It was April, 2012 when Betty got a phone call from a customer requesting that she come to the Rio Grande Valley (Los Fresnos, Texas, to be exact) to do a product show and demonstration. Betty sells the Longaberger family of products (baskets, pottery, wrought iron and more) at home shows. She will go almost anywhere to do her job.
After a little thought we decided to hitch up the 5th wheel trailer and make a little vacation out of it, after all our route would take us through Midland, twice, where some of our grand kids are!
Our first stop was Midland where we stayed and played. The next day after hugs and promises to be back in a week or so, we moved on. Two days later we arrived at Port Aransas on the Gulf Coast. There we visited a cousin I hadn't seen in years and got a tour of the beaches, neighborhood and town. We stayed at a great RV resort, but didn't have time to fully enjoy it since our schedule called for us to be in Los Fresnos the next day.
After the work was done in Los Fresos we continued northwest along the Rio Grande River leaving the Valley behind. Most of the snowbirds were gone, but I can see why they come here by the thousands every winter.
Our next destination was Big Bend National Park, but it would take a couple of days to get there, so we stopped along the way at Seminole Canyon State Park. What an awesome place. Uncrowded, beautiful desert scenery, Native American pictographs, gorgeous sunsets and even a nighttime thunderstorm!
Big Bend was as vast and awe inspiring as always. The history presentations and exhibits were great. The RV "campground" with hookups was really just a parking lot, and a crowded one at that, run by the store at Rio Grande Village. Thankfully we were there after the peak season, so there weren't too many rigs in the lot. The really pretty camping is in the National Park Service campgrounds, but there are no hookups there and with daytime temperatures reaching into the 100's, electricity was a mighty fine thing to have. It makes the air conditioner work better, you know.
After a few days there we headed on to Davis Mountains State Park, but we took the scenic route through Big Bend Ranch State Park. This park is nearly as big as BBNP, but newer and not very developed yet. The drive along the river has been ranked by National Geographic as one of the most scenic in America. They were not kidding.
Overnight at Davis Mountains State Park, we skipped the "Star Party" hosted by nearby University of Texas' McDonald Observatory. We had attended it before when our kids were young. Let me tell you, in case you didn't know, there are a LOT of stars up there and you can see most of them from here on a clear, West Texas night. Do it if you ever get the chance. You can bring your own telescope or use one of several they set up just for the event.
After another stop in Midland we headed back to Amarillo. We had traveled 2300 miles, seen umpteen Border Patrol officers, burned more diesel than I care to calculate, but we had a great time. And we never left Texas!
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