Clean across Texas

Clean across Texas, is the logo on some of the anti litter signs in Texas.

When I left off, we had just departed Padre Island National Seashore after spending a great two weeks camped on the beach.  The direction of travel was a toss-up, dependent as much on the weather forecasts in the area as anything else.  I had not been able to Google any of ‘my’ kind of camp spots near San Antonio, and was not keen on driving through the city, so we veered left and ended up in Hondo for the night.  We might have continued on to Garner SP, but the afternoon was warm and sunny in Hondo, and the WM parking lot looked to be a relatively quiet one – and it was.

Next day we did head up and had a look at Garner SP, and they were nice enough to give me a free pass for about 15 minutes to look around – which was enough time to get about half way to the campground itself before my welcome expired!  But, all was not lost, as I did see my very first – armadillo!

They did not seem to have any ‘dry’ camping spots, other than tenting areas, and I was somewhat put off by the weird system of doors and security leading in to the office.  I felt more like I was going through customs or applying for a driver’s licence, than trying to camp.  I guess it might be necessary during busy times in the summer, but …

It was early and a nice day for driving, so we kept on heading to the north and west into the ‘hill country’ north of Leakey.  My map showed a campground in the area which I never did find, but I did locate a decent, quiet, scenic boondocking spot, which is somewhat difficult to do in Texas because of all the private land and locked gates.  This may have been a private ranch, but there were no signs, so I gladly set up for the night and bothered no one.

Nearby, we saw my second ever armadillo, and the first one that Hailey had seen, so she was having a good look!

By the third armadillo, they were so commonplace, that I did not bother even taking pictures!

Next morning, after looking at the weather maps and the elevation maps, it did not seem to make sense to head into higher country to the north, so we veered west again and ended up spending a couple of nights back at Amistad National Rec area near Del Rio.

Off road driving looked tempting!  But we didn’t!

After that, a good day’s drive northwest was put in, through Langtry, Marathon, and Alpine before pulling in to Davis Mountain SP.  It is a very scenic little spot in the hills, and very quiet.

Hailey watched a documentary on the re-introduction of blackfooted ferrets into Grasslands National Park.  She was quite intrigued.

McDonald Observatory

Okay, time to gloat, you-stay-at-home-in-winter-Canadians, you know who you are.  Yes it was –14C that night where I was camped and only 0C in Calgary!  Leaving the furnace running on the road the next morning for a couple hours was enough to keep the rig from becoming an ice cube, and it warmed up enough when we hit I-10 at Kent to resume normal operations.

I-10 westbound

She was reluctant to share ‘her’ map of Texas with me.

How far into New Mexico did we make it?  You’ll have to stay tuned for the next installment to see.  I must be on the cold trail of Wandering Willy, because all the Palo Verde trees look kind of nervous along this route!

The Bayfield Bunch must have heard I was coming as they have started to change locations to throw me off as well.  Glad to hear that all their donkeys have returned home safe and sound after an adventure they are not braying about.