The Stars At Night Are Big and Bright...Especially in West Texas!

     I love Spring Break and true to fashion we used the week to get out of town while our great city plays host to music lovers from around the world. We broke the drive into 2 legs stopping for the night in Fort Stockton. An interesting little town with a few motels and a Walmart. Which was nice considering we forgot a few things. We actually made 3 trips to Wally-World, so many that the guys outside selling hand carved crosses knew us by name. And what is the deal with RV's camping for the night in the Walmart parking lot? Seriously there were a dozen or so all set up like it was an RV park? Strange indeed..Ate dinner at the local K-Bobs had not eaten there since I was 7 and they had a salad bar in an old bath tub. It was ok, at least they had pickled beets! And that night Caleb got to watch his first SNL, the first of many firsts in a cheap motel (bad joke I know but funny.)
     The next morning we were off! Not 20 minutes into our drive we saw Ruby's doppleganger! It was the exact model and color of Ruby. We screamed and waved. I got to drive the 2nd day which is a rarity since Paco always drives. It was the best part of the trip. Seeing the mountains looming in the background and watching them get closer was a beautiful sight. We first passed thru the town of Balmorhea where we would stay our last night. Such a cute, old West Texas town with a lovely canal flowing thru the middle of it. I made a mental note of a mexican dive for later in the trip.
     Then it was up and up and up to the Davis Mountains. We stepped out at the park entrance and were almost blown over by the chilly wind. No fires, burn ban and for good reason. Hmmm...this would be our first trip with no campfire, glad we packed the stove. Ruby got popped up in no time. Along the road was a bird viewing area and within minutes the boys were rattling off names while I basked in the sun. Then we took a short 5 mile hike up the Montezuma trail, named after the Montezuma quail which had not made an appearance yet this season. The trail was straight up for a while and we took our time. Billy goat Caleb was at the top in no time. The trail curved and came back around the old Indian Lodge which was quaint.
     The time change worked out great and gave us more time to be outside but it got cold very quickly the first night. Paco whipped us up some pasta with Gran Rosie's homemade marinara sauce and we were quickly inside Ruby for the night. This was a first for us because we usually only use Ruby to sleep in and I was hoping we wouldn't feel trapped. The evenings spent inside Ruby were probably one of my favorite parts of the trip. We had plenty of room with the couch, chairs and table. Paco was teaching the boy poker and I was playing DJ on the Ipad. Things got silly and we laughed so much that Ruby was a rocking. I love how we as a family make the best of any situation and always have a good time together. Later that night after the boy had gone to sleep Paco and I went outside and marveled at the night sky. So bright it felt like the stars could be hand plucked from the sky.
     I packed extra blankets thinking it might be a bit chilly and am so glad I did because it got REALLY cold that first night. So cold that when I went to boil some water for my coffee the water in our jugs was frozen solid, even the water in Ruby was frozen! But luckily it warmed up fast. I grabbed my mug and the boy and I took off for the bird blind where I listened to his vast knowledge of birds and marveled at what an amazing and brilliant kid he is (hey I can say that I am his mom.) His knowledge of birds is immense, thanks to Paco and it is fun to hear him rattle off facts. *All birds to be listed later in the comments section.
     Later after some oatmeal we took off for our big hike, the 9 mile trek to the overlook. The boy led the way and the hours and miles flew. The views were breathtaking! I got inspired to resume work on our cactus garden at home. Hiking with my boys makes my heart happy and grateful. We crossed paths with a troop of boy scouts who were litter bugs! I wish I could have made their trash stick to their butts like a children's book I read once. Fueled with cliff bars we headed down the old CCC trail and we back to the camp by afternoon.
     Our legs were weary and we lazed the afternoon away. We did manage to make one more trip to the bird blind where Paco ran into an old birding friend who now lives in California. The cottonwood trees along the creek were immense! The wind began to die down and temperatures began to dip quickly. Another night of pasta, although we caught hints of someone barbecuing and wanted their dinner instead! We hunkered down quickly for the night again in Ruby. It was a little more tame but still a fun time was had by all. Thankfully the temperature did not drop as low.
     Not sure if it was the time change or the long hike but we all slept in a little more than usual. No frozen water this time. The boy and I hit the bird blind one last time with high hopes of seeing the Montezuma quail but no luck. I made some pretty perfect camp cakes, the boy's term for pancakes and we packed up quickly.
