DECEMBER 2022 - YEAR-END TRIP

Preamble

On returning from a long summer visit to the UK I spent the first two and a half weeks of October in the mountains of western North Carolina, staying at the site in the Mountain Falls Luxury RV Resort owned by my generous Texas host, Les, having stored my RV in nearby Greenville, South Carolina, while away.

Weather occasionally crisp in the mornings, but wonderfully sunny days giving a distinct pop to the fall foliage.

My return to Texas was via a northern loop, through The Great Smoky Mountains and detouring to Bentonville, Arkansas, for my first experience of electric mountain bike riding (by means of a rental).

YEAR-END TRIP - BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, TEXAS

Thursday, December 22, 2022 - Washington, TX, to Pedernales State Park, TX

After seven comfortable weeks parked up on Les's new property - Les and I now very intimate neighbors in our adjacent RVs, as Les's new house is not likely to be taking shape until late 2023 at the earliest - it's time for a short year-end trip down to Big Bend National Park.

With extremely cold weather forecast, I decided to get on the road a day ahead of my original plan, so that I would be in the campground and set up before the icy blast arrived - likely to be even more xxx up in the Texas Hill Country.

Out of the gates and on the road just before 10:00am, stopping in Giddings after an hour's drive for a quick in-and-out Starbucks coffee and some non-freezing windshield washer fluid to prep the RV and Jeep later.

54 degrees with a light southerly wind as I approached Austin, low 30s and gusting 20-30mph from the north by the time Austin was in the rear-view mirror.

Made a last stop in Dripping Springs for a Subway lunch sandwich and top up the gas tank of the RV - unfortunately requiring a detour back into town to find a gas station whose pumps weren't out.

Finally reached the Pedernales campground just before 3:00pm, setting up in the campsite in bitterly cold and windy conditions - space heaters in the two most vulnerable outside storage compartments to keep tanks and water pump from freezing.

The fortunate orientation of the campsite to the south will allow the afternoon warmth from the sun to flood through the windshield and supplement the RVs heating over the enxt couple of days.

All slides retracted before I turned in, mainly to stop the slide toppers from rattling in the wind but with the added benefit of making the RV as air-tight as possible and minimizing the interior volume that required heating.

Friday, December 23, 2022 - Pedernales State Park, TX

Survived the night with temperatures at -10 degrees (-12 C) before wind chill is factored in. Space heaters in the storage units doing a good job of keeping the tanks and water pump warm.

A workout first thing, warming me up until a combination of the RV's propane heater and a space heater gradually warmed the interior - would have been considerably quicker with the second heat strip in the rear A/C unit but the campground shorepower is only 30 amps, so I'm limited in what can be run simultaneously without blowing breakers.

Full sun from 7:30am sunrise coming through the large front windshield of the RV also helped heat things up, to the point that by late morning I was actually turning heat sources off.

Desk time on Christmas correspondence (partly in response to the many Christmas e-mails I had sent out a couple of days ago) interspersed with leisure time reading before heading down to Pedernales River and the falls late afternoon to see what sunset might offer.

Pretty chilly, but bearable in the lighter wind and waning afternoon sunshine.

A more relaxed evening, confident that my strategically placed space heaters would protect critical plumbing systems as the hard freeze of the last 24 hours continues - as long as the campground power doesn't go out.

Saturday, December 24, 2022 - Pedernales State Park, TX

Decided this would be a "lay in" morning or, more precisely, no workout, no run, no sunrise photography - too cold, and the forecast full sun would be less interesting than a sky with some cloud cover.

Early check on outside compartment space heaters as a priority. All good.

Christmas Eve American Football games for entertainment from midday onwards - courtesy of unexpected TV reception.

Decided to brave a (chilly despite the sun) run - 3 loops around the campground - early afternoon, followed by a little more football before easing into an evening of recorded Netflix programming, the cell coverage in the campground not good enough to support more football on NFL+.

Sunday, December 25, 2022 - Pedernales State Park, TX, to San Angelo State Park, TX

Up a little before 6:00am to be ready for a ping on WhatsApp from my sisters to let me know they were coming to the end of their late-morning (UK time) visit to my mother in her care home so that I could call and have a group "Merry Christmas" chat.

