Blog
Alpine, TX
Dates of stay: Jan 14 - 19, 2022
Campground: The Lost Alaskan
We departed Lajitas for Alpine, TX - decided to extend our stay here until Wednesday, given the weather in Carlsbad which is cold and below freezing. We just didn’t want to have to make an unnecessary move, so we’ll just visit Carlsbad Caverns from here.
After pulling into the Lost Alaskan RV resort, we went to explore the town. After getting skunked on a propane refill at Tractor Supply - again (kind of becoming a trend for us), we were driving down the road and saw a sign that said “Sul Ross student meat market.” Sul Ross is a state university and of course, I was intrigued so we had to pull in. It’s run and managed by the university and it’s students. It’s mission is to teach best practices in the area of agricultural and butchering processes. They butcher and process all of the meats onsite at this facility and then sell everything to the public - and by everything, I mean everything (hearts, organs, etc). We passed on those but picked up some hamburgers, breakfast sausage and beef jerky. We made a stop at the visitor center, which is really a must on these stops and walked away with an armful of brochures and maps.
On our drive around town, we came to a very low bridge, commenting that the RV would never make it - well neither did the Sleep Number truck we encountered on the other side. Apparently, the driver was either not paying attention or wasn’t sure of the height variance but the top of his truck had been completely sheer off - it looked like a giant sardine can with the top completely rolled back. It was certainly and interesting site and not an experience we want to have….
The next day, we started off a very cool morning at the very small Farmer’s market - a bread stand, a place to buy microgreens, and a stand with jams and pickles. Pretty sparse, but we picked up some sourdough and cinnamon raisin bread. Tom and Owen went in search of an oil change for the Jeep and I wanted to explore some of the murals that the town is known for. There are also a number of shops and galleries that looked intriguing. I found so many beautiful paintings and photographs of the Big Bend area, pottery, other sculptures - but once again, reminded of the space constraints in the RV!
We explored the MCDonald Observatory Observatory and took a guided tour of one of the massive telescopes they have on their campus - approximately 200 tons of it. One of the telescopes here was the first to measure the distance of the earth to the moon, within 2 inches accuracy. Today, the measurements are within 1/2 an inch!
We took a 3 hour drive up to Carlsbad Caverns National Park (CAVE). On our way there, we passed the Prada “store” in Valentine, TX, complete with tumbleweed passing in front of it. This is actually an art installation that was created by artists in Malfa, in collaboration with Prada. I read about it years ago, so it was fun to see this on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.
Our drive up to Carlsbad was beautiful, as it took us through the Guadalupe Mountains and we finally arrived at CAVE. The crowds at this time of year are very low, and it was a wonderful time to visit. We entered via the Natural Entrance (you can take an elevator from a different spot), but if you are physically able, walking through the natural entrance is absolutely amazing. This is basically the bat cave, and in the summer, you can see them fly out of here in the afternoon as they go hunting during the night. Inside the cavern it is very cool - about 53 degrees, so dress warm.
We highly recommend the audio tour for an extra $5 pp, as it really enhances the experience as it has info on the history of the cave’s discovery, indepth data on the geology, and the overall composition of the caverns and how they’ve been explored and preserved over the years.
There’s a “lunchroom” area, which actually used to serve the crowds back in the 50s (fried chicken was the best, supposedly) and there is a post office box where you can mail postcards from. Today, it still serves but only drinks, chips and candy bars. The structure/decor of the area is within the cave itself but it is very dated - definitely a mid 1900’s feel.
The original tourists had to descend down in a oversized BUCKET, then make their way down a crickety staircase .That would’ve definitely amped up the experience. You can still see this area today, from the walkway.
Very grateful for our ability to travel to CAVE, and our physical ability to experience this park - Owen had a real appreciation for the beauty and wonder of this place and it’s been one of his favorite stops.
Other fun excursions included the mural tour for art class (well, I thought it was fun). Alpine is a really artsy town (also - go visit Desert Rose Provisions store if you get the chance - great art and other finds). The Visitor Center provides a map of the murals as well as scavenger hunt type document for them, so we used this as an opportunity for art and history class. The murals vary from landscapes of west Texas, to all of the musicians that are originally from Texas - that was a favorite one perhaps. We also came across a woman who was working on fixing a telephone pole that was covered in mosaic tiles. She explained to us that the town is currently working to cover all of their telephone poles in this way - we found a couple of others, and they were really beautiful.
