We have been looking forward to heading down to the Gulf of Mexico, and will be traveling along this great body of water for the next few months as we head eastward.  The drive into Port Aransas was very windy, so we were relieved to get off the road, set up and relax in this little slice of paradise.   

Buc-ee’s:

Heading south from Austin the day after Christmas, our next stop was only a few hours away, so we decided to take our time getting there.  My great aunt Ruth and uncle Sheldon, who have been living on the road full-time for a few decades, check in every once in a while and provide sage advice to us newbies.  Ruth has told me a lot about these travel stops in Texas called Buc-ee’s, and my friend Julie also brought them up while visiting in San Antonio, both expressing how huge they are and how we should experience this place before we leave Texas.  

Buc-ee’s holds the world record for both the largest convenience store and longest car wash, they have an unbelievable number of gas pumps, and take pride in having “the cleanest bathrooms in America,” according to their site.  I can attest to the fact that they have nice bathrooms. 😉 I’m not sure how many of you are familiar with Cracker Barrel, but when you walk into these restaurants, you enter into a shop full of candy, souvenirs, and a variety of seasonal kitsch.  Buc-ee’s reminded me of this, but on steroids! 😮 I was simply overwhelmed walking inside by the sheer size, the buzz of activity and huge variety of things you can buy.  It truly is a unique experience while traveling, so stop on by if you are in Texas.  

A brief respite at the Whistling Duck:

Our reservation in Port Aransas didn’t commence until December 27th, so we had a gap day during which we needed a place to stay.  Thankfully, Harvest Hosts came through with a place called the Whistling Duck Winery.  Though they were not open for business that day, they welcomed us warmly.  It was another unseasonably hot day, so we walked around their duck pond and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.  Their slogan is “Porch Sittin’, Wine Sippin’, Country Trippin’ – FUN!”  Though we did not do a wine tasting, they have both inside and outside seating to enjoy a glass of wine or two, so their slogan seems appropriate and we recommend swinging by if you are passing through this part of Texas.

Gulf Waters RV Resort: 

Thanks to the recommendation of my friend Julie, we found availability at Gulf Waters RV Resort to ring in the new year.  Although this is one of the more expensive places we have stayed, you get what you pay for!  Most of the sites are owned and rented out, so the resort has invested a lot in hardscaping and landscaping, making it a pleasant little paradise next to the beach.  There was a plethora of outside seating, a wet bar and mini fridge, and some spots even had palapas and fireplaces. 

When you arrive the staff escorts you to your site and helps you get situated.  The office staff is friendly and was very accommodating when we asked to extend our stay for a few days to wait out a windstorm that rolled through over the weekend.  Our first spot had three different seating areas, and the second was even more elaborate with an outside fireplace, palapa, bar, and outdoor dining space.  The resort has a pool, showers and activity center near the office, and laundry facilities were clean and affordable…6 each of washers and dryers, $2 per load.

During our stay, the resort hosted a New Year’s Eve social gathering at the activity center, inviting people to bring food to share and beverages of their choice.  We met several people that either owned spots at the resort or stayed there every year, having developed strong bonds with others at the resort.  They had a “ball drop” around 8pm, poured cups of sparkling cider for the kids and celebrated with noisemakers and festive hats.  As we walked back to our rig, we saw several gatherings along the way, making for a celebratory atmosphere.

The next day we moved to our new spot and enjoyed one last day with temperatures in the 80’s by walking on the beach and enjoying a meal under the palapa.  I’m glad we took advantage, because overnight the winds shifted suddenly around 3:30 am, blowing from the north and bringing in a cold front.  The temperature dropped 30 degrees in an hour from the 70’s to the 40’s! 😮 We were thankful we didn’t camp on the beach like we had originally planned and instead were tucked away next to other RV’s and other solid structures, which helped shelter us from the onslaught of wind over the next few days. 😬  

Beach finds: 

There wasn’t a whole lot of hiking to speak of, but plenty of opportunities for long walks on the beach.  On our first and last beach outings, we simply walked from the RV resort, enjoying the breeze as it hugged us with its soft warmth, watching the birds, sand crabs, and people on the beach.  I’m accustomed to the wind in the Pacific Northwest, that slaps you across the face with its biting cold, so it was a welcome change. 😂 On the second outing, we discovered an unexpected and delightful surprise: Bollard art!  We talked with one gentleman, who told us the back story.  

A resident of Port Aransas was tired of looking at the ugly bollards that lined the beach, so she decided to dress them up with crocheted and knit “bollard buddies.”  Other people started pitching in, making it an annual tradition by a group that calls themselves the Yarn Bombing and Bollard Buddies of Port A.   Here is another article, chronicling a little background on this creative group.  They take all of the creations down before spring break so they aren’t destroyed, so we were there at the right time of year to enjoy these crafty displays of art.

If you visit, another option is to visit the Padre Island National Seashore.  We saw RV’s camped out on the beach and enjoyed walking on a small stretch of the 60-mile long seashore that is at your disposal if you should choose to travel the entire shoreline.  There are also opportunities to take part in sea turtle hatchling releases, typically from mid-June through August.  On the bayside, we saw birdwatchers, and people fishing and kite surfing since is was a windy day.  Near the entrance to the park there is also a Grasslands Nature Trail, approximately a 1/2 mile paved loop.  We didn’t see much in the way of wildlife, but did find some interesting blooms along the trail and many mounds between us and the bayside sand dunes.

Chill time: 

We didn’t get out as much as we normally would in part because we were recovering from COVID booster and flu shots in preparation for an upcoming Habitat for Humanity build in Louisiana.  Between this and the windy weather conditions, I hunkered down and did more mundane things like working on my CPE (continuing professional education) credits for my CPA license, trip planning, and resting. 😴 With the pace we have been keeping up, we felt it was time to just take a breather.

With our time coming to a close here, we got out one night to enjoy some delicious, 12-inch pizza pies at Dylan’s Coal Oven Pizzeria, gassed up and washed the truck to rinse off all of the salt from being oceanside, and I prepped food for our following days of travel to Galveston.  I really enjoyed the humidity, warmth and ocean breezes, and look forward to continuing our journey along the Gulf of Mexico.

The new year not only marks the beginning of 2022, but also the 6-month mark in our travels.  We feel like seasoned veterans, though I’m certain we have more to learn.  Going through the topics below, you would think that our travels have all been doom and gloom.  That really isn’t the case!  However, it’s not exactly as foot loose and fancy free as one might imagine.  What we have enjoyed are the unexpected delights on the road that you can never plan for, the unique beauty of each location we have visited, the wonderful people we have met along the way, and the time we have given ourselves to experience this adventure, before we are too old to want to bother. 😉 That being said, here are some of the lessons we have learned thus far.

Understanding costs: Generally speaking, I would take whatever figure you have in your head for how much your travel will cost and then double it, especially with inflation, higher demand for spaces at campgrounds, higher fuel prices, and the unexpected items you will end up spending money on during your travels.  Being economical about where you spend your money, reducing waste, and squelching the impulse to buy more things that you probably don’t have space for are all great ways to help keep your travels more affordable.

Memberships: Harvest Hosts has turned out to be the most worthwhile membership for us.  As we travel from one destination to the next, the Harvest Host stays have helped provide a respite in between longer stays that is both delightful and often informative.  For one-night stays, it is great.  

Thousand Trails was a waste of money.  The membership was only good for designated places in the Pacific Northwest, we could only stay for a maximum of 14 consecutive days and then could not use the membership again until 7 days had passed.  Because we couldn’t get into Canada and Washington was incredibly smoky due to wild fires, we didn’t end up using the membership as much as we had originally thought we would.  To get the most out of this membership, you really need to plan ahead and also cross your fingers that wildfires and travel restrictions don’t impact your plans.

KOA locations have been better than we thought…so far.  I understand that the quality of the resorts are really a case by case basis, but the locations we visited were much nicer than I had imagined and we are planning to stay at more of them in our travels.  

Discount clubs: Escapees has proven to be the most useful for us and Passport America has been a waste of money…the parks that are participating with Passport America have been pretty lackluster based on the reviews we have read, so we have not taken advantage of it.  Good Sam seems to be the most widely accepted if you are looking for any discount clubs.

Campground Reviews: For planning tools, we have utilized Campendium, google, and RV Life campground reviews the most to get a better understanding of what to expect and how to choose the right places to stay to ensure we have the most enjoyable and positive stay.

Cell service and internet access: WiFi is never as good as anyone says it’s going to be at most RV parks.  Staying connected is challenging and expensive no matter how you slice and dice it.  Even with the PepWave cellular routing device, multiple cell phone plans, hotspots, etc. we have had spotty service at best just about everywhere we have been.  Satellites are another option, but are even more expensive…so expensive that we decided it wasn’t worth it.  However, if you are working on the road, this may be a more reliable option until Starlink service becomes widely available…we just can’t say since we have not used satellite service.  