Out at 6:45am to see what sunrise at the falls might offer, other than continued freezing temperatures.

In the end, nothing very exciting - the clear skies allowing full sun to warm me once it had crept over the horizon, but also making for less than interesting photos.

A couple of warm springs feeding the river system produced some interesting mist on the water but fairly promptly blown away by the breeze.

Spotted a blue heron standing patiently looking for an early breakfast, until he saw me and promptly took off.

Back at the RV later than expected, and peckish after my chilly morning ramble, so made a coffee before hooking the Jeep back up to the RV and pulling out, on the road about 10:45am.

A single stop for a mouthful of lunch, otherwise an uneventful drive to San Angelo and the state park there, checking in at the campground just before 3:00pm.

Outside compartment heaters set up once more, as overnight lows will again be well below freezing.

Afternoon Sunday NFL game watched on the iPad while getting caught up on this journal, then settled in for the evening game on TV.

Monday, December 26, 2022 - San Angelo State Park, TX

A workout first thing, though skipping squats with the idea of saving some energy in my quads for mountain biking later, though I began to wonder during the workout whether I might not actually run today and ride tomorrow...

No immediate decision required as I sat down to some desk work and an early coffee and bagel, eventually deciding I would indeed run today - once the day had warmed up a little. But with the warmth came the wind, so when I did eventually head out early afternoon there was a stiff breeze, my running route meaning it was behind me at times but a headwind at others.

Pretty much seemed to run out of wind myself after a mile and a half, the balance of the 4 miles requiring multiple 20-second walking breaks. No real idea why... yesterday's morning hike over the boulders at Pedernales Falls certainly taxed my quads, and I did put in a 50-minute workout first thing, but more likely to be the after-effects of my run two days ago in the biting cold, after which my lungs had felt a little raw.

Stuck with my post-run ab workout routine, despite my weariness, got cleaned up and then plopped myself gratefully down for a little reading to round out the afternoon.

Tuesday, December 27, 2022 - San Angelo State Park, TX

A sunny and calm morning... the lack of breeze making me wonder if this wouldn't have been a better time for a run, but the 28-degree outside temperature and frost on the Jeep made me think perhaps not.

So I stuck with Plan A...

..relatively early coffee, up to the park office to check in for today (this day's reservation being later and separate to the first two nights here), off on a 10-mile MTB ride in warmer but now blustery conditions, back to the RV and cleaned up by 1:45pm, into San Angelo to the laundromat (a new, large and superbly clean facility), two loads of laundry on, off to nearby Starbucks for coffee, laundry dried, a stop at HEB on the way back to the campground for gas and a grocery top-up that should mostly last me through to the end of my Big Bend stay.

Some ironing when back at the RV, bed made up with freshly-laundered sheets, and now - weary from the day's exertions - settling in for whatever lightweight entertainment I can find on TV or Netflix.

Wednesday, December 28, 2022 - San Angelo State Park, TX, to Alpine, TX

Very windy overnight, bedroom slideout brought in to stop the slide topper rattling and keeping me awake.

Up early for a workout, the wind settling a little before dawn and making me wonder whether I ought not to go for a run... but I'm on a bit of a schedule to try to get out of the campground and on the road promptly.

Unplanned desk work - downloading email PDF attachment, splitting it, printing, signing, scanning, e-mailing back - delayed departure by 30 minutes.

Stopped for a rather late coffee at a roadside picnic/historical marker just before Rankin, again for partial gas fill-up and lunch in Fort Stockton, and a final time in Alpine to top off the RV's fuel tank - hopefully plenty for my drive down to Big Bend and back up to "civilization".

Pulled into the campground in Alpine a little after 3:00pm, dumped and flushed tanks, filled the freshwater tank, and tidied away all hoses so that departure tomorrow morning would be straightforward.

Reasonable campground cable offered me some college football for evening entertainment.

