Day 19 - Big Bend National Park, TX

Today, we decided to move from the west side of the park to the east side.  We drove for about an hour and then pulled into the Rio Grande Village campground area.  This camp offered an area for RVs with full hook ups and another area with no services at all.  We chose to rough it and save $20 a night by opting for the basic campground w/o services.

The weather today was not so nice!  Cloudy and VERY WINDY for most of the day.  So, it was a good day to travel to the other side of the park.  Although it would have been nice to enjoy the scenery along the way.

After we got ourselves anchored down at our camp site, we decided to check out the hot spring located nearby.  It was extremely awesome!  This spring sets adjacent to the Rio Grande river.  So, you sit there enjoying the scenery of Mexico along the other side of the river, as well as the sounds of the river rushing by.  The air temp was around 50, but the temp of the water had to  have been near 100.

What a relaxing time.

Day 18 - Big Bend National Park, TX

Today we woke in cottonwood campground to partly cloudy skies which became completely sunny by 11.  The campground is about 8 miles from this huge canyon that was created by the Rio Grande, and campsite #2 is literally just a stone throw away from that very same river.  Can you say arriba arriba?

Since it was so beautiful out we decided to pull the bikes out and ride down to the canyon.  What a ride.  This contrast of the canyon, mountains and desert plant life is so amazing, not to mention the sunshine and warm weather.  And we were greeted by the most amazing canyon when we reached the end of the road.  Once we we there, we locked up the bikes and then hiked the Santa Elena Canyon trail.  A short trail round trip, this one takes you into the canyon to a point where the water rests along both walls.  Very cool.

We rode back to the campsite and afterwards felt like we had had a good workout and a bit of a sunburn as well.  Gotta love the desert.  Before dinner, we drove the opposite direction down the road to a scenic lookout that sits well above the canyon and the Rio Grande to enjoy the sunset.

Day 17 - Presidio to Big Bend National Park, TX

We boon docked it last night right next door to a US/MEXICO entry point in Presidio, TX.  We felt extremely safe there as everything was very well lite by flood lights that were located all around.

After breakfast we filled the tank and headed over to the other side of town which is where the visitors center to Big Bend Ranch State Park is located.  There's a stretch of rode (route 170) leading to the National park which runs through this largest state park in Texas.  It was about a 50 mile drive along the Rio Grande and it was even more beautiful then you can imagine.

The highlight of the trip was a movie set that was built at some point along the river which has hosted at least 6 major motion pictures.  Such a spot.  We stopped there and at several other places along the way to take it all in.  

It was sunny and warm as we pulled into the western entry point to Big Bend National Park and we were greeted by the nicest park ranger from East St. Louis who was thrilled to be talking to someone from the state that she grew up in.  We were expecting to pay an entry fee, but we're surprised to hear that entry to the park was free this weekend due to the fact that it was Veterans Day.  

We drove another 30 miles and then settled into our site at cottonwood campground for the rest of the night.  But not before we came across several cars that had stopped along the rode to observe one angry rattle snake that had obviously come into close contact with the tire of either a car or motorcycle.  Yikes, he was mad.

Day 16 - Fort Stockton to Presidio, TX

Woke up in the WalMart parking lot in Fort Stockton, TX and were planning to hit the road (I-10W) to El Paso, TX and then on to Tucson, AZ.  However, about ten miles into the day we were diverted by the exit sign to Marfa, TX.  About a week earlier, we met a guy that mentioned he and his wife enjoyed vacationing there.  He said that if we were ever in the area we should definetly check it out, so we decided to put our trip to Tucson on hold for a few more days.

Besides, I had been struggling with our decision to head straight to Tucson, without making a stop at Big Bend National Park first.  After all, we are on a journey, not simply heading towards a particular destination.  Right?  The hard part is we are so used to pointing ourselves to a destination.  So, relaxing and taking the journey in has been a little bit tough to adjust to.

We drove to Marfa and spent most of our day soaking up the sun while strolling around this very unique town.  There's a very beautiful old hotel in town thats on the list of National Historic Sites.  It's also an artist community with galleries located all throughout town which are occupied by some pretty well known artists.  But what do we know?  

After a good workout at the High School track, we hit the grocery store and then the rode on our way towards Presidio, TX were we would eventually stop for the night.

Marfa kind of reminded us of Dillon, MT.

Day 15 - Garner State Park to Fort Stockton, TX

Today was pretty much a travel day.

We woke up in Garner State Park which is located in the "Hill Country" of Texas to cloudy and cool temps and decided enough was enough of this weather.  We were headed to Tucson where surely the sun would be shining. 

So, after breakfast we took Roscoe on a hike, realizing he would pretty much be cooped up in the truck all day, and then packed it up and hit the road towards I-10W with our destination being Tucson, AZ and warmer weather.

We drove for about 5 hours in and out of rain and eventually called it quits in the Walmart parking lot located in Fort Stockton, TX.  

Days 8 & 9 - Pedernales State Park (West of Austin, TX)

We've been taking it easy these last couple of days here at the park.   The weather has been perfect, so we have mostly been outside exploring.  

Friday, we went for a good run in the park and saw the falls.  later that afternoon,we walked Roscoe to a swimming area inthe park located on the Pedernales river.  It was a beautiful spot for sure.

Yesterday, we decided to pull the bikes out of the truck and we rode them into town.  Johnson City, boyhood home to President LBJ, is nearby and we ended up doing about a 30 mile round trip ride.  Roscoe hung out at the campsite while we were away, but he enjoyed a long walk when we returned.

Day 7 - Austin, TX

WOW, What a night!  I have no idea how much it actually rained last night, but it came down in buckets.  All Night!  There was some flooding this AM in the Austin area and we were actually asked to evacuate McKinney State Park by no later then 2pm.  Welcome to Austin, TX!

We packed it up after breakfast and off we went.  We headed downtown and did some more REI shopping before lunch.  Whole Foods very first store was located right across the street from REI, so Steph went in to grab some food while Roscoe and I stayed outside.  No dogs allowed.  I didn't know it, but Whole Foods is headquartered in Austin and Steph remarked that it was the largest store shed been to.

We hit the road with our new purchases and found our next campsite at another state park located about 45 minutes west of Austin.