We also hiked up to Desk Hill, which has become an iconic location in Alpine. This is a short 20-30 minute hike up a hill not too far from Sul Ross Campus. Back in 1981, three students decided to haul a school desk up to the top of the hill above the campus of Sul Ross State University - supposedly to have a quieter, more serene place to study. The desk stayed there, and now it is the endpoint of this hike up Hancock Hill where visitors can sign the notebook kept in the desk as well as take in the spectacular view of the school and surrounding town - which we did. Bicycle Tree is also up there (bikes in a tree - not sure what this is about).
On our final evening, we enjoyed a campfire with our neighbors, who lived near Austin, TX. They were traveling for a few days in their Airstream and invited us to come and visit them so they could take us sailing sometime! yes please….
We departed Alpine the next morning before sunrise and I got to drive….while treated to some gorgeous vistas as the sun came up. The roads are flat and straight here, which made for an easy drive.
Big Bend National Park - Texas
Dates of stay: January 7 - 14, 2022
Campground: Maverick Ranch, Lajitas, TX
Made it to Big Bend National Park! Getting to our campsite included driving through the park from the north entrance, so it was fun to get a glimpse of this massive park on the way to our destination. While we technically have been at a few other National Parks and Recreation Areas (i.e. Everglades, Gettysburg, etc), this is will be the first time we’ve really explored a National Park in any great detail, and we’ll start that journey tomorrow. The big spaces get even bigger here, and it is very dry and arid. The days are warm and sunny and the nights are cool, and full of lots of coyotes howling at night. I already feel like a week won’t be enough…
Spent our first full day at BIBE (the alpha code), Big Bend National Park. The alpha code is the code that the park service/rangers use to identify all of the national parks and it is created by taking the first two letters in the name of the park depending on its name (I.e. Yosemite is one word, so YOSE, or Grand Canyon is two, so GRCA).
Once again, thankful that we have the Jeep in tow as it allowed us to make it to many areas of the park on this trip that we would have not been able to do if we didn’t have a high-clearance, 4WD. Our first off-road experience was on Old Maverick Road, heading into the park from the west side. Our destination was Santa Elena Canyon, where we were treated to unbelievable view of a canyon that had been carved out over the centures. This is also the area where the Rio Grande intersects the US and Mexico and we were within a few feet of the Mexican border. We actually waded across a stream to the Santa Elena canyon trail (on the US side) and hiked back into a massive canyon that made us feel like the size of a pinhead. We were able to see kayakers down below on the river, and knew we had to add that experience to our bucket list for a future trip.
We drove the scenic Ross Maxwell drive and discovered Castolon - an old “town” that used to be a post for the Army in the 1920’s and later a store, and a community of about 35 people. The historic barracks burned down in a 2019 fire. A total of 950 acres burned; the fire actually started across the Rio Grande but the smoldering ashes were carried by the wind and fell down on the roof of the barracks, creating the fire.
The wildlife was more abundant today, and we saw a few roadrunners! Stopped off for a photo op at Mule Ear Peaks, a popular spot within the park. We did another off-road trail on Grapevine Falls Road - this as a very bumpy and slow-going ride, and we do not recommend taking anything other than a 4WD car up this road! This road took us to the trail head of Balancing Rock trail, and easy but sandy trail that leads up to a .25 mile rock scramble to a very picturesque spot. We had some fun with the pictures in this area, as it looks like you are holding up a massive rock when positioned just right. We also saw a wild javelina right along the trail! This was neat, as they are more nocturnal and also travel in groups, but he was just out by himself, munching on a few bushes.