Thursday, December 29, 2022 - Alpine, TX, to Terlingua, TX

Some brief pondering before deciding to head out for a run - despite the 4,500ft altitude and a desire to keep some leg power in reserve for MTB tomorrow.

Fresh morning, not overly scenic, mostly running on the sidewalk into and back out of Alpine but didn't suffer the lack of lung power experienced on Monday's run... even felt reasonably good afterwards (though a little tired later in the day).

Happy Birthday notes sent out to my niece, Alex, and to my Texas host Les's wife and super-cook, Melanie, then a short drive into Alpine to stop for coffee.

As so often, sadly, patronizing local independent coffee shops is a crapshoot. Got an OK cappuccino in a rather bare coffee shop that was attempting to be trendy but, critically, no pastries on offer. Coffee was small and not very hot so quickly downed before trying coffee shop number 2, which was really a local breakfast place - nothing but filter coffee, but pastries on offer so a cranberry muffin taken away.

Pulled over 15 minutes out of Alpine, up in the Davis Mountains - which are like a desiccated version of the Scottish Highlands - to brew my own coffee and eat the acceptable top half of the muffin.

And then it was pretty much downhill all the way to Terlingua (hence the rather unusual 10mpg recorded in the RV).

Having arrived a little early for campground check-in, I diverted to the old ghost town 5 miles down the road for a stroll around the cemetery there - discovered for the first time on my last visit here - and up to the church (the exterior plastering awaited on my last visit now finished).

Had a bite of lunch in the RV before making the 10-minute drive back to the campground in Terlingua, booked for the next two nights.

Friday, December 30, 2022 - Terlingua, TX

Woken just before midnight by the arrival of a late check-in, their diesel engine running for a while as they negotiated entry into the back-in campsite in the dark.

Up at 7:30am for a workout (excluding legs, to be worked hard on my mountain bike later...), breakfast, a little desk work as rain came down for an hour, then outside to top up the freshwater tank and unhook the Jeep.

Coffee at 11:15am, then off to the Barton Warnock Visitor Center just outside Lajitas to pay the required $5 for the day pass to Big Band State Park, then drove 10 miles further west, following the snaking course of the Rio Grande, to the West Contrabando trailhead.

Out on the parched and rocky trails at 12:30pm.

Plant life seems a little "dried up", even for the desert, with no flowers seen, as previously, on the soaptree yuccas, but I guess it could just be the time of year.

Plenty of super-spiky ocotillo plants trailside on lower elevations, just waiting to snag the unwary passer-by...

Made it round the very rocky trails safely, 12.5 miles ridden, 1200ft of climbing, breezy at times, warm in the intermittent sunshine.

Back at the RV by 3:15pm to get cleaned up.

Saturday, December 31, 2022 - Terlingua, TX, to Rio Grande Village Campground, Big Bend National Park, TX

Alarm at 6:00am for a quick bite of breakfast before heading out to Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park for sunrise.

About an hour's drive on a long loop around to the canyon, arriving in good time for sunrise.

No clouds in the sky to add interest, and Terlingua Creek was up so no easy way to get to the canyon side without wading across. Sunrise at this time of year a long way to the southeast, so not illuminating the interior of the canyon.

None of these things helpful for photography, but some light mist rising briefly from the Rio Grande at sunrise made for one decent shot from the river bank.

After about an hour of mooching around, headed back to Terlingua via Old Maverick Road, which I had not driven before - not too rough or dusty, but also not offering any new or wonderful vistas.

Back at the campground by 9:30am, got the Jeep hooked up and the RV prepped for departure before making coffee at 10:00am.

Finally on the road about 10:45am for the short drive to join the line at the Maverick Junction Entrance Station, then on to the Visitor Center at Panther Junction for a brief wander around, checking out the photography books on sale in case of new views and hoping to find a commemorative t-shirt, but rather a poor and limited selection.

An early bite of lunch in the RV before driving last 20 miles down to Rio Grande Village campground all downhill, doing wonders for the RV's mpg.

Got set up in my reserved campsite at 1:15pm, had a second bite of lunch, downloaded the morning's pictures and began figuring out a plan for the afternoon.

