New Orleans Bourbon Street

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Even though it was suppose to rain today I decided to head over to New Orleans and check out Bourbon Street. It only drizzled a little bit all day and it was in the 70's so I'm glad I went. I drove over to the Algiers Ferry to take it across the Mississippi instead of trying to drive into the Big Easy. The ferry landing is located in an old run down part of town. Many might even consider it a slum area but i found it interesting that I saw a very diverse group of people living in the area as I drove through it.

The ferry ride is free for people and costs $1.00 for cars. It runs every 30 minutes so you don't have to wait long to get across the river. The upper deck has chairs and is covered but I walked down to the lower deck where the cars are parked so I could a better look at the river and surroundings. During my trip there and back a number of tug boats and one big cargo ship went by.

A Harrah's casino is located at the ferry landing on the New Orleans side so I just had to go in and donate 20 bucks to their slot machines. It is about a 10 block walk down Canal Street to Bourbon Street. Canal Street kind of reminded me of New York city where you have little discount camera and other junk shops located right next to fancy high class stores.

I got to Bourbon Street and started to walk down it. I really wasn't sure what to expect. The street are very narrow with barely enough room for two vehicles side by side. All of the streets are one way with parking one side. I think I seen 50 or more beer trucks unloading during my mile or so walk. The whole street is nothing more then restaurants, bars and souvenir shops. There are also a few strip clubs sprinkled in among everything else. There may have been a few upstairs apartments sprinkled in there but you could hardly tell. All of the bars shops have their doors wide open to make it easy enter. Most of the bars are no more then a long bar and maybe a couple of tables. Daiquiris and Hurricanes seem to be the drink of choice and many bars had rows of daiquiri slushy machines lining the wall behind the bar with 20 or more flavors.

The area is a bit run down with many of the buildings needing paint or other repairs. There were also missing bricks and stones from the sidewalks. About half of the buildings had balconies that we all see on the Mardi Gras pictures and on TV. But then the run down look didn't really bother me much as I imagine that the storm damage they have had plus the heat and humidity that must be present most of the time must take it's toll. I defenently can see how this could be a party place with many places having Jazz & Blues bands and when I found drinks 2 for $5 or Daiqiris, all you can drink for $20. I had to drive back to the park so all I had was a beer.

Royal Street is one block over and there are many art shops and other local craft shops there. I found a lot of nice paintings and jewelry on display as I wound my back to Canal.

Overall it was an interesting day. If I ever get down this way again I will make it a point to find a hotel to stay in one night so I can see just how bad they really do party down there.

See a few more pictures of New Orleans.

Taking It Easy In The Big Easy

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I made it to Bayou Segnette State Park in Westwego, LA which is just across the Mississippi from New Orleans. The drive here was pretty decent except for the rain I had all the way. It wasn't heavy rain, just enough to use wipers. But that was enough to trash the outside of the trailer, it looks like I've never washed it.

The park is really nice. It has electric and water hookups and the sites are huge with 50 foot or more between sites. The bathrooms/showers are immaculate and they even have free laundry facilities. There is also WiFi but it sucks so I'm tethering my Blackberry. No pictures of the park today as it was raining too hard to go out and take some. I'll post a couple tomorrow. I have reservations for 3 nights but since it suppose to rain for the next 2 days I may just stay a couple extra days to "investigate" Bourbon Street.

A few things I have noticed that are interesting. To get here I used I-10. During part of the trip it goes over swamp land.... lots of swamp land. One part of the highway was actually an 18 mile bridge built up over the swamp. Watching local news there is still problems with abandoned homes damaged by Katrina. There are still 50,000 homes that have not been repaired or tore down. Lastly there is a oil executive that turned  up missing last Friday. His last known were abouts was walking towards the river from Bourbon Street late at night. Guess I'll have to take some precautions on my visits there.... but then I have already heard about how to safely visit that area.

Update on the missing guy. Looks like he was drunk and fell into the river. Haven't found him yet but from security cameras it looks that way.

The Long Trek Home

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I've started my way back home to Michigan. First stop for the night is at Gulf Coast RV Resort in Beaumont, Texas. It is a pretty decent park that is right off of I-10. The park is really clean and it has nice facilities. But they pack the sites in pretty close with only about 12 feet between sites. One thing I did like was the washers and dryers only cost a $1 each, the cheapest I have found my whole trip. Cost to stay the night is only $17 with my Passport America membership. This is not really a place I would want to stay for more then a day or two but the easy off/on to I-10 and the low cost make it a worthwhile stop for the night.

The drive here was fairly easy. I did go through Houston and even though it was Sunday there was a fair bit of traffic. I'm sure glad I didn't try to drive it on a weekday. Tomorrow I have about a 5 hour drive to New Orleans. This will be my last destination before I turn north and head back home in earnest so I may stay for 3 or 4 days to enjoy the southern warmth one last time.