Insurance: Insurance is tricky and not designed for nomads.  Having two different addresses (our home in Oregon and our mail forwarding address in Texas), has proven to be a difficult concept for insurance companies to wrap their heads around.  Just because we have a mail forwarding address in Texas doesn’t make us residents to Texas, but they don’t understand that.  It takes lots of reasoning and explanation on multiple occasions to get this stuff straightened out. 🙄 

Health insurance has proven to be the most challenging.  When we tried to sign up for health insurance on the open market in Oregon, we were initially denied because we gave them a mailing address from Texas.  The people we spoke with said we needed to apply for insurance in Texas even though we aren’t residents in Texas. 😡 They weren’t even going to tell us why our application was denied, and they don’t allow you to fix anything and try again.  So, if you make a mistake on your application, you are just screwed.  That is absolutely infuriating.  

However, fortunately for us the open enrollment period was just a few weeks away, so we had another opportunity to try applying again.  This time, we had to tell them that both our home and mailing address were our Oregon address.  That seemed to work, even though USPS did inform them of our address change.  All I can say is good luck, don’t expect common sense to work in your favor, and do your research well in advance so you aren’t left with a gap period without insurance.

Mail service: One of the best services we have relied upon so far during our travels has been Escapees mail service.  They really know their stuff and are very organized.  Their system is easy to navigate, you can sign up for scanning service so you can either download and/or destroy scanned items, or have them mailed to you in your next planned mailing.  This helps cut down on postage, though there is a fee for scanning, just FYI. I have also utilized the USPS store finder app to ensure that general delivery mailings are accepted at the post office closest to us.  IMPORTANT: Make sure you allow ample time from your mailing date for items to arrive so they don’t get to the post office after you have already left the area.  Otherwise, you may be waiting a long time for the mail to be returned to Escapees and mailed out again.

Tech on the road: Most of the technology we have relied upon on the road has worked great so far.  The ecobee thermostat, One Control tire pressure monitor, Mopeka propane tank monitors, and LevelMatePRO leveling apps have all been worthwhile.  Our biggest challenge has been with the solar. Unfortunately, we lost a solar panel somewhere between Las Cruces, NM and Alpine, TX. 😳 That meant Matt needed to re-wire the remaining panels to maximize output, and even still it has not worked that well since then.  We have not seen anywhere near the solar output that we anticipated, even when we had all of our panels operating, so make sure you still have a generator with you to help fill the gap.

Extended Warranties: Don’t buy extended warranties…especially now. You can’t get work done in a reasonable amount of time anywhere and most parts are out of stock, so you end up having to fix and source things yourself.  Unless you plan to stay in the same spot for months at a time and also have another place to stay while warranty work is being done, you likely won’t take advantage of an extended warranty if living full-time on the road.  However; this may still be a better option if you have a home to return to and don’t mind a repair shop or dealership holding onto your RV for months at a time.

Moving day set up and tear down: Walkie talkies are a must for arrival and departure communications.  We punched a hole in the rear drivers side of the trailer, and partially destroyed a bike rack and our bikes by not using them to communicate.  As such, we have made it a rule ever since to always have the walkies on when backing into and out of sites.  It seems silly at times, but having an easy way to communicate can save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars if you can also avoid making silly mistakes. We also have a departure checklist and an arrival checklist to make sure we don’t forget things, like securing the tv, doors, and cupboards, or turning off the water heater, water pump, and thermostat to reduce the risk of damage on moving days.

Planning ahead: Thinking three steps ahead is a must if you need anything specific, such as shipments or appointments.  If I want something shipped to me, I need to know which service is being used (Fedex, UPS, USPS, Amazon Locker), beforehand.  I also need to make sure I build in ample time for delivery so the package arrives within the window of time we are at our destination.  The same goes for appointments. We have had to schedule truck and bike maintenance, haircuts, doctor’s appointments, etc.  Figuring out where you will be and when can help make this possible, but sometimes you have to push out your expected timeline to get these things done, especially with continued labor shortages making it harder to secure appointment times.

Wind is not your friend: Wind has been our biggest adversary.  Wind, if strong enough, can topple your rig, so paying attention to wind forecasts is a must.  For example, in Port Aransas we intended to spend part of our stay camping on the beach; however, a huge windstorm rolled through during that time, which thankfully we knew about in advance.  We were able to extend our stay at the RV park, which provided a stable platform (cement vs sand) and more shelter from the wind with neighbors and structures to block some of the wind.  I use the Windy app to keep any eye on wind forecasts for the areas we are traveling.  

Wind is also a factor on travel days, because driving with massive crosswinds or headwinds can be dangerous.  Matt found an app called Weather on the Way that shows wind trends along our route so we can plan accordingly.  If it’s too windy, it’s better to stay put and adjust plans rather than take the risk and end up in the ditch, or worse. 

Freezing temperatures: If the area you are staying is going to experience sustained temperatures below freezing, make sure that you are not hooked up to a water supply, any hoses and water filters are in the pass through or other insulated area, your water heater is on, water pump is off and lines cleared (run water taps until there is no water coming out), and you have an insulated underbelly during cold snaps.  This should help prevent the cold from freezing and potentially damaging your plumbing, your hoses, and your water filters. 

Moving is exhausting: Taking more time at each destination is one of our resolutions come next spring.  Moving frequently requires a lot of energy with prepping the trailer for departure, meal planning, gas/travel stop planning, and setting the trailer up upon arrival.  Plus, a lot of the roads are not great, so they can really beat you up when you’re towing.  And, if you add inclement weather in the mix, it makes for a very long day.  If you can stay for longer periods of time at your destination, this is the way to go.  On average, we have been moving every week, and that has proven to be too frequent for us.  We hope to spend 2-3 weeks at our destinations in the future.  That means planning ahead so sites aren’t booked up and prevent us from enjoying an extended stay.

Stress: Stress doesn’t go away, it just shifts.  Instead of worrying about the house, our jobs, and other parts of the daily grind, we worry about keeping the travel trailer and truck intact and operational.  Travel days are especially stressful with the risk of doing damage increasing every time we move.  You essentially put your trailer through a mini earthquake every time you move it, so things are going to break.  Since it’s not just our recreational vehicle and it’s now our home, it has become more important than ever that we keep it safe.  

Missing: You will end up reflecting on the things you miss and don’t miss while being on the road full-time.  Matt misses space, both personal and physical, to enjoy his hobbies.  He also misses his tools, building things and stable internet.  I miss having a permanent foundation on a house, especially during inclement weather. 😂 I also miss having a toaster oven, a dishwasher, having access to all of my cookbooks and my workout space.  Collectively we miss our friends, and having a garden and a yard.  What we DON’T miss are our jobs and the gray of Portland, so you win some and you lose some. 

There’s always something to do: Taking time away from work, I would have thought I’d be going stir crazy by now, but that has not been the case.  I never cease to have things to do.  The blog and cooking take up quite a bit of time.  There are always basic tasks that need to be attended to, such as cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, dumping tanks, filling tanks, getting gas or propane, etc.  Maintaining my CPA license, handling issues related to our house, setting up appointments, planning future travel logistics, and other miscellaneous tasks are ever present in the “adulting” category.  And exploring our surroundings, of course!  Find me some time and I’ll find a way to fill it. 😊

Even though we have run into some challenges and have missed a few things, we are learning to pivot and adapt to each new environment, and to live without all of the conveniences that modern life has to offer.  It really isn’t so bad living without these things…simplifying life.  Everything has its place and purpose in our travel trailer, so adding anything new usually requires giving up something else and taking its place.  It makes us more grateful for what we have, will help us prioritize what is important to us when we choose to settle down again in one place, and has helped us refocus our energy on our relationships with each other, our friends and our family.  I look forward to what the second half of this journey will reveal, and am excited to share it with you all as well.  Happy new year, and may you also get out and enjoy some awesome adventures in 2022. ❤️

From Minnesota at the beginning of the week to Cedar Park, Texas at the end of the week, and we had gone from -5 degrees to 70 degrees Fahrenheit and gained nearly 1 hour and 45 minutes of daylight. ☀️ Hallelujah!  We were here through Christmas, and enjoyed our first 85 degree Christmas day by going for a bike ride and reveling in the sunshine.

Downtown Austin

After settling in, we headed to downtown Austin to look for some new shoes and explore.  After  lunch at Shoal Creek Saloon, we popped in and out of several shops, but were having a hard time finding what we were looking for given the continued challenges of supply shortages.  As luck would have it, we found a small shop called The Loop, and finally found the shoes I wanted.  Yay!  The shop attendant was also fun to talk with, sharing our favorite places to hike and backpack with each other.  This part of downtown had its fair share of homeless and some unpleasant smells, but there are plenty of places to wander nearby, such as the Texas state capitol grounds, the venue for Austin City Limits, and numerous riverfront parks.

