Big Bend National Park, Texas -- Sat., Apr. 14

Ft. Davis to Alpine to Marathon, Texas to Big Bend National Park, Texas:

This morning we got up relatively early to do a 75-mile scenic drive to the west of Ft. Davis. Here's what we saw: 

McDonald Observatory

 

Our drive today from Ft. Davis to Marathon was very short...about 50 miles. I only slept about three hours last night so it's good we didn't go far. 

We checked into Marathon Hotel and RV Park. The RV park is very exposed to the wind, not much of a windbreak. Not a bad site, though. We are here for two nights and have free wi-fi and cable TV. At the front of the RV park is a motel with a beautiful adobe courtyard, landscaped with bird and butterfly friendly plants. In the evenings, if it isn't too windy, they make a fire in the courtyard fireplace. Very peaceful place to hang out.

After lunch, we decided to spend the afternoon at Big Bend National Park; hiked 2 mi. roundtrip on Lost Mine Trail; 1/2 mile to the Windows Overlook and 1/2 mile to Fossil Bones. We drove the Dagger Flats Auto Trail to see all kinds of desert fauna. The most dramatic are the Giant Dagger Yuccas which are in bloom now.

Lost Mine Trail

View at top of Lost Mine Trail

Window Overlook--good place to see the sunset in Chisos Basin section.

Prickly pear cactus

Agave -- Century Plant

Ocotillo

Strawberry cactus

Giant dagger yucca "forest" on Dagger Flats Auto Trail

Giant dagger yucca and me.

On the way out of the park, we saw four javelinas standing in a group at the side of the road.

Once we got back to Marathon, Texas, we drove out to Pena Colorado Spring's Post Park. On the way to the park, we saw two deer. There is a natural spring at the park which creates a pond. Some birdwatchers were there so I grabbed the binoculars and joined them. We spotted bank swallows, grackle, brown cowbirds, vultures, bats and a Western Kingbird. Bob walked over to read a history marker.

On the way out from the spring we saw a jackrabbit. 

Photos of very eclectic Eve's Garden B&B in Marathon. It's a jumbled together mishmash of buildings/rooms in different shapes. If you read the TripAdvisor link you will get all kinds of opinions and photos of the inside. We stumbled upon it by accident. Did not stay there, just drove by because we wondered what it was.

Good afternoon...jam packed. Tomorrow morning we will be up early and will spend all day hiking and sightseeing at Big Bend Nat'l Park.

McDonald Observatory...NOT

Ft. Davis, Texas:

Today we drove across the rest of New Mexico. Speed limit in New Mexico on I-10 is 75 mph. Wow. Trip was going well until we got to El Paso, Texas.

El Paso is a BIG city with lots of traffic. The drive was harrowing for me in my Escape pod. It was even worse for Bob in the pickup towing a 33' 5th wheel trailer! The lanes were narrow and there were droves of semi trucks on the freeway. At one point, Bob had to slam on the brakes as a semi stopped suddenly in front of him. He said he missed hitting it by inches. Today's drive wore him out.

Speed limit on the freeway east of El Paso is 80 mph. Yippee! No traffic tickets for me as that is my preferred speed. (Shhhh. Don't tell anyone.) We stopped at a rest area 35 miles east of El Paso and ate tuna fish sandwiches in the 5er. Gave the kitties a break from the car too. 

Farther east, just after we passed into the Central Time Zone and just before the town of Van Horn, I witnessed an "accident" of sorts. I-10 westbound is up higher than I-10 eastbound. At first I wasn't sure what was happening in the dirt and gravel center median above me. I watched a white pickup truck spin several times in the gravel. Then a bright red pickup truck came careening down the embankment of the median at full speed toward the eastbound lanes of I-10. It crossed both lanes of I-10 behind me and in front of the guy behind me, then went down off the side of the freeway into the sagebrush. I did not see anyone at the wheel and I did not see any brake lights on the red truck as it vanished into the brush. 

In Van Horn, I went into a convenience store and called 911. The dispatcher sent the police out within five minutes, but they could not find the white pickup in the median and could not see the red pickup in the sagebrush. I told the dispatcher that the truck was going very fast when it hit the sagebrush so it could be a little way off the freeway. They were still looking for it when I left.

The rest of our drive to Ft. Davis, Texas was uneventful. Originally a frontier military post, Ft. Davis became a stop on the Old Overland Trail. In 1858, a Butterfield Overland stagecoach rolled across the country in the first transcontinental mail delivery connecting Missouri to California. A year later, the stagecoaches were re-routed through Ft. Davis, along the San Antonio-El Paso Rd.

This evening I planned to go to McDonald Observatory for a Star Party at 9:00 p.m. (Ft. Davis has one of the darkest skies in the nation.) I was supposed to be there by 8:30 p.m. Remember that time zone change I mentioned earlier? Well, after we walked the historic walk in town, we ate dinner and I got online. I noticed that my computer had not changed the time to Central Time. Suffice it to say, I was an hour off. When I thought it was time for me to go, it was already 8:45 p.m. Central Time. I would not have made it in time as the Observatory is 17 miles from town. Bummer!

Tomorrow morning, we plan to do the scenic roads in the area and visit state and historic parks. 11:00 a.m. is checkout time from our campground so we will be back here in time to pack up the 5er. From here, we can easily make it to Big Bend National Park by afternoon. We anticipate no internet for two to three days. I'll blog again when we have an internet connection.

Here are pics from today.

Soap tree yucca along US 90 in Texas

Marfa, Texas

Where we stayed in Ft. Davis, Texas.

Our campsite: #10

Jeff Davis County Courthouse, Ft. Davis

Hotel Limpia

Veranda at Hotel Limpia

Bob checking out the bikes

Backdrop of the town of Ft. Davis.

