Malpais National Monument NM

It was time to hit the road once again. Next stop would be the Sky City Casino RV Park a whole 70 miles away from Coronado campground. Upon checking in we discovered RV'ers are also allowed to use the hotel pool and hot tub.  All this, for only $19.00 per night! Our plan was to stay in the cooler parts of New Mexico before we have to head on down to Arizona where we know it's hotter than Hades. 

If you're wondering why we're going to Arizona so early, it's because I have a full knee replacement surgery scheduled for September 10th. Our plan is to arrive in Mesa on August 20th and we will leave the motorhome there. My surgery is scheduled in Raleigh, North Carolina so we will fly out on the 21st of August. We plan to stay in North Carolina with our daughter and her family. As soon as my daughter who is a physical therapist and the doctor release me, we will return to Mesa for the winter season. 

In the meantime, we'll spend 2 days here at the casino and do a little gambling. We love to play video poker but we don't gamble very heavy as we try to find the nickel slots when they are available. When we signed up for a player's card, we both were awarded $10.00 in free play. At the end of the day, we both ended up winning a meager amount but had a blast playing. Video poker.

Our second day at the casino, we decided to drive down to the Malpias National Monument. We mostly did a lot of driving around and sightseeing at the over a million-year-old lava flows which predominate the landscape.  We also took a small hike at the sand bluffs overlook which was fabulous. The rock outcroppings, hoodoos and panoramic views were worth the trip to the Malpias National Monument.

We also took a short hike on the Arch trail to an arch as impressive as many in Utah. The arch is named La Ventana, which means the window in English. The hike wasn't very long but took us close to the arch which was a worthy sighting for the area.

Alas our two days were up and it was time to move on...

Enjoying Albuquerque NM

We left Santa Rosa State Park and made our way over to the Coronado campground at Bernalillo, New Mexico. The drive was about 144 mi and was a nice drive with no issues. 

We spent 7 days in Coronado campground and of course rains followed us. It rained nearly every afternoon for a short period of time and sometimes it rained a lot overnight. 

This was an odd stop this year in that we socialized way more than we normally do. It was fun however, because we met up with JoBeth and Catherine, former bloggers, who have settled in the greater Albuquerque area.  We enjoyed a happy hour at one of the local breweries over some nice beers. It's just great meeting up with some like-minded folks on the road.

We also met Carol and Ed who are friends we made on the road while staying in Puerto Penasco, Mexico the first time around. They happened to also be in Puerto Penasco the next time we visited when we were having the RV painted.  They too live in this area and we had a wonderful time having lunch with them at Garcia's Kitchen. 

Serendipitously we also saw Paul and Sue who we also met on the road during our stay at Quartzite AZ. They were passing through town and ended up in the campsite two away from us in Coronado Campground. So, of course, we walked over to Bosque Brewing and had some cold adult beverages and reminisced about old times. 

Prior to our arrival we made plans to meet up with one of Sharon's besties, Vicki and her husband Roger. We first met Vicki in Austin, Texas when we were all working stiffs and have reconnected often over the years. Happily, this time one of our get togethers included dinner with her mother, brother Dave and his wife Kelly as well. Again, it is always fun catching up with old friends.

 

We sure got our fill of New Mexico cuisine as we ate out way more than we normally do. Although I'm not sure one can ever get too much New Mexican food, we definitely tried our best.

  

We also went to about 10 breweries while we were in ABQ because I discovered an app called the beers of the city for Albuquerque. It has nearly 40 breweries who offer two coupons for half price beers per month. The charge was $8 and change for a month and is a recurring charge if you live in the area.  We elected to only use it for one month and then will cancel it when we leave. It sure was fun being able to visit lots of different breweries to try different IPAs all over the city.

