Day 12 - Leave San Antonio and Arrive in Big Bend

Ken and I were up at 5:45 and got ready for our departure.  By 7 the 4 of us were leaving the CG on our way to Big Bend National Park.  We did most of our travels on Interstate 10 and it was a relatively easy drive except for all the traffic around San Antonio.  From there on we really enjoyed the exceptional scenery.  Loved the beautiful wildflower the rock formations, and all the hills.  We stopped at 1 rest stop for a very short time and then made 1 gas stop where we made our lunches and ate them while we traveled.  We follow Chuck and he really keeps the pedal to the metal.  Ken and I have a tendency to take more time at all our stops and take a lot longer to get to our destinations.  We appreciate how he keeps us focused and moving forward.  Waldo did a great job, but there is a difference between diesel and gas motorhomes!  We just can't get up those hills as easily and quickly as Chuck!  Thanks, Chuck, for keeping us moving forward!

So many beautiful wildflowers!

Great rock formations!

How's that for a speed limit????  Waldo likes to stay
around 62 mph when towing the car!

Chuck is rounding the bend!

We passed many windmills!

Don't you love the view from Waldo????

Note all the windmills on the top of the ridge!

When we got to routes 67 and 118, the scenery became even more spectacular. The hills were amazing and the flowers so colorful.  We only had 2 short delays today - 1st the cover on Chuck's water heater came open and started flapping.  We called to alert them to the problem and it was fine when they stopped to close it.  Next we had to stop for a long train at a crossing in Alpine!  After we got to the crossing the train stopped in front of us and after waiting about 10 minutes Ken decided to call the local police station to see if there was a problem.  The lady just said, "No problem, just welcome to Alpine.  They change train personnel at that location and they will move again soon."  After about 15 minutes we were on our way.

We are seeing our 1st Texas Blue Bonnets!

More spectacular views from Waldo

We arrived at the CG at 3:45 after driving 457 miles - it was a long day!  This CG is in the middle of nowhere and has dirt roads and level, dirt sites.  The men got us set-up and even washed the mirrors, windshield, and front of the motorhomes.  It is amazing how much bird droppings and how many bugs are attracted to the front of motorhomes.  I guess we are a big target!  Soon after we were here a lady who has been camping here for a year told Melissa we should be careful of the snakes.  She hadn't seen any until recently and then she saw 2 behind her 5th wheel.  One of them was a rattlesnake.  You can be sure this gal will be watching the ground whenever she is walking around here! We all sat at the picnic table enjoying a drink and I kept my feet on the top of the bench.  This gal is taking no chances!

Great views from the "private" CG

This was taken in front of Waldo!

After dinner, we went to Chuck and Melissa's for games.  Tonight the men won 3 of the 4 games we played!  That was good, for they really had all that pressure of driving today!

This CG is about 3 miles from one of the entrances to Big Bend National Park.  We will head to the Information Headquarters tomorrow to "get a feel for the land" and make plans for what we want to do while we are in this area.