We found out about a Scenic Drive between Austin and Del Rio which takes Farm to Market routes off of the only slightly larger main road. Every few miles there were stream crossings with flood warning signs and water level indicators, but only once did we encounter a flooded road which was just barely wide enough to drive over. We decided to use the skills we learned playing all those hours of Oregon Trail and Ford the River! We made it across safely with all of our Oxen, Supplies and sense of adventure intact.
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The road did have some great photo ops. I'd never been able to capture beams of light poking through clouds so well before. I've always found that to be particularly beautiful.
We stopped for lunch (Subway and Blueberries) at a picnic area along the road. It overlooked the Rio Frio, and further investigation found it overlooked many piles of bones too. This bonesy was nearest to the road and perfectly bleached by the sun.
The aforementioned Rio Frio. This was one of the nicest days we encountered all winter (~60) so I was ready to jump in.
We took another scenic drive on a whim when we got sick of the I-10 and took the nearest exit. We were heading towards "Attwater Prarie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge" but went through the back way which was locked. We never did get to see any Prarie Chickens but we did see some great scenery.
Part of the reason for this trip was to find a place where we belong and might want to settle down. A big part of that for us was meeting people we connected with. We met a few such people, always by chance and with a little bit of social skill.
These people pulled up next to us in their VW van while we were enjoying a meal from Taco Cabana. We have always admired these models and assumed that the owners must be cool too. So on the pretense of throwing out some trash, I ran into the owners and said "Oh, hey, is this your van? We were admiring it..." Turns out, they WERE cool and we ended up having an hour long conversation about travelling in vans and cool places we must visit in the country. They were very much in love, too and we could relate to them pretty well. I was glad I made the leap to say Hello as I would have missed out on a great experience if I had just kept walking past.
We also met some Dirty Kids in Austin. While they aren't quite on the same path as us, they are always great to get to know. I had a great conversation with the owner of this jacket and I hope to run into him at the Mystic Garden Party this year! (We missed each other last summer.)
Eventually we made our way to Big Bend National Park, which I'd heard about from my Aunt Pammy. We only got to stay one night because of family affairs making it necessary to drive back north, but we had a blast and now have a better idea of what to do next time.
While we were at the Panther Junction Station to buy a national parks pass and some hiking guides, a sounder of Javelinas crossed the parking lot. I leapt out of the van with the camera and chased them into some brush, where this guy and I shared a moment.
We spent one night at a campground at Chisos Basin, and when we woke up in the morning the campground, mountains and roads were dusted with snow. It was a brutal winter all over the country, but we were in the desert on the border with Mexico with 20 degree weather and snow. Quite a sight!
Later that day, things were clear enough for the road to reopen and we found that there was little snow on the ground and temperatures were a pleasant 40.
Jim shot this picture of me getting the above picture.
Outside of big bend, there were acres of farmland. Texas has way more species of deer than I ever knew existed.
This picture was technically taken in Arkansas, but I wanted to stick it in. The sky was incredible that night- the locals were as flabbergasted as us passers-through.
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