Kit and Carol on the Road

Near our campground on the Rio Grande in Big Bend. Pond at sunset. 

Walking in the wind on the top of the world. 

Sunset over the Rio Grand. 

We've backtracked to Alpine, Texas and will probably stay here till the end of the year--taking some down time. Here's our update
Christmas in the Canyon
Christmas Eve (Saturday) we drove almost 200 miles to Seminole Canyon State Park and Historical Site. We are happy to be back in “big sky” country. No trees here—nothing to block our 360 view. I loved this low key Christmas and especially not having to buy presents. It is perfect weather just now—sunny and 75 degrees. This morning we went on a tour of a shelter in the canyon where there is some well preserved rock art (pictographs). You have to go with a guide and we were the only ones on the tour. In the afternoon we rode our bikes 3 miles down a dirt track to view the Rio Grande River. It is actually a reservoir at this point and in a canyon with huge steep walls. (no wetbacks here). Enjoyed our spaghetti Christmas dinner.

Big Bend (12/26-27)
We had no expectations going into Big Bend National Park. Against the advice of a friend we drove down to the Rio Grande Village Campground inside the park. We were disappointed it was so far from the center of the park but turned out to be a wonderful place for sunset walks. I could wax poetic but the photos do it better. We had a very nice (no-hookups) camp spot for 2 nights. We also saw our first javelina here. The next day we really didn’t want to drive, but the Ranger convinced us we had to at least go to the Chisos Mountains (30 or so miles back towards the middle of the park). You have to remember that for months we have been at elevations of below 300 feet and all of a sudden we are 5500’ hiking up to 6500’. Amazingly we survived a 5 mile hike at this elevation. Views were spectacular. Mountains all around—how we have missed them. Up here in the high elevations we were glad of jackets but down in our campground it was 80 degrees. There is still a lot of Big Bend yet to see (someday, perhaps).

Stars at Night… (12/28-29)
Another long day of driving back north and we ended up at Davis Mountains State Park. (near Fort Davis, Texas) on Wednesday. The state parks are nice because there is always “room to roam”. We haven’t yet had time to hike any of the trails—tomorrow morning’s agenda. Spent the morning at Fort Davis National Historic Park. I am amazed at the number of historic parks we have found. This fort was created in the 1850’s to protect a land road between San Antonio and El Paso from raiding Commanches and Apaches. Some of the fort has been restored but much is still in ruins. The combination makes it all the more interesting.
It turns out that MacDonald Observatory is only 13 miles from here. We spent the afternoon up there. The “tour” was well worth our $16 but alas we were not alone. There was a huge crowd—this being Christmas vacation and all. First there was a program about the sun, and as the mornings clouds had dispersed we were able to see LIVE sunspots, solar protuberances, and even solar flares. Amazingly we actually got to stand right under the $5million telescope and walk around cables and see the walls move. No security guards or anything—just our guide. Astronomers come here for maybe a week at a time to gather data—mostly on the spectrography of stars. There is a public “Star Party” at night but we didn’t want to go back up (with all those people). Even down here in our campground the stars are amazing. No light pollution out here.

Mission San Jose--one of four Spanish missions in the area (one being the Alamo). We rode our bikes here. The distance is short but the route was not obvious. 

Along the River Walk in San Antonio. Beautiful day. Looks more like fall than Christmas. 

We arrived here on Wednesday (12/21). Gorgeous day. This RV Park is near the river and nearer a great bike trail that follows the river. We rode 6 miles out to the farthest of the four San Antonio Missions (which turns out to be another National Historic Park). Great bike ride followed by pool time. We have a wonderful warm pool in this Park.
Today (Thursday) we took the bus into the city—it’s about 3 miles. I had no expectations for the Alamo so was pleasantly surprised. It is the first of the 4 original missions and of course the site of the famous siege. From here we went looking for the famous Riverwalk, which was also a pleasant surprise. An oxbow in the river is now almost a canal with a walkway all along it on two sides. Lots of vegetation and waterfalls. Lots of restaurants. No small shops like I expected. All in all we had a fun day though it was not at all what we expected. We were expecting something like pre-Christmas shopping in Portland but Christmas is very low key here. We are planning to stay here an extra day to do some more biking and see the rest of the missions—and to enjoy some more pool time. It’s supposed to be in the 70’s tomorrow.