  

It wasn't just all socializing and eating and drinking as we also found time to go up to the top of Sandia peak to savor the cooler weather. The Sandia Crest is always a great place to visit when it's hot in the valley. We also found a hike at the Corrales Bosque Reserve and took daily walks in and around the Coronado campground. We even got in a few rounds of disc golf at a nice little nine-hole course that we discovered not too far away.  Another fun outing was a walk downtown to see the many murals found throughout the city.

 Before we knew it, it was time to go and so we shall continue down the road of retirement.. .

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Santa Rosa Lake State Park

Well, it was time to move into New Mexico and leave Texas for the first time in a while. We spent the last 33 days in Texas and now we're headed to Santa Rosa Lake State Park in New Mexico. 

This was a new stop for us which are becoming harder and harder to find after all our years of traveling. It was a rather long drive of 144 miles, but we pulled into a nice pull-through site and were one of the only ones in our loop. Our site had a nice, covered pavilion Sharon took advantage of to do her workouts. We had a small view of the lake some distance away. 

We took several hikes at Santa Rosa Lake State Park because there were lots of trails. Around our site there were wildflowers in bloom and the birds were plentiful including several roadrunners. As we've never been to Santa Rosa Lake State Park before we considered ourselves lucky the lake was full when we arrived. 

 

After settling in, the next morning we took a hike to the lake, and it was beautiful. The sky was strewn with clouds; temperatures were mild and there was no wind whatsoever. The water was as flat as it could be while reflecting the sky above. What a spectacular sight it was on that day. We've sure enjoyed our stay at this New Mexico State Park and are very glad we went out of the way to find it. This is yet another beautiful Park in the state of New Mexico, truly the Land of Enchantment!

Driving the panhandle of Texas

We always love staying in San Angelo State Park, especially now, while the lake is so full! Our next stop will be taking us to the brink of the panhandle of Texas. We left San Angelo and it wasn't too long before we pulled into Colorado City State Park. We had a nice pull-through site with a partial view of the lake for the two nights we spent there. During our stay we enjoyed the beauty of the area and took a long hike where we saw lots of beautiful views. We even came across what appeared to be a petrified alien's head. Though we enjoyed another lake stay, now the Texas panhandle must be crossed.

Our next stop was the Levelland Texas free city campground. That's right, you heard me, this campground is free! It has 50-amp electricity and water. We didn't plan to stay here long, but Sharon had been bitten by an insect and the bite became infected. Therefore, we drove over to Lubbock about 30 minutes away to an urgent care. Well, our stay ended up being a few days because she had to have two antibiotic shots in the butt a day apart along with prescription oral antibiotics and antibiotic cream.  Luckily it did not have to be excised so we were allowed to leave on day three. 

While we were in Lubbock, we did have a chance to go for one last stop for groceries at HEB and purchase our favorite HEB products. And happily, this HEB also had a barbecue place in it. We were able to have one last Long Pint IPA since they had it on tap. It's one of our favorite Texas IPAS out of Magnolia, Texas. The next morning, we drove about 60 miles north to stop at Muleshoe, Texas which hosts yet another free RV park. This one does have a donation box to help cover electricity which is no problem considering it costs nothing else to stay there.

There's not much to do in Muleshoe, so we drove over to the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge. And although we knew there wouldn't be much to see there in the middle of the summer, it was still a nice drive, and we did see a few interesting birds. 

We only stayed in Muleshoe for a day and then took a longer drive of 145 mi to our next stop which took us out of the state of Texas for the first time in a while. We will stay in Santa Rosa Lake State Park in New Mexico for a few nights, a place we haven't explored before. 

On to Mason and San Angelo TX

We sure enjoyed our time with our family in Canyon Lake Texas, but it was time to roll on down the road. Our next stop wasa a one night stay at Fort Mason City Park in Mason, Texas.

 

The drive was a pretty easy 109 mi to Fort Mason City Park. Mason experienced a lot of the same rains the Hill Country had received. As result it was green everywhere which was really beautiful this time of year because it's normally brown.

