Moving on to Arkansas

On Friday 4/10 we got up early and left Beaumont TX in light rain. Joe and Nancy were still sleeping. They are headed in a different direction.  It took us 7.5 hours to get to Hot Springs Village AR where my cousin Bill and wife Laurie live.  They met us at the gate and led us to the campground in the center of the village.  10 sites, with electric and water hookups for $18 per night.  After setting up and walking the dogs we went to their friends' house for cocktails, then out to one of the golf clubs for a fish fry, which was very good.  We then went to another friends' house for cake. Got back to our site and hit the hay about 9:30- we were bushed!
On Saturday we went to Bill and Laurie's for breakfast and then headed to the Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs. The azalea bushes were all blooming, but unfortunately we missed the thousands of tulips and camellias.  Saw some purple wisteria vines in bloom.  Beautiful day, sunny and mid-70's- after an ice cream cone, we spent a few hours at the campsite, then had dinner at Bill and Laurie's.  Had a great time visiting, they are always fun!

Azalea bushes and tulips that were done blooming

Laurie and Bill Herman

Wisteria Vine- they grow on trees and get quite large

Beaumont TX and the Gulf

We had planned to head northeast from here but the weather reports were calling for severe weather that way, so we took Hwy I-10 east. Got around San Antonio and Houston OK, since it was mid-day. Got to Beaumont near the Gulf around 4:30- checked in at Gulf Coast RV Park- nice newer park with large grassy pull-through sites and concrete roads and a nice pool and rec hall.  Went to Lloyd's for dinner- a local seafood place. Joe and Nancy had the 1# crawfish boil for $8.00, but Nancy didn't like how spicy they were so Joe ended up eating both.  Kirk had gumbo and I had grilled shrimp with creole rice.  Nice dinner- good prices.  We walked the dogs when we got back, it was 78 and humid at 8:00.  During the night I woke up to the sound of loud music.  Went outside, and could not hear where it was coming from.  Kirk went out and discovered it was coming from our portable radio that was stored under the camper! So weird that it took that long to turn itself on! He had to unpack the whole under-storage area to find it. 
On Thursday we drove down south through Port Arthur to the gulf.  We actually drove through an oil refinery to get there. Stopped at Sabine Pass Battleground (civil war battle), then went to Sea Rim State Park where there is 5 miles of nothing but grassland and beach.  We walked the boardwalk they had set up in a marshy area- saw one alligator and one snake.  The beach was filthy with washed up garbage, and the water was brown. You could not make me go in there! We also saw several jellyfish washed up on shore, along with a dead alligator carcass.  Nasty.  Drove back and had lunch at Tony's BBQ place in Port Arthur, good and cheap.  When we got back Joe and Nancy took a drive while Kirk and I went to the pool.  Ended up staying there talking to people. The water was cool but the air was so warm I didn't mind.

Alligator on the grass in the middle

Boat lift at Port Arthur

Second snake spotting on our trip!

Fredericksburg TX Continued

Kirk and I took the dogs to the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area 18 miles north of town.  It was cloudy and a little cooler which was perfect for walking. We did not want to try hiking to the summit with Lexie so we stayed on the loop trail around the base of this 500 ft. high hunk of pink granite - second largest in North America.  We enjoyed the wildflowers (bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush, red poppies, yellow coreopsis) and the dogs liked getting out and being able to take a dip in the creek.  There weren't any other people on the trail we took so they were able to be off leash. 

After eating lunch at the camper we picked up Joe and Nancy and drove to Wildseed Farms east of town.  Acres of wildflowers- so pretty!  They had several huge gift shops and were quite busy. By the time we left it had gotten sunny and warm.  We drove south to Kerrville, where we enjoyed looking at some really pretty homes on the hillside, and ranches with exotic deer, cattle and goats.  The roadsides are covered with the same flowers we saw at the farm.  We checked out two RV parks in Kerrville before heading back to camp for dinner.  Nice day!

 



Onward to Texas

After leaving Carlsbad on Sunday 4/5 we headed south on 285 and saw lots of oil wells and trucks hauling oil. Once we hit Texas we saw wind turbines and tons of buttes/mesas.  We arrived at Oakwood RV Park in Fredericksburg TX about 5:30 p.m. after getting wrong directions from the staff.  After setting up and walking the dogs we went to Friedhelm's German Restaurant for our Easter dinner.  It was very empty- nice place with plenty of German artifacts/artwork.  I had the sauerbraten which is one of my favorites, with red cabbage of course and a glass of Liebfraumilch wine.  It was great to be off the road and we will be staying here for a few days.  The campground is OK, gravel roads and quite a few permanent sites which tends to make it less appealing.  On Monday Kirk and Joe got up early to head to the German bakery for some breakfast treats. They came back with an almond ring coffee cake which was great.  We all went to the Pioneer Museum downtown, a collection of ten buildings from the early days of the German settlers.  All furnished and well done. 

After eating lunch at the German Bakery (homemade meatloaf for the guys, I had a chicken salad with peaches in it!), we drove east of town and stopped at two of the 30+ wineries in the area for some tasting.  After that we drove south to Luckenbach and listened to some pickers under the live oak tree on the grounds of the famous dance hall. It was very nice out and we met a couple from Austria! The roosters and hens strutting on the stage were very entertaining as well!

