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Month: January 2021

Big Bend, January 16-17th

Big Bend, January 16-17th

While Del Rio seemed distinctly joyless, Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park were distinctly joyful! Sweeping desert vistas greeted us with all of the romance we had imagined. Big Bend National Park campgrounds were full, but Big Bend Ranch State Park nearby had sites open and was also beautiful. We got to our campsite in the early afternoon, offering an opportunity to explore. A short but adventurous hike got us to the shore of the Rio Grande. We were amazed by the the change in the appearance of the river since Del Rio. The water was a beautiful tropical green and gurgled over rock formations to form gentle rapids. The sun shone high in the sky, providing unexpected warmth for the January day. Mexico lay feet before us, with panoramic views of mountains and protected lands mirroring the parks on the US side and preserving the rugged beauty on both sides of the border. Our campsite was secluded and offered post card views. A quick sweep of the blacklight at sunset assured us that the few scorpions near our tent were thankfully uninterested in us.

As night fell, the black velvet sky gave way to an infinite number of stars piercing through the inky blanket. Constellations became so apparent, even to our untrained eye, we could monitor the passage of the evening by their movement through the skies. It was hard to go to sleep knowing this spectacular gift from nature was unfolding. It was a lovely reminder of our place in the universe and how little our day-to-day concerns really impact us. The weight of the world slipped away with the Earth’s gentle rotation. 

We took advantage of some beautiful hikes the next day, packed up or campsite and bid a sad adieu to the BBRSP. The drive to El Paso was beautiful, but long. Sadly, duty called and we headed towards civilization to be set up in time for the workweek.

Del Rio, Texas, January 13-16th

Del Rio, Texas, January 13-16th

We stopped in Del Rio, Texas for a couple of work/school days on our way to Big Bend. This was our first experience in a Texas border town. A short description of Del Rio was summed up by a local restaurant named “The Armpit of Texas”.  Unfortunately, Del Rio’s affectionate nickname is appropriate. It was dusty, brown, and forgotten. Deferred maintenance was the community standard. Some highlights included the friendly people and the beautiful Amistad National Recreation Area just outside of town. There was also a clear creek running through a local park with an amphitheater. This was the only access to public swimming in this desert town that we could find, despite the city’s namesake, the Rio Grande, that runs right on by. There were stretches along the river border that were “well secured” by patrols and walls, while other areas of the narrow Rio Grande seemed allocated to RV party decks and more forgotten properties. Unless you are a property owner, the Rio Grande appears off limits. While not all of it is fenced off, it is as if the entire town participates in a unspoken agreement that it just does not exist.

We were hopeful for some great Tex-Mex food, at least. Hopefulness is just not part of Del Rio experience. Maybe if we had eaten at the above-mentioned restaurant…but it was closed due to COVID-19. We hope it re-opens; Del Rio could only benefit from a sense of humor.

One notable thing about Del Rio was that people were taking the COVID-19 mask wearing very seriously. While shopping at the H.E.B grocery store a couple of times, 100% of people wore masks.

 

The Texas Hill Country, January 8-10th

The Texas Hill Country, January 8-10th

January 8, 2021: We left Austin Friday afternoon excited about camping for the first time on this trip. We got to Blanco River State Park by early evening and were surprised to get a key on check-in. When we arrived at the site, sure enough, a spacious lockable screen room with picnic table inside awaited us. There was an adjacent outdoor picnic table and fire ring overlooking the river. After some discussion about whether we should use a tent at all, and if we should put it inside or outside, we decided to put the tent up inside the shelter. After all, it was really cold. We felt a little silly when we noticed our camping neighbors with tents outside their shelters, but not too silly. It was cold!

Saturday was gracious enough to bring blue skies and sunshine. We went on a short bike ride along the river and noticed many dams with spillways along the course. We counted 4 in the 1.5 miles we traversed. These spillways certainly created deeper pools for the extremely avid fisherman wading into the river who seemed to not notice the weather at all! We took an afternoon trip to Wimberley, Texas. We had read that this little town was the new hot spot for well-to-do Austonians who could now work from home and were eager to escape the city. Sure enough, the little town was bustling. A dozen or more shops and restaurants faced the main street, but backed to a beautiful and clear tree-lined creek that ran through the town. Cypress Creek originates at a deeper section in a just beautiful regional park and is known as Blue Hole. One thing that stuck out to us were the real “rope swings” from the trees, except that instead of ropes, they were actual chains. Most parks do everything they can to remove rope swings, but not in Wimberley, Texas. They make them legit, sanctioned, and safe.

