San Antonio, Texas

Texana Park, Edna, TX

Today’s big outing was re-visiting San Antonio Texas. This is our 3rd visit so we were mostly in the mood for just strolling and enjoying the Riverwalk. 

We spent a couple of hours walking the loop and some other walkways.  We finally settled on a Mexican restaurant for lunch.  We figured this would be our last chance before being bombarded by fish dishes and Cajun cuisine.  Darn good margaritas too I might add! 

We strolled through La Villata, the historic art village.. I enjoyed visiting the sweet little church too. Here’s a trivia question for you; San Antonio is the patron saint of what? (Nod to my Catholic upbringing.  I was actually one of those nerds that collected Saint trading cards. Oh how far the mighty have fallen.)

Of course no trip to San Antonio is complete without a visit to the Alamo.  Besides walking the grounds and seeing a “living camp”, I especially enjoyed the film in the museum.  Nothing like packing 300 years of Spanish-Mexican-American history into 17 minutes! 

Tonight we are camped at Texana Park. Even though we are still in Texas, we have definitely left the world of desert landscape, cowboys and jack rabbits running around our camp site. Instead we have entered the land of spanish moss hanging from trees, guys riding lawn mowers and armadillos scurrying past. Oh yes, and the alligator warning signs are everywhere. You can swim, but there’s also alligators enjoying the same space.  I declined.  

Swimming Holes of Texas

Guadalupe River State Park, Spring Branch, TX

Today was one of those days where we just got lucky.  We were greeted with raindrops so decided to leave Krause Springs and head for another cold water spring, Barton Springs in Austin. It was about a 45 minute drive and just poured on us the whole time.  We decided it was a good opportunity to get some errands done and by the time we reached Barton Springs the skies had cleared.  Ah, clear blue water! 

Barton Springs is located within Austin City limits and is really a dammed up spring with concrete walls but a natural rock bottom.  This place gets a B rating.  Clear water, 68 degrees, but no wildlife. 

It was a great time to check out our two new gadgets; our full face snorkel mask and an underwater camera.  Humor us old folks as we try and figure out selfies and new technology.  We had so much fun just being goofy and taking pictures of each other in the water and under the water. We played around for about an hour when a clap of thunder was heard. The lifeguards had everyone evacuate the springs for half an hour. We decided this was a good time to push on.  (The timing could not have been better too! We just got back to the car when we got a FaceTime call with Megan, Kevin, Scott, Janine, Dani and Isabel.). So lucky! 

Next stop one of our favorite all time camping spots, Guadalupe River State Park.  This place always makes it in our top five places to camp.  What makes it so special is the river.  (Don’t be jealous South Yuba River, you will always be #1 in our hearts.).   Guadalupe River is so picturesque lined with mangrove trees and the slow moving current. 

We set up camp and then loaded up for our trip to the river.  Bikes, towels, floaties, cameras...yep that seems about right. 

We spent a glorious afternoon floating in the river and enjoying the warmth of the river and the sun.  Anyone notice anything new about Mr. Ned? Yep, my man got game sporting a new goatee.  

After packing up and riding up the big hill back to the campsite. Ned says, “I lost my keys! I think I left them at the beach.”  Uh oh.  Ned rode back to the beach and looked everywhere for the keys.  People were so sweet offering to help find them, including a guy with a face mask who had been finding sunglasses in the water all afternoon.  Nada, nothing.  When Ned returned back, very forlorn, we started planning our strategy. Mind you, I had been sitting outside the van the whole time searching locksmiths. Like an idiot I never thought to open the door, just assumed it was locked.  As we walked around the car, what do you think we saw?  Yeah car keys hanging out of the car door.  Doh!!  Whew, once again so lucky!  No sooner had we made it inside then the skies opened up and it began to rain.  Time to open a bottle of wine and celebrate our good luck with weather, swimming spots and lost keys.  

Grilling up burgers in the rain, under Winnie rear lid cover...