Texas State Aquarium and Snoopy's

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Headed to Corpus Christi today to go to the Texas State Aquarium. I had heard it was nice and figured since I was in the area I should go see it. It happens to be right next door to the USS Lexington that I went to a couple of weeks ago. This would be a perfect pair of activities to do in one day as each of them take 3 or 4 hours each to see.

I got there at just the right time as a dolphin show was starting 15 minutes after I got there. There were three dolphins performing and the show lasted about 15 minutes. Of course they do the usual jumps, ball throwing and spectator splashing. It was an enjoyable show.

There is also an otter habitat, sea turtles, swamp turtles and a birding show. I didn't stay for the birding show. Inside they have an area for kids to touch sting rays and a really nice aquarium area that has a many different large and small aquarium setups with everything from sharks to jelly fish. It was a nice relaxing activity.

More pictures of Texas State Aquarium.

On the way back I stopped at Snoopy's for a bite to eat. It is located right at the exit of the Padre Island side of the causeway that connects Corpus Christi to Padre Island. You drive down a narrow road that looks like it will flood with any rain at all, and drive out on the jetty where it is located right on the bay.

You walk in to a counter where you place your order. The owner is friendly and we traded a few jokes before I order the recommended fish and chips.... and a Lone Star. I grabbed my brew and walked out the back door to find an open air seat that was right on the bay. In a few minutes I hear my name over the load speaker and go get the food. The fish was excellent, nice, fresh and firm with melt in your mouth breading. And the fries weren't bad either. Just sat there enjoying the food, the sun and watching the boats go by.

Oh yeah, it doesn't appear there is any heat in the restaurant building itself and everything is pretty open. There is a fireplace in the middle of the restaurant if you are feeling a little chilly. It's not a fancy place but I really enjoyed the setting and the food was outstanding as was the ice cold Lone Star. You know you have to drink Lone Star when in Texas. I would highly recommend Snoopy's to anyone.

Mustang Island State Park

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This morning I packed up and moved to Mustang Island State Park located just north of Port Aransas, Texas. It is only about 5 miles down the road from where I was so the move was easy. I didn't have to really pack things away as good as I would on a day I was going further so it only took about 15 minutes to get everything put away. I made reservations for 2 weeks earlier and I'm glad I did, they were full when I got there at 10am this morning

Mustang Island SP campground is located just over a small sand dune from the Gulf of Mexico. The RV campground area has 48 sites available with 15/30/50 amp electric and water. A dump station is close by. I'm not worried about dumping my tanks because I can go 2 weeks without dumping. The RV campground basically a packing lot with paved pads off the sides. Each site has a small gazebo, picnic table and charcoal grill. The sites aren't huge but there is plenty of room to put out your awning if you want and to extend your slides without feeling cramped. With the wind coming off the Gulf I doubt I'll be putting out my awning much. There is also building with bathrooms and showers that are restricted to camper use. WiFi is available at the park office but I am able to get it at my campsite with my external WiFi adapter. So far the connection has been good and fast. At $17 per day this campground has everything I need,

The Gulf is only a short walk away with an access road so you can get your vehicle on the beach if you want. There is a paved parking lot next to the beach but it is pretty low and was full of water when I took a look. To the north of the parking lot is a day use area for people who are enjoying the beach for the day. That area has a couple of breakwalls and a porta potty for the day use visitors.

To the south of the parking lot is a camping area right on the beach. It has a capacity of 300 tents and you camp right on the beach. There are porta potties, rinse showers and water available in this area. There are a few picnic tables that came be shared by the tent campers and day users. As you walk the tent area you come across holes dug in the sand and remains of campfires that the tenters have used the previous night.

I just find the driving and camping on the beach amazing. Coming from Michigan where none of this is allowed, I find it refreshing that these recreational areas are preserved for the enjoyment of the public rather then horded by private interests. I didn't do much today other then take Spud for a walk on the beach. Will most likely enjoy the beach again tomorrow as it is suppose to turn cold the beginning of the week. Right now I'm planning on staying here two weeks then start winding my way back to Michigan.

Come on you Michiganders, get that weather warm up there already, will you!

USS Lexington and a Ferry Ride

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Last night a cold front moved through and brought high winds and rain. Winds were 30 MPH with gusts to 50 MPH for a few hours. Being on the ocean that means there is not much to buffer the winds. Made for a bit of an exciting evening until I just got used to it and went to sleep.

Since it was still a bit cold and windy I headed over to the USS Lexington Museum on the Bay. In Corpus Christi they have the aircraft carrier USS Lexington floating in the bay and have turned into a museum. It was about a 30 minute drive to get there.

