Road Trip to Houston: Big Bend National Park Arrival

Day 12 – Del Rio to Lajitas, TX

I have picked up a cold along the way, but it has been fairly light so it hasn’t bothered me, but last night I coughed all night and neither Val or I got much sleep.  We slept in to try to catch up on our sleep and finally got on the road around 10 AM.  Today we would be once again following US-90 for most of the day.

The countryside we have been driving through has been mainly flat, but today as we drove west we got into more and more hilly country.  There was very little traffic so we made good time, though we did have to go through an immigration check at one point.  The route we are following is very close to the Mexican border so we see border patrol vehicles everywhere.  We finally could see some mountains in the distance and we knew we were getting close to Big Bend National Park.

When we reached the town of Marathon we left US-90 and turned south for the 70 mile drive to Big Bend National Park.  There is a lodge in the park, but it was fully booked during our visit so we opted to stay at the Lajitas Resort in the small town of Lajitas west of the park.  Since the quickest way to get to Lajitas was through the park, we got to see some of the park on our way.  The country, though a little mountainous, is a desert and very arid.  We understand that in about a month the cactus and wildflowers will be blooming, but now there is not much color.  It is surprisingly green though, as the scrub is leafed out in green.

We stopped at the Visitor’s Center, checked out the displays and bought a guide for the back roads in the park before heading on to Lajitas.  Lajitas is about 20 miles outside the west entrance to the park, but it is the closest place to stay if you can’t stay in the park.  We will be staying at the Lajitas Resort, which is supposed to be pretty nice.

By the time we got checked in and in our room it was 4:00 and we rested until dinner; we were both still tired after our lack of sleep last night.  We ate dinner at the hotel restaurant which was very good.  This hotel is nothing fancy, but is very nice.  Tomorrow we will be exploring the park.

Some of the rooms at the Lajistas Resort

 

It was a beautiful, balmy evening so we had dinner out on the veranda.

 

Road Trip to Houston: Houston

Day 9 – Fredricksburg to Houston

Today we are heading to Houston and the real purpose of our trip.  It is only a four hour drive so we slept in before hitting the road.  The drive was a bit tedious as there were lots of town and quite a bit of traffic in places, but it was also an interesting drive through the Texas countryside.

We are staying at the Hilton Houston Plaza Hotel which is close to where Val has her appointment.  We arrived mid-afternoon and when we checked in they said our room wasn’t ready so they upgraded us to a suite on the 19^th floor.  Wow, this is the second time on the trip we’ve been upgraded, maybe there’s something to be said for traveling in February.  The hotel was nice, but it looked like it was a little past its prime, particularly for a Hilton hotel.  It did look like there were some renovations underway, though.

We knew they had a guest laundry so we spent the rest of the afternoon washing clothes.  We knew if we did our laundry today, we wouldn’t have to do it again for the rest of the trip.  After getting our clothes washed it was time for dinner and we had a pretty good meal at the hotel restaurant.  After that, it was back to the room where Val relaxed and I caught up on the blog.  Val’s appointment tomorrow is at 9:00 AM.

Day 10 - Houston

Today the plan was to go to Val’s doctor’s appointment in the morning and then visit the Johnson Space Center in the afternoon, but as often happens, things didn’t go quite as planned.  Her appointment was at University of Texas, MD Anderson Hospital which is part of the Houston Medical Center.  The Houston Medical Center is an area of hospitals, research institutes and educational institutions and is the largest medical center of its kind in the world.  There are 106,000 employees and 50,000 students in the area each day and including patients, more than 160,000 people visit the area each day.

Yesterday when we arrived the area had seemed deserted, but that was Sunday and today is Monday and the area was teeming with people, cars and light rail.  The MD Anderson Center in itself covered a huge area and it was only one of many medical centers and hospitals in the area.  After getting a little confused as to where we should park (the facility had several parking garages) we found our way to the location for Val’s appointment.  After going through registration, pre-visit check-in and a bit of waiting, we finally saw the doctor. 