Decided to not be overly ambitious so drove out to Boquillas Canyon via a fairly prolonged stop at the Rio Grande Village store to use their (very slow) WiFi connection to send out a raft of early Happy New Year messages.

Back at the campground in time to walk up to the top of the bluff overlooking the Rio Grande for sunset photos.

Although a great place to be to experience sunset - as testified by the large number of other people always gathered there - good photos seem hard to come by. This last sunset of 2022 was no exception but post-sunset shots were helped a little by some light and wispy cloud cover.

An early "welcome 2023" glass of Prosecco back at the RV while downloading and triaging the day's photos, some leftovers for supper followed by the rest of the half-bottle of Prosecco with some Boursin (which I came across in a grocery store and have not had for years.. now reminded why).

Sunday, January 1, 2023 - Rio Grande Village Campground, Big Bend National Park, TX

Up at 6:30am for an early breakfast and to walk up to the bluff above the campground to watch the sun rise on a New Year.

Milky high cloud cover rather took the edge off the first light, and with the sun rising in a more southerly mid-winter position the distant Chisos Mountains weren't lit up evenly and face on.

But still great to watch the day dawn, with some additional entertainment when Max, a sunrise-watching-neighbor, gently cornered me and asked me if I was looking for God, who had shown up in his college dorm 20 years ago...

Waylaid by Max and introduced to his in-car-sleeping mother on my way back into the campground. Actually, nice people, and not as loony toons as it sounds as if they would be.

Time for an early coffee back at the RV, still rather chilly from low overnight temperatures and only warming slowly in the hazy morning sun.

Decided to drive the rough road to Ernst Tinaja - quite a stiff ride in the Jeep compared to the F-150 when here last, and certainly much less comfortable than the more compliant air bag suspension on the Jeep Grand Cherokee that I had first taken down that road.

A couple of overly solicitous parents with very young children had decided to camp out right in front of the tinajas (water holes) and had to be expunged with my Lightroom photo software later. Water level in the largest tinaja surprisingly low, but the smaller ones full.

A bumpy drive back to the RV for a late lunch, a shower, some reading, then off at 4:00pm to the trail near Daniels Ranch to head up to an overlook above the Rio Grande, though the views not very special.

Treated myself to a New Year's ice-cream at the village store before heading back to the campground and up to the bluff for another sunset though the light cloud cover not quite as attractive as last night.

Monday, January 2, 2023 - Rio Grande Village Campground, Big Bend National Park, TX

Another early start, up at 5:45am, breakfasted, made coffee to take with, along with half a bagel and cream cheese, pulled together various clothing options to cover weather changes, on the road at 6:30am heading 30 miles up to the Chisos Mountains and the Lost Mine Trail.

Pre-dawn red clouds in the sky as I drove the last few miles up into the mountains, and fortunately I got to the perfect overlook a mile up the trail just in time to catch the last few minutes of red under-lighting of the clouds over the cliffs above the valley and the miles of distant vista.

Waited a while to see what might develop but not long after sunrise the cloud cover drifted east, covered the sun and the light became flat and dull, so walked back down the trail and drove on up to Chisos Basin where I sipped on my lukewarm coffee and connected to the Visitor Center WiFi - a good cell signal also showing - to try to call my mother in the UK to wish her Happy New Year.

For some reason, calls just wouldn't go through - either on WiFi or cell - so sent a message to my sisters to pass on my New Year wishes when they next visited her.

Then off down the Window Trail - a little demanding, at 5.5 miles round trip and 1,000ft elevation change - to see the narrow opening where all the water that collects in the Chisos Basin flows out.

Very slick rock near the precipice, so didn't get too close. Took a picture for a couple arriving at the same time as me, and they returned the favor - one of very few pictures of me when traveling (or any other time, really).

A long hike back up to the Chisos Basin parking lot, anticipating an ice-cream reward at the store there but frustrated to find they had none, their freezer having gone down. Bought an over-priced commemorative Big Bend t-shirt and drove the 30 miles back to the campground for lunch in an increasingly warm RV - full sunlight heating things up to the high 80's inside.