Served to order thru take-out window - cheeseburger? 

Texas Hill Country

Krause Springs, Spicewood, TX

We took an early morning bike ride along the high cliffs of Seminole Canyon to see where it merges with the Rio Grande.  Ironically, we did this same ride 3 years ago, to the date.  It was just as gorgeous as we remembered it.  Besides seeing epic view and the petroglyphs we also saw several white tailed deer, lots of bunny rabbits and a skunk. What a great way to begin our day.

This past week we’ve experienced the desert thru 4 states.  We’ve enjoyed the dry heat, surreal looking cacti, the wide expanse of the open sky and especially no bugs.  As we entered Texas Hill County the topology changed to rolling green hills and wildflowers as far as the eye could see.  And yes the humidity has begun, along with a few insects. 

The largest German community is situated around Fredericksburg, in the heart of Hill Country.  It’s a charming small town with several German restaurants, bakeries and typical tourist shops.  Seeing that we pulled in around lunch time we thought it was a great excuse to try out some German food.  Brats, red cabbage and sauerkraut.  Who could say no?  We were also planning on stoping by a beer hall in the nearby town of Luckenbach, but when we got there a motorcycle rally/timed trials was happening.  The one main road in town was closed and we just weren’t feeling hundreds of motorcycles in the Texas heat.

Time to take a dip in a cold spring! I had read about Krause Springs last year and that’s what started this whole crazy idea about visiting cold or natural springs across the U.S.    Unlike almost every place we stay, this is not a State or National Park.  It’s privately owned and you never know what you’ll find when you show up.  Interesting enough, we never encountered any signs advertising this place or giving directions.  It seems pretty much a local spot. 

It didn’t disappoint in that it is incredibly beautiful, although very crowded.  As the springs come out of the ground they are capured into a man made pool, which cascades into a natural pool below.  The grounds have several gardens and lots of beautiful shade trees.  The natural pool tho is not clear at all.  We couldn’t tell if it was because there were so many people kicking up all the mud or if it’s always like that.  People hardy seemed to mind as there were all kinds of activities going on from people jumping off the rope swing, hanging out under the waterfall, playing water volleyball or floating in every kind of blow up you could imagine.  And, of course, country music blaring.  This is Texas afterall. (Don’t be fooled by these pics.  They were taken at dusk and people were headed home). 

The grounds include a butterfly garden that is breathtakingly beautiful.  Yes it attracts lots of butterflies! 

Now, the camping is another story. People are camped in tents hodgepodge throughout the park with cars parked everywhere.  There is an RV area, where we are located, which is just a place where the RV’s are lined up in a row.  At least we are parked under beautiful shade trees which definitely helped in the Texan sun.  I’d give this place a C+.  I expect it would be completely different on a weekday, but then again it’s summer, hot and we’re in Texas so who knows.  

McDonald Observatory and Driving thru West Texas

Seminole Canyon State Park, Comstock, TX

The McDonald Observatory sits in the Davis range in the Chihuahuan desert in West Texas.  It sits beneath some of the darkest skies in the continental US.  It has nine primary research telescopes with varying capabilities and purposes.  Do you remember the radio spot on NPR called StarDate?  Sandy Woods narrated, in the most calming voice, each day’s astronomy tip - with a little space music in the background. Ned and I loved this 1 minute spot broadcast from the McDonald Observatory and couldn’t wait to visit. We spent 3.5 hours at the observatory. 

The first hour was sitting in a lecture on solar viewing.  So cool to learn about sun spots, solar flares, northern lights and to view the sun through different telescope filters. 

We then hopped on a shuttle to view two of the telescopes. The Harlan J. Smith Telescope has two different configurations for observing distant planets and other space objects. The 107-inch mirror and corresponding lens can direct light to attached instruments or to independent instruments stationed in a room one floor below the telescope.  Ned got to control the 160 ton instrument! 

