Texas, Texas and More Texas

I left Mission, TX and headed north in search of the 'free for as long as you want' campground.  Ifound it easily enough, and it was as advertised.  It wasn’t exactly a beautiful area, but it was right next to a state park, which was probably more interesting.  It was chilly and grey and the rain was catching up to me, so I was not exploring much. I found a nice level spot to call my own and settled in a bit.  I went out for a walkabout to be sure I had the best spot, and see the area.  As I was returning to Rita, a woman approached me and asked me about bus life.  We got to chatting.  Catianne turned out to be one of the most interesting people I’d ever met, right there in the middle of nowhere!  She was a photographer in war zones for the United Nations.  Her work had ended due to COVID and she spent some time taking care of her father until he passed.  On the one-year mark of his death, she decided to take a trip down to Texas to meet his family that she had not previously known.  They took her in (as family will) and she was so glad to have met them.  She was interested in learning more about bus life, as she had been meeting people in this campground and learning their stories.  She insisted she was not camping, but given the amenities of this place, she found it quite comfortable to stay a while in her Mercedes wagon. I think that is far braver than me, with all my cushy accoutrements.  She asked if she could do a quick little interview with me the next day.  I said why not?!  I was getting chilly as we talked outside, and I really wanted some hot chocolate, so I invited her in for some.  I was happy she accepted and we got to chat more in the warmth.  She later introduced me to a couple from Quebec, who were also camping there. They didn’t speak English, but between Spanish and some of my rusty French, and Catianne translating – I learned they come to this spot every year from Canada! Such a strange place to visit, but perhaps it is more appealing when the sun is shining.  Basically, everything is more appealing to me when the sun is shining…

The next day, Catianne took a bunch of video and had me yammering on about all kinds of things. She was very professional, I had no idea what she was going to make, but I was curious to see.  I didn’t hang around long, had to get on the road, ever more north – looking forward to Big Bend National Park and eventually escaping Texas.

Check out the video Catianne made - she also has a bunch of other cool videos on her YouTube Channel

My next stop was a boondockers site – supposed to be near Falcon Lake in Zapata, TX.  It was a grey, rainy and miserable day.  The woman offering her drive way was so kind, but there was zero cell service, and I was going to have to drive to the library the next day to get work done.  I was supposed to stay 4 nights.  Since I wasn’t going to get to see anything nice (I would’ve loved to bike to a lake), and driving everyday to work didn’t sound appealing – kind of defeats the purpose of staying in one place for 4 nights – I like to settle in a bit and relax, not have to secure everything for driving every day.  I went to the library the next day and it was so cold out and rainy.  It wasn’t comfortable working in the library and the wifi didn’t make it to the bus (but cell service was usable).  I decided I wasn’t going back to the house to park, and instead I was going to drive north and find somewhere else to stay.   The truth is, I was just looking forward to driving with the heat on and maybe getting away from the rain.  That afternoon I made it to a Texas Welcome Center (great rest areas that allow overnight parking) just north of Laredo.  It was a pretty building with fountains and a pond in front.  I got a nice flat spot, about 20 feet from the train tracks and not too close to all the semi-trucks.  Pretty loud spot, but I have ear plugs for just this reason (turns out trains are far less annoying than snoring men).  I cooked up some pasta for dinner and had a cozy night.  I slept hard and was surprised to wake up later than usual.  I got some work done and took my time getting back on the road.  I wasn’t entirely sure where I was headed next, but I was feeling like I was about to get into some more interesting scenery. I was excited for it!   In my iOverlander app, I found a picnic area for overnight parking that someone said “had a nice view”. Sounded good to me.  I was going to be passing the Amistad dam area, that is a bit of an attraction, I guess.  If it looked good, and I was too tired, I was open to stopping around there, too.  It was a bit of a long drive, but as expected, the scenery started to pick up a bit.  I was into it!

