3. ALONG THE RIO GRANDE

Day 10: Tuesday, March 20

The first day of Spring - and the first day of this trip where the sun shone all day and the temperature climbed into the high seventies.

Got up at 6:30 AM, had my usual cereals and 1/2 a banana for breakfast, showered in the OK bathhouse, and used the phone line the campground provides for us computer types. A nice touch: a small desk and a comfortable chair.

The night's low temperature was 49F but it had already climbed to 60F by the time I hit the road. What a pleasure to wear shorts and a short-sleeved shirt!

Drove around Brownsville for a while and inquired about the formalities for entering Mexico. The costs and paperwork made it unattractive - why bother. Took US 281 instead and then crossed over to US 83 at McAllen. Two years ago I traveled this way, too - and US 83 in McAllen was a big construction zone mess. It hasn't changed.

Stayed on US 83 all the way to Laredo. Mostly it is a pleasant drive, initially through fertile farm land where carrots, lettuce, and cotton are grown, then a gradual climb from sea level to about 500' and more arid cattle ranch land.

Made my way to the Lake Casa Blanca State Park - $9.00 bought me the right to park anywhere in the park. Picnic shelters and grilles are provided, but no hook-ups. Since my van is self-contained, no problem.

Took advantage of the warm weather to open up the van and do some cleaning. Then grilled and ate my cheeseburger outdoors. Talked with a fellow camper -- a retired high school teacher from northwestern Pennsylvania -- he has taken his trailer all over Latin America, going as far south as Panama.

Spent the evening watching TV, catching up on e-mail, and just being lazy. Drove 265 miles today, was en route for 6 hours, and bought gasoline in Laredo for $1.379/gal. Prices in Brownsville were as low as $1.199. Averaged 16.9 mpg on the last tank.

Day 11: Wednesday, March 21

What a beautiful day! Woke up at 5:30 AM to an outside temperature of 50F. But once the sun came up, it quickly warmed up to 60F, 80F by mid-day, and a very comfortable 75F in the late afternoon. Not a cloud in the sky all day long.

Easy driving, too. Good roads, not much traffic. Took a wrong turn out of Laredo - a 30 mile trip to a sign "Road Ends" Found my way back to Laredo and headed north on US 83 all the way to Carrizo Springs. Then US 277 to Eagle Pass and Del Rio, and US 90 west to Comstock and the Seminole Canyon State Park. Especially scenic is the drive by the Amistad National Recreation Area - the water in the lake is incredibly blue. There is an upward trend in altitude -- 450' at Laredo, 1,450' at Seminole.

Because Texas roads in this part of the state are in excellent condition, and because the speed limit usually is 70 MPH, arrived at the campground already in the early afternoon. Got a $13 site with a nice view of the rolling landscape (covered with wild flowers and sage brush), water, electricity (to avail myself of the comfort provided by my new 110 VAC air conditioner), sheltered picnic table, and grille.

Spent much time removing the ugly road tar and oil that the van had picked up in Louisiana, and then took a long shower in the excellent and very clean bathhouse.

As sunset approached, the wind picked up - lightly rocking the van. But it was still very comfortable outside, so grilled a couple of hot dogs and then went inside to munch on cookies, Double Chocolate Chunk! Will go to bed early - am caught up on the journal and e-mails, and the only TV stations I can pick up here are Mexican.

Drove 280 miles today, was en route for 5 hours. Because of the beautiful weather and the good roads, enjoyed every minute.

Day 12: Thursday, March 22

Did a lot of driving today, saw beautiful sights, and got more "warmth" than I had expected.

Went to bed at 9 PM last night and consequently woke up an hour earlier than usual. Waited for the sun to come up. Outside temperature climbed from 53F to 63F and I was on my way by 8:00 AM -- headed west on US 90. Passed by Langtry, Judge Roy Bean's old hang-out (see my 2000-1 journal), Dryden and Sanderson. The Sanderson Canyon area is quite scenic. The road dipped and climbed, with an upward trend that took me from 1,500' at Seminole to 4,500' at Alpine.

