Palo Duro State Park
Blog 319: Adios Atascosa
North and West
We picked a gorgeous day to depart Laguna Atascosa accompanied by two traveling friends—a warm breeze and soft sunshine. In addition, with rare exceptions the traffic was sparse and roads OK to good.
Wet and Wild
Our first night out we stayed in Beeville, where the winds ratcheted up like a politician at a rally, and the rain poured down like hallelujahs at a tent revival. So glad we did not have to travel through it. Except for one other night of heavy rains and wind, the other days and nights were mild.
Wildflowers
As we got into Hill Country* we were surrounded by magnificent wildflowers that paralleled our path for hundreds of miles. It was if a rainbow dumped its bucket of hues along our journey as it cantered across the skies. Soon our color neurons were flashing as we reached our quota of beauty, absorbing the reds of the Indian paints, the blues of the bluebonnets, the purples of the vervain and the Texas stork’s bill, the pink primrose, the yellow great blanket flower and the Englemann’s daisy, and the whites of the prickly poppy. What a phenomenal gift of beauty Ladybird Johnson gave to all travelers of Texas.
Service Along the Way
Jan and I had a choice to make: We could take a two-week, all-inclusive luxury tour down the Amazon River, or buy new tires for the coach…it was tempting, but practicality won out. At Bill’s Tire Center in San Angelo she got her new shoes. Also at San Angelo, Lone Star Trucking successfully performed a chassis recall, something I had put off for too long.
While waiting for the above two services to be performed, we explored the area, had two great lunches—one at the fancy Crazy Cactus and the other sitting on picnic tables by the highway with the Pups at the Best Burger Truck in Texas.
International Waterlily Garden
Although not the best weather or the best season to visit, we had a very enjoyable time exploring the Water Lily Garden of San Angelo. Here are a few pics, but also check out their website: http://www.internationalwaterlilycollection.com.
Non-Birder Birding
Both Jan and I enjoy watching and photographing birds of all types, but we don’t consider ourselves birders. However, we were in areas with lots of cool birds, and we had some time on our hands, so on three afternoons along our path we ventured out to three really cool places.
San Angelo State Park
Here we saw scissor-tailed flycatchers and gorgeous cardinals (alas, I did not take a long lens😞).
Palo Duro State Park
Just 30 minutes south of Amarillo, Texas, is Palo Duro State Park. We had camped here in a motorhome 10 or 12 years ago and very much enjoyed it, but we were even more impressed this visit. This is the type of location where three to four days is needed for hiking and exploring to give it the credit it is due. Below are a few pics taken at their bird blind.
John Martin Reservoir State Park
Twenty miles east of Lamar, Colorado, you’ll find John Martin Reservoir State Park. Here we took a short hike and a five-mile drive or so, checking out the water and viewing birds.
Grandkid Stop
After a night at Limon, Colorado, we drove the 77 miles east into Denver, dropped off the coach (yikes, more repairs🤨), and then pulled into Kelly and Aaron’s place to spend a few days enjoying the area, seeing a few sites, and spoiling the G-Kids. More on that in the next blog.
Old Trucks
We really enjoy far Southeast Texas, but crazy as it seems, for some reason there were no old trucks! None…nada. Therefore, it was great to uncover some old truck beauties as we traveled north and west. Here is June, a colorful flatbed we missed on our last San Angelo visit last fall.
Further north, our “old truck Indicator” activated to alert us of some fine specimens. Here is a pic I took of Thelma with our coach in the background.
To see Thelma in full resolution and the challenging story behind her, click on this link to go to my “What the Truck!” blog.
See you next time.
*The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region located in the Edwards Plateau at the crossroads of West Texas, Central Texas, and South Texas. Here you will find the LBJ Ranch and National Park, Austin, San Antonio, and the famous Luckenbach. Not only home to gorgeous wildflowers in the spring, wineries and breweries are popping up as well. Lots of cool places in Texas, and this is definitely one of them.