The first thing he asked us was how long we’d be in the area because he hadn’t gone over her records yet.  This didn’t sound good as we had our reservations made for the rest of the trip and were planning on leaving tomorrow morning and no one had said anything to Val about this taking more than one day.  After some discussion, the doctor finally decided that he could squeeze Val in this afternoon so that was a relief that we didn’t have to change all of our plans, but it did mean no visit to the Johnson Space Center.

We left the medical center and went back to the hotel where we had lunch and then relaxed for a bit before returning to MD Anderson for the appointment.  It turned out to be well worth the effort as Val got the best possible news she could hope for.  This doctor is the top expert in the field and he said that while he couldn’t absolutely say that nothing would happen in the future, the probability was that she would have no future problems.  What a relief!!  So this is behind us and we can look forward to the rest of this trip and many more.

We got back to the hotel by late afternoon and relaxed for a while before dinner, which we again had at the hotel as there didn't seem to be many places to eat in the immediate area.  Tomorrow we turn back west and drive to Del Rio, Texas where we will spend the night.

Day 11 – Houston to Del Rio, TX

There is not much to say about today as it was just a drive across Texas.  We left the hotel and found our way out of Houston.  That was fairly easy as evidently it was passed rush hour and we missed all the traffic.  We followed I-10 all the way to San Antonio where we got off on to US-90, which would take us all the way to Del Rio, our destination for the day.  We had already been on a short section of 90 on our Texas Hill Country Tour, but today we drove straight though without stopping.  We arrived in Del Rio around 4:00 and once again opted for a trip to a supermarket deli for dinner.  Tonight we had a two piece chicken dinner with beans and rice that turned out to be surprisingly good.  Tomorrow we will be going to the small town of Lajitas, which is just outside of Big Bend National Park.

Road Trip to Houston: Texas Hill Country

Day 8

The plan for today is to explore some of the Texas Hill Country and end up in the small town of Fredricksburg where we'll spend the night.  We left the hotel around 9:00 and drove west out of San Antonio to the small town of Bandera.  This would be the start of our loop through some of the hill country.  We headed south to the town of Hondo, which turned out to be a mistake as this is really the bottom of the hill country area and not very interesting.  Since this area wasn't very interesting we turned north to the small town of Utopia.

It was time for lunch so we decided to eat at the Lost Maples Café.  It seemed like everyone else had the same idea because the café was nearly full and more people were continually coming and going.  The Lost Maples Café is quite old and very funky inside.  It was built before 1904 and has many uses before becoming a cafe including a Masonic Lodge, a doctor's office, a drugstore and a classroom.   Val and I both had burgers for lunch and they were quite good.  Although we were full, we decided to try the pecan pie for dessert, which was very good, but very rich.

The Lost Maples Cafe

 

After lunch we decided to go to the Garner State Park on the Frio River.  This is a holiday weekend (Valentine’s Day tomorrow and Presidents Day on Monday) and the weather clear and warm so the park was very crowded with families swimming, fishing and just relaxing in the sun.  It was a very scenic area with the river running clear and the cypress trees growing in and around the river.  Val and I hiked along the river for a bit to get away from the crowds before moving on to our next destination.

Our next stop was the town of Concan, which was just down the road.  It turned out not to be a stop as there was not really much of a town.  By this time it was mid-afternoon and we decided we had better head north towards Fredricksburg, our destination for the night.  We did take a side trip to follow the Frio River for a while, which, as I said, is a very clear and inviting river.  We saw many people out along the river enjoying the warm weather and having a good time.  As we drove north there was one section of very hilly country which looked very much like the area where we live. It was a nice drive.

It was a longer drive than we thought and didn’t arrive in Fredricksburg until after 5:00.  We had heard that Fredricksburg had an interesting downtown with old buildings, shops and places to eat so we had planned on getting there mid-afternoon and explore the town, but that didn’t work as planned.

We felt pretty full from our lunch so we went to a nearby market and bought a vegetable plate and had that for dinner.  It actually hit the spot as we usually don’t get much in the way of fresh vegetables on the road.

We had a good time today, but I think we both expected more from the Texas Hill Country than we saw.  The scenery was nice, but nothing really spectacular, but that may have just been the time of year.  Everything was brown and of course many of the trees were without leaves.  We were told that within a month or so everything would be green with a lot more water flowing and wildflowers blooming.  I’m sure that would have made a big difference in our impression of the area.