The purpose of our stay in Mason, Texas was to visit a friend of mine I hadn't seen in years. I used to work with him at Texas Parks and Wildlife many years ago in the mid-80s and ran into him a time or two since then. 

I knew he had retired to Mason and was looking forward to seeing him again. I texted him when Sharon and I were in the town square doing a self-guided walking tour. Robert and his wife Leticia pulled up beside us and told us they would help us finish the tour. 

This is when I received the surprise of my life regarding Robert who as it turns out is now the Mayor of Mason, Texas. So, the Mayor and his wife gave us a very special tour of downtown Mason.  While touring the courthouse he introduced us to the County Judge who was very gracious. It was also fun to hear as we walked the square all the quirky small-town stories he shared from his experiences as mayor. 

After touring the town, we chatted for several hours at their house. It sure was fun catching up with Robert and Leticia. It still amazes me how now two of my old friends have become mayors of towns in Texas!

The next morning, we drove another 110 mi down the road and pulled into a park we've stayed at before, San Angelo State Park, in San Angelo, Texas. 

We spent a few days reminiscing about past visits as we've have always enjoyed this town. We hiked along the Concho River like we've done before and nothing much had changed since the last time we were here. We also made a return visit to the Lilypad garden which is always a great visit!

We also planned to play a couple of nine-hole disc golf courses. However, like everywhere else it had rained so much this year. Both of the courses had grass about knee-high. We decided to try and play one of them but spent way more time than needed just looking for our disc after each throw in the very tall grass. We played about eight or nine holes and then said, to heck with it. 

We did find a new brewery we haven't been to before called the Zero One in San Angelo. They have some really good beer. There was a nice IPA, a good Stout and a really interesting barrel-aged Weissbier. If you happen to be in town, check it out. 

We really like staying at San Angelo State Park because we always see a lot of wildlife and birds. This trip was no different as there were deer around almost every morning and I spotted a bobcat crossing the road across from our site. I also saw a feral cat who looked a bit like a bobcat with the markings in its face. One morning two Great-horned owls were perched in a tree beside the rig and they were "talking" to each other. What fun! 

I sure like this Park but alas, it became time to move on again and so we shall...     

Canyon Lake TX and family time

The week went by very fast, especially considering we usually stay a month or longer in our old hometown of College Station, Texas. Before we knew it we were back on the road!

The drive was about 130 mi to a place we stay at often, primarily because of its beauty, Potters Creek Park in Canyon Lake located in the Hill Country of Texas. It was a little sad when we pulled up because the lake was so low. This area is in extreme drought and the lake was sitting at about 47% full on the day we arrived. 

Boy how things would change during our stay.  As many of you know by now, the Texas Hill Country, especially around the Kerrville area, was hit by torrential floods which sadly  took many lives. The river hit was the Guadalupe River, the same river that feeds Canyon Lake where we are staying. While many lost their lives and more yet are still missing, the water causing it all ended up in Canyon Lake. As a result the lake is now sitting at nearly 65% full. A very high cost for the water so sorely needed in this lake.  

So even as we end our stay in Canyon Lake, it is nice to see the lake as full as it's been in several years. Officials have even opened some of the boat ramps which will revitalize the economy around the lake (also sorely needed). Several businesses had closed down and many were running on fumes. 

Our main mission for coming to this area, other than loving the lake, was to visit our son and his family who now live about 10 minutes away from our campground. We used to camp here when he lived in San Antonio, Texas but that drive was close to an hour. It was so nice being able to pop in to see them so easily now. 

Other than spending a lot of quality time with our son, daughter in law,  grandson and grand-dogs, we also took some time to visit our favorite places when it wasn't raining. Our favorite sight around here is driving along the Old River Road which runs from Canyon Lake to New Braunfels, Texas. 

 

We planned to do many other things, but unfortunately it rained a lot while at the lake. Just as we began planning our next stop, rain is in the forecast for the day we leave, sigh. Such is life on the Road of Retirement...