I made it to the picnic area, which was about ½ mile off of the highway.  As I came around the corner and saw it, I could barely contain myself. It was the most amazing site I’ve seen in AGES.  A sweeping vista overlooking the Pecos River and a huge bridge (the highway I was on) going over it. I was pretty excited.  There was already a big white rig parked in the best spot, so I went to the opposite side, which was also pretty amazing.  The spot I was in was not level – but I was too excited, I had to jump out and run around and see the view.  I met the couple in the other rig.  Really cool retired couple with 4 little dogs.  They were heading south as far as they could go…and then shipping their rig to South Africa and drive around there.  I enjoyed chatting with them, we were quite aligned with many viewpoints.

I moved Rita a little bit so we were more level and I still had a pretty amazing view overlooking the Pecos River, which I preferred in the end.  The other side was overlooking the river and amazing bridge where the highway crossed the river.  I was excited for sunset, and it did not disappoint.  I also woke up for sunrise and that was pretty gorgeous as well!

I was headed to Marathon, TX next.  For some reason I was really excited. I hadn’t been excited to see a town in a very long time.  I had visions of it being kind of a cool ‘gate way to Big Bend’ area, and read about the little store there that had been around for over 100 years. I was definitely going to pick up groceries there.  It was a fun and more scenic drive again.  When I got to the town, it was a little ‘meh’, but kind of cute.  I also had seen it had a brewery and BBQ combo place. I was definitely treating myself to both.  I found the library and they said I could use the wifi. I parked out front and worked all day.  It got dark and I walked to the brewery restaurant.  The BBQ brisket and pulled pork were pretty tasty and beer was pretty good, they even had a weird cantaloupe radler beer that wasn’t so bad.  I didn’t get a great vibe in the place and the staff was ‘polite’ but definitely had that jaded demeanor of people who have seen too many tourists.  I didn’t strike up any conversations (except to say “provecho” to a family sitting near me, speaking Spanish).   I took my leftovers and headed back to Rita.  It was WAY too cold.  It was very dark and quiet on the library street, so I just stayed there. I got the heater fired up and it was nice and toasty.  It was very cold the next morning as well, so I just stayed inside and kept the fire going and got a bunch of work done.  Around noon, I got a knock on the door.  The librarian.  She said “We’re going to have to ask you to hit the road. This isn’t a campground”. Yeesh.  I wasn’t setting up chairs outside or anything, I was just using their wifi which is kind of what they do… but I didn’t argue.  I just packed up and drove around the corner to the store parking lot.  I went in and got a few groceries to prepare for my trip down to Big Bend the next day.  I found another lot that was supposedly OK to overnight in, near a big, beautiful park.  I would’ve loved to see the park, but it was raining and oh so cold and rainy.  I was alone in the lot all night, but I was feeling nervous and very ‘unwanted’.  But it was quiet and uneventful and the heater roared on.

It was about an hour and a half down to Big Bend. I woke up super early and headed to the gas station to get some diesel and fill my heater tanks as well.  I calculated that for running the heater for 36 hours straight, it used 1.65 gallons of diesel. Not bad - if I were to run it 24/7 for a month it would be under $100. Not that I would EVER live some place requiring heat for 30 days…but, I like math.

It was a pretty drive, even in the gloom.  I was pumping myself up to wear a lot of clothes and get out and about no matter what.  Knowing that the scenery in the park was going to totally outshine what I was seeing on the way (because, that’s how National Parks work), I was getting excited.

I got to the park entrance and finally got to use my America the Beautiful pass, for the first time since I bought it in August (what?!!).  It was a bit of a drive to the visitor center after the entrance.  As usual, I had not done a ton of research or even had any idea what I might want to see or how big the park was.  I decided to just go into the visitor center and ask someone to tell me what the best things to do /see would be in 2 days.  The ranger was awesome and talked me through all the options and listened to what I was interested in.  I had booked a campsite for 2 nights.  It turned out there was a hot springs just a few miles from my campground! That was ridiculously exciting (now THAT is the kind of surprise I live for!).  I decided to go with the ranger’s recommendation, even though at first I wasn’t sure. There was a long drive and mini hikes, ending with one of the park’s main attractions, Santa Elena Canyon.  The next day I wanted to do a bike ride, and there was 15 mile ride and a 2 mile hike to see some very interesting rock formations – I was excited for that (I bought a postcard of the rocks in the visitor center, they were so…unique).  Driving the scenic route on the first day, ending with a stop at the hot springs before finding my campsite, sounded great, then I could have a leisurely morning and do my bike and hike and then hit the hot springs again on the way back to camp the second day.  Great plan.  The drive was amazing, the scenery off the charts.  And the sun even started coming out.

