Remember that when you leave this Earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received, only what you have given, a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage. -St. Francis of Assisi

Monday, March 5, 2012

A Sunday drive through Texas Hill Country

Well, I finally did it.
I left the seashore behind.
I am slowing moving North.

Except for Christmas Week,
I stayed along the coast 
for almost 3 months.



On Friday morning, I left Corpus Christi and the Laguna Madre and drove to Hondo. I was thinking of staying at the Escapees, Lone Star Corral park.  I changed my mind and called Quiet Texas RV Park, luckily they had one site left. It is a Passport America park, it was only $12.50 a night and very quiet, just like the name. It was a windy weekend, but I did manage to ride my bike a little on the county road just outside the park. I didn't do much else on Friday and Saturday, except plan the next part of my trip.  There was a lot of internet research, checking out RV parks. And programming my GPS for rest stops in small towns along the way.

The Quiet Texas RV Park is next to farmland and there are a couple of wind turbines in the RV park. Some people are bothered by the noise of the wind turbines, it was not loud.  These were not as large as some that you see along the highway. It was a gentle humming noise and was not constant. A lot of trains go through Hondo, this park is a little more than a mile away from the train tracks, but you will still hear the trains in the distance. I have always liked the sound of trains in the night, so it did not bother me.


Talking about wind turbines and trains doesn't sound quiet,
but it was.

On Sunday, I drove through Bandera, Kerrville, Junction and Sonora. Junction has a new city park along the river, with a sign posted explaining how much money it cost to build. There were only 2 people in the park, one younger guy sitting on the shore fishing and an older pickup parked facing the water. Seemed a waste to build that park and no one was using it. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, I would expect it to be full of families enjoying the park, having a picnic and playing or fishing.

I passed by a few towns and RV parks that I would like to check out next time I am in Texas. I am waiting for my Texas drivers license to be mailed to me. I don't want to leave Texas until I have the license.  In Illinois they always printed the license at the DMV office and gave it to you right away. I don't like this waiting, and mail forwarding makes it take longer.


Sunday night, I camped at the Caverns of Sonora.  This is a cattle ranch with a cave. The RV park is $20 a night. I did not go on the cave tour, I have been in many caves before. I had read about the ranch and the park had good reviews. It is a very nice and peaceful place to stay. The ranch is about 8 miles away from I-10, and there is a steep hill at the entrance to the ranch. The road has a lot of warnings about flooding, I would not plan a trip to this place if rain is in the forecast. There was a rain gauge (with marks up to 5 feet) next to the road.

I did not see any cattle, but I heard them on Monday morning. The guinea hens were cute and a few of them thought they were a rooster. A pair of peacocks were roaming around.



I was thinking of staying for two nights, but the weather reports were calling for heavy winds starting around 2pm on Monday and lasting all through Tuesday.

I left the park early Monday morning so that I could get to my next location before the winds started.  Driving was good on Monday without any wind problems.


8 comments:

  1. Enjoyed reading this very much, Teri

    glad you're moving right along! ;)

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  2. I stayed at Caverns of Sonora and the cave tour was great. Also peacocks while there.

    Three months in the same place is almost more than I can handle when on the road.

    Hope you make it my way.

    Safe journey. And keep the rubber down.

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  3. Wise move on your part. I hate driving in the wind. WE will get more high winds tomorrow. But I am home so I will be good.
    Thanks for the great update.

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  4. We thought we were going to be driving in wind on Friday, but got lucky.

    This was a nice post, thank you.

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  5. I'm a person that likes Texas, but it does seem to be windy there more times than not. :)

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  6. I hope you enjoyed the seashore. The area you just left is a favorite of mine. Enjoyed your post.

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  7. It's hard for me to leave the seashore and head into the wind. Hope they will mostly be at your back.

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  8. I love the Texas Hill Country. On one of my trips to New Mexico, I came back through back roads. My favorite drive & where I felt like I was in heavenly bliss was the country before you hit Austin coming from the West. It's just the best place in the world!!! One of my dogs I named Bandera - but his nick name is Bad Dawg. heehee
    Hope you get your DL soon.

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Hi, I welcome your thoughts and comments.

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It is the sandstorm that shape the stone statues of the Desert. It is the struggles of Life that form a person's character ~ Native American Proverb