Also today we get up early and set off for the next day of driving. We'll soon be through New Mexico, there comes the next border to the state of Oklahoma. The landscape becomes more and more monotonous, the arable land is getting bigger and bigger – so here come our grain, cotton and beans. Shortly after Fort Supply we start looking for a parking space, we'll find it at the Fort Supply Reservoir – a huge bathing lake with camping grounds all around – and we're all alone. Unfortunately, it's raining cats and dogs, anyway I go with them 2 gentlemen for a walk. On the way, the sheriff's car pulls up next to me, the nice one, very friendly officer asks me, if everything is ok – apparently it's not normal, that you go for a walk here when it rains :). A nice local comes by the square, greets us with a "Welcome to Oklahoma" – once again we are surprised by the friendliness of the people.
We spend a very quiet night, the next morning the boys use the sandy beach for their romp. Continue east – dead straight streets, huge arable land, run down villages, rusted oil pumps, Lots of scrap vehicles on the side of the road. At some point the traffic will increase, we drive to Oklahoma City, past the state capital. After that, the landscape becomes monotonous again, so we listen to two podcast episodes of the Nerd-WG about photovoltaic systems and the Artemis mission – very exciting and interesting, we're at our destination in no time.
We settle down at Lake Eufaula, the boys can stretch their legs and explore the area. The place is very nice, however, the environment reminds us of Albania – there is an incredible amount of rubbish – there are couches here, refrigerators, Lots of soda cans, in between a half decomposed deer and a dead beaver – We haven't experienced that so severely anywhere in the last few months.
And another day of driving: across Oklahoma to the Arkansas border. At the huge Lake Dardanelle we discover another super nice spot. During my walk in the area, I even discover a whole new animal: first i think, that a big bunny is sitting in the meadow – but on closer inspection it turns out to be an armadillo. It runs away quickly, hides under a bush and can be photographed there very well. In the evening the day comes to an end with a magnificent sunset, while we try to get Hans-Peter's mobile phone going. For a few days he has had almost no signal and we don't understand why. In these moments we really miss the children – they would have figured that out in no time.
We'll come on Tuesdays 20 degrees and bright sun in Misty Creek near Jürgen, Hans-Peter's school friend, an. The house is totally idyllic, with a lot of space around it. The men first celebrate the reunion with a bottle of beer – in the course of the afternoon/evening there will be more and more – who would have thought :). There is a lot to tell, in between there is cooking, repaired the boiler, calls school friends in Germany – a funny one, nice evening !!!!
The next morning the two boys are a bit hung over – nobody knows, who drank so many beers :). The water heater still has to be removed and connected, this is a bit more complicated than expected. Two trips to the hardware store, then everything works again. Frodo and Quappo enjoy the lazy day in the garden, run, romp and play exuberantly. Towards evening I can test the boiler: what a luxury: half an hour shower with warm water – genial. Later German will be cooked: there are stuffed peppers with rice, a German apple pie for dessert.
On Thursdays we look at the surroundings, drive to the nice little town of Jasper, to the Buffalo National River (America's first national river, he flows 216 kilometers without being straightened by human hands) walk along the crystal clear water in the best weather, then a short stop at the hardware store. The World Cup game between Germany and Costa Rica is waiting at home – we see it on a giant screen, almost like in the cinema !!! Germany won, but is still eliminated 🙁
And in the evening we have a real festive lighting: the neighbor has already upgraded, and properly:
On Friday morning we have a coffee together, then we say goodbye to our friend, continue towards Memphis. Jürgen gave us a few tips for the route, we will definitely look at that. Everything is gray today, cloudy, a few raindrops make their way to earth. We don't want to go that far, so there is a stop at Lake Conway. We read up, that the area is a man-made nature reserve – for hunting and fishing. Come to our parking space when parking 2 Hunters on their horses past, ask, if everything is ok, wish us a lot of fun and trot away. Shortly thereafter we hear some shots – we'd rather wait to go for a walk. We'll do it later 3 still on our way, hike to the lake and continue to hear shots ringing out in the distance.