The Hobby-Eberly Telescope is one of largest in the world. The main goal of this telescope is to make a three dimensional map of the universe when it was about three billion years old and measure its expansion rate since that time. This is where I tried to grasp the concept of dark energy.  This telescope supports a mirror with a 36-foot diameter comprised of 91 hexagonal segments (each one individually controlled) and a 160,000-pound telescope.  It was hard to get your brain around this one with all those mirrors.  Our guide, Thomas, was incredible!  So knowledgable, funny and patient explaining everything.  

The view from the Harlan J. Smith Telescope was pretty great.  We could see a mountain range in Mexico, over 100 miles away.

We went thru the town of Marfa, but because we spent so much time at the observatory we didn’t have time to visit the Chinati Foundation, a contemporary art museum.  (Anyone watching the Amazon show “I Love Dick” with Kevin Bacon?  It takes place in Marfa.)  I was expecting the actual town of Marfa to have more of an artist vibe. It actually didn’t look much different than most of the sleepy West Texas towns we roll through. Next time we visit Marfa we’ll also have to spend the night to hopefully see the ghost lights.  Top pic is the viewing area for the ghost lights.  

On our drive thru this very sparsely populated area of Texas we did drive through some artsy towns.  We got a chuckle out of this proletarian statement in response to the Prada Marfa art from the day before.  It was just an abandoned shack on the side of the road.  Good one. 

Our camping spot tonight is overlooking the high desert.  I think this is our last night of desert camping. Tomorrow we head for hill country. It’s about 9 pm and the temp is 92 degrees. The sun gods are definitely smiling on me. 

West Texas - A little bit of everything

Davis Mountain State Park, Fort Davis, TX 

I woke up a bit before the sunrise and was able to snap this picture.  It was a gorgeous cool morning and the only thing up were me and some bunnies.  

A bit later Ned and I decided to ride our bikes around the park and learn about some of the history here.  (Yeah, I rallied not even hung over!).  The state park was originally known as Camp Furlong.  It housed General Pershing’s troops of nearly 10,000, several tanks and some of the original military aircraft. This was circa 1916.

The local park ranger, Martin, was a real sweetheart.  The visitor’s center doesn’t open til 9, but he opened it up just for us and gave us a personal tour. Those early morning bike rides definitely pay off!  

Pancho Villa had attacked the town of Columbus and killed a bunch of people. The car in the lower right corner is riddled with bullets from a family trying to escape.  Their big mistake was turning on their headlights.

General Pershing spent two years tracking Pancho Villa thru Mexico, but never found him.  There’s a lot of controversy around why Pancho Villa attacked this area.  One conspiracy theory is that the U.S. wanted to get troops in training for WW1 so they paid Pancho Villa to provoke a war. Another theory is that someone sold him bad ammunition and he was seeking revenge. 

Here’s a picture of General Pershing and Pancho Villa hanging together several years earlier.  So they clearly knew each other and were thought to be friends. You be the judge. (Another item to add to my reading list - learn more about Pancho Villa).  Anyone have any good recommendations? 

We crossed over the Rio Grande heading into Texas from NM. 

Our first big outing of the day was heading to El Paso to take the Wyler Tram up to the top of the mountain to get an epic view of El Paso.  We decided to take the long way and go along Skyline Drive.  It didn’t disappoint as far as the view went.  Good thing too cuz the tram that we were hoping to take was closed today.   

Before we left the sprawl of El Paso we visited a tortilla factory in an industrial neighborhood.  It was a crack-up.  The tortilla making was done the for day, but you could walk up to a counter and get whatever Mexican food was still available. Imagine a couple of hot dishes in a steam table. Apparently they sell out before noon most days.  Ned had a brisket burrito and I had a red chili colorado burrito, the only two options still available.  It was delish!!!  Nice soft homemade tortillas with authentic spicy Mexican food.  It was nothing like our big American burritos.  They were about 1/4 of the size and rolled up tightly with the meat inside. Yum! 

