We had originally planned to stay in Big Bend 6 nights, but we ended up staying 5. We were there during unusually hot weather so hiking (which is the thing to do!) was not as pleasant as we had hoped. We didn’t see some of the iconic spots because they were on the west side of the park and we stayed on the east side. It would have been 1.5 hours to drive to some of those spots, which would have put our hiking times at peak heat by the time we were done. That just means it is another reason for us to go back one day and stay on the West side of the park so we can see all that we missed! Where we Stayed: Fort Clark Springs: On our way to Big Bend, we stopped for 2 nights at this gated community in Bracketville, TX. They have a RV park with full hookups for only $11.25 a night because we are members of Passport America. It ended up being a great little place with a lot of history. If you ask the volunteer at the museum, he will tell you the Civil War started at the fort here. The Union gave up the fort to the Confederates before the war was in full swing. This fort was built for the Spanish-American War, but then used in the Civil War, World I, World War II and the Korean War as a training facility. Marathon RV Park: This was about a half way point so we decided to stay the night. The park had a great courtyard where we met another couple from Bend! It was really hot that day so the full hookups and Passport America price was great! At night, astronomers from Fort Davis Observatory were there and had their telescopes out so we could learn about the stars. If you wanted to have hookups and don't mind driving about 45min to get to the park, you could stay here. The big hotel in town had a little area with volleyball, chess, horseshoes and more so we spent quite a few hours there after we arrived just enjoying the evening. Rio Grande Village NP Campground: We stayed in the park at the only campground our trailer would fit. It was on the southeast corner near the Boquillas border crossing. Because this is the desert side of Big Bend, it was HOT! Friends we met in the campground kept a thermostat in their camper and one day when we got back from a hike it was 106 degrees in their camper. Other than that, it was a great campground. Our site was very large and had a great view of the mountains at sunset. Things we did: Window Trail: We went to a ranger talk in the morning then planned to hike the Lost Mine trail. Unfortunately the parking area was full! The Window trail was nearby and also recommended, so we did that hike instead. It was an easy 4 miles round trip with a beautiful view at the end. Pine Canyon Trail: To get here, you do a 6 mile off road drive then hike 4 miles round trip. The beginning starts off through the desert then you end up in the mountain part of the canyon and end up at a waterfall (in the rainy season). The exciting, yet scary, part of the trip was when we were hanging around at the end. The kids went into a cave type area and were talking with their friends. The second time they went up, Lance saw a snake. They all did great and stayed calm and walked back out. Dan and our new friend Craig, went to check it out and it was a Blacktail Rattlesnake. We were all very thankful that none of the kids had accidentally stepped on it. It was way too close for comfort! Boquillas Canyon and Border: We used our passports to go across the border to Boquillas, Mexico. You walk down to the river then take a little row boat across. Once across, you can walk or pay to ride a donkey, horse or in a truck to the town. It was a little village over 160 miles from the nearest Mexican village. They rely heavily on tourists and each family sells handmade souvenirs. We bought a couple and had lunch at one of the two restaurants. When we arrived, we were the only ones there so the owner sat and talked with us for a long time about the town and the history of it. He was also very proud that their town had won a grant from the government to put in a solar farm so they could generate more electricity. If you ever go to Big Bend, definitely bring your passports and visit Boquillas. Historic Hot Springs: We did the .50 mile hike instead of the 3 mile from the village store since the days were so hot. We were told the hot springs were next to the river that had easy spots to get into and was deep so you could sit and relax. There were little rapids so they kids rode down them in our little blow up and had a blast. There used to be a hotel and store down here. There were also some pictographs on the rock walls.
Rio Grande Village Nature Trail and swimming in the Rio Grande: We took this trail a couple times because you could get to the river and sit and cool off. It was a great nightly spot after hiking in the heat. We also took the trail to the top of a little hill to watch the sunset. That is where we met the Plocica family who is also traveling for the year. We ended up doing most of our hikes with them then following each other to our next destination….Guadalupe Mountains!
