Leaving the Valley

After leaving the Valley, we stopped at the Haddox ranch for Airstream courtesy parking.  These fine folks are members of the Texas Highland Lakes Unit and they showed us some fine Texas hospitality.  We toured the garden and got an up close look at their latest vintage Airstream project--a big one!


The ranch is a beauty.  Have you ever seen a finer live oak tree in a front yard?

The longhorn cow is a young one from the neighboring ranch.  She is still growing.

Next is the pile of grass burrs I took from Hobbes' hair .....

After all, it is Texas!


Our next night was spent at another courtesy parking location, this time near Junction, Texas.  The Bookers are transplants from California, but the hospitality was all Southwest.  Although we had never met, by Monday morning, we were saying goodbye to new friends.  We shared drinks, a meal, a tour of their new, soon to be completed, "green" home constructed of steel and styrofoam, and enjoyed a rock collecting stroll down the bed of the nearly dry Llano river that runs through their back acreage.  This encourages us to take advantage of the lovely hospitality Airstreamers offer their fellow travelers.  We have had delightful experiences and made new friends at every stop.


We left the Junction area and made it all the way to Fort Stockton before we ate lunch.  It was well worth the wait.  We had our best chicken-fried steak to date since we moved to Texas.  We ate there last in 1991.  The waitress told us the owner bought it 23 years ago.  The quality is still the same, yummy!


Just past Fort Stockton, we quit for the day at Balmorhea State Park.  This is an undiscovered gem!  I remember stopping here many times as we traveled to the Davis Mountains when I was growing up, but I was never in the water until last fall.  It is amazing!  The San Solomon Spring flows into the pool at the rate of 1 million gallons an hour.  The pool holds 3.5 million gallons of water and covers almost 2 acres.  The temperature is a steady 72-73 degrees  year round.  It is fabulous!  We stayed in the water for hours.

This is only the center part of the pool.  There is a shallow wing on the left and a deep section with diving boards on the right.  The water is so clear it is possible to see the bottom at 20 feet.

The pool was constructed in the 1930's by the CCC.  Where is our Big Vision today?

There was yet another treat for the afternoon.  We were able to view a large owl sitting in a tree near the pool...

She sat very calmly and observed.

We found this to be amazing,

since right in the middle of the tree was...

her baby!

Adorable isn't he?

He certainly knew how to pose!




The clouds have been building all day and now the rain has come.  I look forward to pleasant sleeping in the Airstream tonight!