4. Texas

Spent the first night (Thursday, April 4th) at Village Creek State Park, a few miles North of the city of Beaumont in eastern Texas.  This was where oil was first found in 1901 at Spindletop. During the day, visited a recreation of the oil boom town at Lamar University.

Next day drove towards Houston, stopped in Eastern Houston at the San Jacinto Battleground Monument, site of the battle which won Texas independence from Mexico. Then drove to the suburb of Bellaire, where I spent a great weekend with the Orsak family, Carol, Greg, Rebecca and Jordan (Sarah was away at college).  Went to an Astros baseball game on Friday night which was not too exciting, then saw a very exciting high school baseball game on Saturday morning where Jordan was the star 2nd baseman.

After having a local Tex-Mex lunch, visited an artists place, whose specialty is giant sized sculptures of the Presidents and the Beatles.

After leaving Houston, drove 1.5 hours to Galveston, on the Gulf.  Spent 3 nights there in an RV Park right on the water. Second time I used the scooter, started up first time. Saw Moody Gardens, toured a retired oil rig, and drove around the island a lot.

My plans after Galveston were to follow the coast down to Corpus Christi, but Carol from Houston suggested I go to Austin and the Hill Country, as the wildflowers were in bloom. So, I drove Northwest to Austin, visiting Brenham, Washington and Independence along the way.  Spent two great days in Austin. Rode my bicycle all around this bike friendly city, home of Lance Armstrong. Saw the State Capitol, University of Texas, and the Texas Museum.

After Austin, I headed to Hill Country. Stayed at Pedernales Falls State Park, then visited Johnson City and the LBJ Historic Park and Ranch which was really good with lots of cattle.

On to Fredericksburg, a town settled by Germans, now a weekend tourist spot. Stayed one night there, then drove to Boerne, another old German town, and spent the night at Guadalupe State Park. 

Had a problem with the RV just before arriving at the Park - the engine quit suddenly as I was driving 60 mph down a two lane road. Was able to coast to a stop with no power steering or brakes, then the engine started right up again and acted fine.  Spent the next day trying to figure out what had gone wrong with no luck. Ran a computer code readout which showed nothing, so changed the air and the fuel filter.  That evening, arrived in San Antonio for a 3-day visit.

Stayed in San Antonio at a nice RV resort only 3 miles from the Alamo (downtown).  Used the motor scooter to get around. The Alamo was one of 6 missions started by the Spanish. Visited 5 of them, all within the San Antonio vicinity.Was very impressed with them.

Also did the Riverwalk and some of the historic buildings.

Then it was time to head out to Western Texas, taking Highway 90 West, as recommended by David and Shula Conley of Mel bourne. Stayed the first night at Seminole Canyon State Park, near Del Rio, which was a wonderful surprise. The Pecos river formed the canyon which flows into the Rio Grande. The big attraction are the ancient pictographs on some of the canyon caves. Also did a nice bike ride and hike, right along the river.  Mexico was only 200 yards away and there was no border fence or guards.

Next day drove to Marathon, a gateway town to Big Bend National Park.  Along the way stopped in Langtry and visited the Judge Roy Bean visitor center which has his old saloon and court. This was another recommendation from David and Shula and was real nice.

Over-nighted in Marathon, then drove next morning to Big Bend National Park, which is huge. Stayed in the Rio Grande campground for 2 nights and used the motor scooter to get around. driving more than 100 miles is one day. Did a lot of hikes, some right next to the Rio Grande which is more of a stream there.  The mountains,desert, and canyons were awesome; these are just a few of the many pictures I took.

Left the Park via the West route and stopped to see Terlingua ghost town, then drove a few miles down the road to Lajitas. This is an old town bought by a millionaire and turned into a resort. Arrived early, so paid $90 to play golf on a really nice course with huge elevation changes. Had mixed feelings about the justification of having a golf course in the middle of the desert with all the water usage.

Spent the night in Lajitas at their RV Park. Next morning, drove the 50 mile "River Road", one of the national scenic byways. Beautiful, twisting, hilly drive with the Rio Grande (and Mexico) close by.

