Finally, back on the road in Texas…

Well after a very extended stay in College Station (and NC for Sharon) we are together again and finally, back on the road! The RV started up without any issues and the tires were rolling westward bound.

Our next stop would be Potter’s Creek Park on Canyon Lake. We stay there often for its scenic beauty, proximity to to great towns to visit and because it is relatively close to our son’s house in San Antonio.

We aren’t staying as long as we usually do (it’s harder to obtain longer reservations now, like so many other places) so we will cram in as much fun as we can. Our first day trip was to revisit the Old River Road to New Braunfels. With it being autumn, the Bald Cypress and Pecan trees were nearly at peak for their fall colors. This sure made our favorite day trip from Canyon Lake all the more pleasurable.

Another day trip took us on a scenic loop drive through Sisterdale, Tx and over to LBJ National Historical Park. We took the loop drive on the former president’s old ranch and stopped to check his private plane and runway as well.

Next up was a downtown Fredericksburg, Tx. stroll. We love this German heritage town and all the old historic buildings in it. Also on this loop drive was another favorite hill country stop of ours, Luckenbach, Texas. I mean after all we had to check in on Waylon, Willie and the boys!

  

One really neat thing happened while we were at the campground. During our morning walk I noticed two Harris Hawks on perches beside an RV. Obviously someone at this RV was a falconer. A fellow was standing outside the RV and we started chatting with him. He is a falconer from New Jersey. A friend had gifted him the hawks when they were babies and he has had them since. He told us lots of stories about the birds and even offered us the opportunity to hold one of them. Too cool…

Our final day we headed to San Antonio to visit our son and his family. It was a brief stay but gave us time to reconnect with the grandson and of course, the grand dogs!

Like always the time went by fast and it’s once again time to hit the road…

Enjoying the Sandia Mountains and Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge, NM

One of the great things about Coronado Campground is the view of the Sandia Mountains. The Sandia Mountains are one of the mountain ranges in the central part of New Mexico, just northeast of the city of Albuquerque. The range located in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties has as its tallest peak in the range, the Sandia Crest which is 10,679 feet in elevation.

When we visit this area, we always pick one of the warmest days to drive up to the Sandia Crest. A road winds all the way to the top and it is a very scenic drive. The day we picked had high temperatures in the mid-80’s and when we arrived at the crest the temperatures were in the low 60’s making for quite a contrast.

When making the drive up the mountain we often stop at many of the pullouts. This allows us the opportunity to do a little hiking and a little birding. It is also fun to see the gradual changes in what plants and birds we see as we gained elevation.

When we returned, we visited one of the many great breweries in Albuquerque. One of our favorites is the Alien Brewery which was conveniently on our way home.

Another day we visited the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge. It is a 570-acre protected area in New Mexico just 7 miles south of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The refuge is managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System.

When we pulled into the refuge the first thing we noticed was that it looked brand new and didn’t look to be open. I later read that on September 27, 2012 the establishment of Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge occurred with a Grand opening planned for 2022. The website had conflicting information with one page stating it was open, and another page said the grand opening was to be determined. In any event it wasn’t open when we visited.

Even though the refuge looked a bit barren we elected to walk the 2.5-mile Bosque Loop Trail which was open providing a walking access to the Rio Grande Bosque. The trail didn’t have a lot to see except for a few art pieces and even the trail near the Rio Grande didn’t get close enough to the river in our opinion. We still enjoyed the walk, nonetheless.

This park is a designated Urban National Wildlife Refuge and was a former dairy farm. Most of it is still currently in agricultural fields however, long-term plans are to transform it into a mosaic of native Middle Rio Grande Valley habitats. We will certainly have to revisit it someday in the future…

Our only regret during our stay this year in Albuquerque was not being able to spend more time with friends but that too can be remedied with a future visit.

Garden Canyon Hike and a Visit to Coronado National Memorial…

One intriguing hike near our RV park is the Garden Canyon hike. The canyon is located in the Huachuca Mountains near Sierra Vista, Arizona. The trail is a relatively easy hike of about 4.2 miles round trip and took us around 4.5 hours to complete because we birded along the way. The end point of the hike is an in and out walk to the Garden Canyon Pictograph Site.

