JANUARY - MARCH 2014

THE SLABS, ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO and TEXAS

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2014 Home

Travelogue#1   Travelogue#2   Travelogue#3   Travelogue#4   Travelogue#5   Travelogue#6   Travelogue#7   Travelogue#8   Travelogue#9   Travelogue#10

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TRAVELOGUE #5

January 27 - February 6, 2014 - Low-HI Ranch in Deming, NM - Meander thru Texas following the Rio Grande: Presidio - Big Bend NP - Laredo

Next stop: Low-HI Ranch - the official home of Loners on Wheels International - in Deming NM. It feels like arriving home because everyone is so welcoming. It's refreshing to be in a place where everyone is single. The night I arrived they were having a potluck dinner, so of course I was invited. I knew half a dozen people I have met at various events in WA, Yuma, and Quartzsite. The next day was their weekly lunch in Mexico - Palomas - about 35 miles from Deming. I drove down with Myra, a new friend, and we parked and walked across to the Pink Store. We had about 40+ people for lunch and turns out they really love this group who have been loyal customers for years. I bought some jewelry, including a lovely necklace for Kelley for her birthday (it was the 28th, her 25th birthday).

I stayed 3 nights in Deming, then headed toward Texas. My ultimate destination was Dallas (to visit Judy and Lew Robinson and Pam and Bob Hatch who all live nearby), but I decided to go the "long way" by following the Rio Grande River along west and south Texas. I drove through Las Cruces NM and El Paso TX, then headed south. It took me several days to get to Presidio which leads into Big Bend National Park. Big Bend is where the Rio Grande takes a turn and goes north for awhile before continuing its journey to the Gulf. Texas has two points of land - the smaller one in west Texas is Big Bend, the large point is Brownsville, the southernmost point in Texas where the Rio Grande meets the Gulf.

Big Bend is a huge national park, with vast stretches of road through severe desert with no development or services. I was following the Rio Grande, but there were only occasional peek-a-boo views of it. The rock formations were beautiful and there were a lot of dirt roads leading to campgrounds in out of the way places. I don't drive on dirt roads in my RV because it just vibrates too much. So there's still a lot more to explore - especially if you have a 4wd vehicle. One night, I camped on the east side overlooking the Rio Grande, in the shadow of the beautiful Sierra del Carmen mountains (actually on the Mexico side of the river). The next day I drove up to Chisos Basin under the distinctive Emory Peak (7795'). From the desert floor, I drove up and at 6000' suddenly there were big trees! I arrived at a valley where there was  a resort, a store, and a campground in the lower portion of the valley. At the far end of the lower valley was a huge notch where water flows out and into the valley below, called "The Window". This has been a sacred water source for many hundreds (perhaps thousands) of years for the people in the valley below. I had to pass on the hike to the gap due to distance and the fact that dogs weren't allowed. So instead we took a shorter walk around the developed area overlooking the valley.

From Big Bend, I went north to Marathon where I watched the Super Bowl (on my new TV - old one had died and been replaced in Presidio). Yay Seahawks! From there I continued to follow the Rio Grande stopping in Del Rio and Laredo. I then spent several nights in Mission TX because of bad weather, before proceeding to Padre Island.

Next travelogue: South Texas - Padre Island - and the Gulf

Low-HI Ranch, National Headquarters of Loners on Wheels

LoWs - founded in 1969

There were lots of lovely landscaped areas at the Low-HI ranch

Sunset from the ranch

Stunning rock formations along the road

Fort Davis in West Texas (above and below). It was a military base during the civil war.

 

Sunset in Presidio

Lights of Presidio

I found it! Noah's Ark! Lost in the desert!

My first view of the Rio Grande

Weird rock formations at a bend in the Rio Grande

River running through a stark black rock canyon

Finally! It seemed like a very long drive from Presidio

The Sierra Del Carmen mountain formation (above in late afternoon, below as the sun was setting). These mountains are actually on the Mexico side of the river. I picked this campground because of the view of these moutains.

 

Sunset (above looking east, below looking west). Desert sunrises and sunsets are amazing because they are 360 degrees of color!

 

This is the view of the Sierra del Carmen the next morning. There are at least 4 mountain ridges in the morning mist.

The diagram above shows how the river carved through a sheer rock wall.

The houses on the far side are a village in Mexico. Every house was a different color.

Heading into Chisos Basin, this is Emory Peak.

Trees at 6000'!

This is the lower valley and campground. The gap is called "The Window".

This is a closeup of a cactus where the stalks are about an inch in diameter (not counting the spines) and the stalks can be 12 - 15' or higher. Really nasty.

Some desert color.

We hiked from this parking area up and over some hills to the dry river bed (below).

 

Goodbye old friend. We bought this TV (with built in VCR player) for my mom in 1995. It just fit in my RV above the refrigerator. I have to say, the new flat screen takes up a lot less space!

I had to kill some time because the only gas station in town was closed for an hour for lunch, and I didn't have enough gas to get to the next town. This was a B&B on a back street. I was drawn to it by its colors. (above and below)

 

The Pecos River (above and below). I couldn't get a photo of the Rio Grande, but it's canyon sides were the same rock formation.

 

This was a beautiful state park in Laredo on Casa Blanca Lake. Above, the lights of Laredo across the lake. Below, my campsite with an old mission building on the top right.

Casa Blanca Lake, with Laredo and its airport on the far side.