This blog title is the random sign we saw just before exiting for our campground, advertising the wonders of Junction, Texas. I don't know if we would have pulled off had it not been for the KOA we were going to, the Fountain Soda is enticing, however....
This is probably one of the nicer campgrounds we've stayed at, we are right on the Llana River, which actually does have water in it, despite the very arid landscape of West Texas that we drove through all of today. Last night we actually ended up in a hotel very late in El Paso, TX. We tried to get into a campground in a small town in Demming, New Mexico, but it was just after sundown, their office was closed, and a sign posted "no sites available" on the door. The only other options in that area were campgrounds whose directions took us 10 miles down a dirt road. I didn't think we should take that chance if they might not have any spaces. It seems in these parts (ya know, the warmer winter weather of the southern states), there are quite a number of seasonal "snow birds" that set up semi-permanent "camp" in their tour bus size RVs, which doesn't leave much room for the one night guests like us. So be it, we were in desperate need of a functioning shower- we were going for the Wal-Mart parking lot to put up the top and call it a night, but the idea of putting on the same clothes for a 4th day in a row, unshowered, sounded so unappealing, so we found a cheap place to stay and showered this morning- yeah! We are now facing 5 loads of laundry to fold (yes, we did bring that much that can be washed, it is not all clothes- consider towels, pillow cases, diapers we use as dish towels, and some other random cloths). Anyway, as I have quickly learned in life, 4 people can generate lots of dirty clothes in a relatively short period of time!
Two nights ago we spent the night in Tucson, after leaving Joshua Tree area. We had planned to head straight out the next morning, but we ended up going to the Sonoran Desert Museum for a few hours in the mid-day. I just couldn't resist sharing the desert museum with the kids, I have been there a good handful of times myself and just love it! They had a good time, and got to see lots of animals they had been talking about (coatimundis, wolves, deer, and some snakes). We headed out on the interstate at around 2:30, a good late start, and made it all the way to El Paso by the end! It was a long day though, and we crossed a time zone, which ended up taking an hour out of our day. We crossed yet another time zone today, now we are in central time, and lost yet another hour. The confusing thing is that the sun didn't go down until about 8:15 here tonight, and it is still about 75 degrees outside.....
Pia has licked open her beach incident wound, which means she now wears one of James's shirts to prevent her from licking it open again and again. It is either the shirt or a lampshade collar- that wouldn't work so well in the van! Tomorrow we are headed to Austin to visit James's high school friend Geoff. I am curious to see what Austin is like as I've heard lots of things about it- an anomaly among the rest of Texas culture....? After all, their motto is "Don't Mess with Texas"- there are signs up every few miles saying that along the highway! After our stay in Austin we are going to Bryan, TX which is only a short drive from there to visit our friends Lesley and Jeremy who we haven't seen since their wedding in Louisiana some 4 years ago! Lesley was one of the first people who got to meet Parula after she was born, it will be great to see her now that Parula has grown so much and she will get to meet Sorrel. I just have remembered too that Lesley and Jeremy were Parula's first babysitters, as they stayed with her for a few hours while James and I went out to dinner on our first "date" as parents! It has been great to see old friends on this trip, amongst all of the places we have seen and experienced as well. More to come too!
No comments:
Post a Comment