The Lone Star State Part 2

             On January 30, we went to Mammoth National Monument in Waco.  We opted not to do the dig site and walked the trails instead.  While walking we saw a roadrunner for the first time, and we were taking many pictures as it walked around in the underbrush nearby.  The next day, I went to a coffee shop not far from Lake Whitney campground called the Lazy Llama with my friends the Hendricks (Mia stayed at home to play with our new neighbor).  Lazy Llama had a really cute vibe, with llama pictures on the walls, big saucer chairs on the far wall (where the Hendricks boys and I sat down to do schoolwork), and DELICIOUS coffee (I got a cold brew decaf with "Campfire" flavors that was amazing).  It was a really relaxed day, and I got a whole paper written too, which felt good to have it done. 

The roadrunner blended in to the vegetation, but if you look in the exact center you can see him

Schoolwork at the Lazy Llama

            The next day, we moved to Lake Medina in Lakehills, Texas.  Lake Medina was actually a drained lake, but the lakebed was fun to explore, with rocks to climb, quicksand, and skeleton-like trees.  Our campsite was wonderful, with rock-circled trees and rock-lined pathways winding between our campsite and the one across from ours: the Hendricks's.  We had a wonderful time at Medina, playing with old friends and new: Shae and Shiloh came to stay at Lake Medina and we met two new full-time families that we played with.  The kids made forts in the woods nearby, and during the day we spent our time there, playing battle and town together.  At night all the families would gather for a campfire and s'mores, and the kids would play games like Murder Mystery and Ghost in the Graveyard.  It was so much fun playing with all of the fellow RV kids, and I was so thankful for the times spent with them.  

All the kids hanging out at the campfire one night

Deer were literally everywhere at Lake Medina, and had no fear of humans

Playing on the rocks at the lakebed

            When Mia and I weren't playing with friends, we were going to attractions nearby Lake Medina.  San Antonio was an hour away, and we went there several days.  On our first day there, we went for the San Antonio rodeo kickoff parade, which featured ropers, Mexican dancers, and dozens and dozens of horses.  We had fun looking at all of the different breeds, patterns, and colors of horses as they went past.  Some horses even had glitter in their manes and tails, which was so pretty.  After the parade, we went through the Mexican street market, which was an open-air market with shops and stalls selling food, jewelry, clothes, and art.  Overhead, colorful Mexican papal picado (tissue paper flags with various illustrations cut into them; used for decoration) fluttered in the wind, giving the market a cheerful air.  That afternoon, we went to the Alamo, which was special that day.  Unlike other days, there were small tents set up with people in Alamo-era dress, talking about things like the food cowboys ate, doing gun demonstrations, teaching about the games people played, and telling us how school might be for Alamo-age children.  It was very educational and fascinating, and I was so glad that we had by chance chosen a day that had all of those displays.  

Mia and I using the slates at the school tent 

            On the second day we went to San Antonio, we made several different stops. Our first was the biggest pair of cowboy boots in the world, located right in San Antonio!  The boots were so big, Mia and I looked tiny next to them.  My mom got some pictures, and then we went to the Japanese Tea Garden.  This little tea garden was gorgeous, with a dragon bridge, waterfall, lake filled with koi, and gazebo.  It felt like we'd been transported to Japan; the tea garden was so authentic.  Our last stop for the day was the riverwalk in downtown San Antonio, which is one of the things San Antonio is known for.  The riverwalk is a large assortment of restaurants, bars, and shops lining the sides of the river.  The riverwalk is very pretty, and it has a Venice-esque air, especially with the frequent passing of tour boats through the river.  We ate at Casa Rio, the oldest restaurant on the riverwalk, and it was so nice sitting outside, watching passerby and boats as we ate.  

          

            We went to the missions one day with my nana, which are a bunch of historic Spanish churches that served as communities for the Indian converts and Spanish people who lived there.  The Spanish mission community centered on the church, and many Indians were converted to Catholicism as a result of the missions.  There were four different missions not too far from one another that we visited that day, and they were very cool.  Some of the churches even still hold services.  

            One day, we went with our friends and my nana to Natural Bridge Caverns, the largest known commercial caverns in Texas.  Our group numbered twenty people,and we had a great time exploring the caverns and talking with one another.  Our tour guide was very nice, and he led us through several beautiful rooms and past breathtaking stalagmites and stalactites (stalagmites grow from the ground up and stalactites grow from the ceiling down).  There were lakes of clear water, and one was so emerald it didn't even seem real.  The tour took us down 180 feet below the surface, and when in the caverns the humidity was 99% (we try to keep our RV humidity below 50% to prevent mold, so this was like an RV's worst nightmare).  The Natural Bridge Caverns were gorgeous, and they were also the first underground caverns I'd ever been to.   