Next stop the first cold springs of the trip, at our beloved Balmorhea!! This would be our 4th or 5th visit here. It’s touted as the largest outdoor swimming pool, but has a huge section for scuba divers. Doh! It was just closed on account of some structural issues. Onward to Plan B. 

What we did come across on our way to Fort Davis was the iconic Prada Store in the middle of nowhere.  If you don’t know about this, it’s a 2005 contemporary art statement. We must be getting close to Marfa.  

Fort Davis National Site was established in 1854 to protect travelers on the San Antonio - El Paso Road. Troops from the post helped bring about the peaceful settlement and development of the region.  It was deactivated in 1891.  We toured a couple of the buildings. Mainly it just made me glad I’m not an enlisted soldier living in the 1860’s.  

We got a sweet campsite under a big tree at Davis Mountain State Park. 

Ned honing his washer toss skills for the big family reunion in August.  Note to Josh and Marlina, the curse of the red washers has been broken. My best score yet:).  There was a huge transformer powering three counties that blew this afternoon.  We don’t have cell and I have no idea if the wifi will be back up, so this posting could be a day late...   

Tombstone, Bisbee and Mexico

Pancho Villa State Park, NM

We left our mountain paradise campsite and headed for the OK Corral.  The last time we were in Tombstone was on our first road trip 10 years ago. Our first stop this morning was Boothill Graveyard. It was originally laid out as a burial plot in 1878.  Because of the may violent deaths of the early days, the cemetery became known as Boothill Graveyard.  Buried here are outlaws with their victims, suicides, hangings (legal and otherwise), along with the hardy and refined elements of Tombstone’s first days.  We had a fun time roaming around and reading the markers along with their stories. 

3 Fingered Jack Dunlap - one of a band of train robbers, attempted to rob an express car. He was critically wounded and his friends left him to die. He was found and brought to Tombstone, where he lived long enough to inform on his friends.  (Karma dude)

George Johnson - innocently bought a stolen horse and suffered the consequences.  (Note to self: Never, ever buy an iphone at night in a back alley) 

Mrs Stump - died in childbirth, from an overdose of chloroform, given to her by her doctor.  (The world needs more midwives...)

We wandered around town and visited a couple of western shops, but my favorite part was trying my hand with a Ruger Vaquero .45 six shooter.  I got 5 out of 6 right thru the heart and the other one pretty darn close.  Not bad for an Ol’ lady whose previous experience was at the Disneyland Shooting Gallery.  I had no idea guns were so heavy! 

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We eventually made it to Bisbee.  A cute town that is a cross between Downieville and Ashland.  An old copper mining town that is now more bookstores, coffee shops, art galleries and vintage shops. I could easily have spent a few days just hanging here.  We were hoping to visit a bean-to-bar chocolate maker, but they are only open on weekends. Such is the life of chocolate makers.  

In the middle of nowhere, close to the border between Arizona and New Mexico is the historical monument to Geronimo, the last Apache Chieftain.  He surrendered near here on Sept 6, 1886 to General Miles.  “The surrender of Geronimo in Skeleton Canyon on that historical day forever ended Indian warfare in the United States.”   Love finding these nuggets while wandering the country.  

We made it to Pancho Villa State Park in late afternoon.  One could either bake in the blazing hot sun or make a run for the border.  We chose the latter, after all street tacos and tequila were calling. Ned here...I’m taking over for Debi.  The margaritas got the best of her.  Why does it take us hours of waiting in the airport when we arrive at Puerto Vallarta or Cancun, and all we got, walking into Palomas, Mexico was 5 different guards waving us through?  We didn’t even show our passports.  Anyway, we went to the Pink Store, which Debi had read about, checked out all their amazing, colorful Mexican handicrafts, and then ordered a delicious Mexican dinner inside the same store. Their margaritas were delicious!  After a while, we bought a few items, wandered the Main Street and walked back into the US of A.  We had to show our passports to get back in, but that was pretty much the whole process!  What a fun way to go experience Mexico for a couple of hours, and then get back to our road trip!

