Below is another panorama shot taken as I left the Fort Davis area Tuesday morning…Truly beautiful sweeping vistas like this all the way down to the Big Bend country.
I’m also kicking myself for not taking the time to unhook during my Fort Davis stop and go and explore this delightful and clean looking town with its refurbished fort,….So all I could do is enjoy the morning drive through,because on travelling day,that's all I concentrate on.
A little while later I stopped in the town of Alpine to gas up, and by the way with all my earlier complaining about paying at the pump problems with my Bank of America card,……Well,I’ve since found that “Fina”stations are great,just insert the card,it reads it and I’m good to go.New Mexico and Texas so far are crawling with Fina stations.
A quick grocery stop at one of the local Thriftway stores in Alpine was next,where I got short-changed a buck and didn't realize her mistake until too late…….I hate when I get careless like that…..Getting out of town was another screw-up as all the streets are one-way and with some road construction and a confused Miss Garmin,I went in circles for awhile,finally driving right past the same Thriftway on the way out of town.
The day got hotter as I headed south toward Big Bend Park.I was finally going to get down to lower altitudes after several weeks.Below is the final drop down just before entering Rio Grande Village.1850 Ft.
Not much here but the store/gas station and two camping areas.I chose the non hook-up 100 site $14. a day campground which was about 1/3 full at best.I had googled and researched this spot beforehand and was pleasantly surprised as I entered and found it to be really much nicer than anticipated.It does have nice washrooms with flush toilets along with water taps scattered along the roadway…Much like our Provincial parks back home….And a dump station.
Its full of big beautiful shade trees,which were welcome because of the mid 80 temps.The trees are full of Monarch Butterflies,probably on there way to their winter home in Mexico.
They seem to love these Mesquite trees….Now I could be wrong as I’m no expert, but they could be the Viceroy (similar) variety that stay around,but getting a close look was difficult as they are skittish when you try to get close.This telephoto shot helped.
Another view of the park.
This is all behind my trailer,a good distance to the next park road over.The sites are well spaced.The river is just a short walk away and I will cover that next time.
Due to the wild animals, they provide these steel boxes in each site for food storage if you are tenting.
So again life is good,the weather perfect,with warm days and mild nights.The bugs are not a bother and for the first time in almost a month on the road………I got my deckchair out of the truck.
Aint life grand?
One final note about some of my posting and e-mail times.My computer is on Pacific time,I’m not…..I’m on Central time…..So I’m not up that early.
Ellie and I have really enjoyed reading your posts. We came through Alpine and shopped at the same grocery store and did the same with the one-way streets. As for Fort Davis, it is one of our favorite parks, so much to do there with the McDonald Observatory above and the old fort below and in town. Have a great time at Big Bend, we love it there.
ReplyDeleteLooks beautiful there papa enjoy!~
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We spent one rushed night at Fort Davis State Park because of a star party at the McDonald Observatory we wanted to attend. A Great party & a great memory Hope to go back to that area at some point & spend more time. Loved the little towns of Alpine, Marathon, Terelingua, Study Butte & points west through the ruggedley beautuful Big Bend National Park. Fort Davis & Big Bend are the only areas of Texas that I've liked so far. Check out St. Helena Canyon. There's an old cemetery along the way. Spent Christmas Eve 04/05 at the Rio Grande Village.
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