The temperature was dropping, but even so, the water looked tempting. It was easy to imagine the summer crowds frolicking in the creek, enjoying an outdoor meal and beer(s) and relaxing away the long hot days. We could certainly see why this charming town was a draw.

We woke on Sunday to the sound of pouring rain which quickly turned to pouring sleet as the temperature dropped and eventually became snow. We were feeling pretty smug about our decision for putting the tent INSIDE the shelter. This also made for a relatively dry and quick pack up and we were on our way. Blanco State Park remains one of the nicest, cleanest well equipped parks we have ever camped at!

A nice hot meal at the local Chess Club Café was a welcome treat and we were on our way to further explore the hill country, with Luckenbach Texas in the GPS. 

We weren’t sure what to expect in Luckenbach, but were certainly surprised to find an unpaved dirt loop road that led to expansive (empty) parking, a music hall, an outdoor (empty) stage, and a building that housed the general store, post office, and town saloon. We were told that music happens there seven days a week at 1:00 PM, unless there is snow. Okay, so we didn’t get to hear music, but we are sure we met all three of the town’s inhabitants. We are also sure none of them were Willie Nelson. 

Austin, Texas. January 3-8th

Austin, Texas. January 3-8th

We entered Texas on January 3rd in the usual way, lifting our feet high above the floorboards so as not to trip over the state line as we drove across. We made our way into the Austin city limits on a cold, but sunny Sunday afternoon. We checked into our AirBnB after realizing that we were in a “up and coming” neighborhood in east Austin. This involved skirting a car club whose members were “swangas” and required a bit of navigating around to get to our condo. This was a bit surprising because we’d never seen anything like that before and were not in familiar territory. 

We loved the condo and proximity to greenways, trails, and parks that led to downtown and all over the Ausitn area. We were able to ride bikes for hours and experience the “trailer park meets Manhattan” aspect of Austin that people love. For instance, in the shadow of glass and steel skyscrapers, we were able to have a beer at an outdoor Creekside fishcamp that looked straight out of Floral City, Florida. 

Another aspect of Austin that gave it a camp feel were all of the tents. They were everywhere! A bit of reesarch turned up a new ordinance for the city that was created in 2019 that allows the homeless to set up camp on any public property except for designated parks. This means public right of ways, underpasses, sidewalks, etc. were often covered up by homeless tenement camps. It was a stark reminder of this often unseen population and promoted quite a few philosophical conversati0ns on how to best address the myriad social issues including competing rights between compassion and business.

A few of the very neat features of Austin are the businesses that have a way with the white Christmas light. They managed to make everything look festive without looking like they forgot to take things down in January. Also, there was the beautiful view on Mount Bonnell, overlooking the city and lake Austin. This is so pretty, even California tech execs are flocking to the area. 

Great music is still available in very limited access. We were lucky enough to see some traditional Texas honky tonk music by a Knoxville native.   Amazing BBQ that is so good you can’t order it while sitting down and not available on a plate. For some reason, every BBQ place had counter service only and the food was served on a tray with butcher paper, dill pickle slices, and raw red onions. While we are sure there is some inherent charm in this, it didn’t stop us from enjoying the BBQ and throwing away the red onion. There appeared to be so many great dining adventures in Austin, we didn’t even begin to scratch the surface. This city is definitely on our “must return” list. 

 

 

Hot Springs, Arkansas. January 2-3rd

Hot Springs, Arkansas. January 2-3rd

On January 2nd, 2021, our westward journey continued. It started with a drive across the mighty Mississippi, crossing into the state of Arkansas while suspended over its famous banks. A quick brunch in Little Rock and we made it to our destination of Hot Springs in no time. Hot Springs was well… not straightforward. We will admit it… we were confused. Just exactly what is Hot Springs, Arkansas? Is it a town? Is it a national park? Are there hot springs to see? How do we get to which part? It took a bit of navigation on foot and persistent question asking to find out. As it turns out, the answer is … all of the above. 