I stopped a bunch and did some mini hikes. By the time I got to the canyon hike (about 2 miles round trip) it was darn near a nice day!  I loved that hike and I was feeling amazing. It was SO nice to be out and about.  I was scampering down the trails.  At one point I even stopped to wallow in my gratitude for how good I was feeling. My feet didn’t hurt or anything! Lucky me!  Of course, the day ran long, and I really wanted to find the hot springs before dark.

I was told I would need to park Rita farther away, because the road to the main parking was too narrow and didn’t allow RVs. I had to restrain myself from making too many stops if I wanted to get there before dark.  The map was tiny and it turns out 2 roads that looked like they were the same, were not… I accidentally turned a little too early onto a dirt road with some scary signs.  After creeping along, I realized it was definitely NOT the right road.  I examined the map a bit more and determined I had to go back to the main road and take the NEXT right.  I had to go in reverse back this horrible dirt road until I was able to find a place I could make a 3 (or 6?) point turn.  This solidified the fact that I really, truly do NOT like driving Rita on dirt roads.  It doesn’t matter how slow I go, the rattling and shaking is unnerving.  The correct road was also dirt, but slightly less washboard-y.  I only went less than ½ a mile until I was at the RV parking area.  Several cars passed me.  I quickly changed and hopped out to walk the final way.  It was a bit of a walk for sure – close to a mile almost.  At the main parking area I counted 9 cars.  That did not bode well for a peaceful soak.  But I walked the rest of the hike down to the river and pool.  Yep, it was packed.  But I found a corner for myself.  I realized a large group of people were college students on some sort of group trip.  They were quite entertaining to watch.  Several of them were on the outside of the hot pool, in the river, washing themselves with Dr Bronner’s.  One guy had to wash several times, only to fail the sniff test from his friends and have to go for another scrub.  I finally asked one of them where they were from.  She said “we’re a college group”. I said “yeah, that is obvious! From where?”  A guy said “We’re from New Hampshire!”  NO SHIT?!?! How funny.  Turns out it was an outing club trip from Dartmouth.  Nice kids.  They finally all left and I chatted with a few other groups of guys.  One was 3 guys who drove down from Alpine for mountain biking. Another was a group from Austin, who were also camping where I was.    When I’d finally had enough and the sun was well past setting, I got out and headed back. I realized the walk back to Rita in the pitch dark was not going to be fun.   The biking guys were in the parking area and I asked if the minded giving me a ride back to the RV parking area.  They were happy to do so, one even said there were mountain lions about and probably best that I wasn’t wandering around there in the dark.    I was so warm and happy from the great day I had.  I crept back out the dirt road (I dislike driving in the dark only slightly more than driving on dirt roads).  I managed to get to the campground and find my spot.  It was surprisingly NOT cold; I didn’t even need to start the heater. I made some food and crawled into bed, quite happy and excited to see where the heck I was in the morning.

I woke up early and it was pretty chilly.  But as soon as it was light, I was out and about, surveying my surroundings. Turns out I had the best spot – right across from the nature trail.  I ambled out there with my travel mug of tea, just for a look-see.  I ended up doing the entire 2-mile hike, up to the top of a lookout point.  Overlooking the Rio Grande River and anything on the other side of it was Mexico.  There were flat rock areas on the trail with smooth, sometimes very deep, holes – these were the mortar holes where ancient inhabitants of this land would grind their grains. There were a lot of them! I could imagine women with big sticks, looking out at this scenery, pulverizing their grain.   At the bottom of the trail, I went off toward the river, there were numerous paths, sandy and hard to walk on.  I finally got to the water’s edge and I was maybe 40 feet from Mexico! I could see a rough stick ‘dock’ on the other side, and there were tracks through the shallow water.  People were clearly crossing over. This would explain the mysterious little areas of very well priced handicrafts for sale on the path, with little cans for payment via the honor system.  I figured someone must cross over and plant their items and come back to collect the money later.  It was all fascinating to me.

