We only booked at BBRSP because the National Park campground was full, and we weren’t sure what we were going to find because the booking process was unclear to us. Many locations were listed on the Reserve America site, but no campsites, and while that booking engine normally makes it very clear what is provided and what is allowed at each campsite, for this park it was anything but clear. Only one location listed a maximum RV length of 30’, so we decided to book there for two nights. We also decided that we would be very sure to get to the Barton Warnock Visitors’ Center well before closing so we could ask lots of questions and figure it out.
After finishing our hike in the National Park and driving out the western gate, we basically followed the river to the BBRSP Visitors’ Center and arrived right around 3PM. The ranger looked like she was used to dealing with confused people, and she pulled out a map and highlighted the La Cuesta camping area, which was about 15 miles farther on the river road. She explained that it was basically a boat launch, but that they had four designated camping spots for RVs, provided the RVs were completely self contained. She told us to pick any empty site, and gave us a receipt to tape to the windshield. Sure enough, La Cuesta was clearly marked, and the campsites were clearly defined by guardrails like you see around curves at the edge of the road. Each corral had a picnic table and a fire ring, and the opening was plenty wide enough to comfortably park a fairly large rig. Unfortunately the whole lot slopes down towards the river, so we had to use all of our boards under the riverside tires to get anywhere close to level, but it turned out to be clear and easy.
After finishing our hike in the National Park and driving out the western gate, we basically followed the river to the BBRSP Visitors’ Center and arrived right around 3PM. The ranger looked like she was used to dealing with confused people, and she pulled out a map and highlighted the La Cuesta camping area, which was about 15 miles farther on the river road. She explained that it was basically a boat launch, but that they had four designated camping spots for RVs, provided the RVs were completely self contained. She told us to pick any empty site, and gave us a receipt to tape to the windshield. Sure enough, La Cuesta was clearly marked, and the campsites were clearly defined by guardrails like you see around curves at the edge of the road. Each corral had a picnic table and a fire ring, and the opening was plenty wide enough to comfortably park a fairly large rig. Unfortunately the whole lot slopes down towards the river, so we had to use all of our boards under the riverside tires to get anywhere close to level, but it turned out to be clear and easy.
We took a walk down to the river and looked across at Mexico [again], although by this point we were pretty used to being within spitting distance of Mexico. We met another couple traveling in their Winnebago Ekko and their friend who is traveling in an almost identical vehicle, and compared notes on our travels. They were following the same path as we are, and had noticed us at BBNP - go figure! We talked about what was available to do in the area, and retired to our campers. Despite the fact that the “campground” is just a parking lot on the side of the road, the night was very quiet since the road gets very little traffic after dark.
We spent the next day exploring the area. Two short nearby hikes allowed dogs, so we did those hikes, as well as a loop hike on a 4WD road. Dogs are allowed anywhere vehicles can go, so we took the dogs on that longer hike as well, which turned out to be a mistake since they all had sore feet from walking 5 miles on the sharp stones. We completely respect the reasons dogs aren’t allowed on most trails at all of the parks in the area, and one of those reasons is that the footing is hard on their feet. We thought they’d be okay on the 4WD track since there isn’t any sharp and pointy vegetation, and it isn’t very hot right now, but even without those factors, they all ended up lame, with Kismet not even wanting to walk outside for a couple of days. A few days later they’re all fine, but we learned a good lesson about taking our jungle dogs into the desert.
We spent the next day exploring the area. Two short nearby hikes allowed dogs, so we did those hikes, as well as a loop hike on a 4WD road. Dogs are allowed anywhere vehicles can go, so we took the dogs on that longer hike as well, which turned out to be a mistake since they all had sore feet from walking 5 miles on the sharp stones. We completely respect the reasons dogs aren’t allowed on most trails at all of the parks in the area, and one of those reasons is that the footing is hard on their feet. We thought they’d be okay on the 4WD track since there isn’t any sharp and pointy vegetation, and it isn’t very hot right now, but even without those factors, they all ended up lame, with Kismet not even wanting to walk outside for a couple of days. A few days later they’re all fine, but we learned a good lesson about taking our jungle dogs into the desert.
Our first hike was on the Hoodoos Trail. Hoodoos are large rocks with mushroom-like tops formed when the bottom of the rock is eroded.
We then hiked on the Las Burras Mesa trail, where we saw these caves in the cliffs at the end of the trail.