The trail followed a creek steadily uphill and there were mountains with towering cliffs covered in fairly dense vegetation on either side. Since this part of Arizona is prime birding habitat, we were always on the lookout for some of the rare species found only in this area.

Garden Canyon, located in the Huachuca Mountains has a long history of human habitation. Once occupied by indigenous peoples for thousands of years there are remnants today of their presence.

The most obvious evidence of their existence in this canyon can be found at the Garden Canyon Pictograph Site. There is an interesting and unique array of fascinating ancient rock art. These pictographs are believed to have been created by the Hohokam people between 500 and 1,500 years ago.

The pictographs are of an assortment of images. Images of humans, animals, and various shapes are scattered across the face of the rock. While we have seen a lot of various rock art these images seemed a bit different and were cool to have seen.

On another afternoon we drove over to the Coronado National Memorial about 30 minutes south of our park located in southeastern Arizona near the border with Mexico. The site commemorates the expedition of Francisco Vázquez de Coronado. Coronado was a Spanish explorer who searched in vain for the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola during the 1500’s.

We stopped at the visitors center to show them our America the Beautiful pass only to learn that it was a fee free park. We left and went over to the picnic area because a ranger told us it was the best place to birdwatch in the park.

We spotted quite a few species of birds, but we mostly enjoyed the various species of flycatchers in the picnic grounds. Lots of birds were singing and a pair of dusky-crested flycatchers were building a nest. We watched the pair often enter a cavity in a tree, so we assumed that is what they were doing.

We also drove up to the scenic overlook called Montezuma Pass. To get there we had to drive up a steep and winding road to the top of the in Huachuca Mountains. From the pass we had a fabulous panoramic view of the San Pedro River Valley and to the south we could see the Mexican border.

It was a fun few days of hiking, birding and taking scenic drives in Southeastern Arizona.

Brown Ranch and Carr Canyon in AZ…

We enjoyed our short stay in Tucson but it was time to go so we hit the road to our next destination near Sierra Vista AZ. We have always wanted to explore this area so we’ll stay awhile to hike and birdwatch.

This area is home to many of the higher mountains in the southern part of Arizona. There are many world renowned birding hotspots with a 30 minute drive of where we are staying at Quail Ridge RV Park. Amazingly this park is less that $15.00 per night for full hookups and while it is nothing fabulous we are settled in on our gravel site with views of the mountains around us.

On one of our first excursions here we hiked in the Brown Canyon Ranch which was acquired by the US Forest Service in 1998. It offers a glimpse back in time when the the historic Brown ranch house was an active entity. A windmill built on the ranch was used to create a small pond which is now encircled with Arizona Cottonwoods making a haven for birds in this dry environment.

We hiked some of the trails from the ranch house toward the mountains. The habitat was mostly high desert grasslands. It is still early spring in these higher elevations but we were able to spot several nice birds in the vegetation. It is always nice to see the strikingly beautiful red Vermillion Flycatcher.

We have visited this ranch several other times during our stay. Each and every time we were greeted by the Vermillion Flycatchers. Also prevalent at the ranch were both House and Cassin’s Finches as well at several Bewick’s Wrens. One of the best birds we saw was a male Bullock’s Oriole high up in the cottonwoods.

Another excursion we took was to attempt to drive up the scenic and winding Carr Canyon road. This rough dirt road is the only road into the upper reaches of the Huachuca Mountain Range. It was built at the turn of the century so it was narrow and winding with very tight switchbacks.

We knew we might not be able to drive all the way to the top since high-clearance vehicles are recommended beyond the Clark Spring Trailhead. We drove about a mile past the trailhead before experiencing rough, narrow and steep switchbacks with no guardrails which made Sharon very nervous.

We found a somewhat wider part of the road where I was able to do a 5-point turn to turn us back around. We stopped at the Clark Spring Trailhead where we birded a bit and found unique birds, a Painted Redstart and a Bridled Titmouse, both only found in the USA in the mountains of southern Arizona.

