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
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| We stayed at the historic Gage Hotel |
in the beautiful courtyard area
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| 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
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Next stop the Limpia Hotel in Ft. Davis (Can you spot hubby relaxing?) |
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| Our room was so elegant |
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| Such a charming hotel |
Next we took a drive in the Davis Mountains
and visited the McDonald Observatory
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| 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
We eventually came to the check in station
and entered Big Bend National Park
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| 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
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| View from our lodge room balcony |
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| Century plant |
 The "Window" is a spectacular view from the Lodge |
The following day we took a guided tour
and learned so much more about this amazing area
of Texas
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| Our border Texas this side of the river Mexico in the back ground |
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| 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 |
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| We hiked down to the floor of the canyon |
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| Watch for bears! We did!....... and we saw three bears while hiking in the area of our lodge!! |
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| Remains of a primitive home in the park |
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| 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  |
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| Can you see the pink tint on this cacti |
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| Blooms of the giant dagger yucca with Casa Grande in the background
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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
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| 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.
...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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