Fort Davis, Tx

30 – 31 Jan

Weather warnings had been issued for high winds in Study Butte, with gusts up to 50 mph.  So we packed up and travelled further north to Fort Davis, the highest town in Texas (5050ft).  We then set about cleaning the RV from top to toe because dust had got in everywhere over the last two days – in future we will shut the roof vents!



View of Fort Davis NHS

We visited the National Historic Site of Fort Davis.  During the Indian Wars period of 1867 – 85, this fort was manned by African-American troops (including 9^th and 10^th Cavalry known as Buffalo Soldiers).  Their mission was to protect the mail and travel routes between San Antonio and El Paso.  Renovation work had been well done on some of the adobe and brick buildings of which there used to be up to 100 buildings to house up to 400 soldiers.

 

 

 

We climbed the hill in the Davis State Park behind the Fort.  This whole region was looking very dry but we can see cattle is the far distance. 

 

Study Butte/Terlingua and BBNP

27th Jan

We drove out of from the west side of the park and found a camp site in Study Butte were we meet up with the Texan RVers we met at Sonora Caverns a week ago.  Terlingua village is only a few miles down the road so we had an evening meal there, watching the sunset reflected on the Chisos Mountain range in the middle of Big Bend park.

28th Jan

Boat Trip
We had a relaxing morning and chat to the Texan group before getting ready for a boat trip down the Rio Grande.

The river is too low in the national park so the canoes had to be taken to a part of the Rio Grande which borders the Big Bend Ranch State Park. 

  The route took us through Dark Canyon where we stopped for refreshments on the bank. There were several turtles sunning themselves and Ravens flew overhead. On the Mexican side of the river there is a parallel protected corridor of approx. 500,000 acre which helps maintain the uniqueness of this area.

29th Jan

The Window

Chisos Basin, Big Bend NP
We drove back into the National Park to visit the Chisos Basin.  The whole of the Chisos Mountain range is contained within the park – approx. 40 sq mls.  We hiked the Window Trail which takes us down a canyon to an overlook viewing the west side of the park.  The trail stops with a 200ft drop through a gap in the rocks. 

Casa Grande

 After lunch Alison hiked the Chisos Basin LoopTrail whilst Paul admired the view (through closed eye-lids).  The mountains are impressive.  The Basin is green with many trees and is approx. 5500ft. 

 

 

 

Emory Peak is the highest point at 7837ft.  We were advised against trying this trail due to the very windy conditions today. 

View of the Window Trail

There were many warning notices on what to do if you encounter a bear or mountain lion. To our disappointment we never got the chance to try out the advice but we would have loved to have

spotted a mountain lion!

In the evening we went out for a meal with our Texan RV friends to a bar is in an old Indian cave-like dwelling which is mostly underground.

Castolon, Big Bend NP

25 Jan

We moved camp and drove to Castolon in the southwest of the park; some 60 miles through the desert. 

Ocotillo

Approximately 78% of the Park is desert and lies within the northern third of the Chihuahuan Desert.  Although most rain falls in the summer months, there has been some snow and rain in the last 3 weeks so there is a surprising ‘greenness’ to the landscape.  There are Yuccas, Prickly Pears, Agave, Sotol, Creosote Plants (Chaparral) and Lechuguilla which are all green.  It is expected to be a good spring this year when many of the cacti will flower. 
However the Ocotillo just look like sticks with very nasty spikes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Javalinas

 

At the Cottonwood camp site there was a family of Javalinas grazing in the shadow of the Cottonwood trees.  We are told they are not pigs but Peccary, however, Paul would be prepared to try one on the BBQ!

 

Sunset from the camp site

In this area of the park there is more evidence of the farming.  Via effective irrigation people grew cotton (100 acres), from 1920 to 1940, as well as other food crops.  Houses were built and hence trees planted, and they still continue to flourish.  Trading posts were established along the river too and shortly after the Mexican Revolution a Military Guard post was established at Castolon for a few years.

 

26th Jan
 

Santa Elena Canyon

Santa Elena Canyon
We visited Santa Elena Canyon, which reaches heights of 1500ft.  A couple we met at the campsite took their kayak into the canyon but had to turn back when they grounded on a sand bar – the river is so low in places.  It is a very murky river due to the amount of dust and grit worn off the sides of the canyon.  There was a lot of mud on the edges from when the river was higher a few weeks ago when it had rained (up to 1.5 inches); various animal paw prints were evident.

Mule Ears

We hiked down into Tuff Canyon were the temperature was cooler and we had lunch.  The temperature reached around 30C in the early afternoon.  Later we carried on to the lookout over Mule Ears peaks. 

 

Big Bend National Park

22nd Jan
 

We set off on the I-10 (Again) - West and then South.  The terrain becomes more like we have seen in the movies, except were you might have seen the Indians coming over the horizon …… there were wind turbines! 

 

 

 

Big Bend refers to the U-turn that the Rio Grande makes in southwest Texas.  The Park is 800,000 acres and from the northern entrance to the south east area where we are camping was approx. 46 miles.   A cloud formation made it look like the Indians were sending up smoke signals.  We dry camp at Rio Grande village and the first evening we attended a presentation by the Park Rangers on the Stars as there is little light pollution here so you can see a sky-full of stars. 

