Thursday, May 25, 2017

Road trip......

2017 is going to be a year of travel for 
Hubby and I

We have many trips planned
some big, some small

We started off with a road trip
to west Texas

Our first destination 
MARATHON, TEXAS

We stayed at the historic Gage Hotel

in the beautiful courtyard area




We had an amazing dinner at the 12 Gage Restaurant


Marathon was once a thriving stagecoach town.  These days people only come here for one thing....
The Gage Hotel
Good thing it's so fabulous!!

   
Next morning we hit the road 
soaking up more of the beautiful scenery on our way
to Fort Davis



We stopped in Marfa for lunch







Next stop the Limpia Hotel in Ft. Davis

(Can you spot hubby relaxing?)



Our room was so elegant




Such a charming hotel



Next we took a drive in the Davis Mountains
and visited the McDonald Observatory




McDonald Observatory




Morning came and we were ready 
to head down into BIG BEND!

We picked up FM 170 and drove the River Road
which runs along the Rio Grande
It's said to be one of the most scenic drives in the Country



Starting in Presidio, where we took a wrong turn
and almost headed into Mexico!!

We quickly took a U-turn and began our beautiful tour

Then on to Lajitas
where we stopped for lunch at the beautiful golf resort




Continuing our drive we passed through the small town of  Terlingua (Chili Cook off capital)

  We eventually came to the check in station 
and entered Big Bend National Park
No, this is not a postcard, I actually captured this amazing picture with my I-phone!


Destination - Chisos Mountain Lodge




The lodge sit's in the basin of the Chisos Mountains which are the only mountain range totally contained within a National Park

The altitude here reaches above 7,000 feet in some areas


Views from the Lodge




View from our lodge room balcony


Century plant 






The "Window" is a spectacular view from the Lodge


and stunning at sunset




The following day we took a guided tour
and learned so much more about this amazing area
of Texas


Our border
Texas this side of the river

Mexico in the back ground


Santa Elena Canyon

Santa Elena is the most spectacular canyon in the national park, 
formed as the Rio Grande cuts through the 1,200 foot cliffs of Sierra Ponce
We hiked down to the floor of the canyon
Watch for bears!
We did!....... and we saw three bears while hiking in the
area of our lodge!!








Remains of a primitive home in the park 




My favorite desert plant
the ocotillo grows along the Rio Grande

Our guide told us this plant knows when it's going to rain.
Before the rain it will grow tiny leaves along it's spiny canes
to capture the moisture.
When the rain stops it will drop it's leaves until the next rain.


I fell in love with the beautiful plant life in the desert


Agave in bloom


Can you see the pink tint on this cacti



Blooms of the giant dagger yucca
with Casa Grande in the background




Cholla with it's rosy blossoms


As a 6th generation Texan I have a special love and take pride in this great state.  I've traveled over most of it and always thought the hill country was my favorite......that's until I discovered west Texas.

The mountains and the incredible desert with it's varied Eco System have truly captured my heart!





So with a full but somewhat heavy heart 
we made our way out of Big Bend National Park 
and headed to our last stop on our travels

ALPINE

We stayed at the grand, historic hotel- the Holland
Alpine is a quirky little artsy town

We visited the Museum of Big Bend
at Sul Ross State University

What a great place to learn even more about this unique area

Our last evening we had dinner at the Reata Resturant
 just a short walk from our hotel


It was the perfect ending to our road trip to west Texas

Hubby and I love to travel and we will add this adventure
to the memories we've made over 43 years of marriage !



All together we traveled 1,500 + miles on this trip
and loved every moment of it.


Every Little Birdie says
Good bye west Texas and onto our next trip-
...the beach at Rockport, Texas
with my children and granddaughter 
(missing one grand but will see him middle of June
at his graduation from boot camp at Ft. Sill, OK) 

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