The next day was another long, full day. This was the day we decided to cross into Boquillas del Carmen. This is a border crossing from within the National Park. It is run as a joint effort between that National Park Service and the U.S. Border Patrol. We drove to this station, triple-checked to make sure we had our passports, and were sent off down a dirt trail to the river’s edge of the Rio Grande. There, we were the only Americans waiting to cross, and a rowboat from the other side made it to us in about 10 seconds (this was a small, short crossing). After paying about $5 each to cross (promised to be a round trip excursion), we hopped in and they took us over to the Mexican side. It’s worth nothing that Boquillas is 100% dependent on US tourism to survive. Given COVID, the border was shut for 20 months and it barely survived. There were lots of little kids running up to us selling woven bracelets, which of course, we purchased right away. We also had the option to walk into town, or take the horses. With a .75 mile walk in front of us down a very dusty road, we opted for the horses. The wind was howling and sand was EVERYWHERE. It wasn’t the most ideal experience, but Owen caught it on video for his YouTube channel and it is pretty fun to watch. Other than the town, this is a very desolate area. We were greeted by more children selling handiwork, and Owen bought a scorpion out of wire and beads.
Seems that whoever leads you up into town on the horses also becomes your de-facto guide. Our guide for the day took us into the town, but really let us look around at our leisure. It was so windy that it was almost hard to enjoy the walk up and down the streets but we peeked into a small grocery store. Funny story - we needed some dry beans for one of Owen’s school projects and as Lajitas is SO remote, I was excited to find them in the store. But then I was reminded I couldn’t take them across the border since they were a food item! We had a great lunch at Jose Falcon - one of the two restaurants in town. Many of the local townspeople were also sending their arts and crafts, and as one of only a few tourists that day, I wanted to support their economy as best we could but as at all stops on this journey, we can only bring so much into the RV. Owen bought a really neat hand-crafted walking stick, and I found the cutest embroidered tortilla holder (wish I would’ve got more of those for gifts - next time).
After we had taken our share of photos and seen the town, it was time to head back. Forgot to mention that the road we traveled was also shared by very speedy trucks driven by the men of the town (another way to get back and forth). Our horses had to share the road with these drivers, and that made for an interesting (and very dusty) experience.
Owen and I hopped in the rowboat, but Tom really wanted to wade across the Rio Grande…..it was shallow enough so he could!
After we crossed back into the US (where we did have to go through customs), we headed over to the Boquillas Canyon hike. Beautiful hike, but we were sandblasted the entire way - so windy!!! We also made it over to the Hot Springs, where the water is about 105 degrees, and the hot springs pool sits right within the RIo Grande, looking over into Mexico. Neat experience overall.
There are three visitor centers within the park, and we discovered that the Panther Junction Visitor Center is the most informative yet all three are really good and the rangers are incredibly helpful.
After a long day, we finally headed back to Lajitas, stopping at the general store for a few necessary yet overpriced items - we’re pretty remote here so stocking up on food, necessities, etc is highly recommended. We did this, but we run out of eggs, milk ($7.99/gallon and not organic), and bread on a regular basis! Thankfully, this store has a pretty good selection and a wonderful deli counter as well, where we were able to get sandwich meat (we eat a LOT Of sandwiches on this trip….) especially for our day trips into the parks. RIght next to this store is the pen that holds the mayor of Lajitas…..a goat.
On our next day, we stayed closer to “home” and hiked to the picnic table about 1.5 miles up in the hills near our campground. Owen and I also explored the boardwalk in the Lajitas Village (which is essentially the Maverick Ranch hotel/shops area across the street from the campground). After that, we drove west for a bit - gorgeous views and this road also snakes through Big Bend State Park. We stopped at an area with 4 primitive campsites within the park as Tom wanted to also check out the boat landing here. There was one lone trailer there - a couple from Hoffman, MN actually - as well as their friendly cat, Boomer, which acted more like a dog. They suggested that we hike Closed Canyon trail within the state park, just a few miles down the road. There was still a few hours of sunlight left, so we did!
This was probably one of our most awesome hikes yet on this trip. The Closed Canyon Trail is a relatively short, 1.4 mile round trip hike through a narrow slot canyon. For those of you that want to get to it when you’re there, the trailhead is located approximately 22 miles west of the Barton Warnock Visitor Center and 26 miles east of Fort Leaton State Historic Site on River Road, FM 170. It was amazing! We loved it….and we were afforded the most spectacular view of the sun hitting the mountains when we emerged at sunset.
