Fort Davis to Carlsbad to Brantley Lake to Alamorgdo 2nd try

1. 
   
   November 11^th thru 14th
   
   
   After leaving the campground we visited Fort Davis National Historical Site a excellent example of a restored frontier fort. We then drove the 200 miles to Carlsbad where we stayed for 2 nights. We experienced our 1^st below freezing temperatures since we left Anchorage, our water hose froze overnight.
   
   
   
   

   

   Largest Texas Cottonwood Fort Davis

   
   

   

   Fort Davis Barracks
   

    On the 12^th we tour the Carlsbad Caverns National Park, where we were for about 6 hours underground in the caves. We walked on a switch back path down 750ft below the ground, enjoying the many limestone formations of the caverns. We rode the elevator back up to ground level. Carlsbad Cavern is a pretty magical place.
   
   
   
   

   

   Carlsbad Caverns

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   

   Entrance to Cave
   
   
   
   

   
   

   

   Carlsbad Cavern Formation
   

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   

   Carlsbad Cavern Formation

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   

   Carlsbad Cavern Formation

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   

   Carlsbad Cavern Formation

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   

   Carlsbad Cavern Formation

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   

   Painting of bats leaving Caverns
   

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   On the 13^th we drove about 30 miles to Brantley Lake State Park where we camped. Had a nice walk around part of the lake and like most lakes we have seen on this trip the water level is extremely low. Once again we had a evening of freezing temperatures.

   
   
   
   
   
   

   

    Brantley Lake low water
   
   
   
   

   On the 14^th we drove to 140 miles to Alamogordo. The drive there was on a mellow winding road with a normal gradient until we got to Cloudcroft at 8650ft, then it went down hill in a big hurry, the sign said 6% grade and that was most of the way down to Alamogordo at 4335ft.

Adviser Road Sign

Fort Stockton-Big Bend National Park-Fort Davis

November 7^th thru 11^th

We drove the 160 miles to Big Bend National Park, amazing how far out of the way this park is, it borders the Rio Grande River. Our camp site is at Rio Grande Village about 200 yards from the river where we camped for 3 evenings. Rio Grande River is the Texas border with Mexico. The 1^st evening we went for a short hike to see the river and to a look out point, there is very little water in the river. No rafting just a few canoe trips happen on it at the moment. We went on some really nice short hikes, we tried to time our hikes early in the day as the temperatures in the afternoon got extremely hot around 90 degrees. Our 1^st full day we went to Chisos Basin which is in the hills, beautiful scenery everywhere you looked. The 2^nd day we drove to the west side of the park to Santa Elena Canyon. There we did our most pleasurable walk in the park, walking along the Canyon Trail about one and half miles along the river. It was really nice to have a walk in the shade of the canyon with a pleasant river breeze. Today we left Big Bend Park and drove thru Presidio to Fort Davis, not the most direct route, but possible the most scenic route out of the park. The road follows the river for many miles, it was like being on a roller coaster with the step grades going both up and down. 

Plants on Lost Mine Trail

Big Bend Nation Park Visitor Center

Road Runner

Rio Grande River

Entering Big Bend National Park

Lost Mine Trail

Big Bend National Park

San Nail Range

Mule Ears Peaks Rock Formation

Old Ruins 

Santa Elena Canyon

Lake Pointe Resort to Fort Stockton

Pantry in farm house 1915 

Texas Whitehouse

Stockton, TX

Stockton, Tx

Roadrunner Stockton, TX

November 5^th

We had a 65 mile drive today with only one stop on our way to Fredericksburg and that was at the Lyndon B. Johnson State Park & Historic Site at Stonewall TX. We visited a working farm from 1915 that was owned by LBJ's neighbors when he was growing up. The farm is operated the way it was in 1915 without running water or electricity. Then we drove to the Johnson family cemetery, and on to the Texas White House where we enjoyed a ranger guided tour through the Johnson's home. It is definitively worthwhile to experience this bit of American history.

November 6^th

Today we drove the 260 miles from Fredericksburg to Fort Stockton. We spent spent little time in Fredericksburg, as we had to make a few miles today. It was a beautiful day for driving on

I-10 as there was very little traffic. It was amazing to be on a highway where the speed limit is 80 mph. We set the cruise control at 60 and had a relaxing drive. This evening we tuned the TV in to watch the results of the Presidential election. I am sure half the country woke up disappointed and the other half woke up relieved and everybody woke up just pleased that it was over with.

