drove out of the desert for the first time in months. Creeks have water in them. Trees are tall. They sky started leaking; it became what the Irish call a “soft” day. I had the urge to go out and let my skin soak up water but we were in the middle of nowhere so I had to wait.

We headed to Eagle Pass, Texas, to a casino offering 20 free RV sites with hookups hoping it would be something like Firelake Grand Casino back in Oklahoma. The roads in were terrible! Narrow, bumpy, winding, with construction making one lane traffic in part of it and that lane wasn’t full width. To add insult to injury, the RV parking was horrible which was probably OK because it was also full. So we moved on.

My phone keeps ringing the tone that says I have a message. T-Mobile keeps calling to tell me how I can stay connected with them while traveling. They are being such a nuisance about me staying connected that I actually turned my phone off. Dave thought that was hilarious. After awhile, so did I.

So now we are in Carrizo Springs, Texas, at the Brush County RV Park and, once again, we have an intermittent internet connection. I am writing this as a text document that I will upload when we get a better connection. Boy, have I gotten spoiled.

TTYL,

Linda

Big Bend National Park

We’ve had three days with no internet connection but lots of scenery. Big Bend National Park is in the bend of the Rio Grande River in Western Texas. Across the river is Mexico but all the crossings within the park have been closed. This park is so big it is easy to forget how close you are to another country because this part of our country has such a variety of land within it. Without further ado may I, please, present three days of Big Bend National Park.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      

  

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed your visit.

TTYL,

Linda

Davis Mountains

About 6 a.m. this morning the wind finally quit rocking the RV so today we headed up into the Davis Mountains at last. We took Texas 118 up from Alpine. It’s a good way to go. The road is smooth asphalt all the way up and there are lots of picnic areas, scenic overlooks, and historical markers along the way.

Our primary destination was the McDonald Observatory. We reached it about 12:45 p.m. as you can see on this huge sundial.

 

The visitor center has participatory exhibits, a theater, a cafe, and a gift shop. The big telescopes are on the hill behind the visitor center.

 

The next program was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and would last until 4:30 p.m. so we had lunch in the Star Date Cafe. As we often do in museum cafes we shared one sandwich, one beverage, and one desert. Dave, of course, voted for ham and cheese but I talked him into chicken with sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and cheddar cheese on focacia. Mmmm. I bribed him with a brownie.

Then we watched a video about the observatory. After a short break, the observatory’s version of a ranger presented a talk about stars with excellent slides. Then the speaker, Dave, and six others climbed into a shuttle bus and headed up the hill to see the big telescopes.  

 

  

He took my camera with him so you’ll have to ask him about these photos. He said something about big mirrors and a windbreak in front of the opening when I asked.

     

While Dave was off on that 90 minute tour I played with the interactive exhibits, explored the gift shop, went back to the RV and took a nap, and ate chocolate. We both had a good afternoon.

Then we headed back down the hill to Davis Mountains State Park campground after having decided we could spend one night without internet. We pulled in just minutes after the office closed. The late registration instructions gave us our choice. We could self-register if we were going to leave before 8 a.m. or we could come back between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. to register in person. Right. Like that’s going to happen. For those of you who don’t remember, I am NOT a morning person. There aren’t many places I’m willing to be by 9 a.m. and campground registration is not one of them.

So we are back in Alpine, Texas, at the Lost Alaskan RV Resort and check-out is noon, thank you very much.

TTYL,

Linda