Road Trip 2020 - "Texas is a State of Mind"

February 7-10, 2020

“Once you are in Texas, it seems to take forever to get out, and some people never make it.” -- John Steinbeck, Travels With Charley

Hiking at Inks Lakes State Park in Texas.

We left the deep, dark, mystical, underground world of Carlsbad Caverns National Park at around 2 p.m. to drive eastward across inhospitable looking West Texas. Chasing the sunset, we hoped to get to Hilltop RV Park in Fort Stockton before dark. This was one of the few nights of our winter road trip when we did not have reservations. I called the RV park when we were about halfway there, and they had plenty of space. If we arrived after 5 p.m., they would leave a self-check-in envelope. This added an extra level of urgency because we had already lost an hour when we crossed the border into Texas.

A distant mesa along a Texas highway.

Instead of backtracking through Carlsbad, we took RM 652, which connects U. S. Route 62 to Route 285 in Orla, continuing to Fort Stockton. According to Google Maps, it would be a 2.5-hour drive. We were supposed to save a half-hour or more going this way, 150 miles vs. 175 miles. However, driving this shorter, faster road felt more like making a deal with the devil. It was not a leisurely drive across the fabric of America. Regardless of road conditions or speed limits, traffic traveled fast and had no patience with RV vans like ours.

The sun setting along a Texas highway

In 2017, the Texas Department of Transportation reduced the speed on RM 652 (RM stands for Ranch to Market Road) from 75 to 70. “This is being done solely in the interest of safety for the traveling public,” said Odessa District Engineer John R. Speed, PE (Yes, Speed. Can’t make this stuff up.) “We recognize that some will not appreciate this decision, but we feel it is the best course of action in terms of safety. We encourage motorists to follow all traffic laws and exercise patience when using this key energy sector corridor.” https://www.yourbasin.com/news/speed-limit-to-be-reduced-on-highway-285-rm-652/691707159/

Blue skies in Fort Stockton, Texas

RM 652 is a two-lane, bumpy road, full of dips and heavy trucks -- a key energy sector corridor. Traveling 70 mph on this highway was fast enough for the van (and me) but too slow for other traffic -- none of the fellow travelers were RVers. You know, if we were driving 70, they were all going at least 80, passing us at every opportunity. When preparing the van for travel, we pad dishes and anything that might clink with towels. On this road, we sounded like an old-time junk dealer. Every time we hit a dip or bump in the road, anything that could jingle, did, and the shocks bounced me out of my seat a good two or three times. Just as I'd settle back into my seat, clutching the door handle and armrest, there'd be another jolt.

Looking out the window, usually one of my favorite pastimes, brought no solace. More oil fields and flaring towers as far as the eye could see. Road construction and lots of trash -- mostly plastic bags -- on the sides of the road and caught up in barbed wire fences and vegetation. I reckoned most of the garbage flew out of the back of all those pickup trucks. The terrain looked like vast nothingness and how I imagined the surface of the moon.

The morning view from Hilltop RV Park in Fort Stockton

Hilltop RV Park was like most RV parks, a parking lot, but they did make an attempt at being an oasis in the desert. From the hilltop, the park’s view of the fading sunset was spectacular. At any other time of the year, we would have enjoyed the pool and picnic table, but on this night, we pulled in, had a quick bite to eat, slept, and was on our way early the next morning.

Inks Lake State Park

Inks Lake State Park Campground

The Texas landscape transformed itself from moonscape to gentle, sloping, green hills. Still, lots of trash on the side of the road and plenty of road-killed animals. The only armadillo I saw in Texas was dead on the side of the road. At one point, we approached what I thought was a large black garbage bag, but as we drove past, I realized it wasn’t a bag of garbage at all, but two javelinas getting it on. It was the most exciting thing I saw all day.

As we approached Burnet, we still saw trash and dead animals on the side of the road, but here it was mostly dead deer and small mammals in all stages of decomposition. I guess they don’t remove deer carcasses after they’ve been hit by cars. It was strange to me. You’d think the rotting bodies would stink and attract unwanted scavengers and disease. Otherwise, the scenery here was more pleasing than West Texas with farmlands, fields, and trees.

Inks Lake in February while the water was drawn down. The brush pile, usually
underwater is anchored to the lake bottom and creates fish habitat.