 23rd Jan

Rio Grande Village
We walked the Nature Trail next to our campsite which goes down to the Rio Grande.  The River marks the boundary between USA and Mexico and 118 miles of the river borders the NP.  The river starts in Colorado but due to the various cities, industries and farms that draw from the river, little of that water gets this far south.  The water we see is from the Rio Conchos in Mexico and hence this is no longer a ‘wild’ river.

 

We meet a Mexican riding his horse across the river.  It is barely up to the horses knees.  There are signs stating that crossing the river to Mexico is illegal.  There are a number of ‘trinkets’ for sale placed on the trail by ‘locals’ from across the river but again notices state it is illegal to buy these goods.

 

 

 

Paul went fishing in the afternoon near the Hot Springs Canyon but only caught a turtle (by accident).  In the evening we attended another Ranger presentation on the biodiversity of this area and why it so special.

 

 

 

24th Jan

Hot Springs

We visited the Hot Springs.  The Spring fed water there is 105F.  It is right beside the river which is so shallow - and somewhat cooler! 
There are buildings here were there used to be a Trading Post.

We walked down to the Boquillas Canyon where we saw a couple of Mexicans on their horses crossing the river.




The backdrop to the campsite is the Sierra Del Carmen Mountains and the setting sun makes them glow.  Later that evening we sat by the river when a couple of Beavers swam past.  Coyote also come through the campsite when it was dark.

 




There were also some Road Runner bird around - not at all afraid of people.  They have been known to run at up to 20 mpg
 

Sonora Caverns

20 – 23^rd Jan

 

We moved further west from Bandera to Sonora.  Here they have some fantastic caves.  Luckily they have a RV camp site at the caverns so we book in for a couple of nights.  The sun was shining and we sat sunbathing for the afternoon.

 We got talking to the couple in the RV next to us and spent the rest of the evening sat around the camp fire chatting and they gave us some good advice and recommendations on places to visit.  It had been around 25C that afternoon but the evening temperature dropped and there was frost on the car windows next morning.  Thanks to Adina, Paul and Sophie the dog for a great evening.  Unfortunately they were heading east and we were heading west, so the next day we said goodbye to them.



Monday morning we went into the Caverns which took us down 155ft underground.  The Caverns extend for up to 7 miles of which our guided tour was approx. 2½ miles.  The formations were extensive.  There were stalactites and stalagmites as well as ‘straw’ formations and most of all ‘popcorn’ was everywhere.  We were down for nearly 2 hours and the temperature was around 23C with humidity of around 80%.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sparrows Homes

Guinea Fowl

The afternoon was spent sunbathing, listening to the guinea-fowl and watching the peacocks and sparrows.  Some deer came into the camp site later too.



Cowboy Capital of the World

18 – 19 Jan

The area west of San Antonio is known as Hill Country, and we passed a number of signs for Ranches along our route.  We stayed a couple of nights at Bandera, a town that calls itself ‘Cowboy Capital of the World’.  It is a fairly small town and they have made a good attempt to keep some character even though they attract tourists. 

They have a Square on Main Street which shows the various Ranch Cow Brands and where an Historical Re-enactment Group act out a gunfight every weekend.  The Sheriff got shot a number of times and on one occasion he ‘died’ on the seat that we were sat on!



We sat in the sun on the bar veranda, drinking iced-tea watching the activity on Main Street.   

Harley-Davidson bikers from Corpus Christi had come up for the weekend and were cruising around.  We spotted a horse and also a mule being ridden through the town.  Alison chatted to the horse rider who mentioned that around a hundred of them ride together into San Antonio for a festival in February – a distance is about 50 miles over two days.

We spent the evening in the Silver Dollar Saloon and played pool, whilst a live band played Country & Western music.  This is not the height of the tourist season and it was a good atmosphere as the place filled with ‘locals’, who we noted came in the back door so they didn’t have to pay the cover fee.

 

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

14 – 17 Jan

Wednesday was a lovely sunny day so we went down to the coast.  The wind was a little bracing at Port Lavaca and we carried on to Aransas Wildlife Refuge.  This area covers 115,000 acres along the Gulf coast and is a stronghold for Whooping Cranes which fly down from Canada to spend the winter months here.  These rare birds stand 5’ tall and now number approx. 500; a come-back from only 16 in 1941. 

On the way there we stopped to watch a bird of prey trying to catch his dinner, look closely at the photo just in front of the hawk.  

We saw several deer and some wild hog piglets (the mother was hiding in the bushes).  We climbed to the top of an observation tower and looked down on the vultures that were coming into roost in the trees.  We spotted a racoon hunting for something in the estuary (clams perhaps?).   

We came across road kill (deer) being shared by the turkey vultures and 3 crested Caracaras.  There was no fighting; they seemed to take it in turns quite amicably.