When I finally got back to Rita, I decided to walk down to the visitor center.  There was wifi there, and zero cell service anywhere I’d been so far.  I had to at least tell my Mom I was OK, because you know how she worries.  It was a much farther walk than I thought, and I was kind of tired of walking, my back was starting to act up. At a picnic table I did some stretching, sent some messages, and then hobbled back to Rita.  I didn’t have to hurry  - my plan was to drive to the bike road, do the ride, which would only take a few hours and then drive back to the hot springs before too late.  I got my yoga mat down and did some stretching for my back.  Something went horribly wrong and I was not able to get up.  I was in sheer agony.  I figured I was just having a muscle spasm. I managed to find some of the muscle relaxers that can help with that. I took 2 and figured they’d kick in and in an hour or so I’d be good to go.   They did not kick in.  Normally, when I have a back issue, it manifests itself in the inability to go from lying to standing, or sitting at 90 degrees.  If I could get myself vertical, I could usually walk fine.  Not this time. I could barely get vertical and trying to walk was excruciating.  By around 3pm, I realized my day was not happening. I hoped maybe at least I’d be able to get to the hot springs. Definitely not. As I was lying, immobilized, I noticed what a gorgeous sunny day it was.  First one I’d seen in almost 2 weeks. That was depressing. I managed to get myself outside and lie flat on the picnic table at my site, which was cement and very low.  At least it was in the sun!

I was supposed to leave the next day and drive up as far as Alpine, TX.  I realized that might not be an option.  Late afternoon, I decided to shuffle my way down to the camp host. I figured someone should check on me in the morning to see if I was able to get up.   It took me about 20 pain-filled minutes to walk ¼ mile. Of course, when I got there, they were gone.  I borrowed paper from another camper and left them a note.  I said I’d hurt my back and I was supposed to leave in the morning. If they could check in one me around 9 am I would appreciate it.   The little walk (and probably all the ibuprofen I finally took, when I realized the muscle relaxers were not working) made me feel a little better.  It was sunset.  I decided to walk a little way up the nature trail again to catch part of the sunset.  It was very pretty, and I also got to meet Carmello.  He rides his horse across the river from Mexico, to sell his artwork on the trails.  We chatted in Spanish for a while, while I leaned on an informational sign and watched the sun set.  He said in the busier season, immigration will chase him off.  He didn’t seem too worried about it.  He lives in the town of Boquillas, where about 70 families live. There is a part of Big Bend where you can cross the border to Mexico either by wading or taking a small boat. Tourists go there to eat and buy souvenirs.  He said they do not get visitors from other parts of Mexico, just from the park.   I wished I had money on me to buy one of his walking sticks, but there was no way I was going to make it back to Rita and then walk back up there.  I bid him buenas noches and limped on back down to my campsite.  It was a sad night, I ate some more snacks that I could reach – as opening my fridge required bending and strength I didn’t have.  I was really bummed to have missed so much.   The camp host stopped by to see how I was.  He said if I wasn’t able to drive in the morning, they would be able to find me a spot to stay.

I realized I HAD to drive in the morning, because I was not simply having muscle spasms. I needed a chiropractor to put me back together.  My only hope was to get up to Alpine and try to find some help.  I took a lot of ibuprofen and went to sleep.  At least I had no pain lying down. Turning over was an impossibility though.  And don’t even get me started on going to the bathroom. Tears-in-my-eyes painful and damn near impossible.  I slept and woke up not any better. But I took 4 ibuprofen and forced myself to walk a bit and get Rita ready to roll.   The hosts came by and said they would hang around to make sure I could get in the driver’s seat and go.  I managed to pull it off.  I had to stop for a bit more diesel (that’s a whole ‘nother story…I didn’t get enough last time because it was highway robbery prices, so I figured I’d get just enough to get me there and back. Not realizing how big the park was and how much driving I was going to do).  Another fuel customer saw me hobbling out of the bus and said I looked like I needed help…I told him I was going to look for a chiropractor in Alpine.  He said the one there was very good.  That was encouraging.  I was not able to call, because, no cell service.  But I had looked up the address at the visitor center.