The self guided tours through the Lex was great. What I really liked was that they have done very few modifications to the ship to accommodate visitors. You had to use the exact same ladders and had to walk through the same hatches that the sailors would have when the ship was in active duty. In so many cases modifications are done to displays to make it more visitor friendly but that takes away a lot of the how the real thing would look and feel in real life. It took me back to my Navy days.

It was funny all the things I noticed and remembered that I had forgotten about until I seen them again. I remembered what the symbols on the hatches and valves meant, remembered what some of the equipment did and they even had the machine shop (where I worked when in the Navy) on display. Much of what was being used back then was used on the USS Forrestal 25 years later. It was great museum and I highly recommend it for anyone in the area.

More photos of the USS Lexington.

On the way back I decided to take the ferry from Port Aransas back to Mustang Island. It is a free ferry service that takes only a few minutes but saves maybe 30 miles driving. It appears they have 5 ferries running at a time.

The wait to get on the ferry was about 15 minutes, you just drive on, they close the gates and take you across, then you drive off. Each ferrybholds about 20 vehicles at a time and I guess you can even take your motorhome or trailer on it. It's pretty cool. Hassle free, relaxing and the service is provided at no cost. Even had a Pelican waiting for us on a piling when we got to the island.

A few more ferry crossing photos.

I got back to the trailer and took Spud out for a walk. Right away he headed for the walkway to the beach but it was just too cold and windy to walk to the beach and then back. It was only about 4pm so we hopped in the truck, drove down to the access road and drove the beach for 6 miles. Stopped a couple of times to let Spud walk a bit and do his thing. No permit is needed to drive on the beach but there is a parking permit you are suppose to get for parking. There are a couple of "free" parking areas and I guess even if you park in the permit areas, as long as you don't park for hours, they don't hassle you. The water is only about 55 degrees so no swimming, it's just a nice walk even when it's a bit chilly and windy.

More beach photos from today.

Port Aransas, Texas

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This will be a two day update. I left Balmorhea State Park around 9:30am. It was cool and foggy but the fog wasn't bad enough to delay my start. A few miles after I got on I-10 there was a flashing sign warning of possible snow and ice. I had second thoughts but pressed on figuring I could always pull off for a few hours if it got bad. Never ran into any snow or ice, the fog  cut visibility down to 1/4 mile so it really didn't effect highway speeds. A couple hours later the fog lifted and it was clear sailing.

I spent last night at the Top Of the Hill RV Park in Boerne, Texas. This is in the middle of Texas hill country and is a nice park that would be a good base for visiting the hill country. Since I already did the hill country on my way west, this was just an overnight stop for me. I got to park at the top of the hill and view from the camp sites is awesome. If I come back this way again I'll have use this park as a base for a few days.

It is only about a 4 hour drive from Boerne to the Gulf Coast so I wasn't worried about leaving early in the morning. I ended getting everything together and left around 10am. The drive went really smooth. Even San Antonio wasn't bad since it was a Saturday.

I arrived a Gulf Waters RV Resort in Port Aransas around 2pm. Gulf Waters RV Resort is a super deluxe resort that is really all owned sites that they rent out while the owners are not using them. Each site is nice and large, has great landscaping, cement pad for the RV, large brick patio, cable with 50 channels and electric/water/sewer hook ups or course. The Gulf of Mexico is just over a small dune. It is wasily the nicest RV park I have ever stayed in.... and the price reflects that.

When I got there they couldn't find my reservation. After looking around for a bit they found it was filed under the wrong day so there really wasn't a problem. I got parked and setup and just decided to relax a bit. After resting up I took Spud for a walk to the beach. The temperature was in the low 50's and it was breezy so it was brisk walking on the beach. Spud had fun none the less. It is suppose to warm up in a few days so we'll have to do the beach thing again then.

I'll be here for at least a week. Not sure if I'll stay in this park after that or move to one of the others along the beach. There is a decent State Park just down the road that I'll have to check out. Plans are to stay in this area until the end of February and then decide when I should start heading home.

Valley of Fire & White Sands

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I took a couple of outings today to see the sights. First stop was the Valley of Fire Recreation Area near Carrizozo, New Mexico. The Valley of Fire is a large lava field that was created 1000 to 1500 years ago. Surprisingly the southern edge of the lava field is only 14 miles from the northern edge of White Sands. The trip north to get there took about an hour. The site is controlled by the Bureau of Land Management and is not a county, state or national park. When you enter the park you stop at the payment station, stuff $3 in an envelope and enter.

There is a small bookstore near the walking path plus a picnic and tent camping area. The walking path that takes you through the lava field was made to be handicap accessible so it is an easy 1 mile walk (or roll if in a wheelchair). There are a few spots on the path where you can get off and actually walk on the lava. It's a nice interesting spot to stop at considering that there is this lava in the middle of the high desert.

See more photos of the Valley of Fire.