Drove through the small towns of Redford, Presidio and Marfa and arrived in the town of Fort Davis in mid afternoon, where I checked into an RV park in the middle of town. That evening, drove 20 miles up into the mountains to the McDonald Observatory for a Star Party which started at 09:15 PM.  Next day, toured the old Fort Davis, which was active in the mid to late 1800's. Wasn't very impressed.

Next day, drove to Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Northwest Texas, near the New Mexico Border.  The mountains are an ancient ocean reef, and rise dramatically from the plains.  Did two short hikes in the afternoon, stayed overnight at the Park's campground, then did two more short hikes the next day.  Took lots of pictures, some of them are here:

 That afternoon, said goodbye to Texas, and drove 50 miles to Carlsbad, New Mexico.

3. Mississippi and Louisiana

First stop in MS was Biloxi, on the Gulf Coast and home to 10 casinos. Stayed for 3 nights, and used the motor scooter for the first time. Saw Jefferson Davis's retirement home, drove along the beach with the scooter, and visited all 10 casinos.

Beauvoir - Jefferson Davis home

One of the Casinos

 Casino directions to Parking Lot and to Gambling

 

Drove two hours North to Hattiesburg, where I toured a military reserve museum. Drove another two hours North to Jackson, the capital of MS. Spent two nights at a state park in the city. It rained both days so only saw the Agricultural museum and the old capitol building. The campground in the state park was nice, and my site was next to a lake.

West one hour to Vicksburg, on the Mississippi River. Road my bicycle through the city, saw a riverboat, and the next day, visited the National Historic Military Park, site of one of the major battles of the Civil War.

That afternoon, drove about an hour on the very scenic Natchez Trace Parkway, a 440 mile  road which follows the original trail of the settlers in the 1800's.  Stayed overnight at their campground which had no hookups, and it was cold that night.

Visited Natchez, MS, the next two days, but stayed across the river in Vidalia, Louisiana.  Rode my bicycle across the very busy bridge, toured the city, a couple of homes, and two casinos.  Was not that impressed with the city.

On to Louisiana and the cotton and sugar plantations. First stop was St. Francisville. Toured Rosedown and Oakley plantation, both state historic sites. The 30 minute guided tour at each one was informative and interesting.

Overnighted at a city RV park in Baton Rouge. Next day, toured Nottoway and Houmas House plantations, both on the river. Expected to have a nice scenic drive by the river, but the huge levee that was built on both sides in the 1930's blocked the view. Could only see the river on the second floor of the homes.

Overnighted at Poche Plantation campground on the North side of the river. Expected it to be nice but it was a dump.  Next day, finished the plantation tours by visiting Laura and Oak Alley plantations in Vacherie. The Laura tour was great, as it was given by the owner, who added personal insights. The Oak Alley tour was horrible; it was Good Friday, the crowds were large, and the tour guides acted like robots with no emotion.

Had enough of plantations so on to Houma in Southeast Louisiana, close to Bayou country.
Spent the night at an RV park in Houma, next day tried to go to a Museum but it was closed. Had some gumbo and etouffe (Cajun food) for lunch, then went on a Bayou swamp boat ride, where the guide fed some raw chicken to an alligator and two bald eagles.

Drove "The Old Spanish Trail" scenic byway (not so scenic) to Avery Island, birthplace of (and still the only place its made)::

Toured the factory, bought some souvenirs, then visited Jungle Gardens, a bird sanctuary on the island.

Then drove to two historic towns, New Iberia and St. Martinville, but was not impressed.  Spent the night nearby.  Next morning toured Vermillionville in the city of Lafayette, a recreated Acadian village.

That afternoon, drove West to Lake Charles, and stayed two nights at Sam Houston State Park, which had a nice bayou swamp.

South of Lake Charles is "The Creole Nature Trail" (also known as the Louisiana Outback), another scenic byway. It took about 5 hours to drive the 180 miles but it was worth it.  Some pics:

Next day, said goodbye to Louisiana, and drove 50 miles West on I-10 to the Great State of Texas.