Texas - Hill Country

100 miles north west of Dallas in the area of Texas known as "The Hill Country".  Texas is so diverse in topography that there are 7 regions, one of which is Hill Country where we have been for the last few days.  Suffice to say it reminds me so much of home - the UP.  Rolling hills of multi-green colored trees and grasses.  This year the wild flowers are absolutely out of this world.  I have never seen Texas before but all the people we have talked with say that because of the wet winter it is especially  green and flowered.  It feels surreal driving through this area with the flowers laid like wall to wall carpet everywhere. There are fields, acres of poppies - white poppies.  Everywhere are the famous Bluebonnets with other yellow, pink blue flowers thrown in.  Mother Nature is by far the best gardener - we humans certainly couldn't do better then She has done here in Texas.  We dropped down into the Hill Country about 100 miles south of San Angelo in an area with the little city of Brady, Tx.  By the time we had reached San Saba (Pecan capital of the World!!)  we had entered Oz!  Truely the land was ablaze with wild flowers.  No picture can do it justice ,it is just too beautiful  We started our northward leg toward home in Llano, Tx and have been heading north since then. 

I have always thought of Texas as Tumble Weed, flat arid country and that is true of parts of it.  However, there is so much more here then tumble weeds.  The state is huge, the people who call Texas home are so friendly and welcoming. They remind me very much of our small communities in the UP - only with a very heavy accent!  Whenever I have visited with the people they immediately state "you are not from Texas!"  So, I guess we must have a little bit of an accent, eh???

Wild flowers in San Angelo State Park

Richard's Park - Brady, Tx

Relocated turtle - Brady, Tx

Fields and fields of Bluebonnets

Texas Bluebonnets & other Wild flowers

More wildflowers

Tonight finds us just outside of Graham, Tx.

April 13th - Tuesday

Our Black Widow Spider

Campsite by "Black Widow Flats"

Sunset over Black Widow Flats April 11th

Camp fire by Black Widow Flats

Storm over Black Widow Flats

Sunset on April 12th

Storm coming in on April 12th

We were 70 miles south of Albuquerque, New Mexico in the Cibola National Forest 3 miles off the main highway on a dirt road headed into the mountains when we saw a turn off that looked inviting and relatively flat (think 30 foot RV's).  We found our spot on land supervised by the National Forest Service which allows free camping.  Find your spot in the wilderness - "take pictures and leave no footprints".  We gathered wood of dead "One Seed Juniper" trees for an evening campfire. We had pulled off the two track dirt road into an area that had been used about 30 years ago that had a fire ring in place.  Richard decided to make the fire ring a bit smaller.  In so doing he picked up the rocks and found our second Black Widow spider of our travels!  The first one was in Texas.  That one we left with her babies.  This one , he evolved into the next life!  We have been naming each of our campsites and you guessed it! This one will forever be  - Black Widow Flats!  We stayed two nights with the sweet scented Juniper.  Bike rides and long walks - brief stormy rain that made the air fresh and clean.

April 9th

Snow covered mountain road out on 10th

Have you ever been alone on a mountain?  We are!  After leaving the Lake Mead area we traveled on down through Nevada, back into Arizona and now into New Mexico.  We did our first Wal-Mart parking lot camping last night.  We had found an "RV Park" , and I will use that word lightly - when we finally figured out how to get to the address given over the telephone, we found ourselves up a one way dirt road heading behind an auto graveyard just outside of a little community called Shiprock, New Mexico.  The further we came to our destination we both decided we didn't want to stay there.  Just as we were deciding this a pickup truck came towards us with a very sketchy looking guy in it.  He opened his window and said, "You found Us".  We replied, "Yes, and we are continuing on to Farmington, thank you".  The best part of that experience was the dirt devil that was blowing up in the auto graveyard!  Awesome photo opportunity.

I have to add at this point that we had traveled all the way from the Grand Canyon where we were not able to even find a parking place to view the canyon from the usual view points on the South Rim.  We left the South Rim area to the East entrance and discovered there were beautiful areas to view the canyon - albiet without gard rails.  We decided to travel on  to Four Corners (where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah all come together)  I was so looking forward to touching all four states at the same time.  After 175 miles we came to what is "Four Corners" only to find a huge gate with a bigger lock on it stating that Four Corners was under construction and it was closed!!!!! We were not the only disappointed  tourists there.  As we stood looking through the gate many others came to do what we were trying to do, to no avail. We did the only thing we could do - we took a picture of the Closed sign and continued on down into New Mexico.  We were looking for an RV park but decided that the Wal-Mart parking lot in Farmington, New Mexico would work just fine for a night. That brings me to where we are tonight.  Yesterday, dry camping in a Wal-Mart with traffic 24/7 to where we are now in the Cibola National Forest at 7,600 feet elevation on a dirt road in the mountains!  We got here this afternoon and were looking for a place to turn around and go back when we spied this spot where we are now.  We didn't know if we would be booted out by a Forest Service person but so far we are fine!.  I decided to take a hike this afternoon up behind the camper into the mountain.  I found hundreds of wild burrow tracks.  I was hoping I would run into a group or herd of these critters but, alas, nothing but tracks.  When I got back to the camper, I was able to go online and checked out about wildlife in this mountain range.  Much to my surprise I discovered that there are bear, courgar, and jaguar in these here hills!  I decided that I wouldn't wander too far from the camper! 

We are heading on to Roswell - site 51 for the morrow.  We might even meet some people from Iron River who are traveling from Texas into New Mexico to that area.  It would be good to see someone from home.  We are headed onto Pie Plate, New Mexico and then to to Roswell. 

I am including pictures of outside of Kingman, Az where we were on Easter to where we are now.  Good night!

Sunset over "Quartz Mountain" in Arizona

2nd night sunset over Quartz Mountain

Easter morning desert blooms near Quartz Mountain, Az

Grand Canyon - East entrance (and no people)

Horses on way to Four Corners

Four Corners closed!

Over looking Bluewater Creek near our campsite in Cibola National Forest

Campsite in Cibola National Forest

PS - April 10th - I have a little add on to this post - I wasn't able to upload pictures last night - too weak of an internet signal so I thought I would do it today after we had left "the mountaiin".  Well, the leaving was the most interesting part of the whole trip.  We had the choice of going back the way we arrived which would immediately put us on black top or......taking  The Road Less Traveled - we chose the latter and it was an adventure.  As I have mentioned a few times - I have a magnet on my fridge at home that states "Do one thing every day that scares you"  Well, this way off the mountain counted for many days to come.  It was a dirt-gravel road which quickly turned into a one lane road.  That part was ok but it had mountain switch backs and joy of joys - part of it at 8,000 feet was snow and ice covered!  I have a great fear of heights and drop offs.  I had to exist the passenger seat and go sit on the floor in the back of the camper.  Richard was as calm as a cumcumber but it was a bit more then I could handle in the front seat.  It was only 15 miles long but took a couple of hours to traverse.  I knew there would be hair pin turns but I never thought it would have snow and ice.  Should have know that - we were so high in elevation but there was no going back after we committed to that path.  We made it and are now in an RV park in Casa Blanca, New Mexico for this night.  Nothing compares to the beauty and solitude of yesterday's camp site.  The road was worth it!!