Somehow we are tired after the 3 Days with Jürgen, so today there is a very quiet one, relaxed evening.
It continues on Saturday – we're going to Memphis !! My husband is already very excited, really looking forward to this city. We arrive in the late afternoon, however, the route to downtown is closed due to the Memphis Marathon ??? Somehow we make it to the center, park Henriette and set off. We are right in the city center, quickly find the main attraction: die Beale Street, this is where all the bars and pubs are. When we turn into the street, we are stopped by a nice policeman: Dogs are not allowed here ??????, unless, that they are service dogs. Hans-Peter uses all his charm and explains to the policewoman that we are the dogs' service people. So she can't do anything else:) she lets us through – she would give us a few minutes. We stroll up and down the short stretch of road, blues and rock can be heard from every bar, however, not much is going on yet. Somehow everything seems a bit outdated, It's probably only really nice here after dark and with a certain alcohol level. We continue strolling into town, see a lot of black people for the first time on our tour, will as always to our lovely dogs (but they are not really welcome) addressed. An hour later we come back to the car, think briefly, what we do and decide, to drive out of town. Shortly after sunset we find a place at Burnt Lake, 60 kilometers south of Memphis. Hans-Peter is disappointed, that we couldn't even have a beer in town – you can't really understand it: everyone loves dogs and yet they are not allowed anywhere ??
Today is 2. Advent – the weather is correspondingly grey, cloudy, there is a light drizzle. We're going to Helena, there is always a big blues festival here in October. The historic district is very, very run down, but for a concert certainly a cool location. The history of the blues can be felt everywhere, there are well-known bars in every small town, Clubs, graffiti and museums. On our route we pass Clarksdale, we find the legendary Ground Zero Blues Club. The weather doesn't really invite you to linger, so we continue to Indianola. We can't go into the well-known BB King Museum with the dogs, so we only look at the modern building from the outside. Otherwise, the landscape here is really monotonous: huge cotton fields are lined up, in between you can see a lonely farm from time to time. The differences are absolutely extreme: there are super chic ones, huge mansions, next to it half collapsed, tiny little wooden barracks. Incomprehensible, that these hovels are inhabited at all.
We find our pitch at Sky Lake, a very lonely area in no man's land. On my gassing tour, a single vehicle actually comes towards us, the older farmer asks, if everything is ok and if we belong to the truck – big brother is watching you 🙂
After a quiet night we continue south. Today is our Luke's birthday, we really wanted to call him. But the network was so bad at our sleeping place, that you couldn't call. This is how we head for the next Walmart, who is on the way: in Vicksburg. An hour is told and we learn some news from our little one. We still have to go shopping, then look at the clock, that we can no longer achieve our goal for the day. Also, short replanning and head for the next parking space. We land in Rocky Spring, a free place beautifully situated in the forest. It's unbelievably warm, still 23 It's evening and the crickets are chirping – doesn't fit at all 05. December !
It's muggy and warm all night, it's like the tropics. After breakfast, our route continues to Natchez, there we head for a laundry – the dog blankets are due again. In the afternoon we drive a few kilometers to the next parking space, it's a super modern laundry, you can even pay for the machines by card. A good hour later everything is fresh again, smells good and we can continue. Natchez is known for many well-preserved Southern mansions, here almost nothing was destroyed in the civil war. However, the individual villas are very far apart – there was always a few hectares of parkland around the house. One of the most beautiful manor houses, the octagonal Villa Longwood, let's have a look. Not much going on at this time, so we immediately get a private tour of the building. Our guide speaks English that we can understand very well, we can follow her very well and a lot of interesting things about the history of the house, of the Nutts family and circumstances.
In the Clear Springs National Forest we later find a great parking space, after a long time we can even light a campfire. Here, too, we hear the crickets chirping, Frogs hop around and not a soul far and wide.
The next morning we put our shorts on straight away, it's already round in the morning 25 City – incredible. We drive 200 kilometers to the south, just before New Orleans we reach a boat dock, where we can easily spend the night. We'll take a walk through town together, there is a lot of rubbish here, crumbled, run-down houses stand between pretty well-kept villas, there are huge ones in the gardens, old oak trees.