Treated myself to a post-lunch nap, did a little photo work and then at 4:00pm fired up the genset to run the A/C units for an hour to pull 10 degrees out of the interior. Temperature inevitably bounced back a little once everything shut down, but the sun by then low in the sky so not adding to the heat.

Up to the bluff above the campground for a non-event sunset - clouds on the horizon rather blanking things out - then back to the RV an evening of lukewarm supper (zapped in the microwave at 5:00pm just before I shut the genset down), journal entry writing, photo work, reading...

Tuesday, January 3, 2023 - Rio Grande Village Campground, Big Bend National Park, TX

Up at 5:45am, promptly out of the door at 6:15am for the 30-mile drive to Grapevine Hills - the last section off the highway and 6 miles down a rough trail.

Not as rough as Old Ore Road to Ernst Tinaja, which requires 4WD, but still slow going.

So it took a full hour to get to the parking area for Grapevine Hills, resulting in a bit of a scurry along the 1-mile trail to Balanced Rock to be sure to be there for sunrise.

Caught a couple of pre-sunrise shots on the trail leading to the final scramble up to Balanced Rock itself...

...then another couple with nicely under-lit clouds at sunrise.

Waited around a little once back on the trail to see if I could catch any further glimpses of sun, though mostly hidden behind cloud cover.

Coffee and half a bagel back at the car before returning along the rough road to the highway and the short drive to Panther Junction to connect with their WiFi.

The Dinosaur Exhibit doesn't accommodate RV parking and turnaround, otherwise a convenient stop on the way out of the park tomorrow, so drove the 8 miles north in the Jeep to check it out - predictably aimed at children (a couple of screaming hyperactive ones there) though some interesting information, too.

Stopped at Lone Mountain on the way back to Panther Junction - the first new trail in the park for many years, and fairly clear why... the trail not really needed, as there was nothing special to see there other than plant life that can be seen in most other parts of the desert. Stomped ¾ mile out and then back, rather than making the full 2.7-mile circuit.

A final stop at Dugout Wells, wandering the informative nature trail there, then back to the campground for a rather late lunch.

Some photo work in the afternoon, showered, stopped by the village store for their WiFi to make a reservation at a state park campground, and then decided to fire up the genset for a while - to get a little A/C going to cool down the bedroom, get batteries back up to full charge in the laptop and iPad, put a little charge in the house bank (not quite as much having been delivered from the solar panels on a slightly cloudy day) and finally to run the microwave and zap a pouch of "brown rice with ancient grains" - skipping sunset on the ridge in favor of an early beer as it didn't look as if there would be any interesting cloud cover.

Wednesday, January 4, 2023 - Big Bend National Park, TX, to Marathon, TX

It would have been a great morning for an early start, having been woken at 5:15am by a car alarm going off (twice), but as I had decided to head up to the bluff above the campground for sunrise, I didn't actually need to be up until 7:00am.

Chilly morning... 50 degrees in the RV, low 40s outside, the relatively low elevation of the campground always seeming to collect the sinking cold air overnight.

Up to the ridge for sunrise. Nothing spectacular, but pleasant to be up and out and quietly watching the day arrive.

I had planned to head back to the RV for a workout but was rather seduced by the peace, the desert environment and day slowly warming in the early sun so decided to walk the long way around the bluff back to the RV and then drive the few miles to Boquillas Canyon, where I was the only hiker on the short trail down to the Rio Grande.

On my walk back out of the canyon, I said "good morning" to a Mexican and his horse, replenishing the "native crafts" at one of the many displays in the area and saw him a few minutes later splashing back across the river to the Mexican side.

Coffee back at the RV before gathering myself together for departure, heading out just before midday for the 90-mile drive up to Marathon, TX, part-way along which the RV's windshield was struck by a rock kicked up by a car and trailer heading in the opposite direction - an impact like a bullet, I guess due to our closing speed of some 125mph - the stone chip way down on the lower passenger side of the windshield, so not remotely a risk to visibility, but something I guess I should deal with.