     We saw Fort Davis from a distance on our hike and the boy and Paco really wanted to check it out. I requested multiple times that I wanted to go to Marfa but they ignored me. The Fort was crowded with tourists so we did the drive by. Then it was off to Balmorhea for the night.
     Along the two lane road were some smaller hills. I was staring off into the hills daydreaming when I  spotted some desert big horn sheep. They were splendid, just leaping up the rocky hillside. Balmorhea is a quaint, tiny town with a stream or canal running the length of the entire main street. Just outside the town Paco spotted some rare lark buntings, apparently these were a big deal. We stopped at the only convenience store and the boy spotted some kids from my school. I didn't believe him but sure enough there were indeed some kiddos. I was amazed, way out in a tiny West Texas town!
      The boy was anxious to get to the pool, the largest spring fed pool in the world! We were also camping here for our last night. After checking in and pulling into our spot for the it was changing time. My good mood was slowly dissipating as I pulled out the swimsuit. Why, oh why had I said that it would be so cool for us all to jump in the water together. I despise cold water and have been known to go days without bathing if there is no hot water. It would have been tolerable if the outside temperature was warm but it was maybe 60 degrees with a strong north wind. I was grouchy but determined to keep my word so we lined up on the side and handed a stranger my phone to take a picture. 1,2,3, Jump! It was not that bad at all, in fact the water temperature stays between 70 and 75 degrees year round. I was pleasantly surprised. AND there were fish everywhere! The boy swam with goggles and dove down to get a closer look. Some parts of the spring reached 25 feet in depth. It was very beautiful but I got cold and exited the water. In addition to the pool there was also a ginormous cottonwood tree that was home to a great horned owl who was just hanging out watching everyone. 
     After swimming we wandered around the campground exploring the various canal walkways and cienegas. The boy spotted some soft shelled turtles hanging out on the bank that were as big as Luling thumpers! We also observed some ring billed duck, hooded mergansers and scaup. By then our stomachs were growling so we headed back into Balmorhea for dinner.
     There was only one restaurant in town besides the convenience store, a mexican place that was in a large pink house. We have the best luck with local dives and our streak continues. This place was delicious and we left with full bellies.
     Our last night in Ruby was uneventful but we still played cards. I was finally beating Paco in gin. We were wind blown and a little sunburned so we crashed early. The next morning we decided to skip breakfast and hit the road. The journey home was quick and Paco drove the entire way. I finished a book and climbed into the back to harass the boy. In Fort Stockton we met the driver of a Vanaru, a converted Volkswagon with a Subaru engine. It was impressive and we spent a few minutes marveling at each others vw...
     Ruby you have filled us with such memories! You have been the best financial decision our family has ever made. The boy recently turned 12 and reminded us nonchalantly that he only had 6 more years at home with us. I foresee many more trips and many more miles to go before you sleep..xo mama rosa

Ruby's Maiden Voyage

     Well as you can imagine I wanted to drive Ruby everywhere and all the time. But she did already have 82,000 miles on her and has Paco gently reminded me she was an investment. Even though we took her to the best Volkwagen repair ship in Austin, Vee-Dub, and she got a clean bill of health. In fact they said that she was one of the best, BEST and CLEANEST Eurovans they had ever seen! So I drove her a few times to school and that was it.
     Fast forward a month and it was full on Christmas Season! Our original plans fell thru and so we were luckily in Austin. But I had a bad itch to go somewhere and asked Paco to plan our first camping getaway in Mi Rubi (her Spanish name.) We couldn't got too far because we only had two days. I manically began sorting our camping gear and making lists (which I need to write about because everyone should have an essential camping list!) Without a list I did a pretty good job, even Paco was impressed. Then we headed to our neighborhood Wally World to pick up some grub; it's just not a camping trip without Nathan's Dogs. I also had to get the boy some new long underwear for his ever growing limbs. It did feel weird buying our camping staples in the winter.
     The next day early afternoon we were off. We decided that the maiden voyage would be sans girls, Juno and Sassy (our dogs) so we could work out all of the kinks (this was a very good decision as you'll soon read about.)  So with me at the wheel in my giant shades and birkenstocks we took off listening to James Taylor on our cassette player. How cool is that a cassette player! I had to order cassettes off of ebay and got some random tapes. Need to add that to the list..