Next stop for the day was at the White Sands National Monument in White Sands, New Mexico. This is about 15 miles south of the campground I am staying at. This is the first time I have ever been here and I really enjoyed it. The temperature was only about 50 degrees so at least it wasn't too hot. You drive into the park and the first 4 miles are so is paved. The road then turns to white sand and you can drive another 5 miles or so into the sand dunes. While the white sandy road looks soft, the surface is almost rock hard. You just wouldn't want to get off the edge of the road. It looks like the use a road grader to clear the road daily and even by 3pm sand from the dunes was already encroaching onto the road.

There are a number of trails you can take or you can stop just about anywhere to climb the dunes. You can also rent a sled at the park office if you want to sled on the dunes. I didn't do any sledding but me a Spud did walk a bit on top of some of the dunes. Spud really enjoyed it and run around like a little kid. I think he just liked the feel of the sand compared to the mostly rocky surfaces we have been on lately.

See more photos of White Sands.

It was fun day and visitng two completely different environments.

Carlsbad Caverns

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This morning I headed out to Carlsbad Caverns. The morning was cool, damp and foggy. It took about 45 minutes to get there as I am currently just north of Carlsbad. Plus there is construction on the road to the caverns south of Carlsbad where they are adding two more lanes to the two lane highway.

When I got to the caverns I decided just to do the self guided tours. The first one take you into the natural opening of the cave using a steep winding paved walkway. In some places it is a 20 degree angle you are walking down. This part took about 1 1/2 hours to walk and you end up in the big room of the cavern 750 feet below the surface.

The bathrooms were closed in the rest area so I had to take the elevator up to wizz then go back down the elevator to take the big room self guided tour. While I was up top I stopped in the restaurant for a bite to eat. Back down I went to finish the big room tour.

The big room tour is a lot easier as the walkway is fairly flat. But it is more interesting then the main opening tour as there are many more stalactites and stalagmites. This walk also took about 1 1/2 hours. When I was done I was beat, my legs were sore and my feet were tired. I was ready to head back to the RV.

One thing I noticed is that there could be all kinds of phallic jokes looking at the stalagmites. But during my walk through the caverns I did see a boobie shape. Somehow that was strangely satisfying.

See more photos of Carlsbad Caverns.

ATVing Big Bend National Park

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I went on my ATV trip today. It really wasn't in Big Bend but just a few miles outside on the Terlingua Ranch. Terlingua Ranch comprises about 22,000 acres and is owned by Carroll Shelby (yes, THE Carroll Shelby) and David Witt. We were told it is being split up into 20 parcels and is being sold.

When I got to Far Flung Outdoor Center the outfitted with helmets and then gave us quick driving and safety instructions. I was a bit disappointed to hear we wouldn't be going over 20 mph. There were a total of 5 of us in our party, the other four guys all were together so I was a bit of an outsider.... at least for the first couple of minutes. The ATVs were Can-Am 400s. The one I was riding was brand new and only ad 22 miles on it. After riding it a bit and getting used to it, it could have been a bit more powerful. I suppose it is a good 4-wheeler for a rental unit but if I owned one it would have to have more juice.

As we left FFOC we followed a path behind the main building that had a few dips and loose sand. I guess that was to help us get used to riding them. Once we crossed into Terlingua Ranch we went on a dirt road for a couple of miles before we dropped down into a dry river bed that was filled with rocks, then loose sand, gully and wash outs got up and over the river bank and back onto another road.

As our guide Tony seen that we were handling the ATVs fine he picked up the pace. There were places on the smoother dirt roads where I hit 45 mph. I wasn't the fastest, one of the guys hit 49.

We stopped 3 times during the trip. Once at a old windmill, once at the base of Christmas Mountain and one last time to to water the rocks. What I found interesting was that miles from the main road that there would be a trailer plopped in the middle of nowhere. Some would have an awning on the side that had a rain gutter then emptied into a large (1000 gal?) container for water. No one was in any of them but Tony said that they are used during hunting season or just for vacation spots. That's roughing it.

The trip was great fun and it was cool being back into places that very few people get to see. I'm glad I stayed around a couple extra days to do this.

See more photos of my ATV adventure.

The Road to Presidio

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Instead of visiting Big Bend today I went and took a drive to Presidio, a town about 70 miles west. I have already driven every paved road in the park and the dirt roads were not in good enough condition from rain over the past two days that I wanted to take that chance. I had heard the drive to Presidio was nice and figured it would be a good way to see something different.

I headed out late in the morning and the first "town" about 5 miles on FM170 is the Terlingua Ghost Town. I didn't stop, figured I stop on the way back. On trips like this where I plan on back tracking I'll drive straight through to the end point, checking out places to stop, and then stop at those places on the way back as time permits.

