A day in the desert

Four adults plus two dogs in one 24-foot RV?  A bit crowded, but it works!  Kelly, Michael, Rossi, Ranger, Dan and I went to Anza Borrego Desert State Park for an overnight trip.  On Sunday it was extremely windy which made hiking and bird-watching a little unpleasant, so we drove to the Salton Sea, just to look around. Monday's weather was much better, and we were able to do two hikes, one in the morning with the dogs and one in the afternoon with the dogs left back in the AC.  The Navion performed well on the windy mountain roads, though it's a slow uphill climb.  After driving home, we had a great dinner at a local Mexican-vegan restaurant.  I think we ALL went to bed early after a tiring day.

Visiting Kelly in San Diego

We arrived in San Diego on Thursday afternoon and have settled in at Santa Fe RV Resort, right along I-5, convenient to Kelly's home.  Yesterday we went to the Safari Park (a branch of San Diego Zoo).  While others---and there were plenty of others!---were viewing the rhinos, giraffes, and apes, we wandered through the gardens and identified many local birds.  It was a beautiful place to spend the day walking around,   Michael was kind enough to dog-sit, so we were relieved of dog supervision for a short while.  Tomorrow the four of us, plus two dogs, will head to Anzo Borrega State Park for an overnight hiking/birding trip.

Arizona----but not for long

We left New Mexico with plans to get about halfway across Arizona.  But the scenery was so dreary and the road straight and flat, so we shot right through to a town about 30 miles from the California border.  Upon pulling into what appeared to be a nice RV "resort", we found out that the sites for those just spending one night were basically a parking lot.  At least we had lots of privacy!  It was in the upper 90's outside and the RV heated up quickly sitting out in the blazing sun.  Thank goodness for air-conditioning!

Today's 200-mile trip took us into San Diego where we will stay for about a week.  We are in another "urban camping" situation, just off I-5, but it's close to Kelly's apartment.  It has a pool, laundry, and beautiful landscaping---but dogs are restricted to a strip of land across the back of the park.  No walking them around the streets at all.  Oh well.  Ranger will be spending time with Rossi, with plans (already) for a trip to the dog park this afternoon.

Finally----a new state!

We are now in Rockhound State Park near Deming, New Mexico.  Our site is up against the west side of the Florida Mountains with a great view down into the valley.  The only problem is that there is a STRONG  wind---25 mph, gusts to 40!    Despite that, we'll get out on the hiking trails today, with plenty of sunscreen, hats, and water.  It's not as hot as in west Texas, and there's definitely a change in temperatures between afternoon and night!  It was in the mid-50's this morning, almost chilly. 
Dan's enjoying identifying some of the desert birds.  A good way to spend his birthday!

Hot times in West Texas!

We left San Antonio in fog and light rain, which continued for the first two hours of yesterday's drive.  About six hours later, we arrived at Balmorhea State Park.  This is the smallest park we've stayed in: a couple of dozen campsites, about a dozen motel rooms, and---what it is known for----a huge pool, fed by springs, which attracts large numbers of day-users, especially on the weekend.  Yesterday, the place was packed.  The campsites were largely taken up by groups of Boy Scouts (the second time this has happened at a state park on a weekend)---must be the time of year when they're all out for spring overnights. 

Last evening, and again early this morning, we walked about the park and did some birdwatching.  Since lunch, we've stayed in the RV, in the air-conditioning, waiting for the heat of the day to dissipate a bit.  Last night it got down in the upper 50's which was great for sleeping.

Ranger got a quick bath today and seemed to enjoy being sprayed with the cool water.  He's doing fine in the desert, as long as he stays away from those sandburrs. 

Last day in San Antonio

Today was a day of catching up on groceries, cleaning, and laundry.  On the way back from shopping we stopped at Mission San Jose, which was a good place to walk Ranger and take in a bit of history.

It was rainy this afternoon, but in between showers, I got in the pool, just across from our site---which felt great in the 90 degree heat.

At dinnertime, we walked across the street to a local Mexican restaurant where the waitress spoke very little English, but we had much better Mexican food than we did on the River Walk and for half the price.