Another full day in Big Bend:
Dinosaur exhibit - there have been many fossils that have been found here
Drove up to Chisos Mountain and hiked the Chisos Basin loop (2 miles) and had lunch here while Tom grabbed a call
Drove off-road to Glenn Springs Road and hiked 3 miles on Pine Canyon trail. This trail led us through desert as well as what can best be described as the woods - it felt like we were hiking in Wisconsin, until we saw the random cactus here and there…
On our way out while we were on the dirt road, we came across a couple and their daughter from Ontario that were hung up on a massive rock in their Ford Class B van - there was another person that had stopped to help but between all of us, we couldn’t get them unstuck so we went for help. There isn’t any cell service in this area, and by this time, all of the visitor centers were closed. Thankfully, we were able to call the Chisos Mountain Lodge, and they put us in touch with the dispatch service. The crazier story here….we didn’t find out about their status until a few days later. I was checking by Facebook messages and there was a new message from a Fulltime Family, who had noticed that in one of the FTF groups, I had said our family was in Big Bend for the week. She was reaching out as another FTF to see if it would be at all possible for our paths to cross while we were both there. As I was reading her message and looking at her picture, I quickly realized that THIS was the family we stopped to help!! I felt bad for not seeing her message earlier (she had actually reached out before this incident took place but I hadn’t seen it). Thankfully, we learned that the ranger HAD come and rescued them, and found them a place to camp for the nite in one of the campgrounds.
We stopped for burgers on the way back at the High Sierra Bar and Grill in Terlingua- the large, oversized cold Mexican cokes were the BEST after a long day.
The following day, Owen and I did a video tour of the RV, which was kind of fun (he did a great job editing!). He’s been creating videos along the way, which will be so cool to have for posterity. But mostly excited because we just booked ONE MONTH in Jackson Hole, May 8 through Jun 4. Will be here before we know it.
On our final day in the area, we got on our bikes and explored Big Bend State Park near our campground. Or at least tried. On mile 1, I totally bit it and slammed down on the ground, resulting in lots of cuts and bruises and a very sore elbow and thigh! Tom and Owen cotniued and I limped back to the campsite…
Tom and I drove to a scenic overlook in the park, stopped at an old movie set where westerns had been filmed, and on our way back, saw well over 50 long-horned sheep crossing the road into the canyons and hills. Our pizza place here is Gizzi Up, which had good pizza, yummy pastries and a great patio to enjoy it all.
Seminole Canyon State Park - Comstock, TX
Dates of stay: Jan. 2 - 7, 2022
Campground: Seminole Canyon State Park
Beautiful drive down into this part of Texas - it’s starting to get really remote, with lots of wide open spaces. This state park is really in the middle of nowhere, and snuggles up to the Rio Grande river, effectively allowing us to see into Mexico. This state park is known for its famous pictographs - rock art from over 4000 years ago that still remains on the canyon walls.
We did not have full hookups at this site (no sewer) and the bathrooms didn’t have any hot water for the entire week we were there, so it was a little “rougher” than normal but not bad at all as we still had water, and the hot water heater! The mornings were cold, and the days were sunny and warmer. We took to exploring the trails pretty quickly here, and discovered Canyon Rim Trail, a gravelly, rocky trail that snakes alongside the Seminole Canyon.
The Canyon Rim trail is about a 3.5 mile trek containing lots of undercut rock, fallen boulders, and large swatchs of creme, salmon and grey cliffs - it’s quite beautiful. Also, lots of ocotillo plats (NOT a cactus we learned), as well as prickly pear cactus along the trail. Didn’t see any wildlife out and about, but did witness a spectacular sunset from our campsite. Supposedly there are illegal border crossings in this area, with people coming up through the canyon. We were also told by our guide that the canyon area within the park is filled with sensors, to detect any activity. We weren’t really certain whether this is true or not, or if it’s a warning to keep people out of the canyon beyond visiting hours so as to deter any vandalism to the canyon walls/area (also a good idea). One day we did see the helicopters circling the canyon so maybe….we decided not to to find out.