Road Trip to Houston: San Antonio

Day 7

We slept late today and just relaxed as it was nice not to have to get up and hit the road.   While I waited for Val I went down and took a few pictures of our hotel and the River Walk..

Besides the tour boats, they also have water taxis.

Val is watching me from our balcony, she is near the top in the middle of the picture.

 

We decided to skip breakfast and eat an early lunch so after getting cleaned up and dressed we were on our way to the Alamo. The Alamo is a short walk from the hotel so we were soon there and walking around the grounds.  We watched a very interesting short movie on the history of the Alamo and Texas independence.  The Alamo is considered a sacred shrine in Texas and is treated with respect and reverence, it is a pretty amazing story. After going through the museum and visiting the church we headed back to the hotel.  Here are some pictures of the Alamo, but because it is a shrine, no photography is allowed in any of the buildings.

The next thing we wanted to do today was go to Market Square, which is a large Mexican market with many street vendors, shops and restaurants.  Surprisingly, both Val and I are still feeling the effects of our walk down into Carlsbad Caverns so we decided to take a cab instead of walking.  After arriving at Market Square, our first order of business was lunch and we had heard that the Mi Tierra Café and Bakery had very good Tex-Mex food so that’s where we ate.  It is a huge restaurant and we enjoyed our meal and the atmosphere.  After lunch we couldn’t resist the bakery and bought some pastries for dessert.  We wandered around the shops for a while and then headed back to the hotel for a little afternoon rest.

I was feeling a little uncomfortable being serenaded, but it did add to the fun.

 

You can see why we couldn't resist a visit to the bakery.

 

After our rest we decided to go down to the River Walk and walk the full loop.  The part of the loop that is the main river channel is not very interesting as there is not much going on, but overall it was an enjoyable walk.  Once again it was a beautiful, balmy evening, but being a Friday night there were a lot more people out than last night.  We completed the loop and decided to look for something to eat.  

Just past the bridge there is an amphitheater.  You can see the seating on the right and across the channel is the stage.

Val told them to look mean and angry for their picture, but the fellow on the left didn't get the message.

We weren’t very hungry as we had a full dinner at lunch so we just opted for ice cream.  We returned to the room and enjoyed the evening from our balcony for a while and then retired to the room.  I spent the rest of the evening downloading pictures and working on the blog and Val planned our route through the Texas Hill Country tomorrow.

We really liked staying here at the Omni Hotel and will be sad to leave, but we have other places to go and things to do so it’s back on the road tomorrow.

Road Trip to Houston: Carlsbad to San Antonio

Day 6

We got up early as we had a nearly 500 mile drive to San Antonio.  After a quick breakfast at the hotel we were on the road by 8:30.  The drive on US Highway 285 from I-40 to Carlsbad was a nice four lane highway, but south of Carlsbad it was only one lane in each direction with lots of truck traffic.  Despite the fact that oil prices are in a slump, it seemed that most of the trucks were carrying equipment for the oil fields and we could see plenty of activity along the road as we drove south.  I believe most of the activity was more for production than drilling as we didn’t see any drilling rigs.

We crossed Interstate 20 in Pecos and continued south to Fort Stockton where we picked up Interstate 10 headed east.  The interstate is not our preferred way of travel, but it was a relief to get on a four lane highway and away from all the slow truck traffic.  There was very little traffic on I-10 and the land was hilly, barren and desolate with very few towns.  As we got nearer to San Antonio we entered what is known as Texas Hill Country, which has more interesting scenery and there were also more towns.

San Antonio is a good size city with a population of just under 1.5 million.  We would be staying right in the downtown area so we had to contend with quite a bit of traffic, but we made it to our hotel by 5:00 and were soon in our room.  We are staying at the Omni la Mansion del Rio Hotel, which is right on the famous San Antonio River Walk.  The hotel is in a historic building that was originally a boy’s school.  We had opted for a river view room, but when we checked in we were told we had been upgraded to a balcony room, yea, good luck again.  Our room was on the fifth floor with the balcony looking right down at the River.

The view of the River Walk from our balcony.

You can take a tour of the river on these boats.

