Texas ...

Ok, so this isn't a hiking blog, but I did say "& other stuff".  The wife and I gathered up the fifth wheel and headed for Texas.  While I have travelled to Texas many times, the limit of my travels were to the airports and hotels in Houston, Dallas, and Austin.  This trip would be my first extended touring time in Texas.  Our plan was to visit the Texas Hill Country in the spring.

Day 1 - Lamar, CO

Our first travel day was a five hour run from Loveland to Lamar.  We stayed at the Lamar Sportsmans RV Park and Horse Motel.  This is a small park just west of Lamar proper.  The reason to stay in Lamar was to visit the Amache Relocation Camp.  Amache was one of ten Japanese internment camps constructed during World War II.  Amache is located on approximately 10000 acres and was "home" to approximately 7500 people from August, 1942 to October, 1945.  At the time, Amache was the tenth largest town in Colorado, three times the size of Lamar.  The camp was a few kiosks and signs telling about life at the camp.  There are no standing buildings, but foundations still exist for most of the barracks, latrines, and recreation/mess halls.  The water tower and a guard tower have been reconstructed and the cemetery is well cared for.  We were able to download a audio tour guide to assist is deciphering the history.  You can learn more about Amache at this link.

Day 2 and 3 -Amarillo, TX

Day 2 was another 5-ish hour drive to Amarillo, TX.  We stayed at the Amarillo KOA.  Outside of Amarillo is Palo Duro Canyon State Park.  Palo Duro is advertised as the second largest canyon in the United States.  It is 120 miles long and 600-800 feet deep.  It was formed by the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River.  How 'bout that for a name?; almost as good as the South Fork of the South Fork of the Payette River.  Palo Duro is very big and we enjoyed our day, but unfortunately, I was a little let down.  I guess that I am spoiled by Glen Canyon and the McInnis Canyon area in western Colorado.   You can learn more about Palo Duro at this link.

We also walked along Old Route 66 in downtown Amarillo.  While there we visited several antique stores/malls.  We like looking at all the treasures/junk you can find there.  The most unusual site we went to was the Cadillac Ranch.  This is a roadside stop with a handful of cars buried in the ground.

The point of the Cadillac Ranch is to have people come paint some part of the cars.  As a result the cars are changing every day.  Rather odd if I do say so.  You can find out more about the Cadillac Ranch at this link.

Day 4 - Abilene, TX

Day 4 was a travel day to Abilene; halfway between Amarillo and our first 'real' stop at La Grange, TX.  We stayed at the KOA and went to Texas BBQ.  Nordy's here at home is better.

Day 5 and 6 - La Grange, TX

Day 5 we traveled to La Grange, TX, which is southeast of Austin about 50 miles, between Austin and Houston.  We camped at a great park; the Colorado Landing RV Park, right on the Colorado river.  No, not our Colorado river, but the one in Texas.  We spent the rest of the travel day relaxing and the wife taking a few pictures.

We got up the next day and headed to the Antique Shows.  Wow!, what a deal that was.  We travelled through twelve miles of antique fairs and flea markets with merchandise ranging from high end genuine antiques from the 19th century to every day junk from the 60's and 70's.  Believe it or not, I came away with an antique map of Idaho.  We also headed to Monument Hill State Park.  This was an interesting little state park which memorializes the lives of a number of Texas patriots that died either during the Texas revolution from Mexico or the subsequent battles with Mexico to maintain the Texas Republic's borders.  During the 1850's and beyond a German settled on the land and build a fine home and brewery.  You can learn more about Monument Hill State Park at this link

Day 7 through 12 - Johnson City, TX

Day 7 we travelled to 'Base Camp' near Johnson City, TX.  The Miller Creek RV Park would be our home for the next six nights.  We camped along Miller Creek, hence the name  The park was quiet and pretty, the only downside was road noise.

LBJ Ranch / Johnson City

Our first stop was to the LBJ Ranch and the Sauer-Beckman Farmstead.  The LBJ Ranch is where President Johnson called home during his years in Congress and the White House. He was born on the ranch.

His family then moved when he was about five to the Johnson Settlement in Johnson City, where he spent his high school years. The Johnson Settlement is where LBJ's grandfather settled.  We were able to see the "Texas White House" which is the house he and Lady Bird had on the property while he was in the White House.  Since the Ranch did not have a runway long enough to support Air Force One, people flew into the Ranch on smaller jets.

I learned that he was at the LBJ Ranch about 25% of the time while President.  Oh, by the way, the Ranch is home to part of the "Official Texas Longhorn Herd", so we were looking for Longhorns.  Guess what!  We found one; and I mean only one;  so we had to stop and take a picture.

