Big Bend and Stillwell's

 
I'm still in Texas, and am tempted to stay another week or more at Stillwell's. They (the campground and ranch) host a trail ride, starting this weekend. People from all over bring their horses and some wagons. The Stillwells hire a gourmet camp cook. There's music, and dancing, and all have a great time. I'd be more tempted if I would actually do the trail ride, but I don't have my horse with me.

 

 

I couldn't remember if I had been to Big Bend when working around the country with Penelope. My nephew said "Go." A couple guys I met in Bandera said, "Don't bother." But, I'm here, and loving it. I spent Saturday going through the park. I hiked out on some short trails, visited the hot springs, saw some deep and beautiful canyons. I also saw some pictographs, drawn by the native people 3,000+ years ago. One of the most interesting things was finding a number of mortar holes, which the native peoples used to grind their grains, flowers, etc. for food, paints, or ?? Some were deep, some shallow. Different holes must have been used for different purposes.

Sunday I went to the Superbowl party at the campground. Oh well!

 

 

Monday, I went on a jeep tour. Last week, the owner of a ranch next door to the Stillwells, tested a jeep tour with some people from the Stillwell Camground, and decided they'd try it out. So, lucky me, I had the opportunity to go on the second tour. This was through the owners land, climbing up the mountains, and visiting his house, and his parents' house. What a trip! I was also lucky enough to be able to sit on the high back seat of the jeep the whole time. We saw the remnants of an operation where they would extract the wax from candelilla plants. They also had built a dam in the hills to secure enough water for the operation. This product is used in gum, lip balm and ?? We saw a couple sink holes which were quite large. One was discovered when a CAT backhoe or ??? started sinking. The spot had been a dry lake, which would hold the water very well, but no more. The guys were joking about going down there and discovering another Carlsbad Caverns. I didn't see any bats, but it was early.

We passed by caves in the rocks used by native peoples 3000 - 9000 years ago. We saw a balancing rock which was amazing. How much longer will it remain? Who knows. We also saw some deer, and quail. We probably would have seen more wildlife, but it is so, so dry.

The owner of this ranch put in a well years ago (1700 ft deep), and pumps water to different places on the ranch. The horses he keeps, and the wildlife, drink from the troughs around the ranch. The current drought has lasted 4-5 years. His main income is from hunters who pay a pretty penny to stay and hunt on his property. With this drought, there wouldn't be anything to hunt, if he didn't provide water. Even so, this hunting season, I think he said there was only one deer shot. It is sad, to think of the continuing damage there will be, if the drought continues. I offered to do a rain dance, but they said, "Please don't."

It's a hard life in these parts: hauling water miles for a ranch or ??? At this point if you didn't have a well 1500' or more, you would have moved. A number of the people I have just met are from old Texas pioneer stock, and try anything to keep the ranch going.

And the views!!!! Waking up in the morning on the top of a mountain, with a view down into the canyon, is pretty good. I've always liked the wetter climates better than the dryer climates, but the Rio Grande has made some pretty country out here.

So, I didn't stay for the trail ride, and started off through Big Bend to camp one night on the other side to do 2 more things in the park. But I had another important lesson to learn, and it was expensive. I burned out the engine of my tow vehicle. There were actually pieces of a crankshaft and piston on the road. I towed it to the Ford dealer in Odessa. They'll have it about a week, and have told me what I receive back will be as good as new. Ah well, it could have been worse!!

Still on the Border

 I arrived in Del Rio, TX on Sunday. Nice place! It sits on the border, with Acuna being the city on the Mexican side. It neighbors Amistad Lake, which is a great bass fishing lake, with over 50 major tournaments a year. Monday I visited the Amistad Dam, built where Amistad Lake and the Rio Grande merge, between US and Mexico. I then drove to the Pecos River. There I had some beautiful views of the river and the limestone canyon.

I also went to the Seminole Canyon, which contains pictographs 3500 years old. I arrived on a day when they didn't have any tours into the canyon, so I only saw pictures and drawings of the stone art. The State Park facility had tremendous pictorial displays and dioramas of the environment 10,000 years, 5,000 years and 3,000 years ago, as well as more recent times, shown through pictures. They also had some pictures honoring the last Seminole Negro Indian Scouts. They now have reunions of descendants of this group.

