Across the wide open spaces of Texas

Westward through farming country with fields of longhorn cattle and sheep.

Not what we expected!

It seems that Texas supplies most of the wool from the flocks of merino sheep.

Many farmers also herd angora goats for the fine wool.

On top of an escarpment overlooking the Colorado river is Monument Hill where the remains of men who perished in the struggle for Texas Independence are entombed in a granite crypt.

 It is a memorial to the men who died in 1842 in the Dawson Massacre and the infamous Black Bean Death Lottery.

  In this part of Texas are the remains of the famous Kreische brewery. At Schulenberg we stopped to enquire about the famous painted churches.

 Unfortunately the churches were all around the countryside we had just driven across!

We did spot the Worlds smallest Catholic church. (strange to see a claim in the US to be the smallest)

Out route seemed to be alongside the Union Pacific railroad -the huge trains were pulled by four locomotives and we counted 106 carriages.

Most were carrying containers stacked two high!

Every camp site we stayed at was close to a level crossing-the train drivers love to wake everyone with the air horns.

  Next stop was at the town square in Gonzales. 

 This run down neglected  old cinema reminded us of the sixties films.

The fire station had a cute fountain so here is a photo for our fireman friend Okie!

We continued on our journey westward and called into a SKP park for an overnight stop.

Here we were kept waiting in the car park for two hours. The manager had to make a decision to allow us to drive onto the site instead of reversing in as per the rules!!!

 (services are all on the left to suit left hand drive vehicles)

Next day brought a big thunderstorm as we stocked up with supplies at Del Rio right on the border with Mecixo. We had to miss the visit to the movie set at Bracketville where most of the westerns and lots of commercials are shot.

 Our destination was a state park at the Seminole canyon where we could get close to the Rio Grande.

The Indians who lived in the canyon have left many pictures painted onto the cave ceilings.

This sculpture at the visitor centre is copied from one of the cave drawings.

The recent rain had brought the desert landscape to life.

  The blue bonnets were in full bloom and we saw our first 'roadrunner'. Jim was sure they should call out 'beep beep'.

  The park ranger gave us an excellent map and all the roads are well signposted.

This sign was warning drivers to take care-we set off to enjoy the rough track.

The Black Gap road proved to be the roughest but no real test for two experienced off-roaders!

Meeting this very clean Land Rover on the track was a surprise-

cannot see his headgear catching on with the Welsh farmers!

Some of the tarmac roads were nice to ride and we took the one down to Castolon where we found an historic trading post beside the border.

 This is an old pioneer chuck wagon complete with designer storage.

 At the westerly end of the park the Rio Grande has cut through the 1500ft cliffs to make the Santa Elana canyon.

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  It was far too hot for us to explore on foot but we watched the rafts sail by on the river.

Along the River road we almost crossed the border and just stopped in time at the edge of the river.

As fuel was limited in the park we stashed a gallon for our ride next day when the milage was more than our range

Good job Dot had taken a GPS reading as we could not find it as first!

Throughout the park are wild campsites and all you need is a permit. At Stillos we found a car tucked into the sand.

  The owner was cooking his lunch when we arrived and it smelt lovely.

We ate our sandwiches listening to the gently chiming bells on the goats across the border in Mexico.

At the easterly end of the park there had been a thriving  mining operation at Boqueilas canyon.

 Here a hot spring beside the river has provided bathing in healing waters for a very long time.

The ruins of the old accommodation block and mine store are nearby.

The ore was taken by mule cart up to Dagger Flats for trans-shipment to the railway at Marathon.

The old ore road is now a great 50km dirt road and a wonderful ride through glorious scenery.

But it was not so much fun for the workers as this grave of a young Mexican testifies-

he died very young.

On the other hand this is an old dwelling and the owner lived here with his wife and eight children. a

  He lived to be 102years of age!

This sign convinced Jim that Dots navigation was a bit out!

The park is teeming with wild life and all camping places are equipped with bear proof lockers for food storage.

Javelinas may look like a wild pig but they are not related and are big rats!

However we only saw white tailed deer and javelinas in the Chisos campground.

As we left for a ride one morning we spotted this Unimog with a UK registration plate parked at a trailhead.

 We left a note to say hello and while we were out they visited our bus and left a reply. We did not get to meet them except on their website

www.moginalong.com

  Just outside the park is the town of Study Butte where we had to go for fuel but Dot passed on a shopping trip in the mall!

    There are also miles of hiking trails and one from the campground led down to this spectacular Window view out across the desert floor.

Yes we do walk!

The army camp at Fort Davis has been restored and portrays the life of the cavalry officers and men who defended the route from San Antonio to El Paso in the 19th century.

Remember the old westerns? the cavalry always arrive just in the nick of time!

Then we pulled into the historic Prude Ranch where folks come to stay and go riding out on the range.

No-we went out on our mountain bikes!

They look after almost 70 horses and an assortment of other animals.

This school party was enjoying a spring break holiday and for many it was the first ever ride on a horse!

                The journey north begins-in the SNOW!

 The bus gasped its way up to the Macdonald Observatories at 7400ft in the clear mountain air.

Our route passed through deserted towns, vast flat fields full of nodding donkeys.

Another state line was crossed as we headed for the World Heritage Site at Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico!

We took the lift down 700ft to the Big room and wandered around the fantastic formations.

These are called Lions Tails!

This cave complex has so much to see but Jims knee is still not fully repaired and long walks are forbidden!

So it was back to the bus for a picnic beside the cavern entrance.

After a few nights at the friendly SKP in Lakewood we set off to visit the UFO museum at Roswell.

The whole town is benefiting from this 1947 mystery and all the stores are staffed by little green men!

 Then overnight the warm weather changed as the temperature tumbled and we awoke to find SNOW on the ground.

 The snow fell all day so we stayed put and studied the maps to change our northwards route with an eye to the weather!