Norm's father had been in a nursing home in Kentucky the last two months so we decided it was time to visit him. We also wanted to visit Linda's family and Norm's son Nathan. The first day of March our neighbors, Don and Marianne LaMay, took us to the airport at Harlingen, Texas and they picked us up five days later. They also kept an eye on our motorhome while we were gone. We were surprised to find Norm's father had improved so much in the two months since we had seen him. Norm's mother, age 85, is a remarkably strong woman. She takes care of the house and yard, does the shopping and drives eighteen miles to the nursing home daily. One of the hardest decisions we had to make when we started fulltiming was should we start now or wait a few years? It was hard to leave elderly parents but Norm's father stated it best. He said "go while you are young enough to do it." When we left Kentucky we promised to return every three months to visit family.

We were glad to get back to our home in Texas and the warm weather, but not the wind. Every day in the nearly two months we spent in Harlingen the wind blew strong and only stopped long enough to reverse directions. We could never put the awnings out and learned to open the door with two hands firmly on the handle so it wouldn't be ripped from our hands. And we will never forget the water. Harlingen must have the worse tasting water in the country. Just brushing your teeth was enough to make you gag. Harlingen, you were warm for the winter, but Good Bye.

The motorhome's transmission fluid was due to be changed as we left so we made an appointment with Boggus Ford. Just before we broke camp a terrible thunderstorm roared through and we sloshed in water getting the utility lines unhooked. During the wind and heavy rain we retracted the slide and the awning covering it got wrinkled and did not roll up correctly leaving a big loop of awning material hanging down to flop in the wind as we drove. Several miles out of Harlingen we stopped on the side of the road and Norm climbed a ladder to fix the awning. During the windy drive to Del Rio we saw two things we had not seen before. There were many miles of gas wells with distribution pipes criss-crossing the landscape and there were onion fields - field after field of onions that had to total thousands of acres.

Alamo Village, a re-creation of the Alamo and the old city of San Antonio, is about 32 miles from Del Rio. Actually, you drive to the small community of Brackettville and turn north. Drive seven miles until you are in the middle of nowhere, then drive a dirt road two miles across a cattle field - you are there. In 1957 John Wayne had the Alamo and town constructed on the 35 square mile ranch of James T. "Happy" Shahan. The buildings were completed in 1959 for a cost of twelve million dollars and the epic movie Alamo was filmed on location. Over the years more buildings were constructed for other movies. The town includes jails, saloons, general stores, hotels, houses, stables, church, bank, blacksmith shop and a cemetery. Over one hundred movies, documentaries and commercials have been filmed in Alamo Village including Alamo, Bandolero, Five Bold Women, Arrowhead, the Roy Rodgers Show, Two Rode Together, Death of Tombstone, Code of Jose Wales, Lonesome Dove, Gunsmoke, Bad Girls, Gambler V, Streets of Laredo, and many more. Visitors can enter the jails and saloons where famous stars have performed and sit in wagons used in many western movies. Some of the actors and actresses who have made movies in Alamo Village include Charleston Heston, Ernest Borgnine, John Wayne, Walter Brennan, Jimmy Stewart, Dennis Weaver, Clint Eastwood, Willie Nelson, Raquel Welch, Dean Martin, Roy Clark, Sam Elliot, Robert Duvall, James Arness, Roy Rodgers, Dale Evans, Drew Barrymore, Kenny Rogers, Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner and a host of others. If you are a movie buff or an old western fan, Alamo Village is a must to visit. Click here for the Alamo Village website.

Val Verde Winery, Del Rio, was established in 1883 and is Texas' oldest bonded winery. We toured the winery and taste-tested eight of their offerings. We selected two wines to add to our small collection. After the horrible tasting water in Harlingen we decided to tour the Del Rio Water Works in hopes of finding sweet tasting water. The city's water is drawn from San Felipe Spring, a spring that emits 90 million gallons of clear good tasting water every day. While we were there workers used a chain and pulley system to hoist a large malfunctioning motor from the spring. Mexico is always interesting to visit to see the varied cultures of the bordering towns. We walked the bridge over the Rio Grande River to Ciudad Acuna, Mexico and spent the day shopping and eating. One of the most interesting people of Del Rio was Dr. John R. Brinkley who transplanted goat glands into men to raise their sexual awareness.

Our drive from Del Rio to Alpine was 197 miles on highway US 90. During the scenic drive across desert and over mountains we saw very little traffic. The road is a major US road with a speed limit of 70 mph, but we drove 55 mph and were passed by only eight vehicles during the entire trip. We made one stop at Langtry where Judge Roy Bean became famous and was known as "The Law West of the Pecos."