 


I stopped in Langtry to check out Judge Roy Bean's Saloon, Courthouse and Opera House. Justice west of the Pecos, was at the whim of Judge Roy Bean. The legend may have grown bigger than the man, but there is a lot of fun in the legend, and the man. "But Judge, the bill was $1.35. I gave him a $20 gold coin. He owes me." Judge: "I fine you $18.65 for disturbing the peace. Now, get out of this town and don't come back." The Courthouse was in his saloon. The Opera House was in his home. The saloon and the town were named after Lillie Langtry, an opera singer, for whom he also built the "Opera House."  Langtry finally did visit the town, but months after Roy Bean's death. One of his children made a presentation to her. I'm going to have to find the movie "Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean", starring Paul Newman (rrrrrhhh, or meow, meow).

 Next was a long strip without gas stations. At one point, I knew I'd be looking for gas pretty soon, and asked Gypsy (GPS) how close we were to gas. She said over 50 miles, and I thought, "hmmmmmm," but luckily she was wrong. At the gas station I mentioned to the owner that I was getting worried. She said this seemed to be the longest stretch in Texas without gas ( and warnings). There had been flash flooding and a number of businesses had closed. Now, this part of Texas is extremely dry.

I stayed overnight in Marathon, TX, which was a fun little town. They advertise the town as Marathon, where there is nothing "to do." They have a webcam, so you can see that nothing is being done. And they have a nice upscale restaurant and bar, a great breakfast and lunch place, and a fantastic train, which runs all night across the little street from the campground.

Around Padre Island

The main reason I wanted to do the gulf shore of Texas was to visit Padre Island. I am located in Port Isabel - just over the bridge from Padre Island. So a couple days ago, I took my chair, my book and my cow's hair and rhinestone visor (eeee-hawwwwww) and took off for the island. When I was first going over the bridge I could see "skyscrapers" ahead, and thought,"Oh no, what's this?" It was the town of South Padre Island, well-developed, with monstrous hotels. But that's not what I had planned to see. Of course, it's like any other resort area. It will develop as much as it can to meet demand. I kept driving north on the island and pretty soon I had sand on both sides and water beyond that. Very nice. I drove until the road stopped - closed because of sand on it. They had 3-4 big dump trucks which they were continually filling. The dump trucks then went down the road about 1/2 mile, and dumped the load of sand right beside the road. There were many piles. Do you think this was one day's work? Guaranteed employment? Thank you, Texas ocean winds!!

 
I also saw a number of For Sale signs in these beautiful dunes. The development will be moving out. I stopped at one of the access areas, took my chair, book and visor (e - h) and walked onto the beach.  I do believe I was the only one who walked onto the beach. Everyone else drove. Of course, the people staying on the beach drove; the fisherpeople drove, with their poles all lined-up on the bumpers; and the walkers drove; and the shell-seekers drove. I had to walk a while to find a place to put my chair. In a couple hours, though, I was pretty much alone. There was also a nice RV park in this area.

On the way back, I stopped into another turtle hospital. This one was small, started by the Turtle Lady, Ila Loetscher. One of the large turtles had lost a flipper - amputated because of damage. They had fitted it with a mechanical brace, and were modifying it, trying to come up with the most functional design. He was cute, as all these big sea turtles are. They also have a number of young turtles here - hatchlings which they release to the wild when ready. Some of these aren't seen for years, but then make their way back. I enjoyed reading their story board which told the stories of the turtles - what was wrong with them, whether they were released, etc. One guy was released 3 times, and came back each one. Now they're hoping a zoo or aquarium will take him.

I am so excited!!!! I was able to get my window shade fixed for $35.00. Skittles likes to climb between the window shade and the window, which pulls the string out of the shade. I was able to get the tension back in the big bedroom shade twice, but this last time "sayonara."Another camper was checking out my rig, and told me about this man - just around the corner - who had fixed his shade. Voila!!!! When I went to the Winnebago dealer, he said they couldn't fix it. A new one would be custom made for $300+ and take months to get. But... Carlos took it off about 5:30 PM and put it back on at 7:30 AM. Thank you, Carlos, and thank you, Vince, for telling me. Needless to say, I don't put my shades down anymore.

