On the Road in Texas

Big Bend National Park (May 3 - 4, 2002)
Corpus Christi (May 5 - 26, 2002)
Sanger (June 3 - 11, 2002)
Amarillo (June 13 - 14, 2002)

Big Bend National Park, Texas
May 3 - 4, 2002

Since Texas is our home, our first trip was to the Big Bend National Park in the southern portion of the state.  We drove to the southern border and looked across to La Linda, Mexico. This part of Texas is desert, but was so full of animals and vegetation. As we drove around, we saw lots of quail and bunnies along the roads.  We stayed at the Stillwell Store and RV Park on the 4L Ranch, on FM 2627 (46 miles south of Marathon via route 385), 6 miles from the entrance to Big Bend.  This was a quaint little park with full hookups and a small store.

The Window seen from inside the Chisos Basin in Big Bend.

Corpus Christi, Texas
May 5 - 26, 2002

We stayed at the Colonia Del Rey RV Park in Corpus Christi, Texas. We had a deluxe site which meant we could have a phone. As a contract technical writer, a phone is essential when I have work because I receive and send files over the Internet.

While there, we explored the Padre National Seashore and walked in the waves.  Unfortunately, the beach was a bit nasty with an extraordinary amount of seaweed washing ashore along with all sorts of manmade trash and clumps of tar.  That happens on occasion, but is not the norm.  I love the sound of the waves and love looking out over the ocean. The wind is constantly blowing here, but that makes the temperature quite comfortable.  I like parking amongst palm trees.  I feel like I'm on vacation. 

My sister lives in Corpus Christi and I enjoyed visiting with her family. We also explored Port Aransas, Rockport, and Portland and toured the USS Lexington, an aircraft carrier ship, near the Aquarium in Corpus Christi.

When we left Corpus Christi, we stayed in Victoria a week and had a site with a phone. The park was new and clean with friendly managers, but was located next door to a shipping depot. That made for some early morning wakeups.

Sanger, Texas
June 3 - 11, 2002

Our next extended stay was at the Sundown RV Ranch in Sanger, Texas so we could visit with our children and mothers. This is a nice park in a former horse ranch. It has a nice little par 3 golf course in front, a swimming pool, clean facilities, and huge banquet rooms that are used for special catered events. Not much shade though. The owners were friendly hosts.

Where Do We Go From Here?

I wanted to head to the Michigan area to explore the Great Lakes before heading to the Fall King On The Road National Rally in Amana, Iowa.  Then we found out that some friends from our Collin County Travelers camping club were making plans to go to Yellowstone and Ron wanted to join them.  Unfortunately, they weren't leaving until June 23 and it was already getting pretty warm.  These friends live in houses and the warmer weather isn't a problem for them. When it gets too hot, we have to cover our windows and vents with insulated thermal foil and run the air conditioner constantly. It's not too pleasant being closed up in a 32 ft. fifth wheel with all the windows covered.  We feel a bit closed in. The idea is to be somewhere that we can have all our windows uncovered and spend some time outside. So, we agreed to meet up with them somewhere close to Yellowstone.

After some discussion about where to go next,  Ron and I agreed to go to Wyoming and see Yellowstone National Park on the way to Libby, Montana. Yellowstone was a place that had been on my list of places I've always wanted to see for many years.  So, the Great Lakes can wait until September.

Amarillo, Texas
June 13 - 14, 2002

On Friday evening, we went to Palo Duro Canyon to see the great outdoor play, “Texas.”  We checked into the park at 5:30 p.m., picked up our pre-ordered tickets, and had the Texas barbeque dinner.  The dinner was good and we met a nice couple from Wichita Falls, TX.  The play didn’t start until 8:30 p.m.; however, a band called “The Prairie Dogs” entertained us from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.  They were excellent entertainers.

The open air play was fantastic and the canyon wall provided a beautiful backdrop. 

Our tickets were for the left side and we think that no matter where your seats were – you would have a great view.  The center section was the most crowded and I’d opt for the left side again.  The chairs have rigid metal arms and are not made for large people. Most likely, anyone over 225 lbs. might be uncomfortable.  That would be the only caution I would extend.  It was not a full house; however, during the intermission the announcer said that 1,035 people were in attendance and that the play had been presented to more than 3 million people thus far.

At the end, as we walked out, the cast was lined up in two rows to thank everyone for coming and all were Texas friendly. 

It was a wonderful evening and now I’ve seen another one of the things that I had wanted to see for so long.