Another 12 miles puts you in Lajitas. This is a bit of an interesting place as it has been built up with a real fancy motel and RV park. Problem is that it's location 25 miles from the entrance to Big Bend means it just doesn't get the traffic or guests that the investors hoped. I have heard it is in financial trouble. I almost chose to stay at the RV park here so I drove through. The park is really nice and fancy. Big stone entrance, lots of landscaping on the access road and large grassy RV lots, but only about 6 rigs were there.

I headed on west to and the road quickly narrowed to a normal paved country road, fairly narrow with little to no shoulder. It also quickly started to get into the mountains. The road ended up being very curvy with many hills and large drop offs on one side with solid stone walls towering on the other. The speed limit said 50mph but I was lucky to do 40 in most places. One part of the road is a 15% grade, both going up and going down! Even though I dropped the tranny down to first gear and started at 10mph, I reached 35mph by the time I hit the bottom of the hill (not using my brakes). Thinking I would have wore off 10,000 miles of brake pad if I didn't down shift.

The 70 miles trip ended up taking close to 2 hours to complete. Then I had to turn around and drive the same road back. I only drove into Presidio for a little bit, just far enough to find gas station so I could releave myself, dewater Spud and grab a G. There didn't seem to be much interesting there and since I got a later start I wanted to head back. On the way back I stopped a number of places to take pictures and enjoy the scenery. I will have to say that this is one of the most beautiful drives I have ever done, even better then any drive within Big Bend National Park. The road puts you right in the middle of the mountains and there are many different rock types and formations to experience. It's a drive no one should miss.

Here are a few photos that I took.

Big Bend National Park Day 2 & 3

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I didn't update yesterday so I'll just put two days of info in one update.

The weather was cloudy and hazy all day, not the best weather for picture taking. The main focus of yesterdays outing was to visit the Castolon area along with Santa Elena Canyon. To me this is the most interesting part of Big Bend with some of the most scenic areas. The drive was great with many steep curvy roads, huge mountain cliffs and deep gorges. There are a large number of paved side roads to scenic overlooks and short hikes to interesting features that I just had to do.

The round trip may have been maybe 100 miles but it took me 6 hours to do everything that was "easy" to do. I still have not done any of the dirt road routes and it looks like I may not get to do that now.... more on that later. I can't say enough about this drive and if you only have a day or two to spend in Big Bend, take the drive to Castolon, Santa Elena Canyon and Chisos Basin. While the rest of the park is interesting, it pales in comparion.

It rained all last night and today was still very cloudy with a lot of very low clouds. Just because the weather is cloudy is no reason not to go to the park as it can give a very different look to the park. Today I took the long drive to Persimmon Gap and the North Entrance to the park. This is a long drive and is mostly through the lower desert plains. What saved today's drive was the low hanging clouds that shrouded the mountains. Most times they would wrap around them letting the peaks poke their way out of the top. You could just sit there and watch as the clouds swirled over the edges of the mountain sides changing shape and form as they moved. If you enjoyed seeing animals in cloiud formations when you were a kid, you would have loved this.

I got back to the campground around 3pm. On my drive back it looked like a storm was brewing so I wasn't disappointed that I was leaving Big Bend early. About 30 minutes after I got back, those storm clouds roared overhead. The winds picked up and the rain poured down so hard I couldn't hardly see the RV parked only 20 feet away. Me and Spudy sat there, rock and rolling in the wind as the rain pounding on the RV was so loud I gave up listening to the TV. About 10 minutes later it all passed and the sun came out with a rainbow to the east. That also means this nice desert campground is a muddy mess. I took Spud for a walk afterwards and had to carry him to the shower to wash off his feet.

About 15 minutes after the storm passed, the electric went out. It was out for miles around. No electric, no water, no cell service, nothing. Then the water came back on, then the cell service, but still no electric. My RV has battery backup so I had lights, water and heat but that would only last through the night if the electric didn't come back on. About 7pm the electric can back on so we are all set.... except for the muddy campground. I'll live with it, that's the adventure of camping. At least I'm dry and not in a tent!

See pictures of Day 2 and Day 3 of my trip into Big Bend.

Big Bend National Park Day 1

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On Monday headed in the Big Bend NP about 9:30am. It was nice sunny day, a few clouds and just a bit hazy. I fun going into a place and not really knowing where you are going to go and what to expect. Stopped at the entrance gate, paid the $20 for a 7 day pass, took the map and decided to hit the main HQ at Panther Junction which about 20 miles away and is sort of in the middle of the park.

Once there I got a few ideas of what to see from the rangers and figured I would just do the main paved roads first, see the main sights and then maybe dig a bit deeper into the less traveled dirt roads. I could see that I would not be able to travel all of the paved roads in one day so it was off the the far southeast part of the park to Rio Grande Village where there is an overlook to the Rio Grande River. Rio Grande Village also has the only spot in the park where you can camp in an RV with hookups. It's not much of a camping area as it is just a parking lot that they added hookups to, but it would be a cool place to stay just because it is in the park. I didn't drive through the RV camping area but it appeared they were close to full.