Hiking…or maybe we call it walking?

If you are accustomed to the elevation of the western states, these hikes may not seem that exciting to you.  But, if you want a few ideas for getting out and enjoying some fresh air, they fit the bill.  Our biggest challenge was finding places where the trails were neither private nor fee-based.  I’m not paying $10 to hike your mediocre 5-mile trails!

Crystal Falls Loop:  If you head away from Austin, your chances of finding a hiking area improve.  This 2-mile hike was in a canyon that couldn’t be built on, between housing developments and a golf course.  Nevertheless, it was peaceful, we didn’t see a single soul on the trails, and were able to explore to our heart’s content.  The creeks were running, so I enjoyed looking in the pools of water and checking out the flora in the region.  

Brushy Creek Regional Trail: This is a biking and walking path that alternates between paved and tightly packed gravel.  It runs east/west for about 7.5 miles one-way and is well kept.  We went here twice, once walking and once biking and enjoyed it both times.  There were lots of birds on the Brushy Creek Lake, some informational signage on common plants in the area, and parking was easy.  If you enjoy natural areas and getting away from the hustle and bustle of the city, this area can help you relax and wander for a while.

Austin Greenbelt:  It’s a little confusing trying to find a complete map of the Greenbelt, but the link I provided gives you the most comprehensive list of areas to park and walk.  Once you are on the greenbelt, it’s pretty easy to figure out where to exit or continue along it.  We started at the bottom of the “V” and parked in the Barton Creek/Twin Falls lot.  Within that park you can enter the Barton Springs Pool for a fee.  What I didn’t realize is that this trail mostly runs along or across creeks, and is fairly rocky.  We headed northwest and saw lots of mountain bikers and dog walkers along the way, and even a few climbers near our turn-around point on the trail.  It was a quiet and rugged area that I wasn’t expecting in the heart of Austin…at least where we walked.

Balcones Canyonlands (Vista Knoll and Ridgeline Loops): Heading northwest from Cedar Park you will see signs for the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge and Doeskin Ranch, both areas in which you can hike.  We did one of the “larger” loops, called Vista Knoll and Ridgeline, which was just over 3 miles in total and about 300 feet in elevation gain.  There was a nice view of Lake Travis and its tributaries from the Sunset Deck, and we found 14 rocks along the southern/lower portion of the Cactus Rocks Trail with both a number and a warbler painted on each.  In talking with some other hikers, apparently they had bigger plans for this area and those numbered rocks were supposed to be part of an interpretive hike guide that never happened.

Christmas concert at the Haute Spot

We couldn’t go to Austin and not see some live music!  Matt found a venue nearby called the Haute Spot that had a Christmas concert featuring an Austin band called Quiet Company and an opening band from San Antonio called Buttercup.  The venue was clean, organized and reasonably priced for food and drink.  The concert had Christmas-themed music, and was also promoting and benefiting the work of SIMS foundation, which provides mental health support for people and their family members within the music industry, no matter if you are musicians or in other roles.  The foundation is looking to spread this service nationwide, and we were happy to contribute toward such a great organization. 

Torchys Tacos

Thanks to the recommendation of a fellow wanderer and cyclist Mike Hardy, we enjoyed some kick ass tacos at one of the local Torchys Tacos locations.  I was impressed!  The service was friendly and efficient, and the tacos were delicious.  I am sad that I didn’t take photos, but it’s only because we were so hungry that we dug right in and devoured them. 😋 Matt and I had two tacos each, totaling four different kinds, and they were equally scrumptious.  Check them out and you won’t be disappointed.  I swear!

San Antonio

A fun part about traveling is catching up with friends and family who live nearby our destinations.  One of my high school friends Julie now lives in San Antonio, so we headed down to see her and her husband Dan.  They met in the military and Dan is currently working at Fort Sam Houston Base, which is surprisingly close to downtown.  The base has a constant population of peacocks and deer wandering about the grounds.  We also went inside the base museum, which had displays of many older uniforms, guns and other items used throughout different periods in history.

We went to lunch at La Gloria near the riverfront, and it was very good.  From there we set off on the San Antonio River Walk and headed toward the Alamo.  Matt and I were surprised at how clean and peaceful most of this riverfront area was, and we didn’t run into too many crowds until we got closer to the Alamo where there are more restaurants and shops.  During the holidays, they have a river float parade and lots of lights and decorations, so it is quite beautiful at night.  The riverfront was one of our favorite parts of visiting San Antonio.

We did arrive at the Alamo, but didn’t go inside due to a long entry line.  However, we did go to the Menger Hotel, “the oldest continuously operating hotel west of the Mississippi,” according to their site.  It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but some of the featured furnishings and decorations give a nod to the historic nature of this hotel.  In the middle is a courtyard, where we all relaxed in rocking chairs and enjoyed the quietude and beautiful landscaping.  I was amazed at how quiet it was with the cacophony of sound just outside the hotel walls.  

New Braunfels

We enjoyed our time with Julie and Dan so much that we decided to meet them again in a town  between San Antonio and Austin called New Braunfels, known for its German heritage and history.  It is home to Gruene Hall, the oldest dance hall still in operation, the town hosts a Wurstfest each year, and has a 51-acre park in town called Landa Park.  

We met up at the large Landa Park and went for a stroll in the misty morning weather as we headed toward the Alpine Haus for lunch.  This quaint but nice restaurant in town features traditional German fare and beer.  Afterward, we stopped in at the oldest bakery in Texas just down the street to pick up some strudels and other delights. 

We finished our outing by circling back to the park and enjoying the waterfronts’ flora and fauna.  This park is also home to the largest group of aquifer-fed springs in Texas. We had a great time simply relaxing, enjoying the beautiful park and the mild weather.  

Central Texas took us through Christmas and now we are headed farther south to the Gulf Coast and we can’t wait!  The unseasonably warm weather and mild humidity has been great after being in the drier western states, and colder midwestern areas.  We truly feel like snowbirds now and look forward to more adventures down south this winter.

Zena Suri Alpaca Farm

From Missouri we headed south through Oklahoma, and had another windy, stormy day of travel that now seemed typical for Oklahoma.  Our turn off for the Zena Suri Alpaca Farm couldn’t come soon enough, and after a stressful day of driving we were thankful to arrive on the farm.

Tom and Kathleen were great hosts, as well as one of their kitties named Alex.  He reminded us of our beloved Bok.  This farm kitty came trotting excitedly toward us, and wanted all the pets he could get. 😻 Tom gave us a tour of the farm, where we learned that the females are separated from the young males, who are also separated from the older males, but it total they have more than 40 alpacas and 1 camel on the farm.  Most of the alpacas are of the Suri variety (hence part of the farm’s name), but they had a few of the more common Haucaya alpacas as well.

We learned that alpacas have no upper teeth, are very gentle, and a lot smaller than I expected, averaging between 110-190 pounds…I weigh as much as some alpacas! 😮 We also learned that most (if not all) alpacas born in the evening hours do not survive, they are strong herd animals and do not do well in solitude, they rarely spit, and they have specific areas where they go to the bathroom repeatedly instead of randomly anywhere.  

All in all, we found them to be gentle yet slightly aloof but you can pet them on their side or neck (not their head).  We had a quiet stay, Matt and I both purchased some socks that were an alpaca and bamboo blend, and I purchased a hand-crocheted alpaca scarf from their on site store.  If you’re heading through Oklahoma, this is another nice place to hang your hat for the night. 

Lenoir-Sage Vineyards

After another day of getting beat up by the roads in Oklahoma, we were relieved to cross the Texas state line and head to our next Harvest Host.  Oklahoma has some nice people, but their roads are pure torture, especially when towing. 😰

Though Michael isn’t much of a talker on the phone, upon arrival he greeted us warmly at Lenoir-Sage Vineyards.  Michael and his wife Adele made us feel right at home at their tasting room, along with their large, lovable cat Romeo. 😺🍷 We got to talking like we were old friends catching up, and learned about the challenges of wine-making in Texas, especially during the pandemic.   

My favorite wines were their Lenoir Rouge and Nuvola Bianca.  The Lenoir Rouge reminded me of a “light port” wine, and pairs very well with chocolate.  It’s a slow sipper on the sweeter side, so it works great as an after dinner wine or night cap.  Their Nuvola Bianca is a Tawny Port, and the smoothest tawny I have ever tasted since it is not aged in bourbon barrels.  I never knew that a lot of tawny ports are aged in bourbon barrels, which can give them that brassy kick at the end, which is not my preference.

If you’re looking for a relaxing time, perhaps kicking back in a rocker on the front porch of their tasting room and watching the sun set, you will not find two more friendly people to welcome and put you at ease.  I highly recommend their winery for a peaceful overnight stay as well. 