Finally, we had timed our trip to Texas in the hopes of seeing Texas Wildflowers.  I can say without a doubt the Blue Bonnets were out, along with Indian Paintbrush and a number of other wildflowers.  It was awesome!

You can learn more about what is at the LBJ Ranch at this link.  The Sauer-Beckman Farmstead at this link and the Johnson Settlement at this link.

Fredericksburg (2)

For me, the highlight of the trip was Fredericksburg, the home of the National Museum of the Pacific War.  Admiral Chester W Nimitz was born and spent his early years in Fredericksburg.  His grandfather owned the main hotel in town.  There was so much to see and read that we didn't take pictures.  When I purchased my ticket, they told me it would be valid for 48 hours.  I thought to myself, "why would I need 48 hours".  Let me say that 48 hours is not enough to see all these museums have to offer.  The Nimitz Museum tells the tale of Admiral Nimitz from childhood through World War II and beyond to his time as Chief of Naval Operations.  Quite an interesting guy.  We ended up spending Friday, April 3 and Sunday, April 5 in Fredericksburg.  You can learn more about the National Museum of the Pacific War at this link.

We also discovered a wildflower farm; Wildseed Farms.  Yep, that is right.  They grow nothing but various wildflowers.  It was a busy place on the day we stopped.  One of the things we try to do when traveling is to not eat at places or chains that we have here at home, but new places.  We tried Whataburger.  Not bad, but no Five Guys.

Austin

Austin was about 35 or 40 miles away, so off to Austin on Saturday, April 4.  We had three things to see on the agenda; the Texas State Capitol, the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum, and the LBJ Presidential Library.  Once there we discovered that we couldn't do all three in one day, so we came back on Tuesday.  The Texas State Capitol was interesting; we visited all the various legislative chambers and a few other places.  The Texas State Capitol is 4 feet taller than the US Capitol and those Texans like to tell you that. 

We also found a neat looking church building.  I'm not sure what denomination it was. 

Next up was the LBJ Presidential Library.  Four floors of exhibits dedicated to the life of Lyndon Baines and Lady Bird Johnson, along with about 6 floors of library.  The neatest thing was a 7/8 scale replica of the Oval Office with the furniture and other items he had in it.  More information on the LBJ Presidential Library can be found here and the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum here

The Texas History Museum was a bit like the Mesuem of the War in the Pacific... so much to see and read, no pictures.  We also ate at the Texas Land and Cattle Company.  Man, was that good.

San Antonio

The treat of San Antonio was the Alamo.  Based on some discussions with folks who had been there, I had set my expectations low.  But I was pleasantly surprised by the detail and completeness of the area.  yes the Alamo is small and much of the compound has been taken by city streets and skyscrapers, but you can really get a sense of what happened there.  I found it really cool.   We also toured the RiverWalk and had Ice Cream.  More information on the Alamo can be found at this link.  If you go, I highly recommend the audio tour.

Somewhere in our travels, the top of one of our attic vents blew off, so while in San Antonio we stopped at the Texas RV Supply and picked up a replacement.  All in all a nice day.

Day 13 - Ft Stockton, TX

We started home on Wednesday, April 8.  Heading due west out of Johnson City we intersected I-10 and headed to Fort Stockton.  We stayed at a nice former-KOA, the Fort Stockton RV Park.

Day 14 - Roswell, NM

On Day 14 we headed to Roswell, NM on US-285.  It was pretty obvious that the stretch between Pecos, TX and the New Mexico border was in the heart of west Texas oil country.  There were wells, drilling rigs, and more heavy equipment on the road than you could shake a stick at.  US-285 was the worst paved road I have ever been on.  We even found a "Texas Stop Sign" (i.e. a pothole big enough to swallow both the truck and the trailer).  Unfortunately, I hit the edge of the hole too hard and we woke up the next morning to a flat, separated tire on the trailer.  Had to stop by Discount Tire in Roswell and get a new tire.  Oh well, it could be worse.  We stayed at a very small RV Park; The Red Barn RV Park.  The owner was very helpful and friendly.

Day 15 - Raton, NM

With the delay of getting out of Roswell, we didn't make it to Trinidad Lake State Park for our last night.  Instead we stopped at the NRA Whittington Center Campground in Raton, NM.  It was a great place to stay; quiet, good views, and only a handful of RVs.    You can find out more about the Whittington Center here

Day 16 - home again, home again

A final day of uneventful driving from Raton to home and our Texas adventure was done!  It was a great trip, one that I will remember for a long time.  And, oh by the way, did I say we saw lots of wildflowers and a few Longhorns???

By the way, all pictures are used with the permission of Just 4 Grins Photography, copyright 2015, Just 4 Grins Photography