November 1st thru November 4th

November 1^st 

Today we became tourists. We walked about 1 mile from our campground to the nearest bus stop to ride into Austin City. A bus pass for all day is only $2. The first thing we did was take a guided tour of the State Capital Building of Texas. We were very fortunate as we were the only 2 people on the tour. We visited both the State Senate and the State House offices. In Texas the legislators come into session only once every two years.

Our next stop was the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, where we saw an Imax movie about the diversity of the people of Texas. After that movie we watched a 4-D movie about the wild Texas weather. The 4-D movie had 3 screens with lots of special effects like mist coming in during the rain scenes, lighting flashing across the theater during the storms and the wind blowing at us; it was like we were experiencing the weather as it was happening. Texans are very proud of their state and its history.

Capital Building Austin

Senate Chambers Austin

Bob Bullock State History Museum

November 2^nd

Today we drove about 60 miles south towards San Antonio to New Braunfel and stayed at a campground called Lake Pointe Resort at Canyon Lake. En route we visited a Camping World, a store specializing in RV camping equipment.

November 3^rd

Today we relaxed at the campground. We did a couple of nice walks, one along Canyon Lake shore, where Lake Pointe Resort borders. There is an amazing number of deer wandering around this campground and we are very happy to be camping here. There is quite a social organization here and we got involved in a couple of the activities today involving eating. In the early afternoon there was an ice cream social, then in the evening there was a potato bake dinner where we also met members of this resort. The people we spoke with gave us a lot of good advice which we gratefully received.

November 4^th

Today we drove 50 miles into San Antonio to visit The Alamo. There is so much history there which we both really enjoyed. After a couple of leisurely hours wandering the shrine and its grounds we went to the river walk on the San Antonio River.

The Alamo San Antonio 

• We were told it is a must do in San Antonio. Unlike any river walk that we have ever been on, the river is actually a canal with paths on either side, with side by side eating establishments a large percentage of the way, and river taxis and many other tourists. The temperatures were in the 80's but it was nice and cool and a real pleasure to be on. 

On River walk

Canal tour boat

River walk

River walk

River walk

Tunnel on river walk

Sunset from deck at Campground

We left Corsicana on the afternoon of the 26^th. During the day we did a walking tour of the city. Texas oil was 1st discovered in Corsicana on October 15th 1885 and an oil boom was started. We visited the court house and a few of the historic buildings. We visited a wildlife museum which was also the boardroom at Watkins Construction Company. It was a large room full of trophy animals from around the world, including Black Diamond, an Indian elephant from the circus who killed a woman in the crowd when he went on rampage in 1927.We stayed the next couple of nights in Belton with some friends, David and Ingrid. I met David about 40 years ago in London, so we had lots of stories to share.
On the 28^th we drove the 60 miles to Austin where we stayed a couple of nights at a nice campground close to I-35. We had a few more things we had to get done in Austin, which of course took longer than expected. But I think we have all our shopping and commitments out of the way for awhile.On the 31^st we drove across Austin to another campground a little further away from the busy highways. When we got here this morning we did a few modifications on our trailer. We put on a couple of aluminum tracks for awnings over the windows. This required drilling into the fiberglass and riveting the tracks in place. I am always happy when a job like that is completed without any damage. I also put mudflaps on the trailer. So we are now ready to start vacationing.  

 

October 22nd thru October 25th

      We left Anchorage early morning on the 22nd October, our good friend Betty gave us a ride to the airport. We flew to Seattle where we had a 4 hour lay over. Then on to Austin Texas, where the salesman we had bought our truck off was to pick us up. He was late arriving so we got to enjoy the heat and humidity of Austin in the early evening. After dropping Al off at his dealership we headed off for the Super 8 Motel that we stayed at for the evening. Got to our room in time to see the last half of the Presidential Debate.
        We left Austin and drove the 130 miles to Rice Tx where we had a 1.00 pm appointment to pick up our new Casita Travel Trailer. The guys hooking  up our trailer noticed that there was a problem with the electrical of our truck and trouble shooted the problem to the wiring on the camper shell.
      Our 1st night in the Casita was a beautiful Corps of Engineers Campground at Liberty Hills near Dawson. It was incredibly quiet there, we had a lovely site overlooking the lake, where we got see beautiful sunsets.
       On the 24th we drove into Waco to get the lighting on our camper shell corrected.
      We also discovered a few equipment problems with our Casita, so on the 25th we drove back to the factory and Casita corrected the problems. We met another Alaskan waiting to pick up his Casita; he was from Fairbanks.
       Up to now it seems as if we have been running around getting our equipment up to the way it should be. The rest of the time it seems we have been shopping getting the extra for the Casita to make life a little more comfortable.
          Sorry there arn't  any photos with this posting,  I will attempt to get some photos on the next posting