Our first impression of Hot Springs was as a quaint destination town with charming shops and lively streets. On second glance we realized there were a number of empty buildings. Large buildings. Old hotels, motels, and historic homes. Most striking was an enormous, really enormous, historic building with a majestic perch on the mountainside overlooking the town. What was this? Why was it empty? What happened to this town? Why was there no rooftop bar on this magnificent building?

We soon learned that most of the buildings were property of the US National Park Service. Many buildings were slated for renovation and others were just waiting. The town IS the National Park. Hot springs erupt naturally on the western side of the mountain in the hundreds. After the Civil War, the injured and ailing flocked there for the curative waters. Bath houses were built, too. The owners of the bath houses became concerned that the camps of public bathers were contaminating their water supply and received permission to cap off most of the surface wells. You can see them as you walk along the Promenade and other beautiful brick paths that wind through the hillside. The Christmas lights were beautiful and were a nice treat to cap off the holidays. We were sad to learn on our historic walk that only the rather pricey bath houses are set up to receive the continuous flow of this tasteless, odorless 150-degree mineral water now. No soakable natural hot springs are left.

The town was also the literal “hotspot’ for baseball spring training camps and a violence free home base for gangsters in the 1920s. This interaction allowed the town of Hot Springs to build ritzy hotels and glamorous bath houses. There was also the old army navy hospital (the enormous building on the mountain) which has been at times used for a mental institution as well as a rehabilitation center for the disabled. As you can imagine, there are many famous and dramatic stories considering this rich history. It would be amazing to see this beautiful little town returned to its former glory. Having the bath houses restored and open to the public would also be fantastic. As part of this restoration, we would prefer to see affordable public access to these springs returned in some way, outside of the pricey bath houses. What a gem Hot Springs would be if it could be visited as it was in its heyday. 

Overall, we loved Hot Springs…almost as much as we love rooftop bars. A friendly word of advice. Do not believe the staff of “The Rooftop” Hot Springs if they tell you they have plenty of heaters to offset the chill of a damp 38-degree evening. However, the Superior Brewery(only brewery in a US National Park) uses the mineral water to brew a delicious Irish Red, and is a must try. 

New Years in Memphis

New Years in Memphis

The city of Memphis was apparently named after the capital of Egypt. No one knows exactly why. The strange pyramid is less of a mystery. It started as a poorly planned sports arena and was brought back from the ashes in the form of a Bass Pro Shop. It appeared to us to be the only new or modern infrastructure in all of downtown. 

Our hotel was in walking distance of downtown and the Mississippi River. We were able to ride our bikes all over this deserted town on a holiday weekend with very little competition, except from the cold and rain.

We got to town on New Year’s Eve and made a beeline for the famous Beale street. The road was blocked off for pedestrians, which made it all the more apparent that there weren’t many. The historic buildings with inviting store fronts and background sounds of blues music allowed us a glimpse what this famous street must be like on any other New Year’s Eve. We were able to find an Irish pub with widely spaced seating and open doors for ventilation. The best part was they also had dueling pianos! We got to enjoy the sounds of live music for the first time in months. We did talk to some of the staff who lamented the poor turn out. They proudly showed us how in years past the entire outdoor patio would’ve been covered with large tents, live music, and even diving goats! It was obvious that this has been a joyous and raucous celebration in the past, and everyone was hopeful that will be again next year.

One of the highlights of Memphis was Mud Island park. There’s a fantastic 1/2 mile long scaled replica of the Mississippi river in the form of a fountain. It was dug as a trench in full relief, so that you’re able to visualize banks of the river, its twists and turns, the depths… the islands… and the cities that have been built along its shores. This seemed like an architectural and engineering feat! 

One of the most outstanding things about the city of Memphis was the friendliness of its people. Despite the downturn in the economy and the poor turn out for New Year’s Eve, everyone was quick with a smile, an open door, or a brief conversation. The vibrant nature of the city was on display despite the lack of festivities. Elvis was not the only ghost in Memphis this year. We will definitely go back to experience NYE in Memphis.