Checked in to the Marathon Motel & RV Park just after 2:00pm, emptied tanks and settled in for a little desk work during the afternoon, including continued triaging of pictures taken over the last few days.

Reasonable WiFi connection allowed me to watch a little Netflix for my evening's entertainment.

Thursday, January 5, 2023 - Marathon, TX, to South Llano River State Park, TX

Quiet overnight, with no disturbing trains coming through on the tracks on the other side of the highway.

Up just before 7:00am for the first workout in almost a week, the RV fairly chilly first thing with clear skies and falling temperatures outside.

After showering, spent a couple of hours catching up on deskwork and phone calls before heading into Marathon to stroll past the Gage Hotel and its display of skulls on an outside wall...

...on my way to the V6 Coffee Bar for morning coffee.

Coffee and muffin taken out, as I realized I was rather behind schedule and facing a 260-mile drive ahead, 65mph set on the cruise control for the whole of the drive, most of which was heading east on I-10.

Pulled over in Ozona for gas and a lunch sandwich, and also to return a call from my insurance company about the windshield damage, finally resulting in an appointment for next Monday morning at a Safelite store in Bryan.

Arrived at the South Llano River State Park at 4:30pm, got set up in the campsite and then drove the Jeep back into the nearby town of Junction for a grocery top-up.

No TV signal, no WiFi, molasses-slow cell connection in the campground, so I'll have plenty of time tomorrow for photo work!

Friday, January 6, 2023 - South Llano River State Park, TX

Waited for sunrise before heading out for a run, though low clouds were drifting across for most of the time and thus rather frustrated my hope of feeling some warm sun on me.

Chilly out, though I would periodically run through a noticeably warm and humid patch.

Made an effort to catch up on a little desk work but the intermittent and horribly slow cell reception meant very little could be accomplished, everything taking an age to get done. Most frustrating.

Out for a walk early afternoon down to the river via the Ranger Station to connect to their WiFi... which turned out to be as slow and useless as my cell reception.

The only productive parts of the day were the sessions of photo work, weeding out and doing further development on the more promising ones.

Saturday, January 7, 2023 - South Llano River State Park, TX, to Austin, TX

Out of the campground around 10:00am, a rather long wait on my way out of Junction while picking up a Subway sandwich for lunch.

I had been debating whether to drive to Austin via Kerrville and an RV dealership there, deciding I would call and check the piece of inventory I was interested in was still available when I stopped for coffee at the rest area shortly after getting onto I-10. Coffee made, call made, inventory available, itinerary set.

A little rain just before reaching Kerrville at midday was enough to get the RV - and Jeep towing behind - grubby with road spray. A little irritating, but at least makes it any easy decision to add an RV wash to my work list for next week.

The RV I had stopped to look at was, as anticipated, not really of interest - some features slightly better than my rig in some ways, but many not and the finish quality certainly appeared to be lower (as I had expected given the ranking of sub-brands within the Winnebago motorhome hierarchy).

Back on the road before 1:00pm for a final 2-hour drive to the KOA campground in Austin, dealing with tank dumps and refills while tuning in to an American Football game which subsequently kept me entertained in between the short walks down to the campground laundry.

Sunday, January 8, 2023 - Austin, TX, to Washington, TX

Some early desk work courtesy of the campground WiFi - the first decent Internet connections for a few days - and coffee brewed before heading out on the relatively short 100-mile drive back to my Texas base.

Stopped in Giddings at (yet another) Subway to pick up a lunch sandwich, the RV's wheels finally rolling back under the "Outskirts of Heaven" arch across Les's property entrance gate a little after 1:00pm and parking back in my "spot", although not finessing the set-up as I'll be driving out at 9:30am tomorrow to head to the Safelite windshield repair facility in Bryan.

Good to be "home", no campground check-in needed, quiet, no neighbors, Sunday afternoon football games coming through clearly on CBS... one of only 4 OTA channels I can get here.

An enjoyable trip, especially re-visiting Big Bend National Park with the "Top 10" sunrise picture snapped up in the Chisos Mountains.

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