One afternoon, Tom and I explored the surrounding area - Pecos River, Pecos River Bridge - beautiful canyon area. From this point, we were finally able to over and into the mountains of Mexico from the Amistad Recreation area. We met a couple with a truck camper and talked to them for a bit as we think that could be a good set up for us down the road (post Owen’s graduation….)
We toured Seminole Canyon within the park with a guide today and saw the many petroglyphs left over 4,000 years ago in this area. We also learned that this area is defined by 3 different biomes - the Acacias, desert, and Juniper and ash trees/bushes. The visitor center here is spectacular!
Struggled to do it, but I got my butt out of bed for a sunrise hike and took the Canyon Rim path to the lookout point. Glad I did, as it offered up one of the most peaceful and serene mornings I’ve had yet.
The trails here are also pretty good for biking, and we explored those on our last day here. We wanted to take the trail all the way to the Rio Grande, but we were running out of sunlight so we weren’t able to make it .
Lakehills, TX (San Antonio)
Campsite: Thousand Trails Medina Lake, Lakehills TX
Dates of stay: Dec. 19, 2021 - Jan 1, 2022
We drove through some pretty beautiful hill country to make it to our campsite, which is a Thousand Trails location based in Lakehills, TX - about 45 northwest of Downtown San Antonio. Upon arrival, we were told not to “feed the deer” and we quickly learned why, as at our campsite we were surrounded by about 20 extremely tame deer, just waiting to be fed. They’d come within a few inches of us and while tempting to feed them, we did not. Originally, campers WERE encouraged to feed them, but given the risks to the deer of not being able to fend for themselves in the wild, the campers are asked by the wildlife management not to feed them (although we noticed many people still did).
While we are not all that close to San Antonio, we are within 20 miles of a wonderful state park - Government Canyon State Park, home to dinosaur tracks and lots of great trails. We made it there about 3 times during our visit, and on our 3rd trip, we made it to the tracks. They were left by sauropods and therapies, and you can make the prints out really well as they’ve been preserved in the limestone for centuries.
On this leg, we were fortunate to have visitors! Mike and Judy, Tom’s parents, came down to to visit over Christmas. While this was a celebration unlike any other holiday we’ve experienced, it was so so nice to have family with us for Christmas and we feel extremely lucky that they took the time to drive for 3 straight days from Wisconsin. We were able to have them stay at the little (tiny) cabins available on the property, so the distance from our RV to their front steps was about 30 seconds! Quite convenient and Owen loved hanging out with them at their place.
We did explore San Antonio - checked out the Alamo of course, and the Riverwalk. As part of Owen’s education this year, we are taking full advantage of the locations we are visiting to learn more about the history. So this week has been about Texas’ independence from Mexico, the significance of the Alamo battle (which the Texans lost) and how it led to the Battle of San Jacinto (which was ultimately won by the Texas, and secured their independence).
On our first trip in with Mike and Judy, we toured the Alamo but there were SO. MANY. PEOPLE. Too peopley for me. I think I’m getting used to the quietness of the campgrounds. I last visited with my grandparents when I was about Owen’s age, so it was fun for Owen to be there with his grandparents. We also had lunch at Cafe Rio on the Riverwalk, and enjoyed the Mariachi band play Guantanamera for us! We discovered another sculpture garden here - not as expansive as the one in New Orleans, but very enjoyable.
On our second trip in (just Owen, me and Tom), we walked 5.5 miles along the quieter portion of the Riverwalk at night, after we had finished an early dinner at Iron Cactus. Even more people on this day, as we are in the holiday week. We wanted to do a riverboat ride, but the lines looked hours long! The walk was really enjoyable and so glad we did that, as it gave us a look at where the boats don’t go. We made it up to the lock and dam area, and turned around, enjoying the Christmas lights all along the riverwalk.
We settled in here for a couple of weeks, heading to the small town of Lakehills for groceries from the sole store in town and also visited the 4-Way bar and grill for good burgers one day. We also got lucky and found a local meat market (Schott’s) for some wonderful local cuts of meat, which was good, as we needed to restock the freezer. We are trying to shop local as much as possible, and realizing that many of these smaller towns offer a lot of great options.