Inks Lake State Park is a pretty park in the Hill Country of Texas, just one hour northwest of Austin. The lake is on the Colorado River and is home to largemouth bass, white bass, crappie, catfish, and sunfish. At the height of the Great Depression, the Lower Colorado River Authority built a series of six dams to help control flooding. At the same time, the construction provided jobs for local farmers and ranchers. Inks Lake is the second lake in the series and Buchanan Dam to the north and Inks Dam to the south form its boundaries. During 1940, Inks Lake State Park was created when the state legislature ordered the creation of a park on the newly acquired 1,200 acres along with other Colorado River improvements.

Fish cleaning station at Inks Lake State Park

Inks Lake State Park Campground is the first real family-oriented camping experience we had since Joshua Tree National Park. We camped there over a weekend, and most sites were full. The weather was comfortable for sitting outside for meals, and we had a campfire on both nights. Near the shower was a self-serve firewood vending machine. We had never seen anything like it.

Firewood vending machine

We biked and hiked at Inks Lake. On one of our hikes, we came across a fisherman, clearly a local man and not a camper. Roger asked what he used for bait, “I’ve used everything -- but worms work the best. The only luck I have is when I use worms. My wife says to me, why do you waste all that money on all that bait when the only time you catch anything is with worms?”

We met a local fisherman during one of our hikes at Inks Lake.

“....there is no physical or geographical unity in Texas. Its unity lies in the mind.” -- John Steinbeck, Travels With Charley

The Texas Hill Country is different from the stark landscape of West Texas. We still saw cacti and other desert plants, but also more shrubs, trees, and grasses. We rode bikes around the campground and out to the 2.2 mile Woodland Trail where we locked the bikes and explored on foot.

In the distance is one of the dams that creates Inks Lake.

Last fall, when planning this trip, I imagined most of our days would be like this one -- hiking and biking during the day, a relaxed happy-hour in the sun, followed by a great dinner and telling stories around the campfire. We left Juneau on January 7, and since then, I’d say we spent about five or six whole days just hiking or biking. Not enough. It was about this point in the trip when we both started to feel that we hadn’t planned enough days for pure recreation.

The Woodland Trail at Inks Lake State Park.

Two or three nights at a campground were not enough. Just as we settled in, we had to pack up and move on. We were on a timeline -- a family reunion in Mississippi on February 15 and a wedding in Virginia on March 7. Every other destination was planned around those two events.

A starry night at Inks Lake Campground

During the night, strong winds woke me up, and I went outside to bring in the clothes I had hanging to dry. In the morning, ominous, dark clouds moved in, and the air grew heavy and humid.

Willie Nelson Golf Course

“Texas is a state of mind.” -- John Steinbeck, Travels With Charley.

Rules at Willie Nelson’s
Cut-N-Putt Golf Course

Texas has always intimidated me. I don’t know why. I had never been there before. Lyle Lovett is from Texas, and I love Lyle Lovett. And you can’t get more laid-back than Willie Nelson. What was so scary about it?

Near the Pedernales River, just “eight songs west of Austin,” lies Willie Nelson’s Cut-N-Putt Golf Course, also known as the Pedernales Golf Course. The nine-hole course sits atop a hill in Spicewood in the Briarcliff subdivision. This is my kind of golf course, where they don’t take themselves too seriously. “Good luck finding the green!” the pro yelled as we drove our cart toward the first tee. “No, really, good luck finding any green!”

Golfing at Pedernales Golf Course in a light rain

The course is in rough shape. I’m not sure if this was the Texas winter or if it’s always this brown and muddy with rocks on the fairways that sometimes gave the balls a “Willie bad” bounce or ricochet. We played up and down the sloping course in an on-and-off drizzle, and then around a small lake fiercely guarded by a flock of geese. We were one of only two groups playing at the time. As we arrived at the ninth green, a local men’s league was just heading out.

Yes, the BBQ was all excellent!

After golf, we found a nearby barbecue place recommended by Tripadvisor, and we each ordered a plate of smoked meat -- chicken for me, brisket for Roger. That’s when it started raining.

McKinney Falls State Park & Austin, Texas

In two days, we had traveled from the barren desert of West Texas to the tree-covered Hill Country. Now, we entered the land of new housing developments just outside the city limits of Austin.

Pencil cactus, with a blossom?

