TEXAS FARM ROAD 170 IN PICTURES

National Geographic wrote that the 50 miles of Texas Farm Road 170 from Lajitas to Presidio is one of the top ten most scenic routs in the US.   The photo above is testament to that....and an added plus is  that the road runs alongside the Rio Grande most of the way.  Yes, that is Mexico on the other side of the river.

The road consistently seems to carve its way through mountain pass after mountain pass as we head north to Presidio.

The Texas Highway Department does an excellent job establishing picnic areas along its many roads.  Here you see three picnic tables that are inside shade providing T-Pees.  Very clever!

Another testament to why National Geographic noted FM 170 to top ten status.   You can see here how shallow the Rio Grande is as a result of Texas' 8 year drought.

                          Yet another top notch view.

Presidio is a town of about 5000 folks across the border from Ojinaga (O-Hee-Naga) or OJ as it is locally known.   Presidio's population is about 95% Mexican and Spanish is the daily language spoken.   A good place to settle for awhile if your goal is to immerse yourself in the Hispanic culture and improve your Spanish.

We stopped for lunch at the Enchanted Bean restaurant in Presidio.  It is owned and managed by two women....one Mexican and one 'gringa'...and the food and service were excellent.  And as you see from the sign, they have a good sense of humor!!

After lunch we enjoyed the 50 mile journey in reverse...and back to the motorhome at the Maverick Ranch in Lajitas.

BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK.....IN PICTURES

Big Bend National Park is huge....nearly 1 million acres of rugged beauty in the very southern part of the State of Texas.   There are mountains galore every where you look....as a backdrop to the unforgiving beauty of the Chihuahuan Desert in the foreground.

Here is an example of the mountain ranges than ring Big Bend. These make up part of the Sierra Del Carmen range in Mexico.

We didn't find out exactly what these white rocks are....but they add a great contrast to the more typical dark rock of the Big Bend.

April is a great month to visit the deserts in the US as this photo of the Prickly Pear Cactus attest....there are many examples of beautiful flora throughout the desert.

As we approach the very southern reaches of the park, the view ahead is of the Del Carmen range, with the Santa Elena Canyon in the center cut.   The Rio Grande, which is known as the Rio Bravo in Mexico, made this dramatic cut in the mountains over the millennium, creating the 1500 foot high canyon walls.

Here is a closer look at Santa Elena Canyon....and yes, I was knee deep in the Rio Grande river when taking the photo.  If only the river had more water in it....we could have kayaked up into the Canyon.   Maybe next time!!

A view of the Del Carmen range in the background taken from the Castolon Outpost near the very southern part of Big Bend.

As the sign notes, the Panther Junction headquarters of Big Bend Park is 21 miles east...but our route was west to Lajitas, via Study Butte and Terlingua.   Our visit to the park was over several days...but our best day was our visit with John and Alison before they had to depart back to England.   Big Bend is out of the way....one really has to want to go there...and we're glad we did.

LAJITAS RESORT AND RV PARK

To say the Lajitas Resort and RV Park is "off the beaten path" might be considered by some an understatement.   It sits on the edge of the middle-of-nowhere in the West Texas desert and on the border with Mexico.  A good place to be for visiting Big Bend National Park and a great place for "cooling your heels" for a few days.   We have been here a week and have loved every minute of it.  The 100 degree temps don't even scare us off....when the humidity is less than 10% you feel the heat but it doesn't knock you down and stomp on you like humidity and heat do collectively.  

We arrived here on the 5th with Alison and John (see the wedding blog) and enjoyed parts of Big Bend, had a couple of wonderful meals at the resort and had our big Boquillas adventure prior to having to say goodbye to them on the 7th.   Indeed, we crammed quite a bit in to the day and a half.  The resort is lovely, with many standard and deluxe rooms and suites...and the RV Park has all the necessary amenities to fully make yourself feel at home.

What you see here is a small part of the resort. There are additional rooms in the old fort across the road and there is a championship golf course that sits along side the Rio Grande.

