Texas 2023:
Day 9 - Seminole Canyon State Park

Bundlings.com: [Main] [Contact Us] [Events] [Family] [Fun] [Garden] [Misc.] [Photos] [Search] [Site Index] [Travel]

Texas 2023: [Day 1 - Tulsa] [Day 2 - Lawton] [Day 3-4 - Lubbock] [Day 5 - El Paso] [Day 6-7 - Davis Mountains SP] [Day 8 - Big Bend NP] [Day 9 - Seminole Canyon SP] [Day 10 - Falcon SP] [Day 11-14 - South Padre Island] [Day 15-16 - Goose Island SP] [Day 17 - Houston] [Day 18 - Stephen F. Austin SP] [Day 19-20 - McKinney Falls SP] [Day 21 - Arlington] [Day 22 - Cooper Lake SP] [Day 23 - Crater of Diamonds SP] [Day 24 - Nashville] [Day 25 - Heading Home]

	Sunday, January 29, 2023: The light rain had continued through the night, and stopped around 7:30 AM. Just before 8 AM, we heard a deep voice from somewhere in the campground growl "HEY! RAINBOW!" We were too lazy to go outside for a better view, so here's what it looked like from inside the tent.
	Tom fired up the camp stove and made breakfast: ...
	... the always delicious Breakfast Skillet from Mountain House.
	By 9:15 AM, the sky was clearing and it was turning into a beautiful morning.
	At the campsite shelter, there were warning signs about javelinas being in the area and precautions to take to keep them away from your camp, ...
	... including putting any scented items and food in the metal storage boxes provided. The storage boxes increased the sense of danger by adding a picture of a bear to the warnings. There was also a poster in the bathroom warning that coyotes were in the area and asking that you report any coyote sightings to the park rangers. We didn't see any signs of bears, coyotes, or javelinas while we were there.
	Just after 10 AM, we started tearing down our camp. The ground was wet from the overnight rain and we wanted to avoid dealing with gnats any more than necessary, so we staged all of our gear from the tent to the picnic table before we loaded it into the van.
	We left the campground around 10:30 AM and headed to the Rio Grande Village visitor center.
	They had more examples of Debbie's favorite cactus, the rainbow cactus, behind this old mining tramway bucket.
	This sculpture is of a flathead catfish which grow as large as six feet in length and are native to the Rio Grande river system.
	Debbie recognized the volunteers working at the visitor center from reading an article about them in the Big Bend National Park newspaper that we received when we entered the park. They were very nice, and we chatted with them for a few minutes before we left.
	Tunnel!
	The sky had completely cleared by now, and we drove for 30 minutes back to ...
	... the Panther Junction Visitor Center.
	We bought a holographic postcard showing an iguana among cactus and a tiny America's National Parks book.
	As we departed, we noticed that this deer crossing sign was slightly different than the other ones we've seen.
	We enjoyed the scenery for the 40 minutes it took to to drive from Panther Junction to the northern entrance station, ...
	... and then we continued north, past this Border Patrol checkpoint, ...
	... toward Marathon, Texas, ...
	... where we stopped for lunch at Brick Vault Brewing and Barbeque. We had gotten carryout from here the last time we were in Marathon, but this time we decided that we were going to enjoy the beautiful weather and eat on their large and lovely patio.
	We went inside and placed our order, ...
	... and took it out to a table for two on the edge of the patio.
	We'd ordered loaded mashed potatoes, green chili mac and cheese, and the three meat plate with brisket, sausage, and pulled pork. Since it was also a brewery, we ordered a pint of their Patio Kolsch. Everything was absolutely delicious, and we reveled in being able to sit outdoors in the sunshine.
	As we walked back to our van, Debbie noticed the outline of Texas etched in the concrete on the sidewalk leading toward the train tracks.
	We drove through the town, past the Gage Hotel, ...
	... to the Marathon Hotel and RV Park where we had stayed the last time we were here. We took a quick look, ...
	... and then headed back through town past the very cool "Welcome to Marathon" sign, ...
	... to the gas station on the edge of town. Tom always cleans the windows when we stop for gas, and Debbie always smiles at him while he's doing it.
	As we drove east from Marathon, we came to the town of Sanderson, ...
	... which features motels that still advertise things like vented heat and refrigerated air.
	There were gorgeous layers of exposed rock where the road cut through the hills.
	We crossed over the Pecos River, which we had last seen in Carlsbad, New Mexico, ...
	... and pulled into Seminole Canyon State Park, our destination for this day.
	We made our way to the visitor center, ...
	... and checked out the canyon viewing area while we waited for another camper to check in ahead of us. There were amazing views of the canyon running off to the east, ...
	... and southwest down to the Rio Grande.
	There was a cool relief map showing the extent of the canyon system.
	We got checked in and headed to our campsite. It was 75 degrees with a clear sky, so we decided to leave the rainfly off. We love being able to look up from our beds and see the stars overhead.
	We got everything set up in the tent, ...
	... and headed out to the ramada to soak up the sunshine and have a snack.
	We watched as an updated version of the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine pulled into the campground and parked at a nearby campsite.
	We cooked dinner on the picnic table and then headed back to the tent when the sun started to set.
	It's going,
	... going, ...
	... and gone. The final rays of the sun showed a few stray clouds on the horizon, which made the sunset even more beautiful. We fell asleep looking at the stars and watching as the moon continued to wax on its way to full. Day 10 >