Texas

5/4


Texas is a big state!  The first mile marker on I-10 was 880 so we had 880 miles to go on I-10 in Texas.  

Our first stop in Texas was a little RV park just off the interstate called Happy Oaks RV Park.  We picked it simply because it was about the right distance for a days drive and it was between Houston and San Antonio.  Being right-next-to-the-interstate, we wondered if the noise would bother us.  It wasn't as nice as a secluded forest but it wasn't too bad.  We had a nice site with shade trees to shield us from the afternoon sun and good Wi-Fi.  

Drive through Houston

Nothing to see or do here, just recover from a stressful drive through downtown Houston, prepare for the drive though San Antonio, do some laundry and relaxed.  We made a vow to never drive through downtown Houston again.  Here's some pics...

5/6

The drive through San Antonio was a non-event.  Since I-10 turns north, there's a bypass route, avoiding downtown. 

The Texas hill country is very pretty and as it turned out, our favorite part of the route through Texas.

Our next stop was Riverside RV Park in Ingram, TX.   To get to Ingram you get off the interstate in Kerrville, TX. We thought this was ironic, we use to live on Lake Kerr and here we were in Kerrville!  The campground is located on the Guadalupe River and we took a nice afternoon walk after setting up.  

Charles

While we were at Riverside, we met Charles.  He joined us for dinner and told us about some of the places he visited while he was RVing for about 10 years. One of his favorite parks ever was Davis Mountain State Park just south of our proposed route.  Charles had lots of stories to tell including his experiences as an Army lieutenant on the East German border at the time of the Kennedy assassination.

This is where we started noticing the west Texas winds.  We were a little concerned about the wind forecast along our route west.  There were20-25 mph winds with 40 mph gusts but it wasn't that bothersome. No more so than a big tractor trailer blowing past.

5/8

Campsite at Parkview RV Park, Fort Stockton, TX

Sunset over Parkview, Fort Stockton, TX

As with Happy Oaks, Parkview RV Park in Fort Stockton, TX was in the right place and at the right price, $11 (PA rate) for full hookup plus $2 if you use A/C.  Well, we left the pleasant Texas hill country far behind and were well into the west Texas desert. We were going to use the A/C!!!.  Parkview was not what you'd call a destination.  The majority of the residents were local or transitory workers.  The site was a patch of desert with utility hook-ups.  But to be honest, that's what most of the RV parks for the foreseeable future were like.  Our site actually had one of the only trees.  It didn't give us any shade and actually would interfere with our awning.  But with the wind, there was never any thought of deploying the awning.

Fort Stockton was where we left I-10 for a short detour on TX 285 to Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico.

Coming soon, Carlsbad Caverns National Park