Camping was very good.  Maybe I’m getting the hang of it.

The wind was intense again!! Mostly a crosswind.  Tiring driving.

The Johnson Space Center was as I thought it would be, though more tilted towards children than I’d expect.  A lot more.  But they had plenty of adult related stuff too.  Four external tram rides are offered; I took the one to the original Command Center, made famous by the Apollo missions.  We all sat in the original visitors’ seats.  (“Queen Elizabeth sat there.”) It was a great feeling to recall history from the place where history was made.

They have a Saturn V rocket display which was amazing.  They’d spent considerable funds to clean it up and put it inside for preservation.  They also have the Apollo 17 capsule.  Lots of history.  But as I said it’s got a tremendous amount of kids activities.  Almost like an amusement park atmosphere.  Disney-like.

From there I had to rush east with very few stops.  Getting out of Texas was an event.  I didn’t see a “Welcome to the United States of America” sign at the border, but it wouldn’t have surprised me if one was there.  Texas has a certain feel to it, though in a sense the “feel” was more, not less, American.  I missed a lot, but that’s what return trips are made for.

I happened upon the Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum near the border (closed on Sundays).  There was a cricket match behind it, which gave my last experience in Texas a definite international quality.

My first realization that there was serious flooding was the Texas Tourism Center at the border.  Underwater.  Many exits from I10 were closed for obvious reasons.

Louisiana is different.  Billboards are everywhere.  Pro-life, casinos, ambulance chasers, doctors, “Rent This Sign” signs, etc.  Not a pretty sight.  Roads are much worse.  Thump, thump, thump.  Getting to the State Park involved more local navigation than I’d imagine.  It doesn’t seem that the roads or towns were laid out in straight lines.  The Park was also largely underwater.  This is the first time I’ve camped two nights in a row.

This flag was planted on the moon, then returned to Earth.

The stairs to mission control. Just regular stairs.

Cricket

Ten feet from my tent.

A little bit of flooding.

As good a day as I could ask for.  Too much to report.  Bullets.

Chilly and VERY WINDY.  Even on a 900 lb. bike, I struggled at times.

Bandera; Self proclaimed Cowboy Capitol.  8:30 AM, already bustling.  Today was their “Pig Fest Explosion!”  Put kids of a specific age into a corral, let in a pig of a specific size.  The child who catches the pig wins.  Age groups go right up to adult I was told. (Pigs gets bigger as age gets older.)  I could have spent my entire day here and been satisfied.  The event also serves as a magnet for hogs of a two wheel variety. I reluctantly moved on.

Medina: The Apple Store.  4” Thick Apple Pie.  $4.50 per slice.  A little too heavy on the cinnamon, which for me is saying a lot.  It was a fine breakfast, but not up to Julian, CA’s style.  No offense.  Town calls itself the Apple Capitol of Texas.  Even has a statue of an Apple.  Well, oookay!  I was there too early to try their burgers.

Twisting road was too short to be much fun.  But if it was a taste of the famous Twisted Sisters route, I’ll be back.

Fredericksburg:  Sensational!  A full day’s visit would not do it justice.  Very German.  Birthplace of Admiral Chester Nimitz (who I was very knowledgeable of already). His literal birthplace is now a toy store.  There was a Museum of him, Museum of the War in the Pacific (huge and intensely detailed), and some other site I didn’t get to.  Hundreds of plaques from all over adorn the outside park.  The visit reminded me that Admiral Nimitz and one E. P. Potter co-wrote a book: Sea Power.  Potter was a professor of mine at Annapolis.  I’d forgotten that.  One ticket allows a two day visit, which would not be an unreasonable need.  To think this museum is so far away from any ocean is weird.  The place was full too.

Town has wine tasting rooms, breweries, candy shops, antique shops, etc.  Just incredible.  But to put the icing on the cake . . .

Driving out of town, saw some event in a park.  U-turned.  Commemoration of Phase I of a new Texas Rangers Museum.  Really just a nice tower now.  The museum itself is due in 18 months.  But at least 100 people dressed in period clothing.  Three functioning cannon. A staged shootout.  Displays of guns, saddles, Etc.  Just too cool.

I regretfully had to skip a visit to Austin.  I already have a t-shirt, so not a great loss.  I’m camping at Stephen F. Austin State Park, so that’s okay.  And the park is east coast style! Soft dirt, grass, big trees, no burn ban (no snakes and no scorpions either).  The place reeks of campfires.  And it’s only going to get down to the 40s tonight.

The only disappointment today was that it was too short.

There are some strange homes on the hilltops.

Bandera

“As seen on the History channel”?

Shop in Bandera

This is an apple statue.

