Day 288 – San Antonio
On Sunday, we had a beautiful day to go exploring, so we headed to downtown San Antonio with Terri and her kids. First, we walked around a bit, stopping to explore the historic Menger Hotel on the way to Alamo. Next, we headed to the Riverwalk to eat at Casa Rio, where we met up with Michael’s sister-in-law Pam, and his nieces, Allison and Amanda. After taking a nice walk along the river, we stopped for an ice cream break. Tracey and Kaycee had to try a flavor named Blue Monster, which left their tongues (and Kaycee’s face & hands) blue.
After enjoying the downtown area, we headed back to the hotel to rest up a bit. Then we met up for one last dinner with everyone together to close out an excellent weekend of fun and family.
Day 289 – San Antonio to Sonora
We started Monday morning with a different routine, taking time off of work to do a scenic morning drive to Fredericksburg, with a quick stop along the way at Luckenbach. We walked around Fredericksburg and had lunch, before reluctantly saying goodbye to Michael’s sister and Mom, who followed us to Fredericksburg before turning north back to Lubbock.
We continued our way west and arrived at next campground in Sonora.
Day 290 – Sonora to Fort Stockton
Our original plan was to stay another night in Sonora and go to the caverns, but there was no wi-fi or cell coverage. So instead, we had to get back on the road and continue on to Fort Stockton a day earlier than planned. We got up early and made it to Fort Stockton in time to connect and get some work done from a park. Then we had lunch, picked up some more groceries and headed to the Fort Stockton RV Park.
Days 291 & 292 – Fort Stockton
Since we had an extra day in Fort Stockton and not a lot to see, we stayed in the RV park so Michael could catch up on some work. Tracey did laundry and crocheted, and we both got some exercise. We also had lots of cuddle/lap time with the RV campground cat, Sampson, possibly the friendliest cat either of us had ever seen.
Day 293 – Fort Stockton to Big Bend
Friday morning started with more work from van, then we were excited to head to get on the road south to Big Bend National Park. We got in in the late afternoon and settled into our campsite in the Chisos Basin just before some rain came through.
Day 294 – Big Bend
Saturday we got up with the sun to make coffee and prepare for our first big hike in a long time. The trailhead was only a half mile away, so we hiked there from the van and then began the five-mile climb up to the summit of Emory Peak, the highest peak in Big Bend National Park and the most prominent peak in Texas. We were surprised to find that we were able to do the climb fairly easily (although we ended up being pretty sore for the next few days). We made it to the top at the perfect time to enjoy the pulled pork lunch we brought with us while we sat and took in the magnificent views. Finally, we had to get up and start the long hike back to the van. It was a great hike and we were super happy to be back to climbing mountains again!
Big Bend Country is the prettiest part of Texas! Glad you got to go there. That along with Alpine, Marfa, the Davis Mtns. Its good country.
Hurry back to Portland & bring some sunshine!!