Since we had such a big lunch we went to Altdorf's Biergarten for dinner for sandwiches, ate them outside.  Weather has been beautiful!!  Came back to camp to watch the Badgers lose to Duke in the Championship game. So disappointing.

Back home in Tomahawk

I wanted to let everyone know that we arrived back home yesterday (4/15) after spending two nights at Kelly and Billy's.  I do plan to update the blog with the info from Texas- when I get a chance.  It's been a whirlwind 3.5 months and it did seem to go fast.  We've been busy unpacking the camper and cleaning it.  Check back in a few days and thanks for following my blog.  It's been a great way to keep a journal of our travels. Since I am not sure how long this will stay online, I am going to transfer my posts to my paper journal just to be safe!

Roswell and Carlsbad NM

We got to the Alien UFO Museum in Roswell early on Friday morning- it was very busy since it was Good Friday and there were a ton of families. It's kind of a hokey place but Kirk and Joe really enjoyed it.  They had lots of articles about the July 1947 "landing" of a UFO in the Roswell area and the ensuing government cover-up.  Not sure how I feel about this but it sure looks like the locals believe it.  After that we went back to the campers and got ready to roll.  Not much else to see and do in Roswell so we headed to Carlsbad which is about 90 minutes south of there.  We stayed two nights there at Carlsbad RV Park (not very appealing, lots of permanents for oil workers).  After we got set up we drove south towards Sitting Bull Falls but it was closed due to flooding. We drove as far into the canyon as we could- saw a goat looking out of a cave!  Went to Carlsbad Caverns on Saturday- it was also very busy with families off for the Easter weekend.  We took the self-guided Big Room tour (free to us seniors!).  It took us about 1 1/2 hours to walk through this huge room- that is about as large as 14 football fields!  The path was paved and had handrails and we used the audio tour feature which explained what we were seeing.  This is a must visit place too- you will never see a larger cavern unless you go to Borneo.

We watched the Badgers beat Kentucky in the final four Saturday night.  Got up early on Sunday and headed east into Texas- it took us about 7 hours to get to Fredericksburg.  Sure missed church but it would have gotten us into our campground too late if we had gone.  Had a wonderful German meal at Friedhelm's Bavarian Inn- came back to walk the dogs and crash early. Long day of traveling!  Looking forward to three nights in one place to explore the Texas Hill Country.

White Sands National Monument

Since we drove by White Sands last night in the dark, we headed back west (about 30 miles) to see this phenomenal place.  Do NOT miss it if you are ever in the area!  We got there about 8:30 a.m., were one of the first groups there, and it was calm and cool (about 55).  About half way into the park the pavement ends and you are driving on hardened sand (actually gypsum) which has been plowed by a huge grader to the sides of the road.  We got out at the end of the park road and headed into the dunes.  I was surprised by how hard they were, I guess I expected it to be like walking on a beach.  The dogs had a blast running around- they acted like little kids.  There were little kids there sliding down the dunes on saucers.  We stayed and hiked around different areas of the park for about 2 hours.  By 11:00 it was 75 and getting warm.  When we sat down the sand felt cool.  We didn't see any animals, just some beetles and lots of tracks.  It was very cool and quiet.  There was an area where they do filming, I know that some recent music videos have been filmed here.  The area is part of the larger 3200 square mile White Sands Missile Range. By the time we got back to our campsite after stopping at Pistachio Land (groves and store), the wind had picked up and we could see the white sands blowing from 30 miles away!  Sure glad we went when we did. We drove two hours to Roswell and checked into Town and Country RV Park.  It was about 89 when we got here, it seems like the AC is working pretty well- too bad the pool is not open yet!! Joe and Nancy got here about 5:00 and we went downtown Roswell to cruise the strip and check it out. Had dinner at Farley's. Good food, reasonable.  Came back to camper- AC had worked very well, it was 68!  Caught up with journal and in bed early.

 

Back to Tucson for one day

On Tuesday we drove five hours back to Tucson and checked in at the Lazydays KOA park. Nice place but pricey.  Each site had a shade tree (some were citrus, picked up some lemons), a nice table and chairs, and some had grass and a hedge.We got set up and walked the dogs and then went to the pool to cool off. Getting pretty hot here, upper 80's.  We went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner (great filet for me, ribs for Kirk) and ran into some friends from Mission View (Barb and Al from WA).  It was their last night in town.  Stopped at Food City to pick up some pickled cactus for Joe and Nancy to take home. Then we went back to the park, walked the dogs again in the dark and relaxed before bed.
On Wednesday we were at Camping World before 8:00, got our rig parked for service and went to our favorite hiking spot, Tucson Mt. Park.  Took a walk to look for cacti blooming. Did find a few, but you could see buds on more so I think mid-April would be better.  We also went to the Saguaro National Park where we saw a few more.

We finally got out of Tucson about 1:30 (2:30 MST) and headed east again into New Mexico.  It is amazing to see how much of the desert vegetation has turned green since we were in AZ a month ago.  We had a six hour drive to get to Alamogordo- Kirk only let us stop once for fuel/break.  We arrived around 8:15 in the dark.  Got set up at Boot Hill RV Park, had a quick dinner, and collapsed into bed around 10.  It was a quiet night, except for the train across the street!