Big Oaks RV Park

Our final destination for the next two weeks was Big Oaks RV Park in Cedar Park, Texas, just north of Texas’s state capitol: Austin.  Their online booking was really easy, allowing you to lock in a site of your choosing for an extra fee, and also having weekly and monthly rate discounts and storage options.  Upon arrival, they set out a sign to welcome us, so we knew we were at the right site.  Their arrival email was detailed and made it easy for us to settle in.

The park is well kept, and has on-site laundry next to the office.  There are 3 washers and 4 dryers, all reasonably priced, with numerous options to pay for laundry, including an app, credit card-op, or coin-op.  The park also has recycling, which has been rare on the road!  There is a dog run next to the office and an open grassy area that overlooks a canyon, which I used to do my HIIT, strength and yoga workouts. 

We did hear gun shots coming from the shooting range next door, but it occurred infrequently.  Most of the time it was nice and quiet at the park.  There are a lot of full-time residents at the park, so we mostly saw Texas license plates.  If you are looking for a quiet, reasonable place to stay near Austin, this is it!  

Matt’s immediate family now lives in Kansas City, having relocated from just north of Birmingham, AL some years ago.  We had not seen them since before the pandemic, so we were excited to hug everyone and spend some time together.  Similarly, we planned to visit my family up in Minnesota, but knowing how unpredictable the weather can be this time of year, we opted to leave our travel trailer in Missouri while traveling further north.

We had a lovely time seeing our family, having the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with Matt’s family and visit with his grandmother before heading north in early December to see my family.  Matt’s mother, sister, niece, nephew and I made an outing to the City Market, perusing the shops and having fun while the weather was nice.  We also had time to check some things off the “to do” list.  I got a haircut at Lumine Salon, we had the truck serviced, Matt got to work on repairing a hole in the rear driver’s side of the travel trailer, and putting replacement parts on the bike rack.

A little back story on that:  When departing the Sweet Oaks Winery in Temecula, CA, we had a tight turn to get down the hill from our lovely spot between the grapevines.  Unfortunately, we didn’t clear the turn cleanly and caught a metal pipe holding up a row of grapevines on the back driver’s side corner of the trailer. 😫 We mentioned in my post Our brief interlude in AZ and NM that our bikes had been damaged as well, which we remedied in Tucson.

Thankfully, 1Up, the company that makes our bike rack, does sell replacement parts and they were in stock, so we ordered and shipped them to Matt’s sister’s house to pick up once we arrived in Kansas City.  For the hole repair, Matt used an orbital sander to smooth the edges of the hole before covering and sealing it with layers of epoxy and fiberglass material which he applied, sanded again, applied more material, and sanded once more, before finally painting over it.  Matt was working with limited tools, so it doesn’t look pretty, but it is now sealed from the elements, making it easier for us to step away from our rig for a week to travel to Minnesota without having to worry about water damage or mold.  

Because the trip to my parent’s house was nearly 600 miles away, we chose to break up the trip and spend a night in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area (aka the Twin Cities) both on the way up and back to Missouri.  That afforded us the chance to surprise my two nieces and attend my eldest niece’s school volleyball game, and they were indeed surprised to see us! 😉 We then went out to dinner with their mother and her family to catch up before heading up to my parent’s house the next day.

The next day we visited with my grandmother Lorraine and my aunt and uncle Kathy and Steve in Brainerd, MN on the way to my parent’s.  While at my parent’s house, I spent a lot of time taking their dog Ruger for walks on the trails nearby, enjoyed more time with my brother and my nieces, we picked out a Christmas tree and decorated it together, and played games. 🎄 The night before we headed back to the Twin Cities, my aunt and uncle Debra and Jose had us over for a delicious Puerto Rican meal.  Meanwhile, we got 5-6 inches of snow, which made for a slow start back to the Twin Cities the next morning, but we made it safe and sound. ❄️

We had one last hurrah with my brother before saying our goodbyes and heading south to Kansas City.  Unfortunately, the weather continued to be uncooperative, and we had a VERY slick and slow trek south from the Twin Cities.  We made a pit stop for lunch at Redemption Restaurant in Faribault, MN, which was a surprising find and gave us a reprieve from the grueling journey on icy roads.  Thankfully, the roads started to clear up just south of Faribault, but the road condition added 2 hours of driving time, and made for a very long day. But we made it! 😅

Crow’s Creek Campground, Smithville, MO:

I mentioned briefly in my last post that Crow’s Creek Campground is a very large county park, bordering Smithville Lake in conjunction with the nearby Camp Branch across the bridge from us.  Surrounding the lake is a network of bike/walk paths that encompass approximately 36 miles in total, which I enjoyed a TON while we were there. 😍 We were one of only a handful of campers at this campground, given that it was late November/early December and the weather was starting to get predictably cold and dip down below freezing.  But, it worked out well for us so we could spend time with our families and have a safe place to keep our rig while in Minnesota.  The sites were nice and there was a decent amount of space between them, like most regional and state parks.  And, we had a beautiful lake view. 

The park has numerous boat access ramps for fishing, play structures for kids, a small outdoor amphitheater, and is a great place to go for wildlife and bird watching.  We saw deer, a possum, and a small bobcat during our stay.  Given the time of year, the campground was mostly shut down…bathrooms had been closed for the season and Camp Branch was also closed for winter.  However, the maintenance crew was very busy while we were there, removing dead trees and debris, and the campground was very clean.  Because we were there during the off season, this meant it was really quiet, but we did run into a few things that are worth pointing out.

• A Mighty Wind!: It’s likely not surprising that this area can experience some strong windstorms, given its location in the midwestern plains.  That being said, the wind gusts are exacerbated by the fact that the campground is situated on a large lake and there is no tree cover nearby.  On one particular night, we had gusts between 40-50 mph that kept me up all night.  It’s a bit terrifying when the trailer never ceases to rock and sway and creak in the wind. 😬
  
  Incidentally, after we left the area, Kansas City had a storm with 70 mph winds, which could have easily toppled our trailer. 😱 Back in Indio, CA when we got caught up in the bomb cyclone that hit the west coast I found an app called Windy to keep an eye on wind trends.  It comes in handy if you have control over which direction you park your rig so you can avoid being broad-sided by wind gusts when a storm rolls through. 
  
• Hunting around: Although I was able to enjoy the trails around the lake most of the time, there are sectional closures for geese hunting and broader closures for a few days apiece on a majority of the trails for managed hunts, which I did encounter during our stay.  They have signs all over the place to warn you, and this really only takes place during the off season, but it’s good to be aware of if you’re spending time here between November and February.
  
• Water and Disposal: The day before we were set to leave the campground, they closed the dump access and turned off water access throughout Crow’s Creek Campground, despite the fact that we called before reserving our stay and confirmed that the campground would be open year-round.  We called the Clay County Parks office, and they told us that the dump station and water access was still open at the Camp Branch campground.
  
  I biked over there to check it out, and although the dump station was open, the potable water access was not working.  However, we did find another water pump near the entrance that was working.  Why they would close off the dump station and water at the campground that is supposed to be open year-round and keep the dump station and water on at the campground that is seasonally closed doesn’t make sense to me. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Hopefully, this information is helpful.  I highly recommend this campground if you are traveling through the area, especially if you come during the warmer spring and summer months.  Speaking of warmer, we are headed to the warmer climes of Texas!  Stay tuned for more tales from the road as we head south with the rest of the snowbirds. 🕊

We had our longest string yet of travel days without breaks heading from Alpine, Texas to Kansas City to visit Matt’s family.  Our Harvest Hosts membership really came in handy for this portion of our journey.  Matt and I decided to trade off driving days and give each other rest days to make this stretch easier on both of us.  

Day 1:

Heading from Alpine to Brownfield, TX, the landscape changed from rolling hillsides and rock formations to flat landscape as far as we could see.  We went through fields of solar panels, oil pump rigs, and cotton!  I never knew they grew so much cotton out here.  Holding tanks and natural gas facilities dotted the horizon as we traveled through this vast area, seemingly devoid of trees.  The only trees we saw were at picnic areas, parks, and private residences.  The roads started out in fairly nice condition, but with each town we rolled through, the roads got progressively worse on our way to our first destination.

Oswald Vineyard

Hiding among the endless cotton fields is the 43-acre Oswald Vineyard.  The Oswald family owns and operates the winery, and has some interesting grape varietals that we have not heard of before.  Moscato is their most common varietal, but they also grow Roussane, a French white wine that has the deep, buttery notes you’ve come to expect from Chardonnay without the heavy oak tannins. The wine is fermented in “neutral” barrels that have already been used to minimize the high tannins you get from fresh oak barrels.  For the reds, they have two Italian varietals: Montepulciano and Aglianico, the latter of which is a bit more robust.  They are both dry, full-bodied red wines, and were well balanced.  