 

Out in the sea we saw a man fishing – he was wading up to the top of his legs about a mile out from the shoreline, his boat was anchored about 200 yards away. It seemed quite strange to see someone walking in the water so far out – it was obviously very shallow in this region.

 

About 15 miles further up the road hunting is allowed.  It is currently the duck and goose season.  A hunting licence is $48 for the year and there are “bag limits” which vary depending on the bird eg up to 3 Canada geese but 20 Snow geese (sounds like a freezer full of goose drum-sticks).

 

The next day Paul did some maintenance on the RV whilst the sun was shining and in the afternoon we took a walk along the Guadalupe River in Victoria. In the evening we went to listen to a chap singing Country Music.

West along the I-10 - Again

13 Jan 13

Sunday we said farewell to people we had chatted to at the camp site bar and set off down the I-10 heading into back into Texas.  The rain lashed down but it is good to see the swamps looking full.  Further up the Mississippi they have to dredge the river to keep boat traffic moving as the water level is so low.  The river is a major transportation route for produce, such as grain from the more northern states, putting it onto the roads would increase costs (something the UK could think about)

We spent one night in Beaumont and then carried on south to the town of Victoria.  This part of Texas is very flat, very similar to Holland. The area is appreciating the rain as they have been in a drought situation since 2011.  We are now listening to Spanish TV and radio channels and Mexican restaurants everywhere.

New Orleans Again

9 – 12 Jan 13

What we want to see most in the US are the National Parks. Most of these are out west, so we set off back along the I-10 (again) to the campsite at Lake Pontchartrain, New Orleans (we stayed at this site in October). 

The first day it poured with rain.  There was even a Tornado Watch warning issued on the Thursday. Despite the rain it had been warm all day and there was a glorious sunset that evening.

 
On Friday we decided to drive the Great River Road National Scenic Byway which follows the Mississippi River and includes a number of the Plantation Houses that have survived from the 18^th and 19^th Century.  The Scenic Drive was more a tour of the Oil Refineries with the river hidden from view by the Levees.  Again it poured with rain.  At one point when we crossed a high bridge over the Mississippi the mixture of rain and heat from the river made a thick, low fog which hid everything apart from the funnels from a couple of boats – it looked quite eerie. 

 

Slave Huts

We stopped at ‘Laura’ a Creole Plantation property and had an exceedingly interesting tour – under our umbrellas!  This property was built in 1805 and much of the historical facts obtained from the Memoirs written in 1939 by Laura about her grand-parents and family.

Inside a Slave Hut

 Saturday we went into New Orleans city centre looking very English with our rain coats and umbrella – it was warm and sunny all day!

We visited the WWII Museum.  There was an Inauguration Ceremony in the morning for a new building/exhibit to which veterans and families attended.  We talked to one or two of the families but were unable to get into the museum until after lunch.  It was well presented and factual and covered both the European and Pacific Theatre.

Heading south again

2 – 8 Jan 2013

We set off from North Carolina back to Florida where we had left the RV, breaking the journey with an overnight stay in Georgia.   The RV was fine, apart from a little confusion over where the spare keys were which had left with the campsite owner in case there was a problem whilst we were away. It took a further four days to find them.

 The weather was cold and damp.  We visited a couple of the local state parks and went down to Fort Walton and walked along the sea front.  Fort Walton would be a glorious place when the sun shines with the decking from the cafes and bars lined up along the white sand and the beach volley ball courts set up ready for use – but for us it was a sea-side resort on a damp winter’s day.

 

We took our Driving tests which consisted of two theory tests of 20 questions each; one on state regulations, the other on road signs.  The following day we did the practical driving test in our own car for which an hour was set aside for each of us (ie 2 hours).  Of these two hours, we spent 15 minutes each, driving around the block with the Examiner, conducting the obligatory manoeuvres ie 3-point turn etc.  The other 1½ hours involved the Examiner staring at the computer screen, tapping away at the key board and constantly consulting a number of different colleagues on what to do with the fact that we were not US citizens and therefore did not fit into any of the normal procedures which confused the computer ………  

 

We eventually got our Florida Driving Licences with colour photo!

 

Christmas and New Year

19 Dec – 1 Jan 2013

We left the RV in Florida and travelled up in the car to Louise for Christmas.  We visited our friends in Alabama on the way and had a great time catching up with them since we last saw them in October. 

The drive up the I-65 and I-85 from Alabama to North Carolina, through Georgia and South Carolina, took 11 hours with torrential rain for all 500 miles!

We had a great Christmas Day with full turkey dinner cooked by Louise. 

During the last 10 days we have spent time relaxing, time with the pets (4 dogs, 3 cats, 4 guinea fowl) Seen the film The Hobbit, eaten too much and had fun at a New Year’s Eve party. 

We finish 2012 having had some excellent experiences.  Since arriving in USA 5 months ago we have travelled 9400 miles and visited 16 states. We’ve met some great people and made some good friends.   We’ve seen some different animals in the wild; chipmunk, opossum, racoon, as well as a variety of birds.

We are sad to leave here but also keen to get going again on our Adventures for 2013 ……………