Epic Road Trip # 2 - Day 6

3/4/2014 - Alpine, TX to Artesia, NM

We left Alpine, TX at around 9 a.m. And it was still quite chilly. Definitely a long pants type of day...:-(

Our first stop of the day was at Fort Davis National Historic Site, Fort Davis, TX. It was very informative and I learned that it was home to the Buffalo Soldiers for almost 10 years.

We stopped for lunch at Papa's Pantry Cafe, Van Horn, TX were we had a wonderful meal of smothered burittos with green chile sauce....yummy!

Most of our trip through Texas has been along the Texas Mountain Trail.

Our next stop was at Guadalupe Mountain National Park, Texas. The pictures say it all.

Then it was on to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM. I was here 30+ years ago and it still just as amazing!

We even found some aliens on vacation from Roswell, NM.

We called it a day at the Artesia Inn, Artesia, NM. 

We had dinner at Chopz Bar & Grill, Artesia, NM. The food was fabulous...and the green sauce aw spectacular! 

Tomorrow we are off to White Sands National Monument, White Sands, NM.

Epic Road Trip # 2 - Day 5

3/3/2014 - Comstock, TX to Alpine, TX

Today we woke up in beautiful downtown Comstock, TX and it was an Artic 28 degrees! I didn't pack right for this kind of weather. And the wind, which was howling at 20+ mph made it feel absolutely sub zero! It is a wonder my truck even started.

On our way to Big Bend National Park, we stopped in Langtry, TX, where Judge Roy Bean was the Justice of the Peace and 'the law west of the Pecos.' The Judge Roy Bean Visitors Bureau has a wonderful display about him and you can go in the original 'Jersey Lilly' building and the Opera House he built. His story is very interesting.

We stopped here at the Wagon Wheel Cafe Store for breakfast burittos which were quite good. The lady who ran the place was telling us about all the bicyclists who stop at her store. It is located on the Adventure Cycling Southern Tier Route and it is the only place to stop for many, many, many miles in either direction.

We traveled through here, but none of the cacti were blooming as it was 30 chilly degrees!

Big Bend National Park is beautiful. It is made up of 3 different ecosystems - desert, mountains, and river. The Chiros Mountains are the only mountain range to be completely contained inside a national park. We took the scenic, and much longer route along the Rio Grande River through the park. It was stunning as only the Southwest US can be!

After leaving the park we stopped at the Terlinus Ghostown, which isn't a Ghostown anymore. It seems a group of long lost hippies, artists and other such characters have inhabited the town and are revitalizing it. It was a very interesting stop.

Some local scrap metal folk art on display in Terlingua, TX.

Some of the beautiful scenery along the Rio Grande River.

We were going to stop in Marfa, TX for the evening, but when we arrived, the reasonably priced hotel was full and the other hotel wanted $ 190.00 !!! We continued on to Alpine, TX which was only 25 miles down the road.

We got lodging at the Antelope Lodge which is quite quaint.

We went downtown and had a very nice dinner at Guzzi Up, a converted gas station.

Tomorrow we are off to Fort Davis National Historic Site.

Epic Road Trip # 2 - Day 4

3/2/2014 - Schulenburg, TX to Comstock, TX

We woke up to overcast skies and spitting rain, but the temperature was still in the low 70s. Things could be worse.

Before leaving town, we went by the Texas Polka Music Museum. It wasn't open being Sunday morning, but it was interesting to read all the bills in the window. Schulenburg, TX is also home of the Painted Churches.

After leaving Schulenburg, we continued our travels west and stopped in the town of Luling, TX to see the watermelon Water Tower. it seems that Luling is home of the watermelon seed spitting world record holder. He spit a watermelon seed in excess of 68 feet.

Our lesson of the day was 'thumping watermelons and why you do it. I learned something new. lol.

Also in Luling we found another water tower that was painted in camouflage in honor of their servicemen and women. Pretty awesome.

Next we stopped in Sequin, TX to see the World's Largest Pecan. I was kinda bummed....it is fake....oh, well, still had a good time.

We went looking for the "Toilet Seat Art" in San Antonio, but when we got to the address it was no longer there. I guess the neighbors finally put their feet down and had the artist remove it.

We stopped at the Taco Taco Cafe, a 'Dinner, Drive-Ins and Dives' spot and we had a simply wonderful late breakfast. The hand made and rolled flour tortillas were to die for. The Egg & Choriso Platter was heavenly. Marnie had the Ranchero and she said it was delicious.

Next on the list of sights to see was San Antonio Mission National Historic Park, in San Antonio, TX. It was a wonderful stop. The Park Service Movie was very informative and mass was being held in the church when we were there.

We traveled through Uvalde, TX which is the resting place of John Nance Garner, who served two terms as FDR's Vice President. He is credited with saying, "the office of VP isn't worth a spit" as well as other disparaging remarks about being Vice President.

Our last stop of the day was Amistad National Recreation Area outside of Del Rio, TX. The Visitor Center was closed, but the area was beautiful. The area was formed after the building of the dam which was a joint project between Mexico and the US.

We called it a day in Comstock, TX and found a really nice (albeit the only) hotel. While the outside can be a little deceiving, inside it is guide a gem. Fully refurbished and very clean.

The only cafe in town is closed on Sunday, so we ended up foraging for something to eat in the small grocery store (I am using the word grocery very liberally). 

We are in the middle of a cold front which is whipping across southern Texas. We had a high of 73 degrees and it has steadily dropped and now it is a very chilly 30 degrees! I didn't pack enough warm clothes. Guess I am going to have to do layers.

Tomorrow we are off to Big Bend National Park, TX.