Border Patrol, Cactus and Snow!!

Our next stop on our journey, Tucson, Arizona.  On our way, we experienced something totally new and strange to us.  While travelling down the expressway, everyone on the expressway had to exit and go thru a border patrol check point!  They had xray and infrared equipment to scan your vehicles as you passed by and then we were asked if we had anyone in the fifth wheel!  I'm sure that is pretty normal for people living near the border, but we found it quite strange to say the least!!

Once we got to Tucson, we visited the Saguaro National Park.  The Saguaro Cactus are found exclusively in the Sonoran Desert.  Here's a picture of the desert with mountains in the background.

With the right growing conditions, it is estimated that saguaros can live to be 150-200 years old, can grow to be between 40-60 feet tall and weigh between 3200-4800 pounds. It may be 90 years before their first arm appears. 
To learn more about these amazing cactus, here's the website:   http://www.nps.gov/sagu/index.htm

Yep, snow!!!!  We have been camping, mostly in Michigan, for about 30 years and never camped in the snow before Tucson, Arizona!  Must say, we kind of enjoyed it and it was quite pretty!

A Zoo, Caverns and Mountains!

Our next stop on our journey, Carlsbad, New Mexico. 
The first place we visited was the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park.  Overlooking the Pecos River Valley, this park exhibits the varied plant and animal life of the arid Chihuahuan Desert region.  We got to see mountain lions, elk, wolves and various other animals, but our favorites were the prairie dogs!  We stood and watched and laughed at them for about 30 minutes!!

The next day we visited Carlsbad Caverns National Park.  This is an amazing place!  It is huge, it is hard to comprehend just how large the "rooms" are, and it is beautiful!  We did the self-guided tour which was estimated to take about 2 hours, but I knew before we started that we would be in there at least 4 hours....I wasn't wrong!  I was afraid I was going to have to drag Bruce out of there!
Here's his thoughts on the caverns:  After seeing the caverns I was struggling to find the words to describe them and the feelings this place invoked.  Luckily for me I ran across these words from Ansel Adams, a world famous photographer, who in 1936 tried to photograph the caverns but was never happy with the way his photos turned out. "...something that should not exist in relation to human beings. Something that is as remote as a galaxy, incomprehensible as a nightmare, and beautiful inspite of everything."
Here's a link to find out more about the caverns: http://www.nps.gov/cave/index.htm

To give you an idea of size, this stalactite towers 85 feet above the cave floor!!!

The next day we drove to Guadalupe Mountains National Park which is actually just across the border in Texas.  The scenery was spectacular, that's the only way I know to describe it!  We walked to the remains of the ruins of the old Pinery Station, once a favored stop on the original 2,800 mile Butterfield Overland Mail Route.
To read more of the history of this and more about the Guadalupe Mountains, visit this website:
http://www.nps.gov/gumo/index.htm

 

Remember The Alamo!!!

We arrived in San Antonio on Thursday afternoon and by that evening we had signed up for a 7 hour bus tour the next day.  The tour included the Alamo, Riverboat Ride, Mission Concepcion and San Jose, Japanese Sunken Gardens, Buckhorn Saloon and Museum and Texas Ranger Museum and El Mercado, a kind of Mexican strip mall.  These are two of the pictures from the Alamo, one of the chapel and one of me in front of a beautiful Live Oak.  You can check out more on the Alamo at:
http://www.history.com/topics/alamo

We thought the Riverwalk was just beautiful.  So many restaurant's and shops and booths set up selling crafts and jewelry, we came back a couple of days after the bus tour to walk around and sight see some more.

Just some of the pictures we took at the missions.  There is a total of 4 Missions in San Antonio plus the Alamo.   Our bus tour stopped at the Alamo and 2 of the Missions, so the next day we drove to the other 2.  They were built in the early1700's and the chapels of all 4 of them are used as Catholic Churches today.  History buff Bruce couldn't get enough of them or put the camera down.  You can read more on the Missions at:
http://www.nps.gov/saan/index.htm

We ate dinner one night on the Riverwalk at this Brazilian Steakhouse.  It was a wonderful experience, something we had never done before, and the food was absolutely delicious!
Ten different types of meat brought to your table and sliced right off the skewer onto your plate.  I believe Bruce actually had a tear in his eye!

Well, this is what happens to you in Texas when you talk bad about George W!!

Well, after San Antonio, we are on our way to Carlsbad, New Mexico.  This picture was taken on a stop on our way in Fort Stockton.  They have this sculpture on the way into and out of this town.  Our campground happened to be right across the highway and we got this neat picture.

Yipee-ki-yay, we are headed out of Texas!!

Crabs, Shrimp, Wild Life, And What's For Dinner

Bruce's catch of the day, a stone crab!!  Fortunately, we were talking to a couple on the dock from North Carolina at the time he caught this, so they knew what it was and helped to get the hook out of it.  Trust me, they are strong!! (and stone crab claw was delicious!!) The Texas DNR says you are allowed to take the right claw then you must release the crab. Bruce says on our next trip to the Gulf we WILL have crab traps!

Spotted this little fella by the side of the road on our way back from town one day.  Believe they are called havelinas, the Texans call them skunk pigs. They are soooo cute at this size!!!

Just one of the beautiful birds we spotted.  We were afraid it would get a little boring if we posted all of the bird pics!

Never knew what we would see across the river.  There is a herd of cattle there that we saw occasionally and then one day we spotted the deer.

We got these wild caught shrimp at the grocery store, $7.00 a pound and there was like 16 shrimp per pound.  I thought Bruce was gonna cry with happiness!!