We were quite surprised to find a primo museum on the War in the Pacific here in Fredericksburg, Texas. It turns out that Admiral Nimitz was born here. It was a cool museum. One part took you from the flight deck of an aircraft carrier to a PT boat to a beach landing to a field hospital. Lots more information that we had time for. Elsewhere in Fredericksburg there are a LOT of gift shops and I got to explore a bunch of them while Kit got the oil changed. There are also (I read) 300 B & B's. My favorite store was an old fashioned five and dime (with lots of good stuff) and this is a town with a Wal-Mart. Well, on second thought, the store that was a real hit with us was a huge Texas gourmet food shop--all kinds of sauces and other stuff and you could taste whatever you wanted. We also found a wine shop with some great beer (even our favorite Rogue Dead Guy). They passed a law in Fredericksburg that it's OK to walk down the street drinking beer (or wine). Not too many people doing it in this cold weather. At the end of a long day we finally got to visit one Texas winery. This is Texas wine country. Almost all of the wineries are also B & B's.

We have been fortunate to have free wireless internet the last few places we have stayed so am trying to keep up with blogging. By Christmas we will be heading into the "outback". Yesterday we drove up to the Texas Hill Country. Going through Johnson City we stopped at the "in town" part of the LBJ National Historic Site and learned about the Christmas tree lighting festival at the "ranch". There were free bus tours but you couldn't get tickets until 4pm. We decided to go to the ceremony but not the bus tour. What a treat to see Lady Bird Johnson. She is turning 93 in a few days. Her daughter Luci gave a nice speech (photo posted) and there were speeches by park people as well. The local German band played and the elementary school kids sang some carols. And there were cookies. It was a unique Christmas experience for us. Today we went back to the ranch to take the tour in daylight. The family still owns the "Texas White House" but the rest of the property belongs to the National and State Parks. In the State Park there is a German farm which represents the 1890's and the 1910's (a later addition) Rangers and Volunteers in costume actually spend days their doing the tasks of the era. Today was Monday washday. They also cook meals from what they grow on the farm. (but only park employees get to eat). The cow is due to calf soon and then there will be fresh milk for butter and what they call clabbered cream. This area was settled by Germans by the way. We had dinner at a German restaurant in Fredericksburg tonight. Fredericksburg has a wonderful old downtown of the kind we love. Of course it is all tourist shops but Kit has promised I can do some looking tomorrow. This is also Texas wine country but we have yet to find a "good" winery.

We were fortunate enough to attend the annual tree lighting ceremony at the LBJ Ranch. This is Lucy Baines Johnson speaking and you can see her mother Lady Bird in the lower left. Unforgettable evening. 

We’ve been in Texas two days and not taken a single picture, nor done much in the way of “touristing”. We did go grocery shopping—one of our favorite pleasures on the road. We go into a store with a list of 4 and always come out with more. We also visited a wine store and bought some jalepeno jelly. After a long (200 plus miles) day, we had a day of rest in an RV park with an amazing indoor pool. We are near the tiny town of Montgomery, Texas. It’s 45 miles from Houston but the city is moving this way. Tomorrow we drive another 200 some miles to Fredericksburg.

Merry Christmas from Natchitoches, Louisiana. Send us greetings from wherever you are. 

Louisiana Weather
Tuesday was sunny and upper 60’s. Wednesday it rained buckets in the afternoon with temperature in the mid 60’s. Thursday the sun shone again and temp dipped to upper 50’s. Such is the off again- on again winter in Louisiana.