Much of the resort is set up to look like an old west town....it is very charming.  This photo looks down the walkway to the bakery (yum) and the Agave Spa to the right.

To the left is the hotel registration area and lobby.  Just to the right of it are a couple of nice shops.  Guest rooms with balconies are above.  

Note the Old West town styled walk ways in front of the hotel and other buildings.  Very rustic and realistic without taking anything away from the luxuries the resort offers.

The walkway to the Thirsty Goat Saloon and the Candellia Restaurant.   (yes, that happens to be Ali sniffing her way along).

The view from our outside dining table, where we enjoyed both a nice lunch one day and a delicious dinner the next day.  

The resort gardens are very nicely done and all are reflect the beauty of the Chihuahuan Desert. 

And just down the road a bit from the resort is the RV Park....cute entrance sign, eh?

Not only did we enjoy gorgeous views from the resort dining area, take a look at the view from the RV Park.   We depart Lajitas tomorrow for a week at Fort Davis, TX before leaving Texas for Arizona next week.   Lajitas will hold a special place for us...after all, it was our honeymoon!!

BOQUILLAS CROSSING....with the Brits

We had only one day....Sunday, the 6th...to enjoy Alison and John's company as they were departing for their return to the UK on the Monday.   So we left Lajitas Resort fairly early and drove one of the main roads through Big Bend National Park to show them the majesty and the remoteness of the area.  Our destination was the Rio Grande Village area in the southeast of the park.  When we arrived we purchased 4 tickets for the row-boat ride across the Rio Grande to the small Mexican village of Boquillas.  The village had fallen on desperate times when after September 11, 2001 the border crossing was closed, putting an end to the tourism  the village needed to survive.   But after several years of hardship the border crossing was opened again, so we planned to go across the river and have a new experience.

This was the first ever visit to Mexico by Pam, Alison and John, which made the crossing even more memorable.   There are two ways across the river: by rowboat operated by the Mexicans or by wading across.   We opted for the boat.

The trip across the river gave us a few minutes to think of how we wanted to get from the river into the village about a mile away.  The choices were riding horses, riding donkeys, riding in a pickup truck and walking.   We chose the horses....a big deal for me as I had never been on a horse before.  So not without some measures of difficulty, we managed to mount our horses and "enjoy" the ride to Boquillas (which means 'little mouth', by the way).

I thought I was quite clever in taking photos of the other three over my shoulder during the ride, but when my horse stumbled and nearly fell, I decided discretion was the better part of valor!

Here John and Pam are quite clear behind me....and you can get just a peek of Alison, behind John.

As it turned out, Alison had the horse which wanted to be in the lead, so here she is out in front for the second half of the ride....she had some nice chats with the Mexican lads who provided her escort!

After checking in with Mexican customs officials, we walked through the village taking note of the gorgeous mountain scenery and the colorful adobe buildings, like this Catholic Church.

We had a wonderful lunch at Falcon's restaurant above, all the while being 'doted upon' by Lillia Falcon and her charming husband, Bernardo.  The food was so good we wanted to stay and order again!!   But after picking up a few souvenirs at the gift shop, it was time for us to turn in our day long visas, mount up and head for the river and the return boat ride to the US.

Here Pam enjoys her ride back to the Rio Grande after a great visit to the village of Boquillas.

John also enjoyed his return ride to the river....note he had on a ball cap for the ride to the village and a Stetson for the ride back to the river....yup, he found himself a nice Texas hat in Mexico.

So, armed with Mexican stamps in our passports and a whole host of special, and fun memories "across the Rio Grande in Boquillas" we walked back through US Customs and  back to the US for our return drive to Lajitas.

After joining John and Alison for a wonderful Monday morning breakfast, sadly, it was time to share many hugs and a near tearful goodbye as they left for Midland, TX and their flights back to England.   We will cherish the memory of their surprise visit to Texas, and the few days of fun and laughter we had with them.  It couldn't have been better.