Fredericksburg is certainly NOT a dry town!!

An elephant?

This was originally the Nimitz Hotel in the 1800s.

The saying on the cannon harkens back to 1835, when Texans stole a Mexican cannon. They asked for it back.

In light of the forecast, I did nothing today.  But nothing in the forecast came about.  I think I shall stop listening to weather reports, as they obviously only exist to screw up plans.  I shall compress three days of planned activity into two days.

I detailed the bike, getting to the parts I missed yesterday.  She’s very clean.

My wife learned today that in the transition from working to retired, my health insurance (which didn’t have to be changed) decided to switch her gender.  The pharmacist’s computer wisely refused to fill her (his?) prescription, though the reason wasn’t apparent at the time (or he didn’t look into it too closely).  I made five phone calls to fix the error, which “should” hit system on Monday.

The Goldwing got filthy yesterday!!  This morning I spent 40 minutes trying to clean it.  Later I found I’d missed several spots.

The Alamo is filled with history, both things I knew and didn’t know.  Santa Anna committed a much worse atrocity in another location in Texas, but the name hasn’t carried the same emotion through time as the Alamo has.  But in any case, San Antonio has done an extremely good job of explaining and illustrating the history of the creation of Texas.  (Of course, history is written by the victors.  Mexico’s telling might be quite different.)  As with so many other prominent events in history, few people appreciated them until decades later.  The Alamo served as a store and storage facility before a handful of people (mostly women) got the government to take notice.  I spent about 90 minutes on the grounds.  I could have spent another hour.

The Riverwalk (or River Walk?) is just what I expected.  A lot (a LOT) of very nice restaurants and shops on both sides of a canal, which is one floor below the streets.  Everything is essentially in the basement, with additional shops above.  Tour boats ply the waters.  Ducks and swans populate the waters too.  There is an amphitheater with the stage across the canal.  There are a lot of historical markers along the ways, which hint at a very significant amount of germanic influence.  (Tomorrow I’m visiting a nearby town named Fredericksburg.)

Tonight I completed one significant bucket list item: I attended a San Antonio Spurs game.  (I’m a big fan of the Spurs.)  It was only the second NBA game I’d ever seen, with the first being in 1978.  Attending the game brings to a close what I’ve considered Grand Adventure Leg 1A.  My drive to Key West will be Leg 1B.  But the true significance is that I now have no time-sensitive event until July, when I’ll need to be in Glasgow, Scotland.  Until then, I can go as fast or as slow as I like.

I did a screen capture yesterday to signify that I was in San Diego. Texas.

Today the Alamo is a shrine, not a church. It was being built as a church in the 1790s, but never completed. It didn’t even have a roof until after the battle.

I’ve always been a fan of Davy Crockett. This quote was addressed to citizens of Kentucky, beginning: “If you do not reelect me to Congress,”

Amphitheater on the Riverwalk.

Bar downstairs from the Texas Rangers Museum. PETA would not be amused.

It’s green because everyone got a St. Patrick’s Day shirt.

My first bad day. No pics, no sightseeing.

Driving through clouds all morning, on my way to Corpus Christi.  The Goldwing is a remarkably dry ride, but the water and limited visibility is depressing. Then I stop to add air. Pump drains air instead. The attendant: “It’s not our pump. There’s a number on the pump to dial if it’s not working.” I just stare at her (a favorite trick I have when faced with an unhelpful answer). Finally, she adds “We have a pump out back that we let truckers use.” Success!  But I’m now hot, wet, dirty and disappointed with the quality of humanity. (Though I suggest they put an “out of order” sign on the air pump, it’s not done as of the time I leave.)

There’s really nothing to see in the fog, so I skip Corpus Christi and drive to San Antonio, a day ahead of plans. I took the rest of the day off from anymore Adventures. I’ll resume tomorrow.

I did succeed in driving through San Diego, TX. But there was no sign to take a picture of.  Oddly enough, there’s a Julian St.

Fairly simple ride today.  Started at the Whitehead Museum in Del Rio.  Really, just a lot of old stuff without much comment.  The same could be said of the entire town.  I’d give it a pass.

Not much between the two cities, except for Eagle Pass.  Mexico has a huge flag flying, but I was going nuts trying to find a good place for a picture.  Goldwing’s NAV system is just horrible.  But I finally succeeded, finding myself right on the Rio Grande.  Almost literally.  See the pics.

Only a few cool historical signs.  One was considered not picture worthy until I realized where I was standing.  Again, see the pics.

Drove through Dimmit County.  It might have been a typo by the residents?

