We woke up anxious but rested at Union Grove Park and slowed ourselves down to enjoy a glorious cup of coffee while bird watching over looking the lake. It was the first night in a month that we didn't fall asleep to traffic noise. The site was across from our Thanksgiving site at Dana Peak Park. It was a cloudy morning and a hard and steady rain began as we departed.
Once settled in we continued northwest towards Lampasas, where we encountered major gravel that was supposed to have lasted 15 miles. NOT!! We drove a ways at 35 mph as cars/trucks blew past us, showering us and the Jeep with rocks. We thought for sure we were going to have to replace two windshields and a pair of Jeep headlights. Joy quickly looked at the map and found a less rocky alternate route. Somehow, no chips or cracks presented themselves. We had literally dodged several bullets. We've been told that these are the types of roads we may encounter along the Alaska highway and that I makes us a bit anxious.
Continuing on toward the San Saba cutoff we were flagged down by a passing pick up truck. We pulled over and found our clothesline rope that we had wrapped around the bicycles and their cover had come loose and was dragging behind us. A quick re-wrap and we were back on the road. We stopped for lunch and to pick up a couple of groceries and continued heading to Abilene State Park.
Kathy checked us in and was excited about the fish listed on the park map so we made plans to fish. The campsite was well wooded and a cardinal family nested right outside our door. We took our usual "check-out-the-park" walk and found a small group of yurts, a first for us.
We drove around the rest of the park and discovered a dry pool. We assumed that there was no water to fill it due to the drought but later learned it was simply being repaired. A historic water tower and observation deck constructed by the Civilian Conversation Corps with rust-colored sandstone overlooked the pool. The tower was locked but created a great climbing opportunity for Joy, who also enjoyed the playground monkey bars.
It stormed overnight but nothing too scary. The next morning we enjoyed coffee outside while watching Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal keeping their nest safe and feeding their babies.
We departed for our next stop, Caprock Canyons State Park, in separate vehicles where we would be spending two nights. We had things to do in Abilene and decided to divide and conquer. The drive through eclectic Buffalo Gap, TX was fun and we wished we had more time to stop and hang out for a bit. It has a historic area as well as tourist shops and artist boutiques that looked like fun. We drove through farmland - corn, winter wheat, and sorghum. The soil became a bright orange red, the color of clay that reminded Kathy of living in Georgia. Water lay atop it from the previous days of rain, showing how dry the land has become.
In Abilene, Kathy stopped at the U-Haul to fill the LP tank and Joy headed to the credit union to deposit a check. When she arrived at the credit union, she needed to use the restroom but was told it was being painted. She was told to use the restroom in the Grandy's restaurant next door. When she walked into the door she was greeted with a, "I know you" from a woman sitting at a table with four men. "You're Joy, Joy Nyberg!" Joy looked at the woman and recognized her as a co-worker from Del Valle High School, where Joy taught 12 years ago. What a small world! A quick exchange of contact information and Joy met Kathy to hook up and continue on.
When we arrived at the park we were greeted at the gate by the Texas Buffalo herd, three dozen or so of these great beasts roam freely throughout the park. We had no idea about the buffalo and were ecstatic to find them. We checked in and set up quickly. The views in the park were beyond awesome and Kathy announced that it was her new favorite Texas state park. Joy's cousin, who lives in nearby Childress, arrived with her daughter for dinner. It was a teary reunion after not seeing each other for 30 years. Dinner and sharing stories closed a fabulous day in new territory.
The drive to Dalhart was flat and presented an opportunity to see court houses of counties most Texans can't name. We got to the Xit Rodeo fairgrounds and camped for $15.00 for a full hookup. After parking and leveling we discovered that our steps were not working. We tried everything - including checking fuses. A call to our favorite master RV tech had Kathy crawling under the RV and making plans to buy a 12-volt tester the next morning. Luckily, our little step stool provided the perfect step down so we didn't miss the steps too much.
The morning breakdown was easy and we had a feeling that once we pulled out of the site our steps would magically start working. We were right. A quick drive to the post office to mail legal documents to Mom and we were back on the road, Pueblo bound. After five days of traveling we were finally going to get out of Texas - maybe for guuuud!
