Riverwalk: Guadalupe River State Park, 5/29/08

We left Balmorhea at about 9:30 this morning knowing that we had a long, hot drive ahead of us. We were only about half-way thru western Texas and figured it would take 6 or so hours to reach our destination. Once again, we passed the time listening to “This American Life” and local country stations. We finally hit the hill country and were rewarded with lots of trees, some wildflowers and much prettier landscape. We decided to get off I-10 and explore some of the back roads. We took a spin thru Fredericksburg, a German touristy town. We were really close to LBJ’s boyhood home, but decided to take a turn right instead and meander to our night’s destination, Guadalupe River State Park. These country roads and small towns were small and really quite sweet. Some of the homes in this area are beautiful, built out of limestone and set far off the road. I really liked the towns of Sisterdale and Boerne. We pulled into the State Park at about 4ish and you guessed it, hopped on our bikes and went exploring. At the beach and picnic area, the river runs thru a small gorge and the water is quite warm. We couldn’t decide whether to swim tonight and head into San Antonio tomorrow or vice versa. The temp is pretty consistently in the mid-90’s and it’s very humid. We finally decided to head into San Antonio tonight (about a 30-45 min drive), take a stroll along the Riverwalk and eat at a restaurant in the cool of the evening. The mojitos and fajitas were a great way to relax as we did some serious people watching. (Photo is along the Riverwalk.) We also walked over to the Alamo and explored some of the Missions. I was all set to do the Mission Trail bike ride tomorrow, but Ned wanted to check it out tonight to see what we were getting into. Once again, I’m sticking with him. Turns out the “bike trail” was really city streets, not thru the greatest part of town. Instead, we drove to a couple of the missions and decided that was good enough. (I don’t think I could’ve done the ride in this humidity and heat, but don’t tell Ned.) We’ve been fortunate with the evenings cooling off to about 65 degrees, which makes it pleasant for sleeping. However, as soon as the sun comes up it immediately starts heating up. I think the plan tomorrow is to get in as much swimming as possible in the river. We are currently filling up the tank and as luck would have it, I’m able to pirate on another net connection. Sweet! (For the curious, we’ve been averaging a little over 20 mpg. The highest gas was in the middle of nowhere Texas at $4.19 and the cheapest has been $3.81 in San Antonio.)

Desert Oasis: Balmorhea State Park, TX 5/28/08

We headed toward Las Cruces, NM and we’re pleasantly surprised by how green and beautiful the area was. We were so used to seeing brown dirt and cacti everywhere, it was a bit of a shock. As we came down from the mesa, at first we couldn’t figure out why this region was so green – then we crossed over the Rio Grande and it was obviously apparent. We decided to get off 1-10 and take the Juan de Onate trail to El Paso. What a great decision. We went through the town of Mesilla, which had adobe buildings with little stores surrounding the quaint town square. This is the place where Billy the Kidd was tried and hanged, and where Pancho Villa & Kit Carson also hung out. The Juan de Onate drive meanders thru bucolic farmland where chile peppers, garlic, onions, alfalfa and corn is grown. The most beautiful part of the drive was all the pecan orchards. At times, the pecan trees made an arbor overhanging the roadway. There were even a few vineyards and wineries. Our destination for lunch was the Lourdes Pearson’s Little Diner & Tortilla Factory in Canutilla, Tx – on the outskirts of El Paso. We drove around the back roads awhile before finally finding it. By this time we had read the descriptions of the mouth savoring gorditas several times and couldn’t wait to try it. Doh – it’s closed on Wednesdays!!! Plan B again - we decided to drive into El Paso and try our luck there. What can I say about El Paso…if anyone reading this is from El Paso, I apologize for the bluntness, but El Paso sucks. It’s smoggy, dirty, built helter-skelter on bare brown hills, has factories spewing crap into the air (thank you Texas) and is really just the armpit of the US. (So, how do I really feel about it?!) I was so shocked as I imagined colorful plazas and charming architecture surrounding the Rio Grande. Ned just kept laughing at me saying I shouldn’t believe everything I read off the internet. After a lunch at a roadside café outside of El Paso, we spent the next several hundred miles driving thru vast open land, with occasional rolling hills. We passed the time by listening to podcasts of “This American Life” with Ira Glass. The terrain was different from Arizona and New Mexico. Not cactus and desert, but more grassland and scrub brush. We finally arrived at Balmorhea State Park, at about 5ish – including the hour time change, amongst a thunderous shower storm. It was actually quite exciting and exhilarating with the winds blowing and the sky ominous with crackles and an occasional ka-boom. The temperature had dropped from 99 to about 80 degrees. By the time we got checked in and at our campsite, the weather was balmy, but not raining. We couldn’t wait to check out the pool area. We hopped on our bikes and headed to it. For those of you who don’t know about Balmorhea check out this link. It’s a neat video on what’s it all about. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/newsmedia/videos/state_park/big_bend_country/balmorhea.phtml We nearly had the pool/springs to ourselves. It felt great to be swimming, especially after so many hours in the car. It’s pretty strange to see a pool being fed clear water from an Artesian spring, as well as various fish swimming around. I particularly liked when Ned swam like hell to get away from the giant turtle! The photo is taken at dusk at this very unlikely desert oasis.