Back at our pitch, a friendly local comes up to us with his dog, we're talking, get tips for the next day, Quappo has a new friend after a few minutes, the two romp extensively with each other. Completely finished with the world, our little one falls asleep immediately on the sofa, To be on the safe side, Frodo observed everything from afar.
The tip will be implemented today: we run the Boy Scout Road Trail – a stretch of 7 Kilometers through forest and swamp. A small part runs over a wooden footbridge, so you don't get wet feet in the swamp. We're on the lookout for alligators, but they seem (Thank God) to be in hibernation. Then we continue straight into the city: in the middle of New Orleans. Right in the city center we find a big one, well visible parking lot, die 50,– dollars for 24 Hours are well invested. Many had warned us, that it is supposed to be dangerous in the city and that campers have already been broken into – However, we see an incredibly high police presence and feel very safe.
Another coffee, then we throw ourselves into the fray. Only 10 minutes we have to walk, then we are already on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter – and this is where things really get going. Live music plays in every pub, it is well drunk, lots of birds of paradise running around on the street, a granny in a Santa Claus costume is rattling around on her moped with loud music playing, Children drum on plastic buckets – a wild mixture of music, noise and Christmas carols – one cannot grasp everything. The houses alone are worth seeing, built in Spanish style, with pretty ones, wrought iron balcony railings, in bright colors and hung with lots of Christmas decorations.
Getting ahead with our dogs is difficult anyway, as always, everyone is excited, want them 2 pet and ask us about the breed. We walk to the river bank, breathe a little and let the sun slowly go down. In the dark everything looks different again, we just have to go a few more times – and run. We're getting thirsty, this is how we head for a bar, to treat us to a freshly tapped beer.
The nice bouncer even lets us in with the dogs and we get half a liter of delicious, cold, freshly tapped beer !!! If you're hungry, there's a slice of pizza, we don't want to expect the dogs to go to the restaurant. Finally we have seen enough, the dogs are broken and we make our way back to the pitch. Surprisingly, it is quite quiet at night, we can sleep well.
Somehow my head is a bit hung over in the morning, a walk in Armstrong Park is good and helpful. We drive out of the hustle and bustle again, go fill up, go shopping and look for a quiet place to relax. 160 Kilometers to the west we find a nice place near Franklin – it looks like home here – even the gnats come out around dusk and are annoying 🙂
When making coffee this morning you notice, that our electricity supply is very low – unusual, we can't explain it. So Hans-Peter tries to check the settings via the on-board computer, the generator is switched on, to charge more power. Meanwhile, I use the tap on our pitch, about ours 2 to shampoo boys. Frodo is equally offended with me, Quappo patiently endures the beauty treatment.
In the late afternoon we trundle off, Half an hour later we are in front of today's sightseeing point: the Tabasco factory !!! We take a tour of the company and learn all about it, like the famous one, hot sauce is made.
After that you can visit the Jungle Garden – a huge one, beautiful park, created by the son of the company founder. With our high Henriette it is particularly exciting, since the branches of the huge oaks very, hang very low. On a little walk we discover 2 alligators, they have probably interrupted their hibernation in the warm weather and let the sun shine on their backs.
Once again we ran out of time, we have to start looking for a parking space right away. In Delcambre, via Google, we find a boat dock with a large parking lot – for 5 dollars we are allowed here 24 hours parking. At the parking machine I am informed by nice locals, that tonight the "Christmas-Boat-Parade" takes place, followed by fireworks – I like that !! The boats are decorated in a real American way for Christmas – with lots of glitter, brightly colored Christmas trees and fat Santa Clauses. Christmas carols blared out of the speakers, in the background the fireworks light up the sky – what a nice event !!!
It's been pouring rain all night, in the morning we are standing in a lake landscape. The morning walk is best done with rubber slippers – your feet have already been washed. Today we go to the coast, we look forward to the sandy beach and the sea. For kilometers we drive through marshland, only a few scattered , houses standing on high stilts can be seen from time to time (who would like to live here too).
