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One of many beautiful camp sites in west Texas.

First, we’d like to thank Faith, Robin and Jacob again (our friends from Austin) for suggesting we check out West Texas, an area we were not planning on exploring initially and knew nothing about. We consider it to be a little hidden treasure of Texas, or even the Southwest, and home to some of the most beautiful roads (per National Geographic), deserts and mountain ranges in North America.  We’ve spent the last week or so wandering quite a bit through the area, since it is no small corner; and we still didn’t get to see it all. However, we were blown away at what we did see: rolling hills topped with mesas and rocky cliffs, surprisingly green vegetation in a desert climate (Chihuahuan desert is the 2^nd biggest in North America I believe), wind turbine farms feeding into the city grids, vast plains with dirt devils and thunderstorm patches, and loose livestock here and there. 

One of many massive wind farms along the way.

Our first stay was in Alpine, the regional capital and a stop on the Sunset Limited – the famous Amtrak train from New Orleans to Los Angeles.  We stayed 2 nights (and a 3^rd almost a week later) at the Lost Alaskan RV Park: a great little rest stop where we met some interesting folks escaping the summer heat of Texas. Alpine is significantly cooler, drier and breezier. We took a bike tour through town and visited the Museum of the Big Bend, where we learned about the history of West Texas, geological landscape, nearby attractions and dinosaurs (we frequently hummed the theme song to Jurassic Park as we traversed the area- thanks Larry!).

Museum of the Big Bend

Leaving Alpine, we headed north towards the Davis Mountains and stopped at Fort Davis National Park, a historic Fort established in the mid 19^th century to safeguard travelers along the old San Antonio to El Paso trail. It was a chilling replica of the Fort as it was in 1885, with only a few rooms furnished and remains of other buildings.  We hiked up the hills around the fort and heard the traditional bugle calls played every half hour or so. The place was packed with enormous grasshopers!

Fort Davis then.

Fort Davis now.

Crazy grasshoppers!

Another awesome grasshopper.

Texas route 166 - the scenic loop

We continued on the Scenic Loop (Route 166) towards the McDonald Observatory.  Although it was day, we toured the Hobby-Eberly telescope, one of the world’s largest and unique optical telescopes. It has 91 smaller mirrors joined together to make one big mirror. Back on the scenic loop, we liked the area so much, that we decided to stay the night at the Crow’s Nest – a small RV park tucked away in the mountains with jutting rocky cliffs in the background.  Eager to explore these, we bush-wacked our way through cacti up a steep hill and got gorgeous views of the mountains and plains in the distance.   We even spotted our first javelina (a peccary which looks like a wild hog but is actually related to a deer).

The Hobby-Eberly telescope.

There were many big hummingbirds near the telescope visitor center.

Javelina

The hills we hiked behind the Crows Nest.

The next day we headed to Marfa, a small hipster town with a cool art scene.  Having lunch at Food Shark, a delicious Mediterranean food truck, we talked to a few locals who suggested we pay a visit to a peaceful retreat off the beaten path: the Chinati Hotsprings.  They said those 3 magic phrases: hot springs, communal kitchen and 4-wheel drive only – enough to steer us away from our northern trajectory and instead make our way southwest towards the Mexican border. 

Mmmmm Food Shark!

Delicious kebabs.

Indeed, Pinto Canyon Road turned into a gravel (and very rocky) road cutting through the Chinati mountains, though we safely made it to our destination 2 hours later.  Pat thoroughly enjoyed airing down the tires and switching into 4-low, after all the pavement we’ve been on.  After seeing first-hand how remote and magical this place was – we thought it best to stay 2 nights.  Chinati Hotsprings (owned by the CEO of Tyco) is situated about 10 miles from the Mexican border, so you can see the imposing Sierra Madre mountains in the distance.  As mentioned, the resort is equipped with a great communal kitchen, a natural hot tub, private hot bath rooms, a cold-water pool, an outdoor shower, and many cabins to choose from.  We opted for out roof-top bedroom.  It was a delightful and relaxing 2 days/nights – a little oasis in the middle of the desert.  