Natchitoches (pronounced Nak-uh-dish)
This is the oldest continually settled town in the Louisiana Purchase. The French built a fort here in the 18th century. A recreated fort is now a state historic site. Downriver were the cotton plantations. Oakland Plantation, with lots of original outbuildings, is now a National Historic Site. One of the great advantages of winter touristing is there are not a lot of tourists so there’s lots of time to ask questions and visit with the guides. The ranger on duty at the National Park was a student intern / history major and our costumed guide at the Fort was a student at the local University. Both had lots of time to chat with us.
Nak-uh-dish (it’s easier to write than the true spelling) is famous because Steel Magnolias was filmed here. We took a trolley tour and saw the film sites as well as the historical buildings. Nearly every old house in town is now a B & B. Our guide says this is because when they filmed the movie there were not enough hotel rooms for all the cast and crew—so after that the B & B trend started. There are 80 B & B’s now in a town of 12,000, and they are all filled weekends in December. There is a big Christmas light festival with lots of tourists—we had to leave our RV park, because the weekend was booked. We did get a look at the lights on Thursday night.

The informal sitting room in the Greek Revival mansion of Melrose--which is a National Historical Park in Natchez. 

What a romantic thought--actually the moon is almost full and the skies are clear tonight. Last night we had a walk along the mellow Mississip to see the Christmas light show in a nearby park. WE LOVE NATCHeZ. Plus we love having an RV park within a few minutes of a town we want to visit. That's a rare combination. Natchez is an ideal small town with nice people and lots of Antebellum mansions. There are almost no tourists around at this time of year so we had virtually private tours at the two we visited. It's fun having conversations with the guides. We learned that local people are called Nacheezians. So what have we done in 2 days here--walked a lot around neighborhoods, visited churches --St Mary's Cathederal is really awesome and we've seen European catherdrals, found a quilting shop and a book shop, had some great lunches, visited an Indian mound site and museum, went shopping for some things for Kit's birthday present... One of the neatest places we went (a tour guide told us about it) was to a photo exhibit at the Presbyterian church. There are hundreds of old turn of the century photos from the town's professional photographer of the time--some are posed portraits but many are slice of life shots around the town. And.. we had a long conversation with another local who noted our plates and wanted to know if we were from Yakima. The town is decorated for Christmas-- wreaths and garlands on all of the old houses and a huge Christmas tree in the middle of Main Street--they are all artificial. The temperature today was 68 degrees and the sun shone--the nicest day in a long time. Rain and thunderstorms on the way as we travel tomorrow. Diesel here is $2.49 which is about 10 cents more than in Alabama.

Presbyterian Church in Natchez. 

Longwood--antebellum mansion outside of Natchez, MS. It is interesting because it was never finished--the Civil War intervened--only the bottom floor was completed and lived in for a century. 

Florida "snow". This was actually taken on a white sand beach littered with shells. 

You will not believe this but it is TRUE. We were walking around the fine little town of Natchez, MS late this afternoon before going to dinner (for Kit's birthday). We had just missed the Christmas parade. We started talking to the Crockers (Mr. and Mrs) outside of the Methodist Church and they invited us to get in their car and do a quick tour of the town. They had to be back at 5 to open the church for youth group. (There are youth in Natchez). This is a true story. Of course we went.

Friday night in Alabama, Saturday night in Mississippi, Sunday night in Lousiana. We are moving west but have lit here near Natchez MS which is a way cool town. Alabama/ Miss. impressions--orange dirt, pine trees, log trucks, log trucks, Baptist churches. Stayed in a state park in MS which we had a bit of trouble finding but it was right on a lake and very peaceful. We have seen some storm damage--trees down and tarps over roofs. We are 150 miles north of New Orleans on HWY 84.

Winter in Florida (12/7)
We have arrived in yet another Paradise—the perfect spot to sit in the sun and enjoy life—but it’s raining. Luckily we arrived yesterday when the sun was shining and I got to walk barefoot along the beach. The wonderful white sand beaches are covered with shells. This white sand is so amazingly like snow that bundled up today we felt like we were walking in winter. We are at the end of the world—or at least the end of a peninsula—at St. Joseph Peninsula State Park. There are not a lot of other people here so it’s quite peaceful.

Surprises
Living here in the year 2005 I have pretty much accepted that things are no longer the way they were in the 50’s. Instead of a rotary phone on the wall, we have a cell phone in the pocket. Instead of paper and stamps, we send our letters through cyberspace. Television signals come through a cable or satellite dish. Or do they? I am continually totally surprised to discover there are still television signals floating around in the air to be picked up by any antenna. Even here at the end of the world we get 3 channels.