We reach Rutherford beach, a beautiful, large sandy beach, where you can stand for free. A few other campers are already here, but there is room enough for everyone. Once again we can drink coffee outside, then I walk a bit along the beach with the boys. I'm amazed when I come back – my husband is already inside the camper – if he is too cold ?? no, there is another problem – there are mosquitoes here, trillions at that. We are completely entrenched, spray Deepwood on the mosquito screens, can hardly breathe in the car, the windows are black from the beasts – nobody leaves the house anymore !
We need an hour in the morning, to remove the dead pests from the fly screens, it's really disgusting. As Erfeld, we are used to a lot, but that surpasses everything, what we have experienced so far. We flee the place, drive a few kilometers inland. In Beaumont we head for Tyrell Park, Running 1,5 Hours with the dogs and inform us at the visitor center. We spend the evening in Winnie in Stowell County Park – on a big one, lonely parking next to a riding – respectively. auction hall. Big events like the Texas Rice Festival are held here in the summer, cattle auctions and rodeos – now it is a perfect pitch for campers. A few gnats are also annoying here, but no comparison to the night before.
In the morning we go shopping in Winnie, At the checkout, a young man immediately packs my things into thousands of bags – and he also pushes the shopping cart to the car – this is a service !! All supplies are replenished, so we try again, to stay at the beach for a few days. The pitch at Bolivar Beach is perfect – a huge sandy beach and only 2 more campers, who are far away. A rain shower comes shortly, after that we can go for a nice walk on the beach. In the evening we get a visit from the bloodsuckers – despite a stiff breeze !
In the morning there is a knock on our door – who can that be? ?? Mitch stands in front of us, a nice American, who speaks to us in German. With his wife Anke, who comes from Bremerhaven, He was traveling with the camper and just wanted to say “Hello”.. We are happy about it and the two park their vehicle a few meters behind us. In the evening we arrange to have a German beer and a glass of red wine in our car. It will be a very nice one, entertaining evening. We'll stay here on the beach on Thursday too, the sun shines all day, However, there is a fairly cool wind, It's too cold to swim. We spend a lazy day walking, To read, Sort photos, Cook …..
Our new friends are coming over for a drink this evening too, there is simply a lot to tell.
We pack up on Fridays, we want to drive a little further. There is a short ferry to Galverstone, a nice historical place. We actually wanted to have business cards reprinted, clatter 3 deals and are not successful. We have to do it online and then we can pick up the cards in a store – Let's see, whether we can do that. In Freeport we discover the next kilometer-long sandy beach, Here we are actually all alone. The nice weather is used for a long walk, It's supposed to rain and cool down in the next few days.
In fact, it did overnight 10 degrees cooled, the long trousers and the sweater are taken out of their hiding place. Just as we start Henriette, An Overlander stops next to us – They are Manfred and Brigitte from Heilbronn with their Mercedes. Of course there is a chat, you get some first-hand information again, then everyone goes in their own direction. Maybe we'll see each other again, to spend a nice evening together ?
Our route continues through a fairly deserted area, lots of water, Swamp and occasional cattle in the pasture. 150 Kilometers further we end up in the village of Olivia on Keller Bay, a small park with a boat launch, we are standing on a peninsula, almost in the middle of the water. A really great place with an all-round view, we can even watch a few dolphins from the car. The sun can also be seen in the late afternoon, so there is still a nice walk and a great sunset.
Today we have the right weather for 4. Advent – it is gray, rainy and cool. After a walk, we pack our things and run errands: Water is replenished in Port Lavaca, Groceries are purchased, then we continue along the sea. A small ferry takes us to Port Aransas and thus to a huge, long peninsula in front of Corpus Christi. Wir steuern die Mustang Island Beach an: a wonderful beach with incredibly fine sand. The boys love this sand between their paws and compete one race after another. After letting off steam and airing out, we look at the weather forecast in the car: There is a severe weather warning for this area. Since we are very close to the water, we are unsure, whether we should stay here ?? renamed by the Teutonic Order, to move to safe terrain and drive a few kilometers further onto a concrete section of beach. It's not quite as nice here, but ok for one night. Tomorrow we'll check on the beach, how far the water has come.