     She rode like a dream. If you have never driven a Eurovan or been a passenger in the front "co-captain" chair then you are missing out. I feel like I am king, well queen of the road. The boy was spread out in the back with a book and Paco was able unwind from his last minute work projects.
     The drive was about 2 hours. Once we got onto the back roads the scenery was refreshing. Recent rains had made the fields lush with winter grasses and lots of cows basking in the sunshine. We could not have had more perfect weather. One of the roads (if Paco was typing this he would be inclined to specifically name all the roads) had an old railroad track bridge/tunnel thing that I might have gone a little too fast thru but it was all good.
     The park was called Lake Somerville, the Birch Creek Unit. As we rolled to the park headquarters we noticed it looked rather empty. We pretty much had our pick of sites. Our Texas State Parks are facing major budget cuts-really sad..We did our part by purchasing a state park pass. The park manager, John was super kind and helped us on our way.
     Maybe 30 minutes!! It took us maybe 30 minutes to set up our Ruby for camping and mind you that was our very first time to set her all up so really it will probably take us max 15 minutes. We popped her up, pulled out the camping chairs and laid out the bed and PRESTO! We were DONE. Now usually when we camp with the tent it takes us about an hour to get everything set up.
     After arranging our chairs around the fire ring and buying some wood we walked down to the lake, well what was left of the lake. Surprisingly it was quite beautiful in a rustic, wintery way. There were these sections along the beach of tall reeds where we observed hundreds of red-wing blackbirds diving in for the night. We then caught a beautiful sunset and headed back to make a huge fire. (Paco and the boys favorite part of the night!)
     The dogs were yummy but not burnt the way I like them (remember to add tongs to the master list). We were just chilling around the fire watching the night sky slowly fill up with stars when we heard a crunchy sound. We turned to look and low and behold there was a fat (really obese) raccoon stealing our Cheetos. He or she didn't even care that we were staring they just kept stuffing their face. Finally Paco yelled and it slowly sauntered off (mind you that pig came back three more times thru the night!)
     Two dogs and countless other "crap" food later the boy was ready to retire. We sent him up to his perch and he was out. I managed to hang a little longer with Paco where we drank and reflected on the past year. Then I went to bed-downstairs. So much more comfortable then a tent even a tent with an air mattress. Paco tucked and kissed and watched Fatty come back fo rme before he finally retired.
     Ruby has curtains-isn't that cute! We closed them but one side was missing a panel so the morning sun slowly woke us up. Usually when we are camping we are far from home and always on some kind of plan or agenda. This trip there was no plan or agenda and it was heaven! We slowly woke up. I had coffee and made the boy hot cocoa. Later I burned some oatmeal~just made it more campy tasting :)..Then we hung around the reclaimed fire and I crocheted, the boy explored and Paco pondered. It was divine!
*A little gripe* These massive rv's spend hours setting up including their satellites and then they stay inside the RV almost the whole time! What is the point of camping?? Ok I am done..
     Once it warmed up we decided to go for a hike. Nowhere in particular just hike along stop and see the birds (ok so Paco is a HUGE birder and quite the expert) he will see this and make me go back and write each species we saw like the tit mouse, cardinal, more to come I'm sure..We hiked past the park office and then into another area of the park that was deserted. We were in one part where there was tall dried grasses and I heard a shuffling. I looked and saw what I thought were deer at first but then I thought they seemed rather short for deer and realized they were hogs; feral hogs about 10 yards ahead of us! Paco told us to quietly start walking back when one of the hogs at the end of the procession stopped and stared directly at us. This is where I thought I was so thankful that we did not have Juno or Sassy with us. Kind of cool and scary at the same time. Later when we told John about the hogs he informed us that the park would be having a public hunt next weekend.
     On the return hike we decided to walk along the shore. It was full of empty clam shells and other treasures for 10 year old boys. The boy stripped down to his boxers as it got surprisingly warm. I found a beautiful piece of driftwood and got my arm workout carrying it for a while. We went to the corner store by the park entrance to get more wood and matches (ahem..opps I forgot that in my packing) and settled in for our last huge fire.

     The best part of camping to me besides the beautiful scenery is the time I get to spend with my family with no distractions. Just talking, sharing and laughing. We even had a very important talk with the boy about important life stuff.  Our last night we also made a pact to try to hit every Texas State Park within the next two years! And so begins our Journey..Hope you will follow us and be inspired to get out there yourselves..