BIG NEWS FROM MARATHON, TEXAS

A slight delay of 6 days since our last blog....but we have a very good reason....you see, we had to attend to very important 'business' at the Gage Hotel Gardens on Friday, the 4th.  

Yup, as the photo shows, our very important business was the business of GETTING MARRIED.   We love the Hill Country and the Western Plains of Texas and last year discovered the Gage Hotel in Marathon.  It is a wonderful, first class hotel nearby to "the middle of nowhere".   Pam and I were engaged last Christmas and we set our sights on the Gage this Spring for the wedding.  

The day before the big day, we were "blown away"....and I mean really blown away when we returned to the RV Park in Marathon to find a note on the door to the motorhome.  The note said to "come to room 11 for a surprise package".  So we did just that and when the door opened we were shocked to see Pam's cousin, John Currah, and his lovely wife, Alison, standing in the doorway shouting "SURPRISE".   And what a surprise it was....all the way from the Cornish coast of England to Houston and then Midland TX....and then driving the two + hours to Marathon to be with us for the wedding.   So, just like that we found we had a best man and a matron of honor.....and a better couple for the job we couldn't hope for.

Here is Pam with cousin John and Alison Currah.  What a special treat to have them come all this way....AND to be able to spend a couple of days with us after the wedding day for lots of fun, laughter and good food.   A future blog will entail our special venture on 6 April...to Mexico!

       And now it was my turn to embrace these special friends. 

  

Here we are outside Casa Jardin (garden house), part of the Gage Hotel's accommodations adjacent to the Gage Gardens, where the ceremony took place.  A Texas wedding called for Tex-Mex garb, so here we are living up to that billing as best we can.

Pam and I on the bridge in the gardens just after "tying the knot" as they say.

    Pam and Alison with their flowers just before the ceremony.

Here I am shaking my best man's hand just after the ceremony, while in the background Pam gives Alison a big hug.  Ali was her usual calm self during the festivities.....she just had to be there with us.

Here the "three of us" walk back to Casa Jardin after the wedding ceremony.  A bit later we joined Alison and John for a wonderful celebratory dinner at the Gage Hotel restaurant....and we were all in for still another surprise when the waitress presented the folder with the bill, but instead of the bill was a note saying "Congratulations!!   Dinner is on me!!  All my love, Amy".   Yes, Pam's daughter, Amy, had made arrangements with the hotel for her to pay for dinner for the four of us.  What a wonderful (not to mention Grand) present.  Amy was with us in spirit that day, and the day was capped off with her generous gift.   A wonderful day with wonderful people.

HEADING TO WEST TEXAS

With the Hill Country in the rear view mirror, we don our cowboy hats (as you can see) and point the bus toward the West Texas Plains.

The early stretches of US 90 (a favorite cross country southern route that allows us to stay off the Interstates and see more of the country) west of Del Rio are rife with rugged and unforgiving landscape.

After 100 miles or so the landscape takes on a different look, with more vegetation the primary difference.   And lucky us to be traveling late March...re-warded with new green buds.

About 1/2 way to Marathon, our destination this day, we discover we are not the only campers heading West on 90.  These two 5th wheel trailers are part of a 4-some traveling together.

The occasional ranch spread comes into view.. this one is Ranch Guadalupe.  A nice gate entrance for out here in the "middle of nowhere".

After a stop for a lunch break alongside the highway, time to change drivers.   US 90 is a good secondary road with little traffic (unlike the Interstates)...thus presenting a great opportunity for Pam to practice her driving.   She has been learning to drive the new coach and, like on this day, does a great job!

To the right we see Dos Amigos alongside the highway.

As we near Marathon and the road to Big Bend NP we are reminded that this is real Cowboy Country!

The town of Marathon (population about 500) is just over the rise.  It is our base for the next several days until we move on to Big Bend this weekend.

The setting sun is casting a warm "glow" on the back of the coach.  We are all hooked up, leveled and with slides out for a comfortable stay.   Now off with Ali to see the sunset.

Our first West Texas sunset in 2014.   There will be many more to come in "big sky" country......stay tuned.