We are out of Texas

We slowly found our way out of Texas after arriving on October 12. So we did spend nearly 2 months in that great state, but wanted to get back to the southwest so we could share Christmas with family.

We departed Lakehills and headed for the small town of Bracketville where we spent two nights. The weather was cold so after meeting with the sister of a close friend and getting a tour of the park (Ft. Clark Springs), which is really very interesting, we spent most of the time doing laundry and a little cleaning. We did get out to see some of the countryside but not much to see so won't even try and post any pictures of this area.

We moved to Marfa for one of our one-night stands. We did get to look around the town and they had some very nice old buildings in the downtown area, but next to the RV park used to be the Stardust Motel. This is all that remains of the facility.

We are not sure if they call this "grass land" or just "flat land". We wanted to get in and out of town ASAP because they were predicting lots of snow. Talking to a gentleman in the park he said this was usually the coldest area of Texas.

It got cold as the sun was setting but not too cold to get out and get some pictures of the setting sun. You can really see how flat the area is, but most of what we saw of Texas was like this.

We said goodnight to the cold and headed back inside to enjoy a hot drink and a board game that Jackie finally won.

Up early the next morning with plans to do about 300 miles and get out of Texas and into New Mexico. We traveled northwest on US 90 where the road was great with very little traffic. Very easy drive sitting back listening to a book on tape.

We hit I-10 and headed northwest through El Paso where the clouds looked like they were flowing over the top of the mountains to the north. We continued another few miles and did a big high-five when we crossed the boarder into New Mexico.

We did stop 3 places in El Paso so had a long break in that long drive. This is only the second time in the last 19 months that we have traveled over 300 miles in one day.

Five miles to go to our destination up in the hills south east of Deming New Mexico.

We arrived at Rock Hound State Park, set up and relaxed for about an hour and then the wind hit us coming down the side of the mountain. The slide toppers flapped and banged and the furnace came on and off all night long. It got down to about 19 degrees that night and yes we got a little snow.

The next day it warmed up to about 32 degrees and then back down into the low 20s that night. The sun came out but still cold.

This is what we woke up to in the morning with the mountain behind us.

And the view looking out into the valley and Deming in the distance, about 15 miles away.

We did get the bird feeder out and hung it so it was only about 5' from our side window and enjoyed watching all the activities. It took about 24 hours for the feeder to be emptied.

We must say this area is really flat, looking out toward Deming there are scattered homes in the desert but few and far between until you get closer to town.

Just an interesting shot looking at the hills behind us.

Another evening and another sunset. Caught this one just as the sun dropped behind the small hill in the distance. See if you can find the Border Patrol blimp that sits in the sky day and night.

We did hook up with the great couple who live here we met last March; this is the couple that gave us their 1000 Trails membership after meeting them Sunday at church. We took them out to dinner last night and had a very lovely evening with them, sharing favorite camping experiences.

We are off again in the morning heading to Arizona without getting up in the hills to do any rock hounding. Maybe next time when it's not so blasted cold.

To be continued...