This was an exciting start to our hiking and seeing some of the unusual birds we had hoped to find while visiting!

The Scenic Apache Trail, AZ

The Apache Trail is an approximately 40-mile drive beginning in Apache Junction and ending at the Theodore Roosevelt Dam. This road is winding, with many switchbacks and sharp turns, so it’s advisable to take it slowly. The best time of year to drive the Apache Trail is in the spring when wildflowers are blooming. 

The historic trail gets its name from the Apache Indians, who originally used the trail to navigate through the Superstition Mountains. It then became a stagecoach route in the early 1900s and now winds its way through both the Superstition Mountains and Tonto National Forest.

We set off on this scenic drive in the hope of seeing carpets of color beneath the grandiose Saguaro cacti. This drive took us along the edge of the Superstition Mountains between Lost Dutchman State Park and Theodore Roosevelt Lake just east of Phoenix.

We weren’t sure if we could drive the entire loop because of the possibility of some spring rains which often results in some road closures along this trail. A little more than half of this road is unpaved once you go just past Tortilla Flats. And sure, enough there was a road closure forcing us to turn around but the drive to Tortilla Flats was still a very scenic drive.

We were treated to splashes of color all along the roadside. Some of the wildflowers we saw were Desert Globemallow, California Gold Poppies, Desert Lupine, Cape Marigolds and Chuparosa. We even came across one huge field of the Cape Marigolds and even though they are actually native to South Africa they provided some stunning colors.

One highlight along this drive, besides the wildflowers in bloom, was the beautiful Canyon Lake, one of several reservoirs one will pass on this road. Canyon Lake offers lakefront campgrounds for RVs however; it is mostly dry camping.

There were several gravel pull-outs on both sides of the road, so we stopped at many for views of the lake. It also afforded us the opportunity to do a little bird watching and take some photos of the lake and its surrounding scenery. We also took the short hike on an interpretive trail to the viewpoint of Weavers Needle.

A neat fact about this drive is that it goes through the Tonto National Forest. And surprisingly this Arizona national forest is the 7th largest in the USA. Through most of this drive visitors will not see any forest of trees, merely desert vegetation with towering saguaros.

Just some notes to remind visitors that anytime you are parked either a Tonto National Forest pass or the America the Beautiful pass is required. .Also make sure to check for road conditions before taking the drive. Had we done this before our drive we would have learned ahead of time that “SR 88 is currently CLOSED between Fish Point and the Apache Lake.” We really enjoyed this drive and will likely take it again before leaving Mesa.

Enjoying Canyon lake and Thanksgiving with Family…

With new shoes on the RV we were ready to move on down the road. We paid our bill at Humphries Tires in Luling and drove west toward our next stop in the Texas hill country. We made our way through San Marcos and an hour later we pulled into our beautiful lakefront site at Potters Creek Campground, a Corps of Engineers Park, on Canyon LakeWe enjoyed a few days of nice weather before a series of cold fronts came through making our stay rather chilly. With it raining off and on we were still able to get out and about to make a journey down the Old River Road.

Old River Road meanders along the banks of the Guadalupe River with several crossings allowing us some fabulous views of the river cutting through the hill country. With it being late fall this is one of the few places in Texas providing some nice fall colors.

The Bald Cypress trees were fully adorned with their remaining rusty red leaves lining the banks of the Guadalupe. With the blue waters of the river and the white chalky limestone cliffs the views were majestic despite the cloudy day. This is by far one of our favorite drives in the Texas hill country.

Since it was Thanksgiving week, we packed for a visit to our son’s house to prepare and eat the huge turkey feast. It’s always fun to get back together with family and this time was no exception. Although the weather was cold and rainy we still enjoyed putting all the dishes together and enjoying each others company.

It is always good to see our grandkids and our great-grandson who is growing up fast. We also love to see the grand-dogs, Barley the Boxer, and Bernie the wiener. Barley is really quite amusing to be around and he apparently thinks he too is a wiener dog as he always wanted to get up on me and lay in my lap. Too funny…

Our 20 year old granddaughter recently had some serious surgery and was recuperating so we were doubly glad to be there to help support her. She has begun chemo treatment for ovarian cancer so it has been a rough time for her and for all of us who love her. We didn’t stay as long as we might have otherwise because we certainly wanted to allow her more time to recover in a less crowded environment.