It isn't the destination that is so great but the drive to get to them. On one side of the road you see the mountains and other side desert for miles. It seems every few miles the scenery changes and there is a serprise you I didn't expect. Even though there were bear and mountain lion warning signs, all I ever seen was a roadrunner or two.

While driving down to the Rio Grande Village I noticed a dirt road named Hot Springs. This got my curiosity up so I just had to go down it on when leaving the Village. While the dirt road is far from smooth, it is passable with a car. Once you get down the road for a mile or so you come on a small parking are with signs that warn no trailers or even dual wheel trucks beyond this point. I'm adventurous and even though my quad cab long bed truck can be a pain to maneuver I figured I'd give it try. Much the road is one lane with walls one one side and a 20' cliff drop on the other. I made it though the mile road but it was tight and I I almost got a scrape on the side of the truck bed a coupe of times.

A 1/2 mile walk gets you back to the Hot Spring which is right on the Rio Grande River and has been built up so you can easily get in and have a nice hot soak. I'd didn't bring any bathing gear so I just sat a bit and enjoyed to river. Along the path to the hot spring you find trinkets for sale. It appears they are made by some of Mexico's native population that cross the Rio Grande to place them there for visitors to purchase. If you look across the river where the trinkets are you'll see a couple of them sitting next to the river watching. It was an enjoyable side trip and I was glad I took the time to visit.

I then headed to Chisos Basin which is up in the mountains a bit. It is a steep curvy drive with a number of sharp 180 degree turns. They recommend no trailers over 20' or RVs over 24' on this road and I would agree. This is a great drive that cuts through the mountains and leads to a primitive camping area and a developed resort area that has a restaurant, store and motel style rooms. Another great drive that you can't miss.

From there it was time to head back to the RV. I had already spent over 6 hours in Big Bend NP and I was bushed. I got back to the RV, puled out the awning and me a Spud just sat in the shade to enjoy the rest of the evening. Temps were in the low 60's and it was nice just to sit and relax.

More pictures of my first day in Big Bend NP.

Big Bend RV Resort

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I made it to Big Bend National Park today. It was only a 5 hour drive from Ft. Stockton. I could have made it quicker but just took my time and enjoyed the drive. The scenery is fantastic, completely different then anything I have seen. No sure how to describe it since I have never been to an area like this before. You have desert land butting up against mountains. Guess I will get a better idea once I have a chance to get into the park.

Big Bend RV Resort in Study Butte Texas is not a place I would normally like. Everything is dirt or gravel with a few small trees around and a patch of brown dried out grassy spots. Looking around you find you are surrounded by mountains. First thing I did when I got here was get the trailer setup. I then checked and found out I have cell phone service (Verizon). There is WiFi at the cafe but when I started up my computer and connected the external antenna I was able to get a strong signal and the Internet connection is fairly fast. While hooking up the electric I noticed a cable connection. I ran a cable, searched for stations and they have 11 TV channels available. Full hookups, cell service, WiFi and cable TV... I think this is the first campground I have stayed at that had all four at the campsite and this is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It may be the best place I've stayed during this trip.

I then popped the top on a beer, set out some water for Spud, tied him out to the trailer and had a seat on the picnic table. The temperature was in the upper 50's but it felt hot. I still had on my sweatshirt from this morning so I took it off to enjoy the sunshine. It was still hot so I headed inside and put on some shorts. I'm cold blooded and I just found it strange that here I was sitting in shorts and a t-shirt in 50 degree weather.

We just sat there for a couple of hours. On each side of us where these great mountain scenes and almost cloudless skies. I'd get up to go in to get another cold one and Spud wanted nothing to do with going inside. He'd just hunker down, laying as flat as he could on the ground, hoping I wouldn't see him and call him inside.  The above picture is the view out the back window of the trailer. You can see some other views from my campsite.

I've signed up for three nights stay at the RV park. I may just have to extend that a bit if Big Bend is all it is hyped to be. Temps are suppose to get into the mid 60's the next couple of days so that should be great to exploring. So far I am really enjoying the area.

Guadalupe, Pedernales and LBJ

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Had a chance to get out and explore the area today. Nothing here is very close to each other so that means a bit of driving.

First stop was where I am staying, Guadalupe River State Park located close to Spring Branch, Texas. The park is about 25 miles north of San Antonio just off State Highway 46. The main feature of the park is the Guadalupe River.... go figure. When I first saw it I was really surprised at the deep cut walls that line parts of the river. There are large areas set aside for picnicking with many easy paths that you can walk to take in the river scenery. There are even areas where you can fish, swim and even tube down the river. While the park is pretty deserted now, I could see that this would be a hopping place in summer.