It really pours all night long, we are glad, that we didn't stay on the beach !! Against 10.00 It slowly stops raining around the clock, So we can start a little pee session. The weather doesn't invite you to go to the beach, we decide, us today the USS Lexington – a huge aircraft carrier – to look at. The ship is incredibly big, wir laufen gefühlte 1.000 Up steps- and down. In a film we get the work- respectively. The monster's fighting style explained – and I really have the greatest respect for the pilots, sailors and everyone else, who lived and worked on this ship. This is a really tough one, physically and mentally incredibly demanding life – my respect, I wouldn't have wanted to do that !! We are greeted back at the car, as if we had been gone for weeks – the boys are really mom or. Papakinder. We drive a little further to Padre Island NP, Here it looks the same as yesterday, As a precaution, we stop at the very beginning of the beach. Frodo and Quappo explore the surrounding area, discover anything, what you can hunt (Over, Coyotes, Hase ??), disappear briefly into the dunes. Later, in the living room, we see a coyote walking comfortably around our car – perhaps they had tracked him down ??
In the morning the ranger's knock wakes us up – we weren't allowed to stand on the asphalted piece ?? Only 10 cm of our rear wheel are on the road and there is endless space here – very strange ?? On me, we park around, After breakfast we drive further into Padre Island National Park, Let's look around for a place there. The beach here is not very wide and the water comes up very high – so also a good idea. Without having accomplished anything, we drive back to our first beach at Mustang Island. Because we want to do everything right, let's try now too, the required permit (12,- dollars for a year) to get. After a long search we actually found the park administration office and a nice lady explained it to me: She currently has no permits left, the next delivery comes tomorrow – but with the permits for 2023 !! So we can't get rid of our dollars, the lady promises us, that we could safely stand without a permit – the rangers would know that. All right then, So we look for a nice place right on the beach. Now it is also low tide, the beach is huge. In the afternoon we collect things while walking on the beach 9 Bags of garbage – it happens very quickly here. Although at first glance everything actually looks clean, We quickly find tons of plastic waste, Fishing lines and beer cans. The bags to collect are available directly on the beach – a very good idea, as we find.
The next morning we will be from 3 Dredging awakened, who drive around our car and play like children in the sandpit – the sand will go- and drove here, We don't really understand the system. We park Henriette 20 meters further ahead, damit der Bagger seine Arbeit verrichten kann, go for a walk and then park back in the old place. The weather leaves a bit to be desired, everything is gray.
On Thursday there is a knock on our door again: a pickup truck with the inscription: “beach enforcement” is before us, he means, we would have to repark, because we are too close to the dunes – he ?????? Again we don't understand the system, but obediently follow the instructions of the law enforcement officer. Now we are standing directly on the water, The pickup trucks with the surfboards are standing next to us, the anglers and a few other campers. The weather is wonderful, the sun is shining and you can walk around in the water wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Later we sit in front of the car drinking coffee and trying to take Christmas photos. Our neighbor, a real fisherman from Alaska, comes over with a glass of home-preserved salmon, looks at Henriette, tells us about Alaska, invites us, to visit him there – incredibly nice.
So dinner is set straight away: there is pasta with salmon, super tasty !!!!!!!!!
It storms at night, temperatures are plummeting 20 degrees, Henriette suddenly finds herself in the water – we escape to the parking lot 200 m further away.
I can barely make it in the morning, to open the door, an icy wind counteracts it. Somehow we'll make it out, Frodo and Quappo are irritated – what's going on here?. It's at -9 Really cold as hell, Despite gloves, my hands freeze into pillars of salt within minutes. To 2 In a few minutes we've had a pee and everyone is back in front of the door, wanting to get somewhere warm !!! What do we do with this day? – we briefly advise, then we continue to San Antonio, At least the sun should shine there. And when we arrive, the celestial body actually shines with full power, The mood is already better again. We take a walk to the Alamo, walk along the beautiful River Walk and then warm up a bit in the car.
When it gets dark we want to go back to the center, to enjoy the Christmas lights – We really like the town. After the night's excursion, we park Henriette in the Walmart parking lot and immediately sleep soundly.
