MAR 3RD - VAN HORN, TEXAS TO TUCSON ARIZ.

MAR 3RD  2013 - VAN HORN TO TUCSON

FLAT FLAT FLAT WITH NO CIVILIZATION IN SIGHT

LONG drive today.  It is now 1.45 pm and we started out at 8.30am. However the local time has just changed so we are only 12:45 local time. The drive has been much like yesterday, although much more arid and no greenery in site, other than when we drove past cities like El Paso and Las Cruces. We made a few phone calls to get in touch with family and friends along the way. The scenery is indescribable. Breathtaking just doesn't seem adequate.

WONDERING... OVER, THROUGH OR AROUND????

As we continued the drive the landscape changed so subtly. In west Texas it had become increasingly barren, the straggly oak trees gave way to mesquite brush and nothing grew taller than five feet. 

EL PASO, TEXAS FROM THE ROAD

FINALLY OUT OF TEXAS!!!

Then we crossed into New Mexico and the landscape became like a Lunar surface. Dirt, rocks, red mountains in the far distance, some 50 miles away and in-between flat, flat high plains of dirt. Now the brush seldom more than 3 ft high, arid landscape that looked like it hasn't seen water in a thousand years......yet occasional dry creeks and substantial traces of former rivers. Eerie, bizarre and amazing all at the same time. No longer did it look like cowboy country but just uninhabited and uninhabitable desert and we wondered why did Mexico fight so hard  (and in the end lose) to keep it. Land for sale at about $150 an acre but without water what would anyone do with it!!!!

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY

 And so into Arizona, the valleys and mountains start to look like valleys and mountains, not really lush fertile valleys but some evidence of a shade of green in the undergrowth rather than just dirt. We saw sagebrush and our first tumbleweeds ...some 3 ft diameter and just rolling across the highway.....

Arrived at the RV resort in Tuscon after 435 miles (700km) drive tired but happy to be here.

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THE CONDO IN NEW MEXICO!!

 SOME SIGHTS FROM THE ROAD THROUGH NEW MEXICO AND INTO ARIZONA

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BIGGEST PLANT WE SAW

GHOST TOWN ALONG THE SIDE OF THE ROAD

JUST ARRIVED IN ARIZONA

VERY CLOSE TO TUCSON NOW!!!!

 

MAR 2 2013 - Kerrville-Van Horn Texas

MAR 2 2013 - Kerrville-Van Horn Texas 

Derek and I met 45 years ago today in Merseyside!! Look how far we've come!!!

First sight of the 'wild west' - wonders were yet to come

We are starting to ooh and aah!! Just a small slice of the whole view!!

Endless beautiful, awesome sights.

Wow wow what a day's drive. We had no idea what we were in for and really words are not enough. We left Kerrville a little late at 10.15am as we decided to have breakfast at the resort's cafe. It took longer than we expected as every meal was made to order, in order!!! We jumped on I10 heading west. After an hour of scrub-land and the odd cactus, we entered a world only the dreams of young children are made of. A barren, yet amazingly beautiful landscape of red mountains and valleys. Mile after mile of John Wayne country. We were both in awe of the strange majesty of the land. Not a cloud in the sky. Literally hundreds of miles with no end in sight. We drove through flatlands and mountain passes oohing and aaahing. The pictures we took could not come near to portraying the real thing. Also, because they are taken through the truck's tinted windows as we were moving, the qaulity leaves something to the imagination. The temperature went from 30f overnight to over 80f during the day. Texas really is such a varied State. Lakes, mountains, big modern cities and the Wild West!! An entire day driving and all we saw was Wild West. Vegetation does not grow tall in this desert like environment and is made up mostly of some dusty low lying scrub bushes and various forms of cacti some looking like mini palms. Very important not to let the gas tank get too low as we went over 100km without seeing any gas stations. We arrived at Van Horn KOA at 4.30pm after our 600km drive. We switch drivers very 2 hours. Camped in a valley surrounded by mountains. KOA is very basic site and advertised free wifi not working very well. No need to unhitch the rig overnight. Wondering what tomorrow will bring. 