Medina Lake is really no longer - it has dried up over the past 3 years, and we learned that it “cycles” about every five. We walked and biked the lake bed, but realized it would be a much better campground if we were able to get out on the lake. The dock itself was completely dry docked, and except for a few roaming cattle, there wasn’t much to experience. There are a lot of really great trails throughout the campground, and we enjoyed the expanse of this campground. They also had a decent activity center with a mini golf course, shuffleboard, and Tom and I even tried pickle ball for the first time (kind of fun, and I beat him the first time).
New Year’s Eve was quiet - both in and around the campground, and in our RV! Movie marathon until midnight, and we celebrated and said good night at 12:01. Happy 2022 all!
Austin, TX
Dates of stay: Dec. 12 - 19, 2021
Campground: McKinney Falls State Park
This was the first campground we pulled into that was militant about its 2 pm check in time! We usually arrive before that, and it’s not ever a problem, but we had to wait around a bit in order to comply. No big deal - was a beautiful park to walk around in and explore. Once we checked in, we found our site (a pull-thru). The sites are big here, with lots of good trees to hang the slackline. A highlight of this journey was meeting Nancy, John and Lili - our “neighbors” across the road. As Tom celebrated his birthday during this visit, I had put up a “Happy Birthday” yard sign and as we were pulling into the driveway and he saw it the first time, the neighbor exclaims “how did you know?” It happened to be John’s birthday just the day before, so we had a good laugh over that and proceeded to talk to them for quite some time. Lots of similarities between our families - they also departed on July 6 (same day as us) from Maine, and have a 13 yr old as well. We got together for a potluck a few days later and that was super fun. We’re hoping that our travels criss cross again at some point!
We explored many of the must-sees in Austin, which I’ve notated on my Trip Planner in Trip Advisor (State Capital tour, boardwalk along the river, SoCo area, a local brewery…..) For Tom’s birthday, we played mini-golf at the iconic Peter Pan course and ate at Terry Black’s, for some outstanding BBQ!
We really enjoyed McKinney State Park, and this was our first Texas State Park as well. The land was originally owned by Thomas McKinney and he had strong ties to Texas’ history, especially as it related to the Texas revolution and independence. He had over 30 enslaved individuals on this land , who built a stone grist mill - many remnants of this can still be seen today. After McKinney’s death, his widow, Anna, sold the property to James Woods Smith. Members of the Smith family owned and farmed the land for several generations before donating it to the State of Texas in 1973.
“Old Baldy” is an iconic attraction - a 500 yr old Cypress tree in the park that is one of the oldest on public land in Texas. There are beautiful trails to hike and explore around here, and the close proximity to Austin itself makes it an ideal state park. Reservations well in advance to camp here are highly encouraged! I don’t think we saw one empty spot the whole week.
Anahuac, TX
Camped at: Frascone Winery - a Harvest Host stop
Dates: Dec. 11, 2021
Crossed the Texas state border mid-morning, and followed our GPS directions to a well-worn, small community where we had reservations at a Harvest Host location to spend the nite. Phil met us in his golf cart once we encountered the “Harvest STOP!!! sign”, and led us to our RV pad for the nite, which has hookups! A rare occurrence for Harvest Host stops, and kind of nice. The Frascone Winery is a very small family operation but they happened to have a saxophone player (Bob) and seafood and sausage gumbo on the house. We bought a bottle of their “Biker’s Blood Red” and took in the music and free gumbo (quite good). We met another couple from Appleton, Wisconsin, who happen to be on their way down to Brownsville, TX for the winter. Turns out the guy’s parents both went to St. Norbert College - another small world experience. We had a nice time swapping stories of the state park experiences, and we made a strong push for Gulf Shores State Park, which they plan to hit on their way home.
The Anahuac Wildlife Preserve is located about 20 minutes from here, so we hopped in the Jeep to head over - not before we put on long pants, turtlenecks and vests - it’s cold here (low 50s with a strong wind). It snowed 18” at home last night, so I’ll still take the weather we’re dealing with now. Owen is missing the snow, and particularly Buck Hill so we’re hoping we can find some skiing in the mountains of Arizona for him.