10-10-10 (12/8)
Continuing west, we decided to stop in a 10-10-10 (Highest rating in Trailer Life) State Park called Topsail Hill. Supposedly the beaches here are the finest in the nation but I give them a 3. The park was very nice but the weather was not: no sitting in the sun by the pool.

Alabama (12/9)
Today we drove north into Alabama. Winter is a lot colder here than in Florida. We are expecting lows in the 20’s tonight. We are spending only one night in Alabama—in a very nice city campground by a lake. The leaves here have only recently fallen. Enjoyed a sunny (but cold) afternoon.

Yesterday we drove 175 miles west and landed right on the beach--the Gulf of Mexico is literally 100 feet outside our front door. Alas, there is not much beach to walk on and a cold front with RAIN passed through in the afternoon. This morning it is clear and cold. We are moving on another 50 miles to see more of the Gulf Coast before the next storm.

Sunday evening in Cedar Keys Florida. 

Florida bird and reflections in Manatee Springs. 

Christmas tree at the Disney Grand Floridian Hotel.  

Addendum: (to Mickey Florida, 12/1)
On the after dinner visit to the Grand Floridian hotel—we find carolers, Christmas trees, a huge Gingerbread house AND lots of little princesses dancing around. Even Cinderella was there to pose with the little princesses. I wonder where they will find little princes. If you are going to Disney World, I think the way to go is to spend the bucks to stay in a Disney Hotel and ride the monorail to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot and all.

Manatee Springs (12/3)
The Real Florida is the motto of the Florida State Parks. We drove to Manatee Springs State Park where we are stayed for cheap. I met people who saw a manatee but I did not. I did see LOTS of vultures—they cluster in the trees like our cormorants at home. I saw some cormorants here too. I even saw an ARMADILLO (and it’s not even Texas yet). The springs bubble out of the ground into a huge pool which flows into the Suwannee River.
We drove up to the tiny town of Trenton where there is an awesome fabric store in an old coke bottling plant. Later we rode bikes on a rail trail from Chiefland to Fanning Springs. It’s cold in the morning here but afternoons are glorious. Diesel is more expensive in Florida—we paid $2.59 today.

Cedar Keys (12/4)
We have found a little bit of paradise off the beaten path and would linger here if the cost was a little more reasonable. (This is not a 3 pools resort) Drove all of 30 miles today—after a morning walk in the park. Arrived on Cedar Key around noon, had lunch, and hopped on the bikes. There is an “old town” historical main street and a touristy waterfront with lots of restaurants and condos. Enjoyed some nice biking and a state park museum. Kit wants to go out to dinner but we are in a perfect spot to watch the sun set over the water.

We are probably the only people in this part of the world NOT going to Disney World. We are too cheap to spend $120 for one day. So spent the day doing errands and projects and visiting with Kit's cousin Leslie. And after dark--Leslie took us to the free Disney--the hotels which are pretty amazing, and Downtown Disney with it's shopping and restaurants and TOURIST TRAP spelled out in big lights. So we had our cheap taste of Mickey Florida. Leaving today for the REal Florida :)

St Augustine in the Rain (11/28-9)
We arrived yesterday ahead of a terrific rain and thunderstorm. Our first impressions of St. Augustine were not great—it’s a fine little historical city surrounded by tourist insanity. We had chosen to stay at a state park here—the site we were fist assigned didn’t work for us—in fact it took a long time to find a spot we could get into. After all that driving around we were lucky to get settled barely before the downpour began. Anastasia State Park reminds us a lot of our favorite Oregon Coast state parks—but even in a downpour, the temperature was in the 70’s.
Today we crossed the intercoastal waterway into historical St. Augustine. Rather than pay big bucks for the trolley tour, we did a walking in the rain tour. (not much rain). It’s much more up close and personal that way. One of the best investments we made was our National Parks Pass which got us into the fort here—Castillo de San Marcos. This fort had a very interesting history. It was built by the Spanish for protection from pirates, held by the British for a time, and in the Civil War by both Confederate and Union soldiers. Later, it was also the prison for Indians from the west and plains—including the family of Geronimo.
This afternoon I finally got a walk on the beach. For awhile, I had this fine Florida beach all to myself but as the afternoon cleared, others came out.