SMALL WORKING OIL RIG IN THE FOREGROUND

MORE VIEWS... VERY LITTLE TRAFFIC! NO

SEE FAINT OUTLINE OF WIND FARM IN BACKGROUND

SEARCHING THE LANDSCAPE FOR JOHN WAYNE!!

WE FOUND SOME SIGNS OF LIFE

AND MORE......

AND MORE.....

EVEN MORE..... TOTALLY DESERTED

ARRIVED AT VAN HORN KOA..

VIEW INCLUDING FAKE CACTUS!!

WELCOME TO VAN HORN.. SET UP & SETTLED!! CHEERS!!

DIRT AND MOUNTAINS (CORNER OF OUR RIG)

ANOTHER VIEW FROM CAMPSITE!

MAR 1 2103 - Kerrville, Texas relaxing!

MAR 1 2103 - Kerrville, Texas relaxing!

One of the pools at the site

Spent the day relaxing. Derek drove to local GMC dealer to get oil change and tire rotation. It is a beautiful sunny day and other than a walk around the resort and clicking a few photos, we just lazed in the sun, read books and pondered our belly buttons. Feeling very lucky and very relaxed.

Love these ducks - pink legs

'Swan Lake' At the resort

Happy strolling in the sun

'Swan lake' from the bridge

Friday Feb 28th 2103 Galveston to Kerrville TX.

Friday Feb 28th 2103 Galveston to Kerrville TX.

LAST VIEWS OF SITE #7

BYE BYE SANDPIPER RV

VIEW FROM IN FRONT OF OUR SITE IN GALVESTON

After a fond farewell to the Sandpiper RV resort we started on our trek to Kerrville.
We left at 9:30am.  








 After a trouble free drive, eating lunch en-route, we got to Buckhorn Lake Rv Resort in Kerrville, Texas at about 3:15pm , which is about an hour past San Antonio. What a great resort. Lovely pools with heated spa pools. We spent a couple of hours sitting in the sun with a cold beer. They were holding a dinner and movie night, so we signed up. Chicken dinner, followed by a movie in their small movie theatre (replete with recliners) and popcorn handed out... all for $10. The movie was ARGO, which won the Oscar for best picture. It was great fun and we met some interesting people from South Dakota. We are bunking down here for 2 nights and we love what we see.

SAFE AND SOUND AT SITE 6010 BUCKHORN LAKE RV

NICE WIDE SITES, WELL KEPT

OUR HOME ON WHEELS

Thursday Feb 27th 2103 - Lat Day in Galveston bike ride/ferry/fish

ALWAYS GOOD TO ASK SOMEONE TO TAKE OUR PHOTOS

ENJOYING THE RIDE

ON THE FERRY!!

ARRIVING AT BOLIVAR

Our last full day in Galveston and  we made the most of the beautiful day. We jumped on our bikes and took off to explore areas we had not been before. First we rode around a new condo area just east of the RV resort on the bay, and then we had the idea to take the free car/passenger ferry from Galveston to Bolivar landing and back again. We just walked on with our bikes. What a fun way to spend an hour. We saw great views of Galveston, lots of seabirds, dolohin and pelicans flying over head. We then pedalled our way into downtowna nd stopped at the Mod Coffee shop for a latte and a shared ham/brie bagel. After that we rode down to the wahrf and picked up a while fresh Grouper and half a dozen jumbo shrimp for the BBQ tonight. On the way back to the RV we cycled through the streets of Galveston and admired the architecture. We clocked only 20km but had a great time. Back at the RV we got organized for our departure tomorrow, did a laundry load and battened down the hatches so to speak. We also cleaned off out bikes. They got so rusty in the short time we were here.. the salt air is a corrosion problem. But we hope to have them back to 'new' with some TLC when we get to Tucson. Derek once again proved to be master of the BBQ fish and we reveled in the taste of fresh grouper and shrimp. We did some planning for our route tomorrow.

FOLLOWING THE FERRY

CHECKING OUT THE PASSENGERS

I LOVE THESE UGLY BEAUTIES

CAR FERRY

GALVESTON FROM THE FERRY

LATTE AND BAGEL AT MOD COFFEE SHOP DOWNTOWN

CARRY GROUPER AND SHRIMP ON HIS BACK

GREAT ARCHITECTURE IN GALVESTON

ALMOST HOME WITH THE 'BACON'