On Christmas Eve we go shopping for supplies, Then we watch the presents at home with our families via WhatsApp. We have decided, Spend Christmas on the beach, So we drive back to Magnolia Beach fully packed. Anke and Mitch are standing here, We spend a nice evening with them with sausages, Potato salad and red wine – almost like at home. The parking space is terrific, right on the water, much, plenty of space for the next camper, Trash cans are available, no ranger comes by and you can here 14 Just stand comfortably for days.
Am 1. On Christmas Day we go on a long hike with Anke and Mitch to the end of the peninsula, 15 We run kilometers. We really deserved the delicious food: there is duck breast (shot by Mitch himself) with vegetables, Rice and red wine.
Also the 2. We'll take the holiday easy – read, go for a stroll, call home, cook ….. Today Mitch has freshly caught fish, which tastes very tasty.
After all the holidays, we definitely have to go to the laundromat on Tuesdays and the water tank also needs to be filled up. This turns out to be more difficult than expected – the first 2 Laundries are not very appealing, every 2. Washing machine is broken and everything looks very run down. The third laundromat is really clean and modern, but also so full, that you have to wait for a free machine. Catching water is also difficult – We would have to pay 45 euros for the RV space, the fire department is not allowed to give us water, At the gas station there is water with extremely low water pressure – we need an hour, until both tanks are full. So the morning has nothing to do with you, Another walk on the beach at lunchtime and it's already dark, In the evening Hans-Peter cooks delicious food for all of us again.
The next ones too 2 Days go like this, as one usually does between the years – calm and relaxed. On Wednesday evenings Hans-Peter cooks our family classic: Pasta with minced meat sauce – and Mitch is happy with this delicious meal. We say goodbye to them both late in the evening – but with the promise, that we celebrate New Year's Eve together !!
today, it is the 29.12. let's pack our things, drive 200 Kilometer weiter Richtung Süden nach Kingsville. We actually want to park in the Walmart parking lot,According to I Overlander, there is nothing else in Kingsville, but during our walk we discovered a great park, in which it (free of charge ? – we don't know, no sign, no one there to ask questions) There are really nice pitches. Without further ado, we park Henriette and spend a very quiet evening.
Our space in Kingsville is fantastic, we spend a relaxing time, very quiet night: the park was over 22.00 Clock completed, so we are totally alone here.
The next morning we use the dog park, to practice a bit of agility, that makes me (and maybe the dogs too) really fun. Next we go back to Walmart, we need supplies for the next ones 3 take ! The fridge and wine cellar are full, This is how we head for our New Year's Eve destination: from SpaceX – Center in Boca Chica. From a distance we can see the launch pad and a few small rockets – That fits perfectly. Anke and Mitch are already there, we stand next to her on the beach. Once again we are unsure, how far the water rises, As a precaution, we all park on the access road. We end the penultimate day of the year together with a glass of wine.
On New Year's Eve we have a great entertainment program at our place, There is a lot of traffic here: Autos, Motorcycles, Pickups drive to the beach – and a few get stuck there too !! Hans-Peter is in constant use with his rubber approach aids and shovel. All very entertaining and funny. Anke runs in the afternoon, the dogs and I walked a long way along the beach, Meanwhile, the men lit a small campfire. So we can drink coffee together comfortably, continue to watch the vehicles passing by and ring in the evening. Of course Hans-Peter is cooking deliciously again (Shrimp with noodles), We drink cool white wine with it. We play Rummy Cup until midnight, let at point 0.00 Watch pop the champagne, (That's the only thing that pops here) and welcome the new year. We walk briefly to the rocket launch pad – Maybe Elon will start a small one for the new year ?? no, there's nothing going on at all, Only one YouTuber and her photographers are at the start and report live on her channel. Alright, then we'll just go to sleep !!! The new year starts a bit foggy, but soon the sun shines out of the clouds. That invites you to take a New Year's swim in the waves – I'm venturing into the not-so-cold water, the rest of the team plays Baywatch and looks after me. We sit down together one last time in the evening, Let my husband cook for us and chat about God and the world.