One of the surprise bonuses of this stop was that they had electrical hookups for $15.  We have not seen electrical hookups at a Harvest Host before, so this was great, especially because it was still hot enough to need air conditioning.  We didn’t have to run the generator, which we try to avoid when possible since it is loud and stinky.  The only issue I had while there was getting stung by a wasp.  There was wasps everywhere with all that fermenting wine!  The host did give me some lavender oil to put on my sting, and that helped a ton, which I was thankful for.  Before the sun set, we climbed up a pavilion in the middle of the vineyard next to us and enjoyed a great view of the surrounding area.  The night ended with a spectacular sunset and our stay was the best kind: quiet and uneventful.  I would recommend this vineyard if you are passing through.  

Day 2:

On day two of our travels to Kansas City, It was Matt’s turn to drive to our next destination: Iowa Park, TX.  Iowa Park is just southwest of Wichita Falls, TX near the Oklahoma border.  The landscape did get more interesting with rolling hills and trees to break up the monotony, and the surrounding fields of cotton gave way to cattle land and wind farms.  Thankfully, after battling a crosswind for most of our trip, not only did we get to enjoy a tailwind for the last 20 miles, but also enjoyed the relief of a recently repaved road.  It was heavenly after traveling on terribly rough roads for most of of the day.  Two days down and two to go!

Horseshoe Bend Cellars Vineyard & Winery

We arrived late in the afternoon at Horseshoe Bend and were greeted by the owner, Scott.  Being their only Harvest Host member for the evening, we pulled up next to the tree line on their property to shelter from the strong afternoon winds, which didn’t look to be letting up for at least another day.  That made for a more restful sleep, for sure!  This vineyard was hosting a large dinner party that evening, so we stayed out of their hair and instead dealt with some “fun” mechanical issues on the trailer. 🤨 

Later on, they invited us in for a wine tasting and we learned that Scott and his family took over the winery from another owner.  The whole family was really convivial and we had a relaxing time trying a lot of interesting wines and exchanging stories.  We were thankful for a place to tuck in for the night, and would recommend this host if you are traveling near Wichita Falls, TX.

Day 3:

I got the fun leg of the trip…driving through Oklahoma! 😂 Matt often talks about how bad the roads are in Oklahoma, and how the toll roads are seemingly worse than the non-toll roads, which begs the question of how your toll money is getting used.  Although the roads aren’t as bad as California’s, according to this highway ranking system, they still aren’t great by any means.  That being said, we did see lots of road construction and newly repaved sections while passing through, so at least some of the roads are improving!  The weather was sunny but very windy, so between the wind, the tolls and the unpredictable road conditions, it made for a very long day.  Furthermore, we saw only ONE rest stop in all our travels through Oklahoma and the sign specifically stated that the stop had NO facilities. 😐

Pecan Creek Winery

After a stressful day of driving, we were thankful to arrive at Pecan Creek Winery.  They have some grapevines on site, but most are located on other acreage, just FYI.  The owner’s residence is right next door, so we backed into their generous driveway, and had yet another opportunity to hook up to electric for $10.  The winds were still going strong when we arrived, so not having to mess with the generator when it was cold and blustery outside was a relief.  

The owners have an interesting story.  The husband, who we did not get the opportunity to meet, used to be in the medical equipment business, then became a pastor and then expanded his winemaking business. We met his wife Joan, who kept us in stitches most of the time with her honest candor.  The two of them have lived all over the country, and have picked up several awards for their wines over the years.  I even had a Merlot that I liked, and that has never happened before!  Although the roads are narrow and bumpy getting there, I think you will have an enjoyable stay with this host.  

Day 4:

Matt drove the final leg of our journey from Muskogee, OK to just north of Kansas City, our final stop for the next three weeks. Yay!  The last bit of roads we traveled on in Oklahoma nearly shook us to pieces, so we were relieved when we were immediately greeted by nicer roads and a rest stop just across the Missouri state line. 😂 I guess the state of Missouri prefers that you stay a little while.

We arrived safe and sound at the Clay County Crows Creek Campground in Smithville, MO, about 45 minutes north of central Kansas City.  Our first impressions are that this is a well kept, very BIG park system all around the Smithville Lake and that it is beautiful.  I will share more about our stay later on after taking a break for 3 weeks.  Much love to you all, and I hope you have a nice Thanksgiving holiday. 🍁🦃

We absolutely loved our stay in Big Bend National Park and it has become one of our favorite national parks we have visited so far.  The park is huge!  You could spend a LOT of time here and still not see everything.  Though, to be fair, to explore some sections of it you will need a four-wheel drive or off-road vehicle.  Here is a little taste of what we saw during our three-day stay.  A general note: download maps of the Big Bend region before you get there, because there is little to no internet or cell service.

Cottonwood General Store:

We headed down the road to Big Bend from Alpine and realized that we forgot our grill.  Doh!  We did have our JetBoil, but weren’t confident we had enough fuel for the JetBoil.  We stopped off at another store on our way, and they suggested we go to the Cottonwood General Store.  My oh my is this the place to go!  It’s an oasis in the middle of the desert.  They have groceries, beer and wine, automotive, camping, over the counter drugstore, lawn and garden, pet store and more supplies.  I was amazed around every turn in this place and very impressed with their selection.  So, if you forget something at home, have no fear!  There is a high likelihood that the Cottonwood General Store will have what you need. 😊

Santa Elena Canyon Trail:

Not wanting to waste any daylight, we headed straight to the Santa Elena Canyon Trail after lunch.  This canyon marks the border between the United States and Mexico, and you can see where people have walked through when water levels were lower.  Not only is the canyon quite imposing with it’s sheer size (think of the great wall of the north in Game of Thrones), and the sunlight slicing through the cavernous gap dances on the water and provides a beautiful backdrop to the multi-layered rock walls.  

You can get permits to do a river trip by boat, but we did the 1.5 mile hike with 610 feet of elevation gain instead.  In addition to the rock formation, we also saw a few millipedes and big horn sheep across the canyon, though we didn’t get a good picture of the sheep, unfortunately.  As you rise and descend the rocky trail, the temperature and light conditions fluctuate noticeably.  The views of the surrounding area are stunning from the topmost part of the trail, and it’s not at all scary.  It’s a must-see if you make it down to the southwestern part of the park.

Cottonwood Campground:

Down in the southwestern portion of the park near the Santa Elena Canyon Trail is the Cottonwood Campground.  It does not have a lot of frills, but they flood the area with water, so you have grassy areas to pitch a tent, fairly wide and solid parking pads for your vehicle or RV, clean pit toilets, bear boxes at every site, and centralized bear-proof trash bins.  It was really quiet, the camp hosts were friendly and helpful, and we even had a a great horned owl that would visit every evening.  The owl was not perturbed at all by gathering crowds of campers, so you could get fairly close to it.  How cool is that?!? 🦉If you don’t mind the scant amenities, this is a great campground.  Plus, they use reverse-osmosis to pull water from the Rio Grande for drinking and it tastes great!

Short walks/roadside attractions: Burro Mesa Pouroff, Dorgan Sublett, and Tuff Canyon:

Not everyone is up for a big hike, so rest assured that there are plenty of roadside attractions where you can still see some nifty sites in the park without a lot of walking.  The ones I outline here are all along the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. Please note that we visited in November, so the temperatures were more moderate.  You should always wear sunscreen, protective clothing and bring plenty of water no matter how big the walk or hike.

We stopped for lunch at the Burro Mesa Pouroff, which doesn’t have any facilities, but there is a short walk to the pouroff itself, which is a round trip of 1 mile and 120 feet in elevation gain.  The surrounding rock formations are beautiful as well, so there are many opportunities to capture some great landscape pictures from this area. 

After hiking the Santa Elena Canyon Trail, we visited the Dorgan Sublett to check out the remaining structures that were built in the area, and read the plaques that outlined the history on the establishments that were there and the people that owned them.  This trail is also 1 mile and just 56 feet in elevation gain.  The Dorgan House was in the process of another restoration while we were there.  The Sublett House, however, has long since been demolished, and all that remains is a park plaque and the house’s foundation.  Views of the Cerro Castolon are stunning from here, which is a rock formation that reminds me of Bell Rock in Sedona, AZ.

Another roadside stop called Tuff Canyon gives you the option to overlook the canyon with a few viewing places, but also to drop down into the canyon.  We chose to drop into the canyon, and were rewarded with some shade, the discovery of a Texas Brown Tarantula, a common side-blotched lizard and a red-spotted toad!  The toad was the biggest surprise, but there is indeed some water that collects in this canyon.  From the top you get sweeping vistas of the northern mountain ranges, so it seemed like a win-win no matter which part of this attraction you explored.  The trail that drops into the canyon is 3/4 of a mile round trip and 200 feet of elevation gain to get back up to the top.