The 79 mile drive from Alpine to Big Bend National Park was beautiful. Imagine, cruising in your home with a panoramic view of the peaks of Glass and Del Norte Mountains, which gives way to the flat floor of Chihuahuan Desert, then through Christmas Mountains to the magnificent Chisos Mountains. The road was isolated and we did not see another vehicle in our lane during the first fifty miles so we drove a slow pace and absorbed the sights. March is spring break month and we had been told the two campgrounds in Big Bend National Park that can accommodate motorhomes might be full. So we stayed three miles west of the park in the Study Butte / Terlingua area. The 37 mile drive on Texas highway 170 from our campground to Big Hill was breathtaking. Words or pictures can not describe the hues of the mountains or how Mother Nature has used the Rio Grande River to carve their sides. With each mountain peak crossed and each bend in the road, the scenery changes. As we approached the peaks and bends we were filled with excitement not knowing what the next magnificent view would hold. Big Hill is a 16% grade up the hill and down the hill, and caution is needed when descending Big Hill. In the deep narrow canyon below flows the Rio Grande River and we watched from above as rafts of people floated by. We stopped many times to absorb the beauty and snap pictures that can not do justice to one of the most scenic areas in the United States.

An old adobe village was built on the bank of the Rio Grande for the movie Contrabando and was used in Dead Man's Walk. We had never heard of the movies but the created village was interesting. Just upstream from the movie set the River ripples slowly over rocks and is shallow enough to walk across into Mexico. At Lajitas we summoned a Mexican with his young son on the other shore to row across and pick us up. Once on the Mexican shore we hiked to the village of Paso Lajitas and walked the streets. An interesting and common sight was small adobe houses, some in a bad state of repair, with satellite dishes pointing to the sky. There were two small restaurants in town and we chose Comanche Cafe. Our server / cook could not speak English but we managed to order with hand language and pay when finished. We were the only customers of the cafe while we ate. On hoofing it out of town Norm chose the wrong trail and got lost. The sun was sinking fast and we wondered if we would be stranded in the desert area, maybe lost forever. Linda encountered a cactus and was suffering from it's sting. Then we heard sounds from the river and walked toward them. We found our rowboat operator who had not shut down business for the day and he took us back to the US side. We paid him two dollars and drove back to our motorhome in Study Butte.

Hiking is one of the best ways to see the back sides of Big Bend National Park, but we are grandparents and inexperienced hikers so we searched for the easier trails. Grapevine Hills Trail is at the end of a 6.5 mile unpaved road and our Honda CR-V 4-wheel drive came in handy. The trail was a one mile hike through a wash between two mountain chains. At the end of the trail there was a climb of one-quarter mile nearly straight up. Linda waited at the bottom while Norm climbed up. Feeling confident with our first hike we headed to Santa Elena Canyon where the Rio Grande River cuts through a 1,500 foot mountain. The trail starts at river bottom and rises over 500 feet as it zig-zags across the canyon wall. The path is steep at times, usually three feet wide and has no guard rail most of the way. One slip and you're in the river below. Linda is afraid of heights and she made it two-thirds up before panic struck, but somehow she gathered strength and made it back to the bottom.

Boquillas Del Carmen is an old Mexican town of less than 150 people. We arrived at the Rio Grande River and waited for a rowboat to pick us up. Once on the Mexican side we rented horses to ride to town one mile away. We neither had ridden horses but when in Mexico do as the Mexicans do. Lacho, a town resident, volunteered to be our tour guide. He took us to the only restaurant in town and served our lunch. Then we walked the main street as he pointed out the Catholic Church and school. The school has sixty students (who attend at will) and three teachers, one of whom teaches English. We walked by the town's bar, grocery store and souvenir shop, and saw no other businesses in town. The women sell rocks and the children sell handmade beaded bracelets and necklaces. Lacho told us he is married with one son and his father and grandfather also lived in Boquillas. He explained supplies are brought to his town over a dirt road from the nearest town, 160 miles away. Lacho also boasted his town has no crime.

After we rode the horses back to the Rio Grande River, a friend of Lacho asked if we could drive him to a service station in Rio Grande Village to get gasoline. Then Lacho and another man said they needed supplies. So Linda and Norm and the three Mexicans took a rowboat to the US side and all piled into the Honda. We drove them to the service station and then back to the Rio Grande where they boarded a rowboat for Mexico. Then it struck us, we had taken illegal aliens from Mexico to the United States. What the heck, in this part of the country nobody cares and there are no Immigration Officials on either side of the river.