Therefore we we are back at Canyon Lake and with only a few days left we need to enjoy the lake now that the rains have passed. We can expect some sunny skies the next few days which will be wonderful.

You Never Know What You’ll See on the Road…

We said our “See ya’ laters” to our son and his family as we headed out of San Antonio back to Canyon Lake.It is not that far but with all the construction along the route, the trip was arduous. At least we had two more days at the lake before we would have to leave. This would give us time to unwind and give us the opportunity for a few more things we wanted to do.

We took one last drive down the old river road as the scenery was just too good to pass up. Something about the limestone cliffs and the artistically placed bald cypress trees which make this part of the Guadalupe River so very special. As things are greening up due to spring it was fun to see new wildflowers blooming every day.

We also found a short hike along the Guadeloupe River near the dam where the water discharges. There were quite a few wildflowers blooming there and a short but very scenic boardwalk where we paused to enjoy the springtime sights and sounds.

When our time at the lake was up, it was time to break camp to head east toward College Station, Texas, our former hometown where our RV dream and adventure was born. The drive over was uneventful which was great considering our last misadventure with our slide popping out on the highway in the middle of San Antonio.

Although it may have been uneventful,it did not mean it was uninteresting. At a stop light we encountered a truck full of what appeared to be plastic animals in the back of it! It was so odd to see and we had absolutely no idea what they might be used for. You just never know what you will see on the road.

As we neared College Station we began seeing lots of bluebonnets which pleased us both immensely. And finally we started seeing fields of the brilliant red Indian paintbrush as well. We could certainly tell we had left the area under severe drought and entered a much wetter environment.

We settled into one of our favorite parks at Holiday RV Park where Dan, the manager is just so helpful.  We were even able to acquire our favorite site which although is near the highway, it gives us shade and a nice expansive view.  We will stay a month (or more) to explore the many changes our growing hometown is experiencing, meet up with old friends, visit some favorite establishments and take care of some more eye surgery for yours truly.

NOTE: We are now in College Station, TX until May 11th…

Canyon Lake and scenic drives abound…

With the slide issues behind us we were now able to enjoy our stay at Canyon Lake in the hill country of Texas. We have visited this park many other times including our extended stay when the Corps of Engineers closed down the park during the early Covid scare allowing us to hide out here for many weeks.

What makes this a special place to stay (besides the super low nightly rates for those of us over 65) is the turquoise blue lake and all the walks available inside the park seeing deer, birds and other wildlife. This park gets really crowded on the weekends but since they don’t allow any day use, the park is normally very quiet even on these crowded weekends.

There are lots of scenic hill country drives to take from this park and this time of year the wildflowers ae usually abundant. Not so, this year as the wildflowers have been sparse and the grass mostly brown because of the drought this year.

Our absolute favorite drive from our camp is down the Old River Road which creeps slowly alongside the Guadeloupe River on the way to the town of New Braunfels. When driving along the old river road there are several bridges crossing back and forth over this beautiful river making for some scenic views downstream. This river is very popular for fly fishermen and for toobers. What's a toober, you ask? It’s someone who uses and innertube or some other floating device to float down the river.

If we were to drive this road on a summer weekend it would be packed with mostly college aged kids and young families flocking to float their way down the river. One of the main reasons is that the temperature of the Guadeloupe River is constantly cool since all the water comes from the deeper waters of Canyon Lake as they let water out all year long.

Besides the river road we like to drive the countryside looking at wildflowers and checking out such destinations as Luckenbach, Austin, New Braunfels, San Marcos and Fredericksburg. There are also quite a few breweries located in this part of Texas with the Real Ale in Blanco and Rough Diamond Brewery in Spring Branch.

We won’t be able to drive to a lot of the places we normally visit here since we plan to spend a week at our son’s house visiting him and his family…

NOTE: We are now at Canyon Lake State Park until April 11th…