I drove straight to the only chiropractor in Alpine.  I called from the parking lot.  Unfortunately, they had no appointment until the next afternoon.  I took it. I knew I had no other choice.  I decided to go to a cute sounding 1950’s style diner a mile away. It shared a lot with a hotel and seemed like I would probably be able to park overnight, and get food at the diner.    My parents wisely convinced me to get a room in the hotel as well (it was a TraveLodge, nothing fancy).  It was going to be very cold that night and I was definitely not able to light my heater. Or cook.  Also, I really needed a shower, and using mine was definitely too labor intensive.  I managed to hobble my way into the diner and book a room (yes, the diner served as the hotel front desk, too. Weird).  I had some diner food and struck up a conversation with a nice man who was the custodian of the hotel.  He also put in some good words about the local chiropractor.  I was feeling hopeful.

I was able to get some work done and enjoyed cranking up the heater to almost 80.  I had a nice long, hot shower.  I really wanted to soak in a bath, but I didn’t think I’d be able to get down or up from the tub.  The things I had to do to get in and out of bed probably would’ve been really entertaining for someone not in pain to watch.   I stayed in bed and worked until I had to check out the next day.  It was really cold out; I was so grateful I had stayed in the hotel.   I had to do a little more work in Rita before my appointment.

I told Dr. Coggins my standard issues and what happened.  He checked out my hips from the back and immediately said 'even with the issues you described, this is incredibly wrong! I've never seen anything this off" then he checked my spine and said "Well that's wrong, that's wrong, this one too..." all the way down.  He did the heat and electrode stim thing, and then all the standard adjustments.  I felt like 70% better immediately! He was awesome.  Unfortunately, I had a 4 hour drive ahead of me, right after that...he told me to stop AT LEAST every hour to get out and walk around.  I took 4 advil and hit the road. It wasn't so bad; I was beyond happy at how much he'd helped me. I cruised on adrenaline and ibuprofen all the way up to El Paso.

The reason I had to get on up to El Paso is I had booked an Airbnb for 3 nights, because it was getting down into the 20s and well...hell nope. I had wanted to see a bunch of other places around the area, but when I realized what the weather was going to do, I said no way, I just need a nice warm place to hang out and work for 3 days. So, I had this place booked before I hurt my back - super lucky!!!

The Airbnb in El Paso was a beautifully decorated home in a fancy neighborhood - I got a very cushy room, my own fancy bathroom, great kitchen to use, washer and dryer – it was like paradise!  The owner made herself very scarce, I only met her very briefly- but she gave me a step stool so I could get into bed, and also a heating pad.  I was still in a lot of pain, but it improved every time I got up. I kept making sure to get up and move about and do some stretching. I was lucky that it coincided with a bunch of work, so I was able to just focus on that while taking care of myself.   I also needed to stock up on groceries - so  I had Sprouts deliver groceries, so I didn’t have to try to fit in or deal with a grocery shopping trip.  That was awesome!

When my time in the fancy house came to an end, I was headed just about 3 hours north into Silver City, New Mexico. I had 5 nights booked at a boondockers place just outside of the town. I was pretty excited to finally be exiting Texas! I think I was there almost a whole month.  Before I left, I checked in with a bunch of massage therapists in Silver City, and finally found one who was able to fit me in when I arrived in town the next day.  It felt like a pretty critical thing to do for my healing.

I was feeling super grateful for my DC-DC charger – to keep my batteries charged while driving.  I was in gloomy awful weather for over a week, I would have been dead without the drive charging!! I even hit float mode for the first time finally. I have an awful lot of battery power, it’s actually kind of hard to fill them up!  I have an app on my phone to watch the charger when I'm driving. Pretty cool.

Anyway, I realized this was the first time in my life that I had to deal with my back going out, all alone. To be honest, it was actually WAY better this way...no one else was mad or disappointed in me, and I was able to keep a mostly positive attitude and not get super upset throughout the whole ordeal.  And now I feel like I weathered one of the many scary situations I am likely to run into, and I SURVIVED IT!