All of the facilities look to be in very good shape with nice bathroom in each major area. I also found out they have WiFi in areas of the park. I pulled out my super duty WiFi antenna and can get a usable signal for internet access. This is great a place to stop if in the area.

See more pictures of Guadalupe River State Park.

I then headed north another 35 miles or so to Johnson City. Johnson City is the birthplace of President Lyndon B. Johnson. Before visiting the LBJ Ranch I took a side trip to Pedernales Falls State Park which is 9 miles east of Johnson City. This takes you into the heart of Texas Hill Country. The road to the park is hilly. At the bottom of some of the hills there are "flood level" markers so you can see how much water is flowing over the road... they went up to 5 foot!

Once you get on the park road is winding and hilly. Reminded me a lot of the road from Gardner to Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone. They have a large camping area in the park so I drove through to see what it was like. It's much like the camping area where I am at now. From there I headed to the spot on the park map marked as a swimming and tubing area.

This is not like any swimming spot I've ever seen before. You have about 100 yard walk down a path with numerous steps to get to the river. Once there you have patches of sand in between large rocks and trees. The river in this area is littered with boulders but these also create areas of calm water that would be perfect for a soak. Interesting indeed.

It was then on to Pedernales Falls. This was completely unexpected in the middle of Texas. The river is down so there was not a lot of water flow, but the whole area is awesome. You can get right down to the rivers edge and walk on the rocks that would make up the falls when the river is running faster. Sheer cliffs are on the other side of the river with a sandy beach for swimming below the falls. This is easily the best place I have visited since being in Texas and I could have stayed here all day. But time was running short and I had one more place I wanted to visit.

See more pictures of Pedernales Falls State Park.

14 miles west of Johnson City is the Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site. This park was created from the Johnson Ranch and it is still a working ranch. The visitors center has a lot of information on LBJ's life and memorabilia. They have a self guided tour on a CD that you play in your car while you drive around the ranch.

One of the most interesting parts was the main driveway to the ranch that goes through the Pedernales River and your car is actually in the water as you cross the river (it is no longer in use). You may remember pictures of LBJ and Lady Bird riding in their Continental convertible as water splashed under it's wheels. Also located here is LBJ's Western White House, his parents home, the one room school house he attended and an exhibit of his white Continentals, other cars and other memorabilia at the ranch airplane hanger.

The LBJ State Park is more of an historical site then what many would consider a state park. If you have any interest of this time in history, you want to stop here,

More pictures of the LBJ Ranch.

That wrapped up my day. Well, almost. On the way back to the camp site I spotted a DQ, me and Spud shared a carmel sundae! Pretty exciting day and I saw things I never expected. I'm glad I took the time to stop in this area. I'm going to extend my stay for a couple more days.

Next Stop Guadalupe River State Park

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I packed up and headed out of the Rio Grande Valley about 8:30am this morning. My destination is the Guadalupe River State Park which is about 20 miles north of San Antonio. This is in the middle of Texas Hill Country and the area has gotten rave reviews from everyone I have talked to.

One the way I stopped at Blue Beacon Truck Wash to give the 5th wheel and truck a bath. The cost was $58 and in my opinion is not worth it. Oh well, live and learn.

I took I-410 around San Antonio. The north side of town was the worse drive I have had my whole trip. There was construction all over the place and the drivers made the I-94 drive through Detroit look like a cake walk. Next time I'll drive 100 miles out of my way if I have to to avoid San Antonio.

I got into Guadaluple River State Park around 3:30pm. The campground is really nice. The RV sites are water and electric only with a paved pad to park on. A picnic table, fire ring and tent pad are on each. I really didn't have any time to explore the area once I got set up, just drove down by the river to walk Spud. The river is really cool! I didn't take my camera with me so you'll have to wait until tomorrow to have a look.

Right now I have the site for 2 nights. Not sure how long I am going to stay, just depends on how much there is to see. There are very few people staying in the park so additional days will be no problem. I'll post more once I have a chance to get out and about.

I Could Get Used To This

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With two days over 80 degrees and three more in the forecast, it's even hot for Texas in January. Average temps are 70 this time of year so this is not usual weather. I'm not arguing.

Yesterday I went back to Bentsen State Park and took the trolley to the far end of the pack. There is a two mile trail that I walked. Really didn't see many birds but the walk was relaxing with a lot of different things to see. I took some pictures that you can see in my photo album.

What I did see while in the park is that it is a great place to bike. There are a number of birds feed stations throughout the park that no only has a lot of bird activity, but also seen some wild pigs. They are too far to walk to (for me at least) but is an easy bike ride to get to. Of course in my rush to leave Michigan, I forgot to put my bike in the trailer. Screw it, I went to Wally World and picked up an $89 bike to use for the rest of my vacation.