 

I like where I am staying. I am in an overflow area, on the water, with boats, pelicans, seagulls and people fishing off the wharf in back of me. I am in Port Isabel, close to Padre Island, Brownsville, Harlingen and Mexico.

 

Today, I walked the old cemetery in Brownsville. It was established in 1853, but the land was deeded in 1868 to the city. There is a cemetery center which is used for research and geneology, containing a great deal of information. Of course, it is full of history, and ethnic diversity. Three of the stones that interested me were: (1) Daisy Stark, who lived 4 1/2 years, was the first recorded pedestrian to be killed by a horse carriage. Little stuffed toys were on her grave;  (2) Rev Hiram Chamberlain, born in Monktown, VT in 1797, educated at Andover Theological Seminary, was the first Protestant (Presbyterian) minister in this Rio Grande area. He helped establish a school for girls, was a secessionist, a chaplain for the confederacy, disapproved of slavery, but was against the abolition movement. Interesting man - ardent in his views; and (3) Nestor A. Garcia, whose gravestone had a special note, "Love you Dad" from his kids.

One more day here, and then I cross Texas, heading for Big Bend, and seeing the sites on the way. Goodbye Gulf. I can see why so many "Winter Texans" winter here.

Lousy Company

I've been lousy company the last couple days. You know how sometimes you just need a break from someone. That's how I've felt about myself.

Yesterday I went to Corpus Christi. I heard they had a great aquarium, so I went there first. I was a bit disdainful toward the exhibits. I have had the advantage of seeing many sea creatures in their natural habitat, and sizable numbers. I wasn't impressed. But I had a great time watching the dolphins playing. I still want to swim with the dolphins. It's on my list. I made a point of seeing the otters (2) and sea turtles (3). I had to hang around a few little kids to get some of the enthusiasm back. Then I went to the art museum, one of my favorite activities. After entering, I saw picture after picture of fish. Eventually, I saw pictures with other subjects, but I really didn't want to hang around with myself any more. And I didn't want to see any more pictures of fish. I felt I was in the middle of "Field and Stream," not an art museum.

 

 

 Today, I had planned to see the sights in Rockport, but had lost my enthusiasm. The maritime museum sounded good. After I had read away the morning I drove down to Rockport Harbor and drove by the Maritime Museum. I just couldn't get the desire to see another museum. I walked around the harbor and looked at the boats and water. I came to the FREE aquarium, and stepped inside. Yes, I was surprised too. Checking out their small exhibits, I saw a fish I had never seen before - and it looked very strange. So, I learned something new. Check out the picture. Do you know what this fish is?

Since I came back to the coast, I have been traveling through attractive little towns, and visiting pretty beaches. I have also been on roads crossing over the water. I don't take pictures when I'm doing this in the car, for a number of reasons. Oh yeah, safety too. But my love of the sea is certainly being appeased by this area. I also took another highway ferry, which I enjoyed. When I was a kid, my mother always liked to go on "Sunday drives." GROAN! And on the way home we always stopped so the guys could fish, Mom could read, and I could complain. Well, I have turned into my mother. I love driving through all these places - and not just on Sundays.

Route 87 - ON the water

I traveled from the Houston area down to Bolivar Peninsula. This peninsula was wiped out by a hurricane in 2008. It was only a Class 2 hurricane, and many people stayed. But... there was a water surge which came up on one side of the peninsula, across it, and took everything off the other side. I don't know how many people died - in fact I have heard they have no idea, but most of the houses and businesses were gone. There are new houses going up all over the peninsula - lots of realtor and contractor business. Even now, there are billboards advertising insurance and making claims. From the campground on Bolivar Peninsula I traveled to Galveston by Rte 87. This consists of driving to the end of the peninsula and taking the ferry across the bay to Galveston to continue your travel on Rte 87 - paved 87. And of course, the ferry operates 24 hours, because what highway do you know that closes down at night? The ferry was fun. I saw dolphins swimming with the boats, and playing around in the water, and lots of pelicans. Did you know the abundance of pelicans in the southern climates, is the reason there are so many babies there? The whole process is more complicated in the northern climates.

Galveston (Oh, Galveston...) also was hit by the 2008 hurricane. Flood waters were about 8' high. The city lost many, many live oak trees over 100 years old. The carving of trunks left by the storm became big business. You can see carvings all over the city. The Tin Man stands in front of the house of a director?/producer? of the Wizard of Oz. In 1900, the city was also hit by a hurricane. At that time they raised the city 4-5 feet. You can see many beautiful old homes that have 4' windows ending at the ground - the actual first floor - and tiny outside doors.