Pine Canyon Trail:

For those of you with a four-wheel drive or off-road vehicle, Pine Canyon trail is a true gem with an unexpected shady canyon toward the end.  Heading east past the turn offs for Chisos Mountains and the Panther Junction, there is a dirt road named Glenn Springs Road on your right-hand side.  Travel down this road for 2.3 miles and then turn right onto Pine Canyon road for another 4.1 miles.  The roads are BUMPY with lots of rocks and some washed out sections, so do not attempt driving this if your vehicle doesn’t have ample ground clearance or beefy tires that can handle the punishment of large and/or sharp rocks!

Once we arrived, the trail itself is 4 miles round trip, and about 1000 feet of elevation gain.  There is a lot of sun exposure for the first 1.5 miles in, but depending on the time of day you start your hike, there are some shade breaks along the way.  We were happily exploring the shaded canyon toward the end of the trail when Matt heard a noise ahead of us.  

The sign at the beginning of the trail warned us that there are black bears and mountain lions in the area, so Matt immediately thought it was a bear.  I brushed it off, thinking it must be something much more benign, so we decided to press onward.  Matt went up the next rise in the trail and quickly shuffled backward whisper shouting at me, “Bear! Go! Bear! Go!”  I did not see the bear myself, but Matt says it was a large bear that took up the the entire width of the trail and was just 15 feet ahead of him. 🐻😱 That’s a little too close for comfort, so we quickly got out of there, looking behind us to make sure the bear didn’t head our way. 

Alas, we did not get to finish this hike, but boy what a story!  We stopped off at the Panther Junction visitor center and reported our siting, because apparently there are only 30-40 bears in the whole park.  And, it answered my question about whether black bears were already hibernating for winter…it turns out their hibernation window is January through March because of the mild climate in Big Bend. 

Cattail Falls and Oak Spring Trail to Window View:

Another neat trail that you might like is Cattail Falls.  You can drive in for a little ways on one of the service roads, but will end up walking for a few miles on more service roads before you reach a little creek and signs for the Cattail Falls.  From the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive road, it’s 5.6 miles round trip and 685 feet of elevation gain.  The Cattail Falls are just a mile farther from the creek.  

We arrived relatively early in the day, so it wasn’t very hot yet, and we saw a doe and two fawns on the service road.  We quickly moved on so we didn’t upset her…I’ve done that inadvertently in the past and it did NOT turn out well!  We were about a tenth of a mile from the end of the hike when I saw this black speck across the ravine from us.  Matt got out the binoculars and lo and behold, it was another black bear!  

This time we got to enjoy our observation from afar, but as we continued toward the falls, the black bear started heading in the same direction, and the ravines meet at the falls.  We didn’t want another close encounter, so we decided to head back.  Foiled again!  I did get some great snapshots of the sun starting to peak on the horizon of the Chisos Mountains, but was bummed that we still had yet to complete one of our hikes.

When we got to the shaded creek, I convinced Matt to go in the opposite direction of Cattail Falls on the Oak Spring Trail to reach the junction with the Window Trail.  It was a real butt kicker of a climb, but we enjoyed spectacular views of the canyon within the Chisos Mountains and had the trail all to ourselves.  Most people approach from the other side of the canyon for the Window View.  This trail added 3 miles and about 1000 feet in elevation gain to our hike, but it was worth it!

It was pretty darn hot by the time we headed back out on the service roads, but a wide-brimmed hat, sunscreen and plenty of water were our friends.  I was shocked at how many people were just starting to head in during the midday sun.  Hopefully they came prepared! 😬

DB’s Rustic Iron BBQ, Terlingua, TX:

The Cottonwood General Store is just south of the turnoff for Terlingua, Texas, which is a revitalized ghost town in West Texas.  We did not have a lot of energy at this point, so decided to hunt for some food nearby.  We found DB’s BBQ, and enjoyed some of the best brisket and pulled pork.  Yum!  It was another spendy meal with all of that inflation going around, but the meal did come with sides, so we got beans, slaw, and potato salad.  

We were still so tired afterward, that we didn’t have much energy to motivate ourselves to explore the town itself.  😕 We knew we still had a long drive ahead of us to get back to Alpine, so chose to just head back.  BUT, we heard great things about this quirky town, so if you get a chance to visit, please reply in the comments and let me know what you discovered. 

We loved our visit to Big Bend National Park and we could come back again and still have plenty to see.  I highly recommend this beautiful, hidden gem in Texas and encourage you to visit.  This place has rich history, expansive and varied landscapes, and is also home to a port of entry to Mexico and the nearby town of Boquillas.  We were one week too early to take advantage of the opportunity to visit this nearby village, but here is one person’s description of their encounter to give you an idea of what it was like.

Thank you to our friend Tali for sharing her trail suggestions with us. We would not have had as much excitement on our hikes without her sharing the Pine Canyon and Cattail Falls hiking ideas. 😂 We are heading up to Kansas to visit family, so I will share our experience driving the 1100+ miles up there very soon.  Cheers all!

I was expecting a flat, uneventful area without much in the way of fresh food and modern conveniences, given how the towns of West Texas are located so far away from any major city.  I was wrong.  This area has a little bit of everything and we really enjoyed our stay here.  

Alpine, TX:

The Lost Alaskan RV Park:

You might be wondering why this place is called the Lost Alaskan.  The story isn’t completely clear to me, but it sounds like the current owners’ uncle came down here from Alaska a long time ago and fell in love with this area, so the locals called him “the Lost Alaskan;” however, I’m not sure whether the uncle was the original owner of this resort or not. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

Regardless, the staff here was super friendly, giving us a list of recommended restaurants in the area, offering up advice on sites to see, and escorting us to our site in the park.  Their sites are spacious, the central shower, bathroom and laundry facilities are kept very clean, and the laundry is also more affordable at $1.50 per load.  Most of the time it was very quiet in this RV park; however, they are located near a medical facility, so we heard a few sirens while staying there, but nowhere near as many sirens as when we stayed in Indio.

I would definitely come back to this RV park if we were to travel to West Texas again.  It was lovely and one of our most relaxing stays since we have been on the road.

Alpine restaurants:

We didn’t eat out a lot while in town, but on the first night we went to the Reata Restaurant-Alpine and ate on their back patio.  They have some unique fare on the menu, and the patio was shaded and pleasant that evening, given the temperatures were in the mid-80’s.  The staff was friendly and they even had a visiting cat named Parker who live in the neighborhood and liked wandering through the restaurant grounds. 😻 I did not capture any pictures at Reata, but the next day we went for a hike in town and opted to swing by Sazzon for lunch afterward.  After roasting in the sun, it was really nice to duck into an air conditioned TexMex place and get a bite to eat. 😅 Their food was delicious, though the house salsa was very spicy, enough to make me sweat a little bit. 

Hancock Hill:

The day after we arrived in Alpine, we went for a hike up Hancock Hill, situated behind the Sul Ross State University student housing.  This is a popular local hike that gives you great views of the surrounding areas, and if you download a map, you can also find a bike tree and a desk up there.  Here is a nice write-up about the desk’s history, which I highly recommend reading.  We also saw lots of budding cacti and some interesting grasshoppers.  It is not shaded at all, quite rocky and lots of pokey things protrude into the trail, so wear sunscreen, long pants and bring plenty of water.  We had fun nonetheless and liked that the other hikers on the trail were really friendly as we passed by.    

Porter’s Grocery:

Normally, I don’t talk about the grocery stores, but Porter’s grocery is THE grocery chain in West Texas, they have a decent variety of just about everything, and we were thankful to have fresh, safe and reliable produce and meat options available to us.  However; like many places, inflation is setting in, so that fresh produce does come at a pretty penny.  I inadvertently paid $2.40 per apple…those apples are not going to waste. 😧

Road biking!:

After having our bikes unavailable to ride for a few weeks, I was excited to get back out on the road and make sure everything was operational.  It was a bit nerve wracking given we just replaced the wheel, but the only to find out if it was rideable was to give it a go.  I observed road cyclists all over the area, and most of the roads leading in and out of Alpine have generously wide, clean shoulders, so I felt safe riding here.  However, the one nemesis I would have to contend with were goatheads, these nasty little stickers that stick to your shoes and will puncture your tires.  Nevertheless, I was determined to get out on the bike and climb up into some of the surrounding hills.

For the first ride, I headed up Highway 90 toward Marfa.  There is scenic, hilly terrain just a few miles out of town, so this was perfect for me as I love climbing in the hills. 🚴🏻 As soon as the hills leveled out, there was road construction and the road shoulder narrowed, so I turned around and headed back.  Alas, on the downhill I got a flat tire.  Aargh!  I still do not know if the culprit was a goathead or a sharp rock, but regardless, I replaced my tube and managed to get home without any more issues.  Total mileage ended up being 30 miles and the elevation gain was just under 1000 feet.  My only regret was that I didn’t take any pictures. 😕

For the second ride, I rode on Highway 118 toward Fort Davis.  The shoulder is still safe and wide on this road, but the majority of the road was a lot rougher than Highway 90.  I turned around after 20 miles and thought I was home free, but as I was climbing up a hill, I noticed I was extra bouncy…I had a slow leak.  Gah!  Foiled again.  This time I decided to use my CO2 cartridge to pump it back up and see if I could limp back home without having to fully replace my tube.  I made it another 10 miles and had to fill it with a little more CO2 to make it back.  Total mileage for this ride was 40 miles, with an elevation gain of 1325 feet.  Again, I’m not sure if the culprit was a goathead, but if you plan to bike in the area, it’s best to use tubeless tires or get a sealant like this put in your tubes to prevent flats.  