Up early tomorrow for a long day of driving across west Texas, the longest day of driving we anticipate on the way to California.

More touring in San Antonio

Yesterday (Thursday) we took the river barge tour of the city, with an entertaining guide who provided lots of stories of local history and jokes.  Then we toured La Villita, a section of the city with art studios and craft shops.  Then back to our RV park for some time in the hot tub and a nice dinner.

It has been hot and very cloudy the whole time we've been here.  The locals are hoping for rain out of all these clouds, but so far, we were only sprinkled on a bit while downtown yesterday afternoon and we had a drizzly evening.  Meanwhile, it sounds as if the East Coast is getting plenty of rain!

Today will be a day of catching up: cleaning, shopping for groceries, and perhaps a stop at one of the nearby missions for the tour there. 

Photos from San Antonio

I had trouble getting pictures to load on that last post, so I'll try again here. 

The Alamo

Riverwalk

Remember the Alamo???

Well, really I don't remember much about it, having been schooled in New Jersey.  But we visited it today, and I was reminded how little I understand about history.  (Lots of Texan school groups there visiting with us, I noticed.) 

We spent time this afternoon in downtown San Antonio (obviously) and enjoyed a decent lunch at a cafe along the River Walk (though the restaurants there all seemed geared to tourists----tomorrow night we'll be in search of a more authentic Mexican meal!).  The River Walk itself is lovely, aside from the preponderence of restaurants.  We didn't explore it all today and will return tomorrow to see more.

Meanwhile out "urban camping" is going all right. There was MUCH highway noise last night---something we're not used to in Montpelier.  Tonight we'll try sleeping with the AC on and see if that helps. The RV resort is really rather nice.  I went to the pool after our touring today and chatted with some friendly fellow-RV'ers from Canada.  We also have visited with a couple from AZ who were on the same bus heading downtown today.  While there's not a lot of dog space here, it's a pretty good base for exploring the city.

Ranger seemed to survive fine, in air-conditioned comfort, while we played tourists today. 

On the Rio Grande

We have been in Mission, TX for the past few days.  It is in far south Texas on the Mexican border.  It's not an area that seems very attractive, but it IS known for its birdwatching possibilities.  During the season (November through March), the place is busy with birders from all over.  However, now in mid-May, it's very quiet, with all the Snowbirds having gone north. 

We spent the day yesterday in Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park.  It's another park that is dealing with damage from extreme weather: the entire park was underwater last year due to Hurricane Alex.  So there was much construction and repair work going on.  We had to park outside and walk in, then take a tram around the roadways.  Some really unusual birds are in the area, ones that can't be seen anywhere else in the US, and we were able to add green jay, chachalaca, grooved bill ani, and olive sparrow to our list.


It was amusing to go grocery shopping here.  We were in search of (among other things) hummus and bagels.  No such things in this local store.  There were, however, multiple types of peppers in the produce section, big bins of many different dried peppers, and huge bins of dried pinto beans!  Definitely a different culture.

Today we're heading north to San Antonio.

Near Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

Thursday we left the Beaumont area, heading south to the Texas gulf coast.  Just past Houston, the radio started in with “The National Weather Service has issued….”---warnings about severe thunderstorms.  We did indeed run into them, though in the heaviest part of the wind and rain, we pulled off the highway and parked under the road.  When it settled down into just heavy rain, we continued, arriving at Goose Island State Park, north of Corpus Christi in mid-afternoon.  As the rain continued throughout the evening, we were extremely glad to be in our comfortable RV and not setting up a tent in the downpour!

And yesterday we found still another reason to be happy about our RV---MOSQUITOES!  When I walked Ranger early in the morning, I was just about eaten up with them.  They are discouraged, but not totally defeated by heavy doses of bug spray.  Since the park is in a marshy area along three bays, I guess we should expect them.  (But the scenery is great.)  Apparently this park is much used by fishermen, as yesterday morning there was a steady stream of towed boats, mostly those airboats with the big fans on the back, into the boat launch area up the way.