We arrived at McKinney Falls State Park just at closing time and checked ourselves in. The park and campground are located inside the city limits of Austin and only 13 miles from the state capital, but you’d never know it. The campsites were as spacious as any I’ve ever seen with plenty of trees and vegetation around to give a sense of privacy not often found in campgrounds.

It was still rainy and wet when we arrived, so we stayed in the van and made a simple supper. The air was warm and humid, and I slept in just a tank top with no blanket. We even turned the air conditioner on for a few minutes to cool off. What a change from the 15-degree weather in Carlsbad just a few nights ago.

The rain continued the next morning, threatening our plans for exploring Austin. The forecast called for heavy rain in the morning and clearing by midday, so we went to the Southeast Branch of the Austin Public Library to work and use the Internet for a few hours. The staff there were noticeably friendly and the facilities clean and inviting.

Another delicious Tex-Mex meal at Chuy’s

The rain stopped as we left the library, and, on the recommendation of a friend from Juneau, we drove to Chuy’s for lunch. Chicken fajita for me; chili Relleno and enchiladas with boom-boom sauce for Roger. The bike trail was just two blocks from the restaurant, so I asked the server if he could recommend a place for us to leave the van while we biked. “Leave it right there. It’s not a problem. We don’t check the parking lot during the day. Just don’t leave it overnight.” Worked for us! We took off on our bikes for 10 miles of the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail along Lady Bird Lake, which is part of the Colorado River. 

Put biking along Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas, on your bucket list.
(Notice the nice rain jacket I used to have.)

The rain started again just as we finished biking. We returned to the campground for another night but did not explore its trails or the falls. It was too rainy and wet outside, and we were already tired from biking. If we had more time, we could have spent an entire day exploring the park.

The Hike-N-Bike Trail goes through the city of Austin.

The next morning, I must have had my mind on other things -- such as another long day of driving, eight hours to Vicksburg, Mississippi. As I left the shower house, I became disoriented. The campground had lots of loops and few signs. When I realized I was lost, I looked up and saw a man sitting outside his RV having coffee.

“Good morning,” he called. 

“Good morning. I think I’m lost,” I said.

“What number you at?” he asked. I told him.

“It’s down that other way,” he said.

“OK, thanks,” I said, feeling a little embarrassed. I started walking down the next road.

“Hey, Lady! Lady! Not that road, THAT road,” he said, pointing in the complete opposite direction. I looked up and saw the shower house, then the green lawn that I walked across to get to the shower earlier. Then it all came back to me. 

#Vanlife breakfast - cereal, milk, maple syrup,
yogurt, banana, cinnamon, walnuts, coffee

“Oh, right. I got it! Thank you!” I yelled back to the man.

We’d been traveling so much that the campgrounds were starting to look the same. I needed to be more mindful and not get lost in my thoughts. When we arrived in flooded Mississippi a couple days later, I realized that I had left my raincoat in that McKinney Falls Campground bathroom. I sure hope someone is putting it to good use.

“....people either passionately love Texas or passionately hate it….few people dare to inspect it for fear of losing their bearings in mystery and paradox.” -- John Steinbeck, Travels With Charley

There are some parts of Texas that I prefer to never see again. (Ranch to Market Road 652, for example.) However, I fell in love with other parts of Texas -- its State Parks and the city of Austin. I could plan a whole trip just to visit the state parks. They are well organized, spacious, clean, and you can camp in February! Online reservations are easy to make, and because campsites tend to fill up, especially on weekends, reservations are recommended. We much prefer staying in a national or state park campground over any RV park.

The closest we got to the city. We need to go back.

We did not plan enough time at McKinney Falls and Austin. I could spend a whole week there, exploring the city, the many miles of trails we didn’t cover, and all that McKinney Falls has to offer. Texas is a big state. (That says a lot coming from two Alaskans.) We thought we’d never get through it. But as we were leaving, I was already thinking about when we might go back to visit the parts of Texas we didn’t get to see this time -- including Big Bend National Park, state parks along the Gulf coast, and Padre Island National Seashore.

(Many thanks to my husband, Roger, for his contributions, photo appearances, and editing skills. He is the best #vanlife partner anyone could ever want.)

#me2ak #ontheroad #vanlife #Texas #InksLakeStatePark #McKinneyFallsStatePark #TexasStateParks #AustinTexas #WillieNelsonCutNPutt