San Antonio-El Paso Rd. Historical Marker

Old water tower.

Land of Enchantment: New Mexico -- Apr. 12

I-10 Rest Area West of Deming, New Mexico:

New Mexico is called "The Land of Enchantment" and boy is there a lot of land! Miles and miles of scrub brush with mountains in the distance (at least off of I-10).

The rest area where we stopped Thursday night, April 12, had an RV camping area (good for 24 hours) with picnic tables in shelters. The sign that caught my attention as we drove into the camping part of the Rest Area was "Beware of Rattlesnakes." Luckily we did not see any. (Note on rest area camping here: We were headed eastbound, so we heard the trains on the other side of the freeway, but they didn't rattle us awake. For those camping on the westbound side of I-10, the campsites were pretty close to the trains...and there were lots of trains.) 

In the morning, we were taking our time getting out of the rest area. A rest area worker came and told us high winds were predicted and I-10 might be shut down. He thought it would be a good idea if we got on our way. Point taken. We ate breakfast at the picnic table. While we were eating, I looked over at the 5er. There was Bowie with his head and paws sticking out the sliding panel on the screen door. He looked like the cartoon of "Kilroy was here." I wish I had my camera as that would have made one very cute photo. Bob and I laughed about that. I'm surprised Bowie didn't click the screen door open and swing out over the parking lot! After breakfast we skedaddled out of there to beat the winds.

No high winds materialized. We thought Las Cruces, New Mexico was a pretty city.

View of Las Cruces, NM from rest area above town.

According to this website on the state of New Mexico http://www.netstate.com/states/intro/nm_intro.htm, these are the official state nicknames:

Land of Enchantment (Official)

The "Land of Enchantment" describes New Mexico's scenic beauty and its rich history. This legend was placed on New Mexico license plates in 1941. This nickname became the official State Nickname of New Mexico on April 8, 1999.

The Cactus State

or "Land of the Cactus" refers to the cacti that grow so abundantly in the state, particularly along the border with Mexico and on the plains.

The Spanish State

New Mexico has been referred to as "The Spanish State" because of its border with Mexico, its historical background and the proportion of its Spanish speaking population.

The Land of Sunshine

or "The Sunshine State" are nicknames that refer to the generous portion of sunshine that "rains" down upon New Mexico. "Sunshine State" appeared on state license plates before 1941.

The Land of the Delight Makers

This nickname, suggested by George Wharton James, was to celebrate the state's influence on literature and art and because "...it is also the home of the first real field-school of American Archaeology in America." The name was suggested by a book by Adolf Bandelier, The Delight Makers.

The Land of Opportunity

So called because of its natural beauty, its climate, its newness at the time, its free lands and its industries. New Mexico was described as place that offered enough opportunity to fulfill the hopes of all who came.

The Land of the Heart's Desire

This is another historical nickname that promoted New Mexico as a land of unbound opportunity. Its location was between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean, it provided an ideal climate and was still relatively undeveloped.

Kerrville, Texas -- RV-Dreams Rally

Phoenix, Arizona:

Our ultimate destination for this portion of our trip is Kerrville, Texas for the RV-Dreams Rally that starts April 23. Kerrville is in the Texas Hill Country. We have never spent any time in Texas and the Hill Country is supposed to be very beautiful.

With any luck, our arrival will be when Texas wildflowers are in bloom. The bluebonnets are of particular interest to us. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

While in Kerrville, we will stay at the Buckhorn Lake Resort for the rally. Each day we will have seminars on the RV lifestyle--RV repairs, wi-fi, how to weigh and load your RV, etc. Socials and potlucks are on the agenda and impromptu campfire chats will most likely kickstart some new friendships and lively conversations.

While exploring Texas Hill Country we hope to take our bikes on some trails through the countryside around the parks where we camp.

We will drive to Austin, San Antonio, New Braunfels, Fredericksburg, Bandera, Boerne & Luckenbach. We're hoping to stay at Pedernales Falls State Park, South Llano River State Park, and McKinney Falls State Park. 


Update on our status: We had a relaxing day Wednesday in our RV Park and lunch at Red Lobster with Skip and Sally. Uncle Skip is Bob's mother's brother. They are interesting and fun to hang out with. 

Bob, Aunt Sally & Uncle Skip

† Hereditary Grand Duchess Karin of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Hereditary Grand Duchess Karin of Mecklenburg-Schwerin passed away on 26.01.2012 at Glücksburg. She was born in 1920 as Karin von Schaper and married in 1941 Herediatary Grand Duke Friedrich Franz of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the oldest son of the last Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV. The couple divorced in 1967 and remarried 10 years later in 1977. Her husband died in 2001 when the House of Mecklenburg bacame extinct in the male line as the Couple had no children.

double engagment in the House Habsburg

2 sons of Archduke Carl Christian of Austria and his wife Marie Astird, née Princess of Luxemburg announced their engagement on 22.12.2011 in Brussels.
Theor odlest sonm Archduke Imre is engaged to Kathleen Walker and his younger brother Archduke Christophe is engaged to Adélaide Drape-Friché.

http://www.tageblatt.lu/people/luxemburg/story/Verliebt--verlobt--verlobt-28886156 

† Countess Agathe zu Ortenburg

Countess Agathe zu Ortenburg, née Countess of Schaeberg passed away on Coburg on 20.12.2011. She was born on 14.03.1925 as youngest daugher of Count Joseph of Schaeberg and his wife Ghislaine, née Comtesse de Berlaymont. On 21.10.1954 she married count Alram zu Ortenburg, who died in 2007. Together the couple had 4 children.