The trail was a 4WD loop from the main road back to the base of these mountains. As we’d been driving, we’d often wondered how far from the road the mountains started. In this case, it was about 2 miles, although we’d climbed over 700 feet from the road to the mountain base over that 2 miles.
We had seen this obviously foreign object from way back on the trail and had been discussing what it was. I said it was a crashed space ship, joking of course, but in line with the theme of the area. Tom thought it was the bad of a cement mixer. Turns out we were both right, since it was in fact the back of a cement mixer, dumped on this spot and painted to look like a crashed space ship.
Our last hike of the day was on the Closed Canyon Trail, which ran down a dry creek bed through a 15-story canyon.
The next day we left the site and headed north. Before we left the park, we stopped at the Fort Leaton Historic Site, which is run by the BBRSP. We planned to visit Fort Davis National Historic Site at the end of the day, and knew the forts were all connected, so we figured we would get some good background, which we did. However, we ended up leaving there later than expected because as we returned to the truck, we saw police trucks with flashing lights surrounding our vehicle. Tom approached the closest officer, and asked if there was a problem with our truck. The officer explained that we had nothing to do with it, and they had just made a traffic stop, and pointed to a small white car on the other side of our camper which was, to us, completely out of view. They asked if we would mind waiting while they finished, and Tom said we wouldn’t, especially since the police trucks with lights flashing were blocking the exits. We went in the camper and peeped through the windows to watch as they arrested and handcuffed the driver, a young man, and then proceeded to sort through the garbage pile that filled every inch of his car besides the driver’s seat, pulling out vials of what we assume were drugs. When it looked like this search could go on for the rest of the day, Tom asked again if it would be possible for us to leave, and after a brief conference among the officers they moved one of the trucks blocking the exit and we were free to go.
We knew we needed to stock up on groceries again, so I looked at Google and found a regional grocery chain called Porter’s in Presidio, the next town. There were other Porter’s in towns we would be passing, but we decided to get the shopping out of the way. Porter’s turns out to be an extremely well stocked midrange grocery, with good produce and excellent meat. And, because they seem to have a mostly Mexican clientele, I was able to get a lot of supplies I’ve been missing in the US grocery chains since we left Belize, with the exception of the Puerto Rican grocery our friend Rhea took us to in Sarasota a month and a half ago. After stowing the groceries in the camper, we grabbed some cheese and crackers and headed for the Fort Davis National Historic Site.
Fort Davis and Fort Leaton were connected, although Fort Leaton was run by a series of families through the years, where Fort Davis was a much larger fort run by the military. Many of the buildings that made up the fort are now no more than stone foundations, but there are a few completely refurbished buildings, as well as a few in the process of being repaired. We left our sore-footed dogs in the camper and spent about an hour and a half walking around the grounds, looking at foundations and peering in windows. We were a little worried that we wouldn’t have time to see anything since we hadn’t arrived until 3:30, but the hour and a half turned out to be just about perfect.
Fort Davis and Fort Leaton were connected, although Fort Leaton was run by a series of families through the years, where Fort Davis was a much larger fort run by the military. Many of the buildings that made up the fort are now no more than stone foundations, but there are a few completely refurbished buildings, as well as a few in the process of being repaired. We left our sore-footed dogs in the camper and spent about an hour and a half walking around the grounds, looking at foundations and peering in windows. We were a little worried that we wouldn’t have time to see anything since we hadn’t arrived until 3:30, but the hour and a half turned out to be just about perfect.
We decided to head towards Guadalupe Mountain National Park, even though we knew we couldn’t make it that night. We had learned that all Texas rest areas allow overnight camping, and all of the areas we had passed had more than ample space for a number of rigs. On the way, we were watching what was to us an Unidentified Flying Object, trying to figure out what it was. It didn’t move, and our path took us close enough that Tom took a pretty good photo, which I posted on Facebook to find out what it was. We discovered that it’s an aerostat, used by Customs and Border Patrol to monitor border activity of people and goods. Shortly after that, we came to a rest area just south of Van Horn, and decided that was a good place to park. A man was there doing landscape maintenance, and we asked him if it was okay to park for the night since there was nobody else there to talk to, and he assured us that Texas is proud of their rest areas and their policy that allows tired travelers to pull off the road and get a good night’s sleep. We were there just in time to catch the sunset, and had a very quiet night although Tom said he heard one train overnight on the tracks on the other side of the road. We heard coyotes yipping and howling in the distance just as we were getting ready to pull out in the morning, but nobody gave us any trouble and it looks like the system works.