On Monday morning we say goodbye to Anke and Mitch, We really became really dear friends. Of course we promise each other, that we are somewhere – either in Colorado, See Germany or Mexico again – In any case we will stay in touch.
We drive back the route to Kingsville, At the border control our “amazing rig” is simply waved through. Once there we head for our last stand, Refill water and go to the dog park again. I even find my lost dog leash again, such luck. We drive a little further to Freer, There is a more or less bad parking space at a run-down baseball field.
Highway noise wakes us up in the morning, Frodo and Quappo make their morning rounds on a deserted runway – a really horrible place. Around 300 We drive on for kilometers through desolate “nothingness”, So Texas will definitely not be my favorite country. At Amisted Reservoir a nice one compensates us, very quiet location, free parking space – however, there is so little water in the reservoir, that we despite one 8 kilometer-long march cannot reach the shore.
Our route the next morning takes us to Walmart – we need to stock up on all supplies, In the next few days we want to go to Big Bend National Park. Fully equipped we drive to Governors Landing CP, a recommendation from Mitch. The place is quite pretty, However, you can hear the street very loudly and you can feel it 100 Dogs on the site – on me, it will work for one night. But after a short walk we actually get to the water and risk a short swim – the water is freezing cold. Refreshed, we enjoy the sunset – It's really beautiful here in Texas !!
The night was really loud, So we're pretty exhausted in the morning. It's actually our plan, to drive to Big Bend NP today, but like so often, we change the daily plan spontaneously: auf der Strecke gibt es einen kleinen Park, den Seminole Canyon State Park – We'll just take a turn there. The woman at the visitor center is super nice, we get your best pitch – he's free today. As I turn into the campsite, my husband immediately spots a friend of Henriette's: a MAN from Pforzheim is our neighbor !! We're about to meet Klaus and Susanne, The men immediately talk shop about the engine, Technology, workshops, Tires ….., We women tell each other travel routes, Family stories, tour plans ……, the boys are thrilled with the dog girl Zora. In the afternoon they have 3 booked a tour into the canyon, we go on a hike to the Rio Grande. It's really hot today, Our furry friends' tongues hang down to the ground. Back at the site we continue the story over a beer, Later we grill together and sit around the fire together until late – a really nice evening.
Since our visa is about to expire, We have to drive on to Big Bend National Park on Friday. On the way I book a parking space at the campground – In fact, the park is very well attended and only a few places are left. We really like the national park straight away – a huge desert landscape with lots of cacti, rugged mountains in the background, everything in beautiful green- and shades of gray, plus endless blue skies. While I'm on my dog walk, come in the evening 2 more Germans join Hans-Peter at the car: Andre and Doris from Berlin.
After breakfast the next morning we pay them both a visit, Time is quickly running out and we're only getting there 13.00 Clock on the slopes. There are really nice off-road routes here and we want to drive one of them today. For those around 50 We actually need kilometers 5,5 hours – it's a really intense one, demanding tour. Hans-Peter is happy, to demand the car again, the landscape is super beautiful and thank God there is very little oncoming traffic. However, our gentlemen are very tense, They don't like the shaking. Back at the campsite it is dark, our booked place is already occupied – So we simply stand behind Berliner Steyr – Andre had already offered this to us in the morning, super net.
We spend Sunday morning with Doris and Andre, Hans-Peter learns a lot about engines from Andre (Andre is a real diesel engine professional), I'm having a lively conversation with Doris in the meantime. In no time it is 14 Clock and the daily plan has to be changed again. We want to drive a bit through the park, So we say goodbye to both of them (WhatsApp numbers have already been exchanged) and we're on our way. The route takes us through the Chisos Basin – a beautiful valley with rugged brown mountains all around, everything is green, Trees bushes, cacti in between, im Hintergrund bizarre Felsformationen – we are excited. The landscape changes again and again along the panoramic road, the park is huge, you can see infinitely far – there are no individual highlights here, the whole area is simply incredibly beautiful. We arrive at our campsite in Cottonwood late in the afternoon, the dogs are allowed to run a lap, everything here is relaxed and calm, At night a wonderful starry sky shines above us. Today I have to revise my opinion on Texas, There are also really beautiful corners here. Hans-Peter narrowly wins the game. He tries again and again, In fact, he wins day after day with sensational points – Oh well, I'm still leading with you 16 Play and about 1.000 points lead. I can relax there.
