Saturday, March 2, 2013

A whole 25 miles???

Yup.   That is it for today!

Can you believe it?

We left the Amistad National Park Rec Area (spur 406) this morning about 10 am after one more walk looking at the sheep.   A local farmer must have a grazing contract with the park to let his sheep come across the fenceline.  They took off running once they saw the dogs, so I am sure they are used to being chased!   Of course, our dogs are on leashes, but all it took was one sight of them to make these little woolies head for the hills, and the protection of their guard donkey.




While at Amistand, we also met a couple from Australia who had their VW bug flown here to tour the USA in!  They started with a tent they said, but later added this device which is a roof rack that unfolds into a tent with an upper chamber for sleeping.  They said it was too cold on the ground, but we didn't ask how they heated the tent inside either.


Shoutout here to Eric... we shared two grapefruits with them, and they were very grateful for fresh produce for a breakfast treat.   Steve had a lot to talk about with them, because when he was a teenager, his first car was a VW bug of this same year!

Finally we packed up and hooked on the Tracker.  I was not feeling quite up to snuff, so we settled on a shorter travel day to another recommended park just up the highway.

Half an hour later, we settled in at Seminole Canyon State Park.  It's a nice lovely park right near where the Pecos River joins the Rio Grande.  The canyons are spectacular and the desert view is great.  From our rustic site ($8 a night)  this is our view:

(playing with the panoramic setting on my tablet)  


The park charges a per person fee of $3 each in addition to the camping fee, but they do not charge a vehicle admission fee, nor a higher price for out-of-state-ers... (Wisconsin State Parks do both)    So we didn't mind the per person fee, as it all evens out in the end, right?

We are in the primitive campsites without hookups, but there are sites with water and electric for a higher fee, but we are fine without them.   The only other camper in the whole loop was this neato rugged camping truck.  It was like a solid trailer on a big flat bed truck with high clearance for desert running.  Dualie wheels and extra on board propane tanks make it look rugged.  There were 2 solar panels on the roof and one of the top of the truck too.

Within an hour, they packed up and left... so we were alone in our loop. 

Like I said, I wasn't feeling well, so I laid on a lawn chair with a pair of binoculars while Steveio took a long walk down the canyon.  He met up with some other folks and a dog, and the rangers were going back and forth, so he was safe walking there.  We are close to the Rio Grande, but the opposite bank is 100 feet up.  I think if anyone wanted to cross from Mexico, they would choose an easier portage?  LOL 

He took along my camera and took photos.... so these are his shots: 






















I think he did pretty good! 


and here he is, 
six miles later... 
tuckered out


yes, he had water,
his bear spray,
his map,
his sunscreen
and 
his hat! 



I relaxed in my lawn chair for a while, and then went online for a bit.  There is free wifi in this park, so we don't have to worry about our tablet router signal jumping to a mexican tower again.  

I played lazy bones for the afternoon, and skipped lunch to snooze a bit. Not sure what is blooming, but both Steve and I have been sneezing a lot.   It wasn't my flowers in the rig... these have been going strong since delivered in the snow and cold of Wisconsin for Valentine's Day over two weeks ago!   I hauled them out to the motorhome on the 20th when we left Wisconsin. So again they got slogged out through 3 below zero weather to get put in the motorhome sink for travelling.  At each stop, I take them out and set them on the table.   Today may be their last useful day, as I think the dry desert air is taking it's toll......




We grilled up some good tenderloin steaks from that little meat market in Wausau (we are down to 4 steaks left in our freezer Paula!)  and I added some veggies, wine and soft music.  Ahhhh another elegant dinner in the desert!




Afterwards we took a nice long walk... first with the dogs, and dropped them back off at the motorhome to rest.  Then just Steve and I walked around the campgrounds and for a bit on a nature trail.  It was nice, but I am still not up to snuff, so we came back and took it easy for the evening.  Not sure if we are staying here another day yet, or heading towards Big Bend?  We will see... plans made in JELLO!


And a special heartfelt condolences to our friends Sharon and Fred.  They lost her father today... and we are feeling so sad for them.  It has been a long long struggle with cancer and he is finally at peace.


12 comments:

  1. I was going to try to catch you at 406 tomorrow. Oh well. I am not headed to Bibe until Thursday. If you see a white truck with a lime kayak sticking out of the back in Bibe, stop and say HI.

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    1. Hey OFM... we can come back to San Pedro! How many days are you staying there?

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  2. It sounds like you're enjoying the desert. Sorry to hear you're not up to par.

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  3. I hope you feel better tomorrow. We are going to get some nice toasty weather on Monday so soak it up so you can remember it when you get back home in the cold. lol. Hope you get a meet-up with Barney.

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  4. Hope you feel better tomorrow. It's a bummer to be sick when you are on the road.

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  5. WE always love your posts... Hope you are "up to par" by now. Looking forward to the next post ;-)

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  6. Some nice photos.

    Always wondered if it would be worthwhile buying a Texas parks pass. It's $70, and allows you to waive the entry fee. Also gives four nights of 50% off camping. Of course if you're using primitive sites, that's only $16. But it would also allow you to enter parks for the day if you just want to go in and do a hike or something. I think you would have to be visiting Texas for a month or more to make it worthwhile.

    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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  7. You will love Big Bend! Stock up on groceries though. When we were there there wasn't much in the way of grocery stores. Feel better!

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  8. Looks like you found a nice little spot there. Really enjoyed the pictures from Steve's hike, the rock cliffs look pretty cool.

    Hope you are feeling better.

    Kevin and Ruth
    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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  9. Take it easy on those steaks! If I could I would bring you some.
    Sorry you are not feeling well. Take it easy, kiddo, don't need you going to a hospital while on vacation. Hugs

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  10. It figures, you withstand the cold WI winter and get sick down in the warmth of TX. Hope you kick the bug soon and get back to felling better.

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  11. Seems to me that all your hard work is catching up with you. Rest kiddo. Hope you feel better soon.

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