Speaking of birds, I had a surprise yesterday when I got up. In the morning I opened my door to walk Spud and there were two parakeets sitting in the tree about 15 feet away. Later this afternoon there was a big flock of birds flying around the park making a hell of a racket. I couldn't figure out what they were until they landed in a couple of trees across the street. I pulled out my camera to get a closer look and they were parrots. You know how noisy a parrot can be.... imagine 100+ of them!

I'm going to head back to Bentsen Park tomorrow with my new Wally World bike to check out some of the feeding stations. Hopefully I can get some decent pictures.

South Padre Island

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It looked like the weather was going to be nice today so figured it was time to have a peek at the Gulf. Headed out to South Padre Island around 10am and got a few miles down I-83 and traffic was backed up. There was an accident ahead and I got tied up in the traffic jam for about 1/2 hour. It didn't look bad but it was down to one lane. Once I cleared that it was smooth sailing.

Once I turned on highway 100 I stopped for gas thinking gas would be more expensive on the island. Once I got on the island is was a nickel cheaper..... go figure. Same thing happened on my summer trip to the Upper Peninsula. Gas was cheaper in the U.P. then 50 miles south of the bridge.

I stopped by a couple of campgrounds while there. The KOA is just north of the bridge and appears to be pretty nice. Some of the sites are pretty close together but a few are maybe 30' wide. I'd suggest looking at the sites if you can before making a reservation. The county park towards the north is bare minimum. The are hookups but it is basically a parking lot with about 15 parking spaces turned into RV parking. The entry is really tight and I can't see how an RV of any length would be able to get in there without scraping curbs with your tires.

The southern part of South Padre Island is really built up with lots of hotel, condos and shops. Head a few miles north on highway 100 and the buildings end then all you have is beach on both sides of you. All of it is public access, you just pull your car off the side of the road and walk maybe 50 years to the beach. There are a couple of parks that have bathrooms and/or picnic areas but why pay the $5.00 entry fee when you can get to the beach for free?

There are a number of public access areas with small parking lots and they have vehicle access to the beach. It's cool that you can get your vehicle on the beach and drive for miles right along the ocean front. Most of the access points would require a 4x4 to get to the beach but once on the beach it is packed hard enough that a 4x2 would have no problem.

There was very few people on the beach but with 30 miles of desolate white sand beach there could be many more then it seemed. I would look one way and only see someone flying a kite or walking a dog then look the other way and see a couple of trucks with a few folks fishing. All you heard was the waves crashing and the call of the gulls. I wonderful place to visit that no one should miss if they are anywhere in the area.

See more pictures in my photo album.

Bentsen State Park

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It was 9am once I got around this morning and I found my water outlet was frozen. The thermometer was showing 34 degrees so it must have gotten colder during the night. I unhooked my water hose last night so nothing was broken and it thawed by 11am.

It was sunny 45 degrees by 1pm so I decided to take a drive to Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park to see what's up with that. They bill themselves as the birding capital of the world. It's just a 3 miles drive down the road. You have to park outside the park as there wasn't any driving within the park. It's a pretty big place so you really wouldn't want to try and walk it. They do have a trolly that will take you to different areas of the park or you can ride your bike if you want. They also have bikes to rent. Admission is $5.00 per person

I just decided to go in and hike to the first trail that was less then a mile down the road. The Resaca Vieja Trail is about 1.4 miles round trip and half of it is handcap accessible. At the end of the trail is a dry lake bed. At one time it had water in it but with the damning of the Rio Grande, it is now dry. I didn't see much wildlife on the trail but it was interesting seeing some of the native vegetation.  One thing I did notice is that the majority of plants have some type of thorn of pricklely on them.

I only spent about 2 hours at the park and I'll go back again to take the trolley further back into the park. You can see some of the pictures I took on my photo album. Not a lot of birds in this area so maybe once I get further back into the park I'll see more.

On the way back I stopped and got a bacon cheese Whataburger with jalapenos. The burger was great but their fries suck. Took Spud for a walk once I got back and he got a thorn or burr in his foot (remember everything has thorns in them). Must not have gone in too far since once I carried him home it had fallen out. He seems none worse for the wear.

The TV commercials are a bit interesting. I seen one for Stryker hip replacements and the blond lady that does the Zeigler commercials also does auto commercials here. Still trying to get used to the hour time difference. Went to the campground music jam tonight.... not my kind of music so headed back to the trailer to rest my weary bones.

Texas Trails It Is

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I took a few hours today to go visit some of the other RV parks in the area that had openings. None of them have any real advantage over where I am at so I believe I will be staying here for a couple of weeks. The only real disadvantage here is no wireless but my Verizion tethering has been working pretty well. I figure if I get close to the 5 Gig bandwidth limit I can always go down and get an aircard for an additional 5 Gig. This will at least give me enough time to settle in, learn where things are and then figure out what to do from there. All I can say is the 61 degrees is sweet!