09.01.- there was something ??? Yes, exactly, It's our dear friend Uschi's birthday today – We definitely need a network or WiFi. So after breakfast we go to the visitor center and we can send our congratulations by phone. We continue on the highway 170 to Presidio, a very interesting and special route. In Terlingua we take a short tour of the “ghost town”, There used to be large mercury mines here with their residents, today there are a few bars, Restaurants and souvenir shops. Over the next few kilometers we feel like we are on a roller coaster – It's steep uphill and just as steep (15%) downhill – really very funny. We find our overnight place in Marfa in a small park, Unfortunately our dogs can hardly walk, because there are little thorns everywhere, who prick their paws. A local enlightens us: These are goat heads – They're probably everywhere here. The thorns have an advantage – our dogs no longer leave their place :).
The next day is rather boring: Shopping for groceries, the thought, take water, Continue through kilometers of wasteland to Sierra Blanca. A small, desolate place in the desert – good for one night.
The morning round is difficult, The “goats heads” are lying around everywhere, the boys don't feel like it at all, to go for a walk here. So we have to walk along the street, here the danger is lowest, to catch such a sting. The journey continues past El Paso – a really huge city. We want to make full use of our USA visa, So we take the detour to White Sands National Monument. The park is really very special – white sand dunes as far as you can see – plus a bright blue sky, hardly any visitors in the park – a dream day. Frodo and Quappo think, they would be in paradise – they run, rage, dig and roll in the white grains of sand. Surprisingly, dogs are allowed in the park, we are excited.
We'll stay here until sunset, it is simply incredibly beautiful, you can't get enough of it. We find our parking space 10 Kilometers further on we pass a small lake and to top off the day we experience a kitschy sunset. The only negative point: Everything is in Henriette, wirklich alles sandig !!
The next day we go to the park again and let the dogs run around, until they voluntarily want to get into the car. In Las Cruces we head for Staples, because we had designed business cards online, which we can pick up here. Unfortunately that didn't work, our order is not ready ! On me, then just no business cards !! The rest of the errands are done at Walmart, Then we'll look for a nice parking space. We don't like the first two places we hit at all, So we have to drive even further than we thought. Shortly after sunset we find our place for the night – on a small hill near the town of Gage. A place to our liking: in the middle of nowhere, not a person far and wide, no railway or highway nearby !!
Hans-Peter uses the lonely parking space the next morning, to clean the toilet, while I do fetch exercises with the dogs. We are ready to go around midday, drive a few kilometers back to refuel and collect water, then we continue towards the border. On the way we find a really nice place on BLM land, the area is even fenced, We have to open the gate first. Hans-Peter is busy again and is removing the unnecessary toilet elevation. The result is great – We now feel like we have a lot more space in our bathroom and the door can be locked firmly without an expander – that was a good idea. The boys run around the area a bit, There are cacti here, but no spines.
There is a bit of clearing out on Saturdays, Prepared bread dough and cleaned the kitchen, before we are the last 120 Drive kilometers in the USA. We arrive in Douglas around midday, a pretty run down place right on the border. Since we still have so many quarters, we head for the laundry – and are amazed, how neat and clean everything is here. After a good hour our dog blankets are there, Towels and bed linen washed and dried, this works really very well. We quickly go to Walmart, shopping, withdraw a few dollars, then refuel and refill the water 100 % fill up. In the evening the documents for crossing the border are collected – we are ready for Mexico !!!
Saying goodbye to the USA is difficult, we actually didn't expect it at all, that we like it here so much. The Americans were – like the Canadians – very friendly and interested, There is so much to discover here, Nature is simply incredibly diverse and breathtaking. Always, when we thought, to have seen everything, came another highlight – really indescribable – We want to come back here too !
