Down the Road to Texas!

We left out of Capitol Reef Saturday, October 15. We decided on a route going southwest through Moab and staying the night at Cortez, Colorado.  We knew there was a WalMart there. We needed supplies and I desperately needed a haircut!  We stayed at the Sundance RV park which was decent enough.  Driving through Moab was a zoo.  That place has gotten popular and crowded.  The first thing we did at Cortez was to go out and eat some real Mexican food.  It has been months and we were way over due.  It was excellent.  After that we needed to find a walking trail, which we did - the Hawkins Preserve.

Here's our toast to real margaritas!  Not the Utah type!

Can I saw it was yummy??

A little hike afterwards.....

We were doing our best to stay ahead of a cool front and some really gusty, high winds. Decided the best route would be going south through New Mexico. We had heard what a nice state park that Elephant Butte was, so that was our destination.  It was really pretty, but we didn't explore much as we spent our time visiting with our new neighbors and friends, Barry and Joyce Crocker. They are from Oregon and are on their way slowly to Texas to volunteer at Goliad State Park. They are keepers for sure and we hope to catch up with them at Goliad.

Elephant Butte State Park

Next stop was the Davis Mountains State Park out in west Texas.  And it is back in the 90's!  Caught a great sunset and a moon rise, but a visiting skunk sent us inside a little earlier than we would have liked.

The Texas state border at El Paso.

The next day we headed out, driving through the Davis and Braille mountains up to I-10.  South Llano River State Park was about as far as we were wanting to drive.  This is such a nice, quiet park.  And score!!!!  We haven't been in a river since June. It is warm enough that we got our bathing suits on and went and sat in the cool, clear waters for a while.  Found us a meat market in Junction and yep, we grilled some really great steaks. Has been a long time since we sat outside and listened to the cicadas.

Wow did this feel good!

This sign says it all. Good to be back in Texas!

 From here it was a 6 hour drive on home to Sweeny. We were able to fit our rig into the Backyard Park at Sweeny. Very reasonable - first night free, then $6 a night. But you can only stay a week. That was fine with us!  First thing we did was to surprise Aiden when he got in from school!  Best hug ever!  We got caught up on visits with Ron's mom, my Aunt Lucy, Amy, James and Aiden and a host of other friends!  I am so amazed at how many folks use this city park. They have a really great walking trail.

Some extra large hugs from these grandkids!!!

Saturday was our first trip to the Brazoria County Fair in at least 12 years!  We went to see Aiden compete in the "Chicken Catching Contest".  He spent the night with us. We decided to go to my hometown church - Sweeny FUMC.  Saw so many friends!  Felt like a reunion.  And Sunday - Finally got to see Liz and Lucy!  Yay!  Even went to sorority meeting - just like old times.  Got Ron into the doctor and scheduled more appointments.

Caught a chicken!

Proud of Mr. Aiden getting an award at his first award ceremony!

Check out that smile! We are proud!

Next up - A great time at the Czhilispiel, Fredericksburg and then Hunters Weekend in Bandera.

End of Tour at Capitol Reef National Park

These past few weeks have been really busy ones for us.  And also kept us here minding the campground. We have been worried about John, our co-host.  He ended up spending a week in the hospital and I am so happy to say that now he is doing much better!  So that in combination with the cooler temperatures at night and not wanting to tent camp (sorry.....not investing in a pair of down sleeping bags LOL) we were ok to stay here and mind the campground.  We did sneak in a couple of day trips though.  Fall has been so pretty here!

The campground is glowing yellow!

Behind the campground you see these rock walls. Finally got closer to them. Pretty tall! Used to keep the livestock in. Built by the misbehaving boys!

The Capitol Reef horses. Used for rescues if needed.

Closer look of a wall.

Looking down on the Fremont River.

The Henry Mountains are located just east outside of the park near Hanksville.  The Henry Mountains were the last mountain range to be added to the map of the 48 contiguous US states. The mountains are also home to approximately 350 American bison, one of only four free-roaming herds in the United States.

Cool hole in the rock.

The Henry's are just a little rougher looking.

We ended up turning around. Road got really narrow with this big old dually. Straight shot into the valley and Hanksville.

Inside of Wolverton Mill.

Wolverton Mill in Hanksville. Originally used in the Henry Mountains for gold mining.

We decided to take another drive back to Fish Lake National Forest, but drive a new route from there to Salina and Richfield. Other campers were coming back and showing us their foliage pictures with snow. We caught some beautiful sites and there was still some snow!

Pretty colors!

Great reflection!

Still some snow!

A lot of aspen leaves have fallen, but check out the remaining snow!