The San Antonio River Walk is part of the San Antonio River with a channel coming off the main river and then reconnecting further down making a loop.  There is also a channel leading to the convention center and a large shopping mall.  There is a continuous walkway all along the river and channels with hotels, shops and restaurants all along the way.  Most of the restaurants have outdoor seating along the walkway and river.  There are numerous pedestrian and vehicle bridges along the way.  It is very picturesque and we were very impressed.

After settling in, we went down to the River Walk to explore and have some dinner.  It was a beautiful and balmy evening and despite this being the slow time of the year, there were lots of people strolling or sitting in the restaurants enjoying the evening.  We decided to take a boat cruise and get the lay of the land along the River Walk.  It was a guided tour that took the full loop plus the channels that led off the main loop.  The sun had just gone down so it was very nice with just a twilight sky and all the lights along the way.  The cruise took about 35 minutes and we were glad we did it as it was very interesting.

I'm enjoying our cruise along the River Walk.

We were getting hungry so after the cruise we started looking for a restaurant and decided to eat at Ostra, a seafood restaurant right across the channel from our hotel (and apparently owned by the hotel).  It was an excellent dinner, which Val and I both enjoyed.  After dinner we strolled along the River Walk for a while and then decided to walk over to the Alamo which is nearby.  We didn’t stay long as we are planning on visiting tomorrow morning, but we did want to see it lit up at night.  We walked back to the River Walk and our hotel and decided to call it a night.  Our first night in San Antonio was wonderful - perfect weather, good food and the very nice River Walk.

The Alamo

Road Trip to Houston: Carlsbad Caverns

Day 5

Today we are visiting Carlsbad Caverns National Park, which is about a thirty minute drive from our hotel in Carlsbad.  We slept in a little and didn’t get on our way until just before 10:00.  The area around the park is quite hilly compared with the flat land around Carlsbad.  We checked into the visitor’s center and found out the elevators weren’t working so the only way into the Caverns is the long steep trail starting at the natural entrance.  Val had some worries about how she would handle the long walk, but decided to go for it and off we went.

The park information says that it is a steep (20% grade) 750 foot descent into the cave, but the reality is, it was a 1.3 mile walk down to the Great Room, which is one of the main features of the cave.  I believe the 750 feet must mean the vertical drop, not the actual distance.  It was a steep walk down and it seemed like a lot longer than it was, but we made it.  The formations aren’t quite as spectacular as some other caves we’ve been in, but the sheer size of the Great Room was very impressive.  We took a walk around the outer edge of the Great Room before coming to a rest area with restrooms, seating and a snack bar; this is also where we would get on and off the elevators if they were working.  Because the elevators were broken, there wasn’t much food available, but Val and I split a sandwich and rested a while before starting the trek back to the surface.  Here are some of the pictures we took, but they really don't show the immensity of the caverns.

The natural entrance and the beginning of the long walk down.

Going up is easier on the legs and knees than going down, but the steep climb up is very tiring.  They said the trail is a 20% grade, which didn’t sound too bad, but in practice it seemed pretty darn steep.  It was a long slow climb to the top with quite a few stops to catch our breath and rest.  There are benches spaced along the trail and they were well used.  After about an hour’s walk we were back at the top, tired but very happy we made it.  I was very proud of Val who despite a hip and knee replacement and arthritis did very well and made it without problems.  Altogether today we walked close to four miles, most of it either going steeply up or down so we were pretty tired by the time we got back in the car.

We start the long, steep trek back to the surface.

 

Daylight at last, but we still have quite a way to get to the surface.

I did learn one thing today that I had been wondering about – what is the difference between a cave and a cavern?  I asked a ranger and he said you can walk into a cave, but you have to use a rope or a ladder to get down into a cavern.  We were able to walk into Carlsbad Caverns, but until a trail was built you had to use a rope to get into it so it is still called a cavern.  Now I know.

We made the half hour drive back to the hotel and when we got out of the car we realized just how stiff and sore we were.  For dinner we decided to just go down the street a little ways and have a sandwich at a deli.  The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and resting our tired legs.  Tomorrow we have a long drive to San Antonio, Texas where we will spend a couple of days.