Marfa, TX:

Marfa reminds me a lot of the Alberta Arts District in Portland, OR, but with an emphasis on minimalism and contemporary art, and a dash of ironic humor.  We like checking out the arts scene in places we visit, so drove up for the day to explore.  If you are in the area, the Marfa site is the most complete resource to find out about local artists and shops to visit.  

When we got settled, we popped over to a restaurant with some lovely shaded outside seating called Siempre Marfa.  They just opened three months ago, and had delicious drinks and food; however, we ordered one drink each, some guacamole and three tamales, and the bill came to over $70. 😲 Inflation anyone?  If prices continue to rise, we may need to curtail our eating out more than we have previously. 😬 Regardless, the food and drinks were delicious, the atmosphere was young and vibrant, and I would recommend this establishment.

Finally, most people will tell you that a visit to Marfa is not complete without seeing the Marfa Lights after sunset.  There is a roadside pavilion where you can view the lights for free, so we drove up on a Saturday night to see what all the fuss was about.  After observing for about half an hour, we saw red and white lights that would appear and disappear.  Matt looked at a map of the area, and after watching the lights disappear and reappear, we determined that they were all in a straight line, which seemed to lend itself to the theory that they are just car lights and nothing that unusual.  Is this the case?  Come see for yourself if you are traveling through, and decide for yourself. We won’t spoil it for you. 😊

Living in West TX:

How livable is this section of West Texas?  Is it really worth seeing?  What could there possible be to do here?  Surprisingly, there are quite a few sites to see, and this area is beautiful, the people are really friendly, and I felt at home wandering the streets, biking on the roads, and hiking on the trails.  Things move at a slower pace here, and I’m fine with that!

The towns are really small…in the immediate area all towns were well below 10,000 people, but they were all fairly walk- and bike-friendly, and the cost of living is between 10-20% lower than the US median average.  Homes here sell for an average price of $150-$200,000 and median income ranges from $36,500-$46,500, which isn’t that much lower than median wages in southern California, but without the higher cost of living and housing.  Admittedly, internet access was challenging while staying in the area…hopefully that will improve.  

Personally, I fell in love with this area.  Even being there 10 days, we seemed to just scratch the surface of activities to enjoy, sites to see, park lands to explore, and I was left wanting to see more.  I don’t think I could live in the area full time because it is so hot and dry, but without a doubt I want to come back again.  They truly have a slice of heaven out here, and it’s definitely worth going out of your way to visit…or maybe stay a while longer. 😊

Hey everyone! The theme of this series is “use it up.” I never want to waste food if I can help it, so these recipes were inspired by ingredients I had in my freezer, refrigerator or panty that I needed to use up. I keep a running list on my phone so that when I’m meal planning, the shopping list, things to use up and recipe links are all in one place. It helps me stay organized and keep us moving through our food items. Enjoy!

Colorful veggies with soba noodles:

Matt is always saying he wants more noodles dishes, so as a “travel day” lunch, I decided to make this soba noodle recipe.  It really is a very colorful dish, which I love! 😍 The bright purple, red, orange and green spruce up these noodles and the sauce pulled it all together.  You can’t go wrong with the classic combination of garlic, ginger, soy, rice vinegar, sesame oil and green onion.  The added texture from the sesame seeds also makes this wonderful, even a few days later.  The only adjustment I made was halving the number of green onions the recipe called for, but otherwise I think the flavors and proportions were bang on.  

Autumn pearl couscous salad:

Another one of Matt’s favorites is pearl couscous.  Given the change in the seasons, I thought it would be great to make this autumn-inspired couscous recipe.  I loved the flavors this recipe brought together, but I otherwise strayed from the original instructions.  One of my big pet peeves is a recipe that tells you to add something that is already cooked or baked without actually including the instructions on how to cook or bake those ingredients in the instructions.  Don’t make me look this stuff up elsewhere.  It’s better to assume your audience doesn’t already know how to do these things.  

The dressing called for orange juice, which we have in our refrigerator all of the time, and yet my timing was off, because we were out!  Gah!  However, even without the orange juice, the sauce was still great, just FYI.  That being said, the proportion is way more than you need for this salad.

Instead of massaging 1 cup of kale and cutting up raw red onion, I sautéed a bunch of kale with two shallots sliced into rounds with olive oil, salt and pepper.  For this recipe, I used half of the cooked kale and shallot, or about 1 1/2 cups.  Instead of butternut, I used a small carnival squash, which I tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes, and used about half of it in this recipe, or about 1 1/2 cups.  Carnival squash is like an acorn, but a little smaller and lighter in color and density.  Finally, instead of 1 cup of cooked couscous, I used 1 cup of dried couscous, which I toasted and then cooked with 1 1/2 cups of water and a pinch of salt for 7 minutes, which yielded about 2 1/2 to 3 cups cooked couscous.

Finally, I combined these ingredients with the amount of cranberries and pecans called for in the recipe and only about 1/2 to 2/3 of the dressing it called for.  The flavors were outstanding and with the modifications I made, I think this recipe is a winner. 🍁😋

Banana Bread:

I have been collecting a few overripe bananas and sticking them in the freezer, and it finally came time to make a classic banana bread.  I found this banana bread recipe by a baker from whom I utilized a thin mint cookie recipe during the holidays.  

The 1:1 ratio of flour and bananas make the bread moist without being too sticky, and since Matt likes pecans, I opted to add those into the mix as well.  The bread turned out tender and not too sweet, and got the a-okay from Matt and I.  It’s great to have banana bread on hand for things like hiking, an after dinner snack, an indulgent breakfast or to simply eat it with coffee.  You name an excuse to eat it, and banana bread will fit the bill. 🍌🍞

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Bratwurst with red cabbage and spaetzle:

We had half a red cabbage to use up and a package of bratwursts in the freezer, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to make a German-style meal and add one of my favorites: spaetzle.  I have never made it before, but of course I never shy away from something new. 😊

Bratwurst are fairly self-explanatory.  In this case, I pan-fried them until I reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, getting them brown on all sides over medium heat and then keeping the heat on low to ensure they were fully cooked without burning them.

For the red cabbage, I borrowed half of this red cabbage recipe from Eatingwell.  Because the half cabbage I had yielded only 4 cups, I halved the sauce recipe to 1/8 cup cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, and since I had it on hand, I used 1/2 teaspoon of fresh sage instead of dried.  Because I wasn’t cooking a pork chop, I used olive oil to cook the red cabbage in, adding salt and pepper.  Then I added the sauce plus 1 pear.  Overall, the flavors melded together really well.  I loved the earthy notes from the sage, the brightness from the pear and vinegar, and the subtle sweetness from the brown sugar.  Yum!

Finally, I have never made spaetzle before, but wanted to give it a try.  In searching for a recipe, I figured I couldn’t go wrong Tyler Florence’s spaetzle recipe from Food Network, and the video at the beginning really helped me get the dough texture right.  It’s a lot looser consistency of dough than I expected.  FYI, I used half and half instead of milk, and to maintain the right dough consistency, I added a little more half and half right before pressing the dough through the spoon so the dough remained smooth. 

Because I don’t have the right kind of colander, I found a spoon with holes in it to use for pressing the dough through into the boiling water; however, if you have a metal colander, I highly recommend using that instead so you can press all the noodles through more quickly.  Even so, I strained the noodles, got them into a frying pan over medium heat with a little butter and a chopped green onion…I had no chives on hand as suggested in the recipe.  The texture turned out just right!  They were still tender, and the hint of nutmeg gave them that special flavor that I associate with spaetzle.  It was so delicious and I was so stoked to get it right on the first try. 🤩

Moroccan chicken with preserved lemon and Moroccan roasted carrots:

I picked up some preserved lemon before we left Portland, and decided it was time to use it before it went to waste.  Preserved lemon is essentially lemons and salt, fermented over time, which has a more mellow lemon taste complemented by other unique flavors created in the fermentation process.  I found this Moroccan chicken recipe that incorporated preserved lemon, but wanted to accompany it with a veggie side dish, so this Moroccan spiced roasted carrots recipe helped round out the meal.