Johnson Reservoir

Another great time was when Jari and Greg, who we volunteered with at LBJ National Historical Park, stopped by for a visit.  The weather was a little tricky while they were here. We got to experience waterfalls again on the cliffs by our RV.  Some of our campers got trapped in Capitol Gorge when it decided to flash flood 3 times in one afternoon. Mercy!

Check out the waterfall!  You have to look quick as it only lasts maybe 15 minutes!

Happy hour with Jari and Greg!

Again we have met so many enjoyable campers here that we hope our paths will cross again some day. Flo and Dean kept us laughing every time we visited. Campfire friends from Switzerland, Notta and Urses had a great story.  He came across from East Germany before the wall was built. He never knew what happened to his father, sounds like he assumed he may have been killed by the Russians. He said they were poor but he had the happiest disposition. I sure count my blessings everyday when I hear other folks' stories.

This teddy bear pom is the best kind of camper to have! Ha!

In the afternoons when the campground was full and we had down time, we took some hikes mostly to get some good shots of the ever changing fall foliage.  It is just downright colorful and pretty. The cottonwoods have all turned yellow and when the wind blows it looks like gold dust around here.

Sunrise on our last morning of work.

The full moon rising behind the mountain on our last night of being in the park.

We will miss our co-hosts Trish and John when we leave here Saturday. Tom and Peggy will take over for us for the next two weeks and we wish them luck. Ron is super excited to get on home so we can get his shoulder surgery scheduled. (Not!) The next few months we will be out and about with family and friends in our old hometown of Sweeny, Texas, catching up on things, spoiling grandkids, hopefully catching some fall festivals and Christmas camping, depending on how Ron is recuperating. We plan to make a few stops at some of our National Monuments on the way home. There are still so many in this area that we haven't visited. Before we left, Trish made us dinner!  And a few friends stopped in to say good-bye!

Peggy, John, Trish, Ron and Tom.

We will miss Ranger Michael!

We were so lucky to get to work with great law enforcement - Mike and Brenda. Christy was our volunteer coordinator.

So, until next time!

A Little Leaf Peeping, a Harvest Festival and Cassidy Arch

Growing up on the Texas Gulf Coast, we just never really get to enjoy 4 seasons. So heck yes! Fall is arriving here!!!  We heard the leaves were changing in the upper elevations, we could see them from a distance, so away we went for a little drive with new friends Pat and Barbara from Kentucky up to Fish Lake. We even included a short side trip to Cathedral Valley. I just love the way the Aspen trees quiver!

Quaking aspens!

Fish Lake

Saturday was the Harvest Homecoming Festival here at the park.  Such fun!  Great history! Great music!  Great exhibits!  Fascinating to learn the history of cow brands. Two fun things that evening.  First was a presentation by the New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park Centennial Band. Wow!!!  Those rangers are really good!  The other was some good old fashioned barn dancing - you know where the fiddle plays and you have a "caller" telling you how to dance, swing your partner and move to the next partner.  The last time I remember doing that was in Jr. High PE class!  Now I can say I have danced with German and French folks, not to mention some of the local Utah folks.  Made for a great time. Wish everyone had a chance to experience a little bit of Americana!

Ron practicing his branding skills.

One of the bands playing.  When is the last time you heard the song "Mammies Little Baby Loves Shortening Shortening!"

The cowboy going over the history of brands.

Swing your partner dosie doe!

Ranger Chris and Christy explaining how to smoke your meats!

 

Ranger friends out of uniform!

Jazzie from the Jazz Band. She was GOOD!

And this ranger was one of the best jazz pianists and trumpet players!

And our last day of fun this time was a super long hike up to Cassidy Arch, across the Frying Pan trail down into Cohab Canyon and back to the campground.  About 8 miles give or take. I'm not as nimble as I used to be and I still have a problem at times with this altitude stuff.  Anything over 50' in elevation I feel.  But this hike allowed us to see and experience some of the remoteness of Capitol Reef. Such a beautiful area.  In these places it is so quiet that it can hurt your ears.  We feel so blessed to be able to experience this! My wish is that you all can experience this too!

Ron blazing the trail

Views from up high.

Is this some ancient dinosaur poop?

The road that leads to the trail head.

Looking at Cassidy Arch

Reminds me of orange sherbert.

Another view of Cassidy Arch.

Cassidy Arch

Last by not least, a thanks to all the swell campers we get to meet and mingle with.  First time we ever got to taste homemade rootbeer!  Yummy!  Let's see, a 10 gallon water jug, dry ice, sugar, root beer extract. Extraordinary results!!!

Slushy rootbeer!