Those shrimp, along with Bruce's help, made a delicious spicy shrimp, cooked in a brown butter garlic sauce, taco dinner!!  Along with the jar of corn salsa we also found at the grocery, it was a wonderful dinner.
Don't really know how I am going to grocery shop when I get home after shopping at a chain of grocery stores here.  It's called HEB and it is only in Texas and Mexico.  They have fresh, made in the store tortilla's, a wonderful cake baked in their in store bakery, called Tres Leches (a type of sponge cake with 3 different milks poured over it then frosted with a whip cream frosting), cuts of meat you never see in a store at home, and a salsa and sauce aisle I thought I would never get Bruce out of!!  And speaking of sausage, we found Boudin sausage and are trying to figure out a way to get a years supply of it home and into our freezer!

And then, there was our buddy......On the way back out to the campground one day, this little fella on the side of the road at the river, was pointing at the ground and swinging his other arm in a circle.  Of course we had to stop and back up just to make sure he was ok.  Well, as it turns out, he was just wanting to show off his catch and we were the only people around!!  This was a drum fish and he said it took him about 45 minutes to land it.

We love stepping out of the camper at night and hearing the waves of the gulf crashing into the jetty off to our left, actually seeing the milky way, not the fuzzy, blurry strip we would sometimes see at home out in the country, but the individual stars, hearing what we think was a pack of coyotes feeding the pups across the river, and listening to the dolpin in the river breaking the surface and breathing.  It made us smile every time, but, it is time to move on.  Next stop San Antonio, the Alamo and the Missions.

We've landed in Texas!

We've landed in Texas at Matagorda Bay Nature Park. It's a 1,600 acre park and preserve at the mouth of the Colorado River (TX) on the Matagorda Peninsula. The park has about two miles of beach on the Gulf and two miles of river frontage and hundreds of acres of coastal marshes and dunes. It is one of the best birding areas in the nation. We have only been here 3 days and already love the place!

Our site is right on the river with a fishing dock right out our door!
Speaking of fishing:

 

This is my home made (parts from Home Depot) shrimp gun. I take it out to the flats at low tide and suck these little ghost shrimp (yabbies) right out of their holes and use them as bait. We went fishing last night and Cindy caught a real nice sand trout in the river. We are headed out to the ocean tomorrow to try our luck there.

At high tide, Bottle Nose Dolphins come up the river right past our dock!

The wild life here is amazing! We don't go anywhere without a camera!

The "Pavement Princess" gets her feet dirty! We bought a beach permit so we can drive the beaches, there are over 20 miles of beach on the peninsula you can explore!!!

Had to put this pic in. When you stop for gas in Louisiana it can really reduce your MPG. Cindy was a very happy girl, lol!  Gas stations are definitely not this much fun at home!!!

Next stop, Kinder Louisianna. Little ways off the expressway, but with a name like Coushatta Luxury RV Resort at Red Shoes Park, I was intrigued! Again, at a casino, but with full hook ups and cement pads and night time temps above freezing, it was a good place to stop and de-winterize. Spent 3 nights here doing all the things it was too cold to do at home, plus laundry as it is usually cheap at casino campgrounds. Ate dinner the first night at the casino's buffett, it was good, but on the way here we saw a little place called Fausto's serving cajun food, so decided to try it the second night. Well, it was so good we ate there again the next night and I had a cajun baked potatoe with crawfish and cajun rice and I have to say it was the best baked potatoe I ever had!!

Well, after 3 nights we had everything unpacked and put away and we were ready to hit the road again and head into Texas!

Tried to put some miles behind us today, drove to Wesson, Mississippi. Stopped at Lake Lincoln State Park, full hook ups and pull thru site again. Pretty park on a lake, but still getting down into freezing temps at night meaning unable to de-winterize the camper yet, so back on the road again in the morning.

Well, we only made it as far as Caruthersville, Missouri today.  We were bucking 17+ mile/hour headwinds so we decided to stop early. Found a campground with pull thru sites, full hook up, cable, internet and wonderful hot showers for only $19.00. Oh, did I mention the campground is at a casino?? :) Honestly, it was easy to find as there were many billboards and it's not far off the interstate so it was quick and easy, we didn't even have to unhook the camper from the truck, and it's right on the Mississippi River! 

Next morning, back on the road again.

First day on the road, Friday, we made it as far as Effingham, Illinois.  Found a small campground not far off the interstate with pull thru sites.

It's January 19, 2013, and it's time to hit the road again and head south!

Interlochen, Ludington, Fort Custer, Heather, Lauren, Nick and Kids

 

         
                                                  
Our next stop after Traverse City was at Interlochen State Park.  We stayed there for a few days and caught a concert at Interlochen Center for the Arts, which is right across the street from the campground.  We saw the band Blind Pilot from Portland, Oregon.  We thought they were great! Have a listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=435USIk3yDc This is from the Letterman Show where he screws up their name!

Next stop was Ludington, an old favorite of ours, where we caught many beautiful sunsets and many photo op's for deer.

A doe checking out our campsite!

Two fawns we saw in the dunes down by the beach.

A regular at our camp, we named him Bucky.

Our next stop was Fort Custer State Park near Battle Creek where we met up with Heather, Lauren, Nick, Trina, Max, Aiden and of course Lexie.

It's been a wonderful trip, rediscovering some of our favorite up-north places and discovering a few new ones!  Home until after Christmas, except for a couple weeks up north for the colors in the fall!