After the tour in Mexico we decided it was time for another hike so we headed to Boquillas Canyon. The trail took us to the bottom of the narrow canyon to look up at 1,500 foot walls. The wind and sand blew strong from the Mexican Chihuahua Desert and stung our bodies as it funneled into the canyon. At times we had to walk head down and eyes closed to keep the sand out of our eyes. It was an interesting hike that required us to consume water the entire time in the dry desert heat. We were dirty, dusty and sandy, but hungry, so we went to the only restaurant open, the Lodge at Chisos Basin. Our hair was full of sand and our clothes were dirty. Norm took his billfold out and it was full of sand. We looked awful and smelled worse. Fortunately we were not seated near anyone else or come to think of it, the host probably took one look at us and seated us accordingly. The restaurant has large windows that overlook the beautiful Chisos Mountains and the sun was setting, but we were too hungry to notice the scenery. After eating ribeye dinners we drove out of the mountains. As darkness had come the creatures from the mountains and desert were stirring about. We drove slowly and saw deer, gray fox, coyotes, and a javelina (similar to a wild boar). In the middle of the desert we stopped the car and turned the headlights off. Since the moon was not out and there were no lights to obscure our view, the stars shined brightly and filled the sky. Suddenly, a shooting star streaked across the sky. What a fitting way to end the day.

The Starlight Theater in Terlingua is located in an old adobe movie theater building. It got its name when the roof was blown off and patrons watched movies under the starlights. We dined on Mexican food while a local cowboy/hippie plucked his guitar and crooned westerns and ballads. Our last afternoon in the Big Bend we drove the desert in search of blooming cactus and got some good pictures even though the blooming season was a few weeks later. On our way past Panther Junction we spotted a herd of javelina and stalked them across the desert snapping pictures. The evening sky was ablaze in shades of bright orange and red. The six days we spent in Big Bend National Park were very enjoyable, but it was time to move on.

These are some of the pictures we took at Big Bend National Park.


The scenery during the 79 mile drive to Fort Davis was beautiful with desert floors and vast mountains. The speed limit was 70 mph most of the trip but Norm drove between 35 and 55 mph as there was no traffic and only one vehicle passed us. At Fort Davis we stayed on the Prude Guest Ranch and took several meals in their restaurant. One restaurant in town we tried was The Hotel Limpia Dining Room, established 1884, and the food was delicious. We ordered their specialty, fried beef tenderloin topped with peppered cream gravy. The beef was batter fried, crunchy and light. We agreed it was the best beef tenderloin we had ever eaten.

The fort at Fort Davis was established in 1854 on the San Antonio to El Paso road. Soldiers fought Indians and escorted wagon trains and for a while the Butterfield Overland Mail. In 1867 after the Civil War the fort was rebuilt and enlarged and served the frontier west until 1891. At that time the Indians had been ridded from the area and transportation was by train. Many of the buildings at the fort have been restored and furnished to the year 1884 by the National Park Service. A tour of the old fort is a must when you visit the Fort Davis area. Fort Davis boasts they are the highest town in Texas (5,000 feet) and their road, highway 118, is the highest paved road (nearly 6,800 feet) east of the Rocky Mountains. A few miles north of town there is a field of experimental solar panels, some flat and some circular. The power from the panels is fed into the power system and provides enough electricity for ninety homes. Continuing north into the heart of the Davis Mountains is the McDonald Observatory, one of the most famous and important observatories in the world. We attended a Saturday night Star Party. Up until nearly sunset the sky was covered with clouds, but the gods of good fortune blew the clouds away and we had a cloudless, moonless night for beautiful viewing. Four telescopes were fixed on stars and planets and each person got to look into the heavens. We viewed the rings and moons around Saturn and Jupiter, then an astronomer pointed out constellations and with our naked eyes we watched satellites streak across the sky. We did not know satellites could be seen from earth, but at nearly 6,800 feet in total darkness we saw many things in the sky we did not know existed. During the day we returned and watched solar flares through a telescope showing pictures on a monitor. Then we took the guided tour of the big telescopes. The first one we toured was located on Mt. Locke (6,791 feet), a 107 inch mirror telescope and it was tilted so we could see the internal workings. The telescope and its mountings weighs 160 tons. Next we drove to another mountain peak and saw the third largest telescope in the world, the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, which contains 91 mirrors for a total surface of 433 inches. The star party and tour of McDonald Observatory was one of the highlights of our stay in west Texas.

On leaving Fort Davis we drove down out of the Davis Mountains and across flat plains. Then we saw something we dread, an interstate highway, but there was no other way to get to Fort Stockton, our next destination. It had been two and a half months since we had traveled on an interstate highway. Fort Stockton is a town we fell in love with as it is an old town and the residents are friendly. As at Fort Davis, the fort at Stockton was established to fight Indians and escort wagon trains and the mail. Most of the fort has been destroyed by age and the elements but the town has preserved the remains. The Annie Riggs Memorial Museum is housed in an old adobe hotel that Annie Riggs managed many years. She was married twice and had ten children. Her first husband, a sheriff left her and she married second to a gun fighter. Her history was interesting and the museum was one of the best small town museums we have visited. We ate lunch at Happy Daze at Bulldog Corner, a restaurant with decor from the Fifties. It is housed in an old downtown pharmacy. After lunch we walked up Main Street to a barber shop where Norm got a haircut.

On March 30 we rolled into Fredericksburg, Texas, one on the oldest and most interesting towns in the state. Check back next month for the details.