 
I then went to League City for rig care and attention. While there I ran into some inclement weather. I was out and it continued pouring, and roads were flooding, and there were tornado warnings and some touchdowns close by. I thought I should head back before the roads were impassable, although running to a campground with tornado warnings wasn't exactly appealing. I went from shopping center to shopping center until I found a point where I could keep my little car above water, and made it back, and stayed safe and sound.

While in League City, I checked with RVing Women to see if there were any activities in Texas. A rally was scheduled for the coming weekend not far away. So I meandered over to Bandera to join the Texas Rambling Roses for a rally. It has been fun, and I have met some great people. I'm guessing there were maybe 25 rigs, and a number of daytrippers. We were also joined by a CBS filming crew interested in featuring women driving their RVs around this country, as well as others close by. So, in a couple weeks, watch the new CBS Early Show (or whatever it's called) to catch this group.

In this area we visited a museum, church, eateries, drinkeries and stores. I bought a visor which is cow hair and rhinestones -yeeeeee, haw! I also learned a new card game, but not very well, since I didn't come back with any of my money. I toured a number of towns. I walked the streets (NO!!!!) of Boerne, checking out the older buildings. Then I went through Welfare, and was looking for Comfort, but ended up in Waring. My favorite little town was Center Point, which had 3 blocks of town, and a Memorial Park. Some of us stayed a couple extra days, and played more games, had more conversation, etc. I'm getting ready to mosey on down to the Gulf Shore again tomorrow.

"Arunning"

I left Dallas yesterday, after spending a GREAT 2 weeks with my cousins. I have such a good time hanging around with my Texas family. I love being there.

My trip down was pretty uneventful. Gypsy brought me 26 miles out of the way to a non-existing gas station, and a bridge was washed out (flooding around the Mississippi). I slept at truck stops and Wallmarts, except for a 2-day stay in Paducah, KY. I liked Paducah - saw the quilt museum, and the downtown area with the murals along the street beside the Ohio River.

I also stopped at a Shaker Village in KY. The Shakers were such interesting people. They believed in equality of the sexes, but kept them apart from each other in their communal living arrangement. Female dorms, dining room and living spaces on one side; male on the other. Since they didn't believe in intercourse, there were no progeny. I heard there is only 1 living colony - in Maine, with 3 older women. This village in KY was beautiful, and well preserved. I got a kick out of the fact that the Shakers would have 1 chair, that was made to the individual's body. That chair would travel with the individual. One chair fit - why would you need another? Yet a common implement in the kitchen was a tong, specifically used to take the toast from the heating appliance, so that fingers would not be burned. Seems like a luxury. But, I 'spose not, considering all the saved fingertips! I also enjoyed the fact that the members of the governing council did not mix with the others in the community, so that their decisions would not be influenced. Hmmmm... no lobbyists, PACs, special interest groups, funding favors!!!!


I came to an RV park north of Houston. I set up the coach, and put Skittles (cat) on a leash. An unleashed kitten came over to visit, and Skittles was fine with that, until the cat went in to the coach. World War III broke out, and I did my best to pull Skittles away. The kitten went "arunning" and Skittles calmed down. At least I thought she had calmed down. Picking her up was the wrong move. I'm now wearing battle scars on both arms. You'd think she would show me a little respect, particularly since she's so dependent upon me. The good side of this is that I don't have to worry about someone breaking in. A showdown with attack cat will get him/her "arunning."

Today I went to the Museum of Funeral History. Why?, you say. I don't know. But it was pretty interesting. I particularly enjoyed the displays of Presidents' funerals. The hearse that carried the bodies of both Reagan and Ford was there. The final bill for George Washington's funeral ($110) was there, along with a replica of the Lincoln train, a poster proclaiming a $100,000 reward for the murderer of Lincoln, and many newspapers announcing the deaths of other presidents. The original "Eternal Flame" at JFK's grave site was displayed, having been replaced by a newer and better model. I also found the origin of "basket case," which is pretty sad. I saw a Pope Mobile and many whimsical coffins. I'm glad I went - learned some new things.