It’s pretty hot here at the campsite, but  at least it’s beautifully landscaped with native plants. Apparently, this state park used to be a military base from 1916 set-up to combat Pancho Villas’s raids into the U.S.  The US had planes, an army and tanks but were never able to catch Pancho Villa. Viva Pancho! If Debi sobers up and isn’t hurting too bad by the morning, we plan to bike around the park and explore all the historical displays.

Biosphere 2 & Saguaro National Park

Patagonia Lake State Park, Nogales, AZ

The first outing of the day was visiting Biosphere 2.  Built in the late 1980’s it was created to study and research self-sustaining space-colonization. It’s planet earth’s largest closed ecological system. 1n 1991, 8 scientists lived in it for two years. They were sealed off from the outside world, grew their own food, nurtured different habitats to produce oxygen and ran a series of experiments.  Even though they made it 2 years it was considered an epic financial and scientific failure. (That’s my editorial comment). It cost $150 million to build, encompasses 3.14 acres and included several biomes as well as the technosphere - which is the technology to make the whole thing work. 

We’ve done countless tours over the years, but our guide, Jason, was one of the best. He definitely knew his stuff.  The University of Arizona now operates the biosphere. The tour was focused on the ecology,  technology and current research in the biosphere and hardly anything was mentioned about the human part of the experiment. We toured the 5 biomes; rainforest, desert, savannah, ocean and mangrove.  Hopefully the pics showcase each one of these biomes.

We also toured the belly of the beast and went underground to see all the technology it takes to run this baby including the air flow system, heating and cooling, water management and “lungs”.  The lung part was definitely my favorite.  “As the air inside the facility expanded it would flow through underground tunnels into the lungs. Each lung contained a large weight hanging from a rubber sheet; as the air expanded during the day the increased pressure would raise the weight into the air. In the evening, as the air cooled, the weight would pull the rubber sheet back down and push air back into the facility, thereby equalising any pressure difference as it appeared.”  The rubber sheet weighs 10 tons and the weight is a large aluminum disc.  

The tour took a good 2 hours.  UofA is continuing to do some interesting experiments, mainly focused around microbes and climate change. I am most fascinated by the human side of the original experiment and definitely want to read more about the 8 scientists’ experience. My understanding is that there was a lot of fighting, it didn’t end well and some suffered from PTSD and depression.  Oh, and for those wondering what Biosphere 1 is...it’s planet earth, where we currently reside.  

After a picnic lunch in the van, we headed toward Saguaro (pronounced Sa-WAH-row) National Park East. Our plan was to bike the 8 mile loop.  Best laid plans.  We got there about 1ish and it was in the 90’s with the sun blazing down.  The ranger discouraged us from biking the route so instead we drove it. 

Honestly, I was underwhelmed.  Almost all of the saguaro are gone.  Pictures from 1936, when the Park was made into a National Monument, showed a much more abundant cacti forest.  We saw more saguaro driving the backroads yesterday than at the National Park.  I think Anza-Borrego State Park has a better showing of a cacti forest, albeit without any saguaro.  So where have the saguaro gone?  Turns out freezing temperatures for more than 20 hours kills them.  There were several major freezes in the 1960’s.

I did enjoy learning specific things about the saguaro. Ned and I noticed yesterday birds nesting, with a hole, in a saguaro.  Just like a bird house.We thought that was cool, but didn’t know if we were just imagining that.  Turns out a woodpecker drills the initial hole, then other birds use it for nesting when the woodpecker is done. Also, who knew a saguaro had a skeleton of wooden ribs?   They also live for over a hundred and fifty years.  Here’s a  really interesting display that shows the insides of a saguaro.

Tonight we are camped at Patagonia Lake State Park.  We managed to grab a sweet spot right on the lake.  First thing we did was cool off.  Ned took the temperature of the water of this mountain lake. It was 67 degrees.  We thought of it as training for the cold springs.