Did some grocery shopping in Alpine, a pleasant little town that I had visited during my 1999-1 and the 2000-1 trips. Then took TX 118 south to Study Butte, Terlingua, and the west entrance to Big Bend National Park. Previously I had taken the road from Marathon through the Persimmon Gap to the park, but found it somewhat boring. TX 118 is a detour, but worth it.

Took the park road east all the way to Rio Grande Village. Did not like the campsites there -- the full hook-up sites are a side-by-side parking lot without picnic tables or any redeeming scenic value. The dry camping sites are divided into "generator allowed" and "generator prohibited" sections. The "allowed" zone generally lacked picnic tables. The "prohibited" sector is closer to the river and offers picnic tables as well as an abundance of flies.

The temperature had climbed to 98F, and I decided against camping at the Village -- would have needed to hook up to electricity to run the air conditioner, and really didn't like the hook-up sites.

Headed back again and got some good photos of the mountains and the beautiful flowers along the road.

Then detoured to Castolon and the beautiful Santa Elena Canyon.

and from there took the unimproved Old Maverick Road back to the west entrance. Learned that the best way to drive a washboard road is to keep the speed at about 40 mph. Go slower than that and the bumps are unbearable, go faster and lose control. Do not take this road if your RV isn't a class B -- and even then, be prepared for unexpected consequences, the least of which is dust that has an incredible ability to get inside your vehicle.

Then took the very scenic and beautiful river road -- El Camino del Rio -- to Lajitas and Presidio (see my 1999-1 journal) and headed north from Presidio on US 67, a fast and scenic drive to Marfa. Turned east on US 90 and was back in Alpine. All in all, a beautiful loop drive. Presidio is at an altitude of about 3,000' and the temperature was in the mid-nineties. Alpine is about 1,500' higher, and the temperature was 15 degrees lower.

By far the most attractive campground in Alpine is The Lost Alaskan, where I had stayed last year. It is right off SR 118, on the way to Ft. Davis. Got a full hook up site for $16 and enjoyed an evening of watching the news on cable TV. Last year I gave their bathhouse 2 stars, but I've now dropped them to one star only, because the showerhead this time only delivered a trickle.

Was on the road for 11 1/4 hours today and drove 535 miles. Found gas in Alpine for $1.389 gal - all other stations were at least $1.599. Averaged 16.3 mpg on the last tank.

Day 13: Friday, March 23

Another truly beautiful day with plenty of clear blue sky. Some high clouds to break the monotony. Temperatures that ranged from 44F at night to 57F once the sun came up, to the high eighties and back down to a comfortable 70F after sunset.

Was on the road by 9:45 AM and took the Texas Mountain Trail. The trail uses TX 118 for the drive to Fort Davis, through the Davis Mountains, and the connect with I-10 -- mostly a pleasantly scenic road. Then took I-10 for the quick drive to Van Horne, from where the Trail (TX 54) heads north to the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The drive is mostly scenic with good vistas of the mountain range and the high desert.

There is no road into the park anymore - the eco-terrorists insist that one hikes. Never mind that at 5,500' and high temperatures not everybody is able to do so. But there is a lovely view from the highway of El Capitan, at about 8,000' the highest mountain in Texas.

The Texas Mountain Trail continues on US 62/180 to El Paso, a scenic road most of the way. El Paso is even dustier and unattractive today than it was 20 years ago when I had to spend a great deal of time there on a client assignment.

Continued on I-10 to Deming, and then took SR 11 south. Checked out the Rock Hound State Park, but found it too unattractive to spend the night there. Continued on NM 11 to Columbus and the Pancho Villa State Park. Had stayed there twice before and especially liked the comfortable bathhouse. $10 got me a site with water and picnic table.

Was on the road for 445 miles and 9 hours. Bought gasoline at Love's in Van Horn for $1.379/gal and averaged 16 mpg on the last tank.

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