Texas Loop - April 2023
On my way towards Texas, my first stop is at Flagler Beach, Florida where I parked the van near the beach and had a great time photographing some shore birds that were enjoying the beautiful day.
The next morning I make my westerly turn on I-10 and visit the Camp Milton Historic Preserve, the first of many Civil War historical locations that I hope to visit on my adventures.
The next stop is about 2 hours further west, and the Florida State Capital in Tallahassee. I was lucky to visit while both the House and Senate were in session which I was able to watch, the first time I’ve witnesses our state government in action. While I’m fully aware of how important our state government is, this is certainly not a job that I would want!
I go from staying in the busy capital city of Tallahassee to the solitude of a primitive camping spot where not a sound can be heard, the Blackwater River State Forest. Instead of staying (and paying) at the state park next door, I use the iOverlander app to find a free camping spot about 1 mile away, on the river.
Another experience of meeting inspiring people on the road, a family of four from France/Switzerland parked next to me in their Class C. They have been travelling the USA, Mexico, and Guatemala for the past nine months in their one year travel journey. We shared some beers, told stories, and enjoyed chatting until the sun had set and it was time to call it another beautiful day.
The next morning, I go to the campground next door to dump my RV tanks and fill up my fresh water tank. After doing this, I’m set for several more days. I then drive less than two hours to the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile, Alabama. This was a very cool experience touring the 1940 built WWII battleship, as well as the submarine USS Drum which was launched in 1941 and destroyed six enemy warships.
I wake up in the Cracker Barrel parking lot in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and head to Planet Fitness for a quick run on the treadmill before heading for the historic downtown area of this beautiful little town.
One of my favorite things to pursue in my travels are quirky little things that are out of the tourist mainstream, like this little back alleyway of art, the Hattiesburg Pocket Museum. If you don’t look closely, you’ll miss the smallest pieces of art in the display.
I start my voyage north towards Shreveport, Louisiana, but can’t resist the temptation to take a side trip to a little Mississippi town called… Hot Coffee, Mississippi.
The community was established at the crossroads of two popular travel routes: the north–south Jackson’s Military Rd, and the east–west Natchez to Fort St. Stephens Wagon Road. An inn was built, and in 1870, L.J. Davis built a store and hung a coffee pot over his door, advertising "the best hot coffee around". His coffee was made from spring water and New Orleans beans, and molasses drippings for sweetener. He never served cream with his coffee, believing it ruined the taste. Local politicians would visit Davis' store and buy coffee for constituents and passing travelers. The popularity of Davis' coffee led to the name of the community
I’m greeted in the little country store by a life-long resident of Hot Coffee who tells me a little about the history of this little town, and how she used to get all of her childhood clothes from the exact store that we were standing in. For a small little country store, it had quite the stock of toilete seats for some reason.
I make it to Fort Worth, Texas and settle in at the Stockyards. The Fort Worth Stockyards celebrates Fort Worth's long tradition as a part of the cattle industry and was listed on the National Register as a historical district in 1976. Twice a day a herd of texas longhorn cattle are walked down the main street, bringing the old west back to life.
I definitely felt like I was brought back to the Wild West at the Stockyards. I spent about an hour walking through the John Wayne museum.
A request from Jerry Lewis asking John Wayne to attend the Muscular Dystrophy annual telethon in 1961.
These bags all contain fan mail that John Wayne received during the last days of his life but was unable to open due to his illness. They haven’t been opened to this day.
I make a visit to the Texas Motor Speedway, one of the most impressive tracks on the Nascar circuit. The highlight was getting to ride a couple of laps around the track in a dressed out Camaro.
Standing in victory lane with the Camaro that I rode around the track in.
Big Hoss, the speedway’s jumbo HD display, at a size of 218ft x 95ft. This makes it the world’s largest sporting venue video board.
I arrive at my cousin’s house in Fort Worth to visit with their family including my 90 year old Aunt Wanda. It was a very enjoyable couple of days spent with family that I haven’t seen in many years. Without the van, this visit likely wouldn’t happen. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner cooked by my cousin’s wife (hot chicken salad!), and the following evening my aunt bought some of the best barbeque I’ve ever had. Texas knows their barbeque.
I depart on Friday morning and begin my turn to the south towards Austin and visit my second state capitol of the trip, this time in Austin, Texas, and the historic Texas capitol building build in 1888. The temperature is around 90 degrees on this day that I tour the capitol building.
After spending a couple of hours at the Capitol building, I continue south to New Braunfels, Texas to visit a friend and coworker who are having a spectacular new house built.
We enjoy a couple of beers at the Muck & Fuss restaurant
We visit Canyon Lake in New Braunfels
And their family dog chills out when we get back to the house.
And the beautiful Guadalupe River, popular for recreation activities like camping, kayaking and tubing.
I then drive around 30 minutes further south to San Antonio and visit The Alamo, location of the 1836 Battle of the Alamo, a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution.
I take a walk on the beautiful Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio.
I really enjoyed seeing the beautiful artwork around the beautiful city.
On Sunday I drive straight through Houston and into the bayou of Louisiana in the little town of Creole, where the van and I first take a ferry ride across the water in the town of Cameron.
I then arrive at Rutherford Beach, an amazing free boondocking spot where I can choose any spot on the beach to park for a couple of nights.
When I wake up around 6AM and hear the soothing ocean waves, I realize how fortunate I am to be experiencing these places around our beautiful country, and it’s overwhelming to realize that the adventures like this are just beginning.
Monday morning view on Rutherford Beach
Oil rig off the shore of Rutherford Beach, Louisiana
Shore birds enjoying the beautiful new day
The sun finally comes out as a few pelicans glide through
This little sandpiper entertained me for several minutes as she wanted to see how close she could get to me.
An amazing variety of shorebirds to photograph on Rutherford Beach on this day.
I don’t believe I’ve ever taken a photo of one of these beautiful birds, the American Avocet.
Hundreds of pelicans around Rutherford Beach today.
After spending two nights relaxing at Rutherford Beach in Louisiana, I make a five hour drive on I-10 and I-12 to Guatier, Mississippi and stay at my first Harvest Host location of the trip. The Hideaway Bar at the Sioux Bayou is a small campground and dive bar with friendly people.
Since food was not served at this bar, I decided to take my bike for a two mile ride to Killer Crab seafood restaurant.
I had my first ever soft shell crab poboy, and it was awesome!
One of the most incredibly decorated Bass Pro Shops that I’ve ever seen
I look for some locak BBQ and luckily found Moe’s Original Bar B Que
That afternoon I only drive about one hour to Mobile Alabama and spend the night in a Bass Pro Shops parking lot.
and experience the very best brisket that I’ve ever had
With a goal the next day of making it to Jacksonville, I make one final stop at Florida Caverns State Park in Marianna, Florida and had luckily stopped just minutes before one of the cave tours being given during the day.
This concluded my first post-retirement adventure, a total of around 3,200 miles to Fort Worth & San Antonio Texas, visited relatives and friends, and experienced several unique locations along the way. The van performed flawlessly throughout the entire trip and it’s time to start planning the next voyage!