            Once we finished at the caverns, my family and nana went to the historic German town New Braunfels, founded in 1845 by Prince Carl of Solms from Germany.  There was a small village with houses and buildings that were used by the German immigrants, and the buildings were set up with items that would have been used by the people of New Braunfels, among some things that actually were used by them.  The buildings were fascinating, and I enjoyed looking at all of the antique items that decorated them.  After seeing the historic village, we joined the rest of our group in downtown New Braunfels, where the oldest bakery in Texas, Naegelins, was located.  My mom bought donuts and cupcakes, which were delicious.  Once everyone had finished eating their bakery orders, we split off and the girls went to a boutique.  There was lovely jewlery and chic clothes, and we had fun browsing through all of the merchandise.  Then we all went to a winery, where the kids got water and the adults ordered a drink.  The girls played a quiet game of Queens and the boys talked at their own table.  It was so fun hanging out with everyone, and I had an amazing day.  When it was time to leave, the moms decided to go grocery shopping together, so the dads were in charge of taking all the kids home.  We got stuck in hour long traffic, but at least we were with friends (Mia rode with the boys and I rode with the girls).  When we got back home, we all gathered at my site to play some more.  

The saloon in the village. Did you know that saloons sometimes offered baths for travelers passing through the town? 

A New Braunfels house

Naegelins Bakery, baking since 1868!

            We went to Bandera, the Cowboy Capital of the World, on a Saturday.  After checking out the town and ordering some coffee at Dough Joe, a pizza and coffee place, we went to the general store for a gunfight reenactment.  It was entertaining, and especially impressive when the men sixty and older were falling to the ground "dead".  After the performance, the kids lined up to receive Sheriff's badges.  Proudly wearing our new badges, we decided to go get pizza at Pap's Italian Grill, only a short walk away.  Pap's had AMAZING pizza and bread; we all were loving it.  The delicious lunch was the perfect ending to our day in Bandera, a town you should definitely visit if you're in the area. 

The gunfight actors

            

            Bandera had a Mardi Gras parade one weekend, so we went with my nana and met friends there.  The parade was long, with golf carts, trucks, and tractor trailers decked out in gold, green, and purple; and people throwing beads, candy, masks and hats, and stuffed animals.  Mia and I and another girl decided to use our beads to decorate the girls' fort in the woods back at Lake Medina.  We left the parade loaded down with necklaces and went to an antique shop nearby to try and find some cowgirl boots for Mia.  It didn't take long to find the perfect pair, and Mia was so happy to have cowgirl boots (she'd been wanting them ever since we'd been in Texas).  By then it was lunchtime, so we went to Pap's again with the Hendricks' and my nana.  Once again, Pap's didn't disappoint.  Once we got back home, we went to the forts to play, then came back home for a campfire with everyone.  

The new boots

            Our good times at Lake Medina had to end, however, and we left on Tuesday, February 22, for Terlingua, Texas.  This tiny town at the southwestern corner of Texas was only a few minutes from Big Bend National Park, and we went there nearly every day for hiking, picnics, and scenic drives.  Two families from Lake Medina, and my nana joined us there within a few days, and I was glad to see everyone again.  We did so much at Big Bend, I can't even go into detail about everything, but I will mention a few highlights.  When we were driving through the park, my mom would be grabbing her phone and taking pictures, and then exclaiming about how the camera wouldn't capture the beauty of the mountains and hills; which was very true.  The gorgeous mountains were breathtakingly gigantic, but the camera made them small and bland.  It was just another way that manmade technology couldn't do nearly as well as the eyes designed and given to us by God.  

My parents at the end of Chimneys Trail

Balancing Rock Trail

Sunset at the window view loop trail (it was so much prettier in person, this picture doesn't do it justice!!!)

I had to snap a picture of the beautiful yellow flowers with the mountain in the background

Tuff Canyon Trail led through an empty creekbed with tons of colorful pebbles

I wanted a picture with the giant blue agave

            Big Bend was my first ever National Park, and I also discovered that it's one of the least visited national parks, despite the large assortment of fascinating geological formations and enjoyable hikes.  We did lots of hikes, so I'll just mention my top three favorites.  Santa Elena Canyon is considered one of the must-do hikes in Big Bend, and I definitely agree with that assessment.  The canyon is two 1500 foot cliffs divided by the Rio Grande; so when you're on the trail you can literally look across the river at Mexico (and if you're lucky, some mountain goats).  The canyon was gorgeous, and we had fun listening to voices and bird chirps echoing down through the canyon.  Bird chirps sounded like aliens, and voices carried like a natural megaphone.