Laredo has an interesting history.  Seems that when Texas won independence from Mexico, Laredo wasn’t considered part of the prize. It was disputed territory.  In 1840 there was a revolt, with Laredo and it’s surroundings declaring themselves independent of everyone.  Texans tried to take control, only to be repulsed.  Mexico did succeed in quelling the revolt, but Laredo was officially independent for 283 days.  In 1848 Mexico ceded ownership to the US.  So for a while Laredo was not Mexico, nor Texas.

I splurged and had a steak at the Tack Room and a margarita next door at La Posada Hotel.  A guy in Alpine recommended them both.  Excellent!!

Camping tonight.  Supposed to get down to 72 degrees.  Not a problem.  Showers!

Ladies: Read carefully.  Justification for legalizing cocaine!

I think my lawn mower engine is bigger.

Can you identify the car? 1947.

Wine Grape crusher.

Del Rio city hall. Constructed with limestone. Looks like a castle.

Waiting for the ferry to Mexico. Not.

A Mexican cow. If it swims across, is it an illegal steak?

The fence is 100 yards north of the river. The flag is gigantic!

This sign, about four deaths, didn’t seem picture worthy . . .

. . . until I realized where the graves were!

My home in Oceanside is only miles from California’s El Camino Real.

Politics is politics.  The Donald is most definitely a Boot.

I’ve changed the picture size.  If this is a bad idea, will someone please email me?

I saw my first Smartcar today in Texas.  I don’t think I ever got my Smartcar up to the Texas speed limit (75 MPH).  At least not on a flat road.

Fort Stockton State Historical Park isn’t exactly what I expected.  Fort Davis (a National Park) was much more complete.  But they honored my veteran status, so good for them.  Fort Stockton was another post that housed Buffalo Soldiers.  I learned that they were proud of that title, so it shouldn’t be considered a slur.  Their cool motto was “We can, We will”.

The Annie Riggs Museum was very interesting.  It’s an old hotel with room after room of antiques.  Lots of comments that put things in context.  They also had a video regarding Annie Riggs various nefarious husbands.

Today I’ve posted nearly every historical marker on Route 90, from Sanderson to Del Rio.  If it’s too much, my apologies.  But I found them interesting. Kudos to Texas for putting them up.

The Judge Roy Bean Museum was absolutely worthy of a stop.  Though they tried to bring real history to his story, they admitted that legend and fact are hard to distinguish.  He was certainly a real character in a past that had a lot of characters.  There’s a cactus farm that exceeded my interest in the field.  Besides the Museum, the center has a huge collection of tourist brochures for all of Texas.  There is a lot of Texas I’m missing.

I was going to stay at the Amistad [Reservoir] National Recreation Area, but it was 100 degrees when I arrived (this is still March, right?) and they don’t have showers.  The local RV campsites don’t accept tenters.  So I’m again in a hotel.  The price isn’t too bad.  And I’m able to post this.  The next two nights I’m definitely at campgrounds.  I have reservations.  Then I’ll be in San Antonio to watch a Spurs game.

This is now the second largest roadrunner. Another statue in NM is now #1.

I post this in honor of my brother, who blew the bugle at Scout camp oh so many years ago.

Cool.

This is a picture of a reenactment. But it’s still a remembrance of real western history.

Their barracks at Fort Stockton. From a naval perspective, a great deal of space!

Nice stickers on this Beemer.

This is way out there! The runway looks pristine.

The main part of Comstock today.

Caves look cool

If you look closely, you’ll see that someone left a dog dish (with water) at this rest stop.

The truck gives perspective of the size of the bridge.

An old picture. Today and yesterday are very similar.

Nice.

Bullet holes in the chimney?

Do not stay at the Sunday House Inn in Alpine.  Do visit the Saddle Club Alpine Bar.  Eclectic snacks.

Saw a dead deer, doubtlessly struck by a vegetarian.  (Leads to one of my favorite jokes: What’s the literal translation of the Indian word for vegetarian? “Bad Hunter”)

Spring Break nightmare: It took 20 minutes to enter Big Bend.  The campsites were full.  I said full.  Really, I mean full.  That’s the message the Rangers were trying to get through to everyone.  One Ranger: “I hate this week.”  Another: “I’ve been turning people away for four days.”  Everywhere was crowded, but strangely the roads were pretty clear.

