Days 9 and 10: Texas

 Day 9 & 10. Texas!  And my first State Park campground.

After I got up the slippery slope in Gila, I drove to Fort Stockton, Texas. It was 2/3 of the way to my next fun destination, so I joined the other half-dozen RVs in the parking lot at Wally World. Hey, if it's good enough for Clarence T...! I needed supplies anyway, so it was a good stop. It felt safe, I was tired, and I slept hard! 

My original journey plan was to go to Carlsbad Caverns National Park on the way to Texas, but with my slippy-slides time in Gila, I had to bypass it to stay on schedule to pick up my friend Trish in Houston on Friday. 

BUT!

 My Sister Adventurer Anne, who lives in Austin, suggested I stop at The Caverns of Sonora, just off  the I-10! What a great suggestion. It was very cool. It’s an active cavern on private property, and they give guided group tours. It was pretty neat-o. 

Here are a few pictures, which of course don't do justice. 

Part of the non-active section of the cave

We were told these cracks are a fault. Kinda looks like a luchador, huh?

There were plenty of stalactites in the active part of the cavern:

Now, no jokes!

Cave crickets (named 2023 USA Cave Animal of the Year!). Who knew?

Not quite Carlsbad Caverns, but cool geology anyway!

Speaking of geology, if you don’t know the app “Rockd,” you should download it. It gives you the geology of the exact spot that you are in. Hmmmm…. These road cuts are interesting! What’re they made of? OH! Edwards Limestone, cool!

Somewhere in Texas. Actually here in Texas (+/- 5m)

After the Caverns of Sonora, I made the short drive to South Llano River State Park. I got there in time to walk around a little.

 Gorgeous! Here are some photos.

These purple guys are not Bluebonnets, Texas's state flower. Bluebonnets were all along the highways, though! Pretty. Californians will know Bluebonnets by the name Lupine. The ones below I believe are Lacy phacelia.

Near the Caverns

Doesn't a picnic here look delightful?

Our Campsite

Why are Poppy's wheels turned all the way to the right? Funny you should ask!

In the morning at the Walmart, I had an oopsie. Typical Little Sister Adventurer move. I was working on getting windshield washing fluid into the tank when I dropped the lid inside the engine compartment! That area is dense with engine stuff! I couldn’t see it; it didn’t drop to the ground. So, I turned to the Travato Owners and Wannabees (TOAW) Facebook group. My anxiety was going to be up there, but I was hopeful someone would say, “Don’t worry - there’s no moving parts in that area.” 

But the advice was the opposite. There are moving parts that DO NOT need a plastic lid interfering. Bill on TOAW told me where to remove an access panel and stick my video in there to take a look. 

I had already driven all the way to South Llano, but I took his suggestion and got in there. I was discouraged when I couldn’t see the lid. But I stuck my hand in again and really tried to get a comprehensive view. I wasn’t holding out much hope as I reviewed the video. 

Wait! What’s that!  The lid!! And within fingertip distance! It wouldn’t have caused harm where it landed, but I would have worried for the next 6,000 miles. Whew! I’m so grateful for the helpfulness and expertise on TOAW! It’s a great group! Thanks, Bill!

The culprit!

The South Llano River. It's one of the cleanest rivers around and supplies Austin with their drinking water.

Maybe pecan trees? Signs said there are lots in the area.

I love thistle!

I'm always moved by decaying trees. I love them!

As I was walking the interpretive trail toward evening, one of the deer in this heard barked out a warning. I had not known deer to do this, have you? Crappy video, but you can hear the warning barks. 

The park is a "DARK SKY PARK" and I was looking forward to seeing the skies before hitting the sack. There were signs like this about so I was optimistic.

At around 10pm, I turned off the lights in my rig for a minute so my eyes could dilate. I opened the door to experience the magic. But the huge RV across the street had all their shades up and their lights were blazing. Kinda ruined it. 

The next morning, I climbed a hill on the Overlook Trail.

A hill in Texas Hill Country!

View from my picnic table

I took off on Thursday at noon, made a short stop to visit my Sister Adventurer Anne in Austin, and made it to Houston before dark, where I stayed in a pasture behind Fortress Beerworks, courtesy of Harvest Hosts.

Good beer and pizza. It was a comfortable night!