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After leaving Florida, we hightailed it to Texas! We had friends flying down to see us in San Antonio so we had to be there by March 7th. Since the beginning of the trip, Dan has said he wanted to be in Texas by March; he didn’t want to get caught in any spring storms coming in off the Gulf. It was a good thing we did that, because right after we got to Texas, a storm went through east of us. Where we stayed: Mississippi Visitor Center: The visitor centers on I10 in Mississippi have RV pullouts so you can stay overnight if needed. We stayed at this one because we planned to get up and go to the NASA Infinity Science center the next day. We ended up not going because we decided to drive further and didn’t want to drive all night. We have heard great things about the science center though. Winnie-Stowell Park: free nights with no hookups in their county park. We had spent the last couple days driving all day so we wanted to relax a little. We were able to park right in front of the playground. Great spot just to unwind for a little bit. San Antonio: Lake Braunig RV Resort. The draw for this campground was it had a hotel next door, so our friends that came to visit, would be very close. It was also only about 20 minutes from downtown San Antonio and it had a pool. Sadly, the weather was gloomy and rainy for most of the time we were there but the hot tub was nice! Spanish Missions: San Jose, Espada, San Juan, Conception and the Alamo. We did a ranger talk at San Juan Mission that really helped us understand why the missions were there and why so many are close together (unlike California where they are all spread out). The local natives were taught the Spanish culture and protected from the Apaches. The river provided water for farming. The missions continue on as churches even today. It was great to see the National Park Service and the Catholic Church working together to preserve our history. Witt Museum: Free with ASTC, so we went 3 times! There were a few different buildings for this museum. One was about the animals and dinosaurs found in Texas. One was about history of Texas and the cowboys and one was a place for kids. Of course most of our time was spent in the kid section. They had you do different body activities to learn about how our body works. One day there was a medical student with a touch screen body that taught us about different body systems. They also had a rock wall and Skybike that was included in admission, so the kids loved doing that. It’s a fun museum to learn history and have a little fun. DoSeum: Free with ASTC. This museum is for kids 10 and under, so Lily just made it. It’s your typical science museum with lots and lots of hands-on activities for the kids. I think the highlight for Lily was the Skype setup they had in the Nat. Geo. Section. She was able to meet another girl in Mexico City. There was no sound so they used a white board to “talk” to each other. They asked each other questions about their families and their favorite things. It was pretty fun to watch her be so excited to meet someone in another country. River Walk: Dan did the 26 mile round trip bike ride. He thinks it’s a great way to see San Antonio and the missions. The 3 moms and kids did the boat ride around downtown to get an up close view of how the river is controlled and all the historic buildings around it. We also walked around parts of the downtown Riverwalk. SeaWorld: The moms and kids spent a day watching the shows and visiting the animals and going on a few rides. Unfortunately, it was rainy that day. Kim and our kids went back and did the water park on our last day in San Antonio when it was finally sunny. We wanted to make sure we got our money’s worth for our 7 day ticket! It was great to see our friends and explore a new city together! (We realized we never posted this! Better late than never!) We went all over Florida during the month of February. Why didn’t we have a more organized route? Because February in Florida is CRAZY with snowbirds! We were told in November that if we were planning to go to Florida we better make reservations soon. The problem is, we didn’t know where we wanted to go or when because of other family commitments. So, we started calling when things were more concrete and found out lots of places were booked. We ended up with many 2-4 night stays and did a circle 8 around Florida. Places we stayed: St. Augustine, Tampa, Fort De Soto, Naples, Hollywood, Disneyworld, Fort Pierce, Ocala National Forest, and Santa Rosa Beach. Each were unique in their own way. Some were RV parks where we only had a few feet between our slide and the RV next to us but swimming pools, gyms, bingo and lots of other fun things to do. Others were state or county campgrounds were we had lots of trees and a good amount of space and the beach and nature to entertain us. Things we did: Legoland, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, and DisneyWorld were all on the agenda. These were all in celebration of the kids’ birthdays. The nice part of having kids with birthdays 2 days apart is you get to do their celebrations together. The bad part (for mom) is having cake in the house for a week! Nana and Papa and Aunt Julie and Elliot met us at Disney. It was great to have others to help entertain the kids Lots of beaches! Everywhere we went we checked out the beach. That’s the thing to do in Florida right? The first part of the month was actually pretty cold, so we didn’t spend time in the water, just by the beach. By the end of the month, the kids were actually tired of going to the beach. We’d say let’s go and they’d say NO! I guess we won’t be moving to the beach anytime soon. Seeing Family and Friends. We met up with friends Lynn and Dave, who we first met at Assateague Island in Virginia. They spent the day exploring the fort in St. Augustine with us. We also were able to spend time with Kim’s niece Teagan in Hollywood. The kids were super excited since we hadn’t seen Teagan in at least a year. We also saw Kim’s ex-colleague, Peni and her husband Steve, who are enjoying the sunny retirement life in The Villages. We saw many of the Bezdek side of the family at the 100th birthday party for Aunt Jeri. Many of them we had never met before.
Overall, we had a very busy time in Florida but really enjoyed the sunshine instead of the lots and lots of snow they were getting back home in Oregon! |
AuthorKim: I've seen very little of the US and can't wait to see it all with my family. This is a crazy adventure that I never thought I would have the guts to do! Archives
April 2017
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