Santa Elena Canyon walls

              Another of my favorites was the 4.2 mile Window Trail.  This trail was partly in shade and had beautiful blue birds called Mexican Jays.  The geological formations at the last part of the trail were breathtaking and so smooth (the mountains are volcanic), I slid down one like a playground slide.  The view at the end of the trail was spectacular, and in a less dry time it would have been a waterfall but the park had been without rain for a while.  Nevertheless, the view was awesome.  

            My next favorite was one of the first hikes we did in Big Bend: hiking on the 1 mile loop on the bluff above the hot springs.  Before I tell you about the trail, I'll also tell you about our experience soaking I the hot springs.  We walked along the Rio Grande until we got to a small barriered section that was the hot springs.  The reason for the barrier was that back in the early 1880s, the man who discovered the hot springs believed them to be good for his health; so he built a bathhouse around the springs with guesthouses for people to stay in while they visited the hot springs.  The foundation of the bathhouse was still there today, though it was so low that the hot springs water spilled over the edge of the barrier into the Rio Grande.  The water was very warm, like a natural hot tub.  I liked dipping my hand into the Rio Grande as I soaked in the springs.  It was so strange looking across the river at Mexico, to where a riverside taco and tamale stand had set up shop.  One man walked across the river from our side to Mexico's side to buy some, which was even more strange, but still really cool.  Back to the hot springs trail; it was one of my favorites because it offered lovely views of the Mexican mountains and the Rio Grande, and as we walked we found tons of pink and orange and purple marbled tile.  The natural colors was beautiful, and I couldn't stop marveling at them as we hiked.

This cliff face was amazing

            The hardest trail we did was Lost Mine Trail.  Lost Mine Trail was rated as moderate, but after a mile I was huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf.  This was partly owing to the fact that there was an 1100 foot elevation gain, so there was less oxygen the higher we climbed.  This was one of the most beautiful hikes we did however, with stunning mountain views; and the end of the trail gave you a bird's eye view over the land below.  

                

            On our last day in Big Bend, we hiked Mule Ears trail with my nana.  Mule Ears was a nice trail with lovely views that ended at a tiny spring.  After Mule Ears, we went to the Santa Elena viewpoint, then back to Mule Ears for a sunset picnic.  Dinner was delicious, and afterwards Mia and I played in a small area by the parking lot.  While I was in Big Bend, I was noticing how different the plants were in the Big Bend desert regions as opposed to back at home.  Agave, lechugilla, sotol, and of course, cactus, were dense; and it was interesting being around plants all day that were once foreign to me.  

The setting sun cast pretty colors on this mountain face

            On Tuesday, two days before we left Terlingua to head farther west, we went to Alpine and Fort Davis.  Fort Davis had an excellent historic fort, and the old buildings had been set up just like it would have been back when it was in use.   There were enjoyable interactive displays in the different buildings as well, and we spent about two hours exploring the different buildings, including the barracks, hospital and infirmary, commissary, and ruins of the bakery and granary.  Fort Davis was probably one of my favorite forts I've ever visited; it was really fun and interesting.  After Fort Davis we went to McDonald Observatory, which is one of the most popular things to do around Alpine.  We weren't able to go look through the giant telescopes, so we just did the exhibits and film in the visitor's center and then drove up to see the telescopes.  By the time we got done with McDonald Observatory,  it was late afternoon so we drove to downtown Alpine to look at the many murals around town.  Many talented artists had painted lovely pictures all around town, and we enjoyed searching for and looking at them.  We wanted to grab a quick dinner and then go see the Marfa lights, which are tiny flickers of unexplainable light in the Marfa night sky, first discovered by cowboy Robert Reed Ellison in 1883.  Unfortunately the Marfa lights didn't show, but the sunset was beautiful.  

Cowgirl Kate, Cowboy Billy, and Cactus Mia

This mural features javelinas (pronounced hav-uh-lee-nuhs) running from a mountain lion

I loved the bold colors and lovely landscape of this mural

            

            On our last night in Terlingua, we joined friends for dinner at High Sierra Bar and Grill.  We chatted and played before and after dinner, and the food was very tasty.  When we got back home we went over to my nana's camper to play cards.  They taught me how to play a new game called Five Crowns, and it was really fun.  We didn't have a super long travel day the next morning, so I went over to my nana's for waffles.  She makes AMAZING waffles and I always love having them.  We spent some time with her that morning as my parents packed up back at Cleo, and then we said goodbye; but thankfully we'd be seeing her again in the campground after next.  

            Our new campground was located in Carlsbad, New Mexico; less than a half-hour to Carlsbad Caverns National Park.  We would be staying there for a week, and then moving to White Sands, NM, for five nights.  I'll write about our double stay in New Mexico on my next post, so be sure to check it out!