I didn’t need to cook as much chicken as the recipe called for, so I halved the recipe, which fit perfectly in our dutch oven.  I didn’t make any modifications to the recipe aside from cooking it for another 15 minutes to get the chicken more tender.  For the carrots, I also cooked them for 15 minutes more.  Overall, these two dishes worked together really well!  However, if I were to serve the carrots on their own, I would omit the orange zest, because I thought that pushed the sweetness over the top.  However, when combined with the chicken, the sweetness was balanced out by the savory, salty notes from the preserved lemon and olives in the chicken dish.  We loved this combo and will definitely make it again!

Hopefully, these recipes have helped inspired you to use up some odds and ends in your pantry, refrigerator and freezer.  Happy cooking and baking! 😊

Most of the places we wanted to visit in Arizona and New Mexico are located at higher elevations, and it was just too late in the year to go to them with snow and ice to worry about.  Instead, we opted to stay for just a few days in each state and come back sometime next year.  

Quartzite, AZ:

This was our last boondocking opportunity until next year.  There is a lot of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land in the western United States where you can dry camp for free, and these opportunities get less and less frequent the more you head east.  Just outside of Quartzite is an area called “Dome Rock BLM upper campsite” on the south side of Interstate 10.  There is a frontage road and many camping options, typically where you see fire rings.  

We set up near the frontage road, and were impressed with how little road noise we could hear as close as we were.  It was a very hot day, so we hunkered down through the heat of midday and decided to explore the hills further south of us around 4pm, when the sun was starting to wane, the breeze was kicking up, and the temps were settling down during the evening hours.  Along with some of our first close encounters with the sheer magnificence of the Saguaro cacti, we saw other little cacti, a wild hare and some beautiful views from atop one of the hills before we hurried back to beat the sunset.  It was a short stay, but good to know about if you are passing through and need a place to tuck in for the night.

Tucson AZ:

We stayed over in Tucson for three nights and our time here was jam packed!  We wished we had more time to explore, but opted to just get a glimpse of the area and return later if it piqued our interest.

Tucson Lazydays KOA:

Matt found us a stay at the Tucson Lazydays KOA on the southeastern side of Tucson. I have not stayed at a KOA yet, and was pleasantly surprised.  It had great reviews, and now I can understand why. They were very friendly and organized at the registration desk and gave us a rundown of what the RV park had to offer.

There was mini putt all over the RV park, a pool, fitness center, air conditioned laundry (bonus!), basketball court, small pond to relax next to, an RC car race track, mini library, and a place to play horseshoes.  They also had decent sized spaces, most with hedges or fruit trees in between, and there were a few rows of spaces with large shade structures over them to beat the heat during the summertime.  

The park was clean, they had a Texas BBQ restaurant on site, and I took advantage of the clean, cool laundry facilities and fitness center.  I only saw a few people in the fitness center, so I pretty much had the whole place to myself.  Score!  Plus, next door to the KOA are some RV maintenance, supply and sales lots, so you can handle these needs while you are in town.  If you are in the area, I would highly recommend this RV park for your stay. 🚐 🏜

Saguaro National Park East:

Not many parks are set up like this, but the Saguaro National Park grounds are split into two sections, one west of Tucson called the Tucson Mountain District (TMD), and one east of Tucson called the Rincon Mountain District (RMD).  Given the limited nature of our stay, we opted to do a hike on the east side, which was really beautiful!  

We chose the Bridal Wreath Falls Trail.  There wasn’t much of a waterfall, to be honest…it was more of a drip, drip, drip, but the hike was great nonetheless.  As you climb up into the hills, the views are so expansive, and the sheer number of Saguaro cacti is awesome.  We saw a lot of insects, including butterflies, grasshoppers and beetles, and a wide variety of other cactus species.  The falls area is shaded from the sun and a lot cooler, so we enjoyed a little snack in this shady oasis before heading back to get lunch nearby. 🌵

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Saguaro Corners:

We happened to see this little wayside restaurant called Saguaro Corners on the way to our hike, and decided to stop on our way back.  It has both indoor and outdoor seating, and the food and drink menus had an impressive variety.  Matt opted for a burger and tots, and I chose a southwestern quinoa salad, both of which were satisfying.  The service was friendly and I would recommend this place if you are in visiting the Saguaro National Park East as they cater to a variety of dietary needs. 😋

Bicycle Ranch:

To explain our visit to the Bicycle Ranch, I have a back up a few weeks.  While staying in Temecula, CA at the Sweets Oaks Winery, we were fortunate to be situated up in between their vineyards; however, leaving proved trickier than expected with a sharp turn to contend with and poles holding up the grapevines making it more difficult for the trailer to clear the turn.  We thought we were good, but alas one of the poles caught the rear driver’s side of the trailer and then caught on the bag that covers our bikes.  I couldn’t get Matt’s attention in time, and the end result was a small hole in the trailer and our bikes getting bent at a 90 degree angle from the trailer. 😱

We moved the bikes into the trailer and decided to finish moving to Guajome Regional Park and figure out a game plan from there.  After assessing the damage, it appeared that the bike frames were ok and we just needed to replace one wheel on each bike and some bike rack parts.  This meant we would be keeping the bike inside the trailer or the truck until all repairs were complete. 😫

Matt ordered bike rack replacement parts and sent them to his sister’s house in Kansas City, and I arranged to take the bikes into a shop when we were in Indio, CA to figure out what we needed to order for the bikes.  The shop we went to in nearby Palm Desert was called Tri A Bike, and their Service Manager Don was super accommodating.  Based on his bike assessment, we ordered new wheels online and had them sent to a shop in Tucson called the Bicycle Ranch after clearing it with them. The staff at the Bicycle Ranch was also great, replacing our wheels and tires, and disposing of our sad, tacoed wheels.  I didn’t have the heart to take a picture of the damage, but our bikes are back in working order.  Yay! 🚴‍♂️

Tohono Chul Gardens, Gallery and Bistro:

While our bikes were being repaired, we scooted over to the Tohono Chul Gardens, Gallery and Bistro nearby for brunch and a stroll through their gardens.  The food and service were great, and the gardens were expansive!  We didn’t have enough time to cover the entire grounds, but the highlights were admiring the metal sculpture work throughout the gardens, and seeing the wide variety of cacti and other desert plants native to the area.  In particular, it was neat to see a fan top or crested Saguaro cactus, that had a human quality to it with its two holes that looked like eyes.  It was a great way to pass the time and learn more about desert plant life.

We enjoyed our time in Tuscon.  It is a college town and did seem to be bike friendly, but we didn’t get a lot of time to get a feel for the area and its overall livability.  It was time to mosey along to New Mexico.

Las Cruces, NM:

We only had one full day to explore while in Lac Cruces, so we chose to see another national park located nearby and then did a quick “river” walk near our campground.  We parked at La Llorona Park, I headed south on the paved trail and Matt headed north.  Ironically, the park is named after an evil spirit that travels waterways snatching children. 😂 Matt saw no water and I only saw some water coming out of a dyke about 2 miles south.  There are bikeable parts of Las Cruces as it is also a college town, but we didn’t have enough time to truly explore the town while we were passing through to get a “real feel” for it.

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Las Cruces KOA Journey:

The Las Cruces KOA was a bit smaller than the one we stayed at in Tucson, so they didn’t have as many amenities, but the staff was friendly and they kept the place very clean.  They have a basketball hoop and concrete pad, tetherball, a dog run area, and on site laundry.  Their pool was closed when we arrived as it is only open seasonally from mid-May to October 31st.  We had an unobstructed view of the town and surrounding Organ Pipe mountains from our site #4.  If you are passing through the area and want a clean, friendly place to stay that is mostly quiet and tucked away with beautiful views, this is the place to go.

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White Sands National Park:

About an hour’s drive from the KOA on the west side of town over the Organ Mountains you will find the White Sands National Park and missile testing grounds.  They do close the park for missile testing, so be sure to check for closure dates before you go!  To be honest, we were a little underwhelmed with this park.  There isn’t a ton to do there; however, there are biking, backpacking and other opportunities if you come prepared with your own water.  We easily covered what we wanted to see in just a few hours, and considering we only had a day, it was perfect for our situation.

Our favorite part of the park was the Dune Life Nature Trail.  It was scenic, had plenty of butterflies and other insects to observe, and the surrounding mountains ranges were a beautiful backdrop from just about every angle.  We also went in early November, so the temperatures were perfect.  The Interdune Boardwalk a little ways up the road was ok, but more crowded and more limited in comparison.  Finally, we ate at one of the wayside rests near the Alkali Flat Trail that had covered picnic tables.  My only advice is don’t pick a spot that is downwind from the bathroom. 😳

Alas, our time in Las Cruces and New Mexico in general was very short-lived.  We do want to travel back this way earlier in the year to do more exploring when we don’t have to contend with snow.  For now, it was nice to get a sense of what is in the area and continue on to West Texas.  Good-bye Southwest and hello South! 😛