I drove all three main roads to their ends.  Nice roads.  Nice Nature and Vista stops.  An excellent Park in layout.  But there’s just not much there there, with one remarkable exception making the whole day worthwhile.  Unbeknownst to me, the Rio Grande introduces itself through Saint Elena Canyon with 1,500 foot cliffs on both sides.  Mexico cliff to the south, USA to the north.  It’s really an unusual instance.  How the river carved a path through the cliff is fascinating reading (no, I didn’t understand it).  You can walk or paddle into the canyon.  (There is, at this time, no fence down the middle of the river.)  I did this trail and took some nice pictures. One was with the camera pointing up from the ground at me.  My right shoulder touches Mexico, my left USA.  There aren’t too many places in the world where you can take that kind of picture.

There are a host of trails available and I’m sure they’re fine.  But without a campsite, I had to leave.  I had intended to spend two nights in BB, so by leaving without a single night’s stay I was ahead of schedule.  I ended up tonight in Fort Stockton, which is in fact a place I wanted to go anyway, before Fort Davis and BB was recommended.  It’s strange how things turn out. Tomorrow I’ll check out the history here, then head to Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center and Amistad National Recreation Area.  I hope my luck will be better there.  Spring Break is costing me money.

I read a historical sign with more about camels in the army.  Intriguing history.  Look it up.

Cathedral Mountain. There’s also a Hen’s Egg Mountain.

Looking into Saint Elena Canyon.

My feet are in the water.

USA on the left, Mexico on the right. (Big Bend has six Border Patrol Agents assigned.)

Looking out of Saint Elena Canyon

Mexico on my right, USA on my left.

I managed the night okay. 32 degrees, but this time I was prepared. Since I had no long drive today I was able to walked around a bit. Davis Mountains State Park is highly recommended. They even attempted to have wifi.  It’s mostly for tents, though there was one tenter driving an 18 wheeler cab.

McDonald Observatory was fun. Toured one of their several telescopes. They even let little girls take turns moving the giant telescope around and rotating the dome. We saw a live viewing of a large solar flare, which the lecturer said we were lucky to catch.  Beautiful views from the mountain, as usual.

Fort Davis National Historical Park (about Fort Davis) was much more involved than I would have expected. Big place for such a small number of soldiers.  The best part was a camel exhibit.  I learned a lot about camels from their handler.  “Did indians ever steal camels?” “Yes, they reported them delicious!”)  Before the Civil War the Army experimented with them as pack animals.   Also of interest: For much of the fort’s history after the Civil War it was manned by Buffalo Soldiers.

Saw my second 2015 anniversary Goldwing (like mine).

I’m in Alpine tonight paying way too much for a hotel room, doing laundry. Tomorrow I’ll hopefully get a tent site at Big Bend National Park. But this is Spring Break week for much of Texas. Ugh.

Carlsbad Caverns Entrance (and Exit!)

Camping offers much better views than a hotel

Home on the range

McDonald Observatory, Fort Davis, TX

Fort Davis ruins with a view.

Camel aside, note buildings.

Before the Civil War, the Army tried an experiment using camels as pack animals.

Texas sized hotel room (Texas sized price too!)

No pictures today I think. (See the following day’s report for one pic.)  Pictures within a Cavern have never really held me in awe.  You will just need to Go.

Trying to camp tonight again.  At a nearby restaurant typing this.

To start with a digression, I rank only a few places I’ve visited in America that are on the prime list of places to go before one dies.  They’re all tied for #1.  There’s a lot of other places that certainly deserve to be visited, but they aren’t absolutes.

• 1a: In the Grand Canyon (not on the edge.)
• 1b: Washington, DC
• 1c: Yellowstone
• 1d: Through Yosemite (not the touristy section)

I’m adding Carlsbad Caverns to the above list.  The elevators were broken, so not only did I walk down, but also up.  And I walked the extra “Big Room” loop.  It was all fascinating.  Far beyond anything I expected.  I think I was lucky that the elevators were broken because it wasn’t jammed with people. But I wasn’t thinking that while walking back up!

The drive to Fort Davis was uneventful, except that time zone changes again screwed me up.  I wasn’t able to visit “West of the Pecos” Museum.  I am missing so many places!  The roads are excellent!  75 MPH (the speed limit) on what’s a country road is smooth as silk.  Tiny little Virginia, whose roads are horrible, should be ashamed.  (I saw a FedEx delivery truck on a road that had maybe three ranches for 70 miles!!  Drone deliveries would not be a bad idea out here.)

The campsite has free showers!  It’s the little things that count.  Especially after walking up 750 feet.  Tomorrow I stay in a hotel because all the campsites are taken.  I’m now a little worried about Big Bend National Park.  But it’s too late to make reservations.  I’ll get there early on Sunday.

Tonight I’m wearing three layers of clothing, plus sleeping bag plus liner.  And two hats, gloves and socks.  What fun.  A warm front sweeps through tomorrow, so I think this will be my last experience with cold for a while.