We took a day trip south, went through Rockport and Aransas Pass, and ended up, via ferry, at Port Aransas.  It reminded us of the Outer Banks---lots of motels, hotels, rental cottages, t-shirt shops, and so forth.  It’s also the location of the University of Texas Marine Science Institute, which must be one of the hottest places in the country to do such work----not a tree in sight, just lots of sand dunes.  Just by luck, we ended up at the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center, which was the highlight of our day.  After seeing several new birds within the first few minutes, we went back to the RV, fired up the generator and turned on the AC, and left the dog for the next two hours.  The gardens were home to a number of warblers and other small birds, while the boardwalk took us out over the water, to where we saw lots of ducks and other water birds.  Dan’s greatest find of the day: a pair of least bitterns.  He got some great pictures with his new camera.

Then back to the park, where we stayed inside, hiding from all those bugs!

Very little phone service, so no Internet----posting this on Sunday as we prepare to continue south toward the Rio Grande.

On to Texas

Yesterday we left Mississippi behind, bypassed New Orleans, and crossed the state of Louisiana on I-10. The governor had recently called for some evacuations due to the rising waters of the Mississippi River, but we sailed well above it on the highway, crossing it at Baton Rouge and entering "The West".  There are long stretches of I-10 in LA that are above swamp and the waters below are full of egrets and other water birds.  We had a lunch break at the visitors center for the Atchafalaya River/Bayou/Refuge in the middle of it all---good exhibits, free coffee, and a man playing Cajun music in the lobby.

We crossed into Texas in early afternoon and pulled over for the night in Lumberton, just north of Beaumont.  We're at Village Creek State Park, which is small but nice.  Apparently it's a place favored by paddlers, as they can travel along the creek through Big Thicket, just to the north, and pull in here for the night at the tent sites along the water.  Today we'll go through Houston and head for our next stop at Goose Island State Park near Corpus Christi.

Hot in Mississippi

I thought I could deal with humidity, being from Virginia, but the heat and humidity here in Waveland, MS are really intense!  Yesterday, we walked from the campground out to the main road which runs along the Gulf.  By the time we got there, Ranger was more than ready for a nice swim. 

This has turned out to be a great place for birdwatching.  There are red-headed woodpeckers everywhere, and yesterday we added common night hawk and indigo bunting to the trip list.  Our site is wooded behind, so yesterday, during the heat of the day, we relaxed in the shade, read, and watched the birds as they came by.  It cooled off somewhat in the evening, but that's when the insect attack began.  (Note: We will NOT try to eat dinner outside at the picnic table tonight.)  What a treat at the end of the day to get into the RV and turn on that air-conditioning so that we can get some sleep! 

This morning I walked the dog at 6:30, and it was already 72 degrees.....and oh, yes, VERY humid!

Tornados in the South

We spent Saturday night at a nice park (Sherling Lake) between Montgomery and Mobile, AL.   This was not the area that was affected by the recent tornado that went through Tuscaloosa; however, it WAS hit by the tornado about two weeks before that.  Many trees were down and they have a massive clean-up ahead, but the camping area was spared.  The managers were extremely friendly and apologetic about the limited access to walking paths and so forth.  All in all, it was a good place for an overall stop.

We've traveled on to the Mississippi gulf coast and will be staying at Buccaneer State Park (Waveland) for the next few days.  The entire park was destroyed by Katrina----remember Katrina, before the tornados and the earthquakes and the tsunami?   So the one camping loop that is open for business is all brand new.  Today we'll start exploring the area.

Being in Mississippi in May, we had the "opportunity" to test out our air-conditioning last night.  What a relief!

300 miles behind us

We woke up this morning near Spartanburg, SC, after a fairly uneventful day of driving yesterday---other than the thunderstorm at lunchtime that left the dog cowering back by the bathroom.

Ranger was glad to be at a campground with a dog play area after hours of riding, and we enjoyed a quiet evening with much privacy; there seem to be few people out camping at this time of year.  I'm curious to see if that continues to be the case.  Today we're off to Alabama.