On the beautiful Pinto Canyon road.

Chinati Hot Springs was worth the trip.

In the cool pool after a dip in the hot tub.

Sunset over the mountains of Mexico.

So close to the border, we decided to get as close as possible and drove down the Rio Grande from Presidio to Lajitas (after eating the famous green enchiladas at La Escondida – recommended by Tim at Chinata Hotsprings).  Voted one of the most beautiful roads in North America, the River Road did not disappoint.  We followed the picturesque canyons and dipped our feet in the river.  Our only interaction with the US Border Patrol was heading back North to Alpine.  Sergeant Rodriguez’ only remarks were “so you’re from Maryland huh?  I take it you’re US citizens?  OK – go on through.”  No checking for passports or anything.  We reunited with a few friends back at the Lost Alaskan in Alpine, and after our week-long detour through West Texas, headed back north to complete one last feat in Texas – climb the highest peak in the state in the Guadalupe Mountains!

Wild horses - loose livestock all over the roads.

Pat runs for the border.

Caro dipping her feet in the Rio Grande.

Mexico on the left, USA on the right.

 PS: We’ve been getting some requests for photos of the inside of the tent, so we put some on the About page.

After a stop at Cracker Barrel, where we rented our first (and I think last) audio book, John Grisham kept us company for the next 3 hours as we drove to Hot Springs, Arkansas, boyhood home of the 42nd President of the United States William Jefferson Clinton. We were pleasantly surprised with the more moderate climate of Hot Springs and immediately headed downtown for a stroll along “Bathhouse Row”, where bath houses lined Spring Street – remnants of “The Golden Age of Bathing”. Yes, we too were shocked that bathing merited its own golden age (apparently a health spa craze of the late 19th and early 20th centuries). These bathhouses were renovated in the early 1900s, since the previous wooden structures were prone to rot and fires, but they are now all historic sites except for one remaining functional bathhouse, the “Buckstaff”. We tested the waters, and they are indeed hot and very un-refreshing in 90 degree weather.

Later that evening we replenished our food supply and settled into our cozy spot at the KAO campground (voted #1 KAO campground in the US a couple years ago) with free wifi, pristine showers, a laundromat, an outdoor kitchen, etc. Our healthy avocado and salmon salad completed the picture. The next day we toured downtown a bit more and drove up to the Hot Springs National Park Tower for a bird’s eyes view of “the boyhood home of 42nd President of the United States William Jefferson Clinton” – quite the prideful city.

At the Buckstaff bathhouse.

Indeed the hot springs are hot.

Beautiful views from the Hot Springs tower.

Not everyone was thrilled to be up so high...

 In an attempt to escape the heat even more, we drove into the mountains of western Arkansas to Ouachita [wosh-i-taw] National Forest for a 2-night stay. There we found a great mountain bike trail (Womble trail) where I made my debut as a mountain biker! The terrain wasn’t too rough and Pat was very patient with me. The trail must have been a bit neglected, since Pat kept riding into big spider webs. We even saw a skunk meandering under the blazing sun – not a good sign for a nocturnal animal. We retired that evening to the Charlton campground and cooked an excellent dinner on our camping stove (pasta with marinara sauce, sautéed mushrooms and asiago cheese).

The next day was reserved for doing absolutely nothing. Maybe it was a laziness induced by the loads of Benadryl cream I lathered on my legs that morning (just a common heat rash), but it turned out to be an afternoon of pure sloth hanging out in our hammocks by the swimming hole, reading books, napping and chatting with the locals. Although Pat finished the day with a short trail ride through the Arkansas hill country.

Another nice spot to setup our home.

The womble trail - our first mountain bike ride was great!

Caro's first mountain bike ride - she's a natural.

Enjoying our downtime.

A refreshing swimming hole

We woke up early the next morning and started our 8-hour trek to visit friends in Austin, Texas!