Glamping Days

I'm staying by San Marcos, TX, for a few days, because it's central to several people I'd hoped to visit in the area.  Today, I had a lovely visit with my brother-in-law & his wife. We took a short hike in Lockhart State Park up to this viewpoint.                                                   On the way to & from going to meet them for lunch, I snapped these pics of some interesting buildings in New Braunfels. The first one was taken from the car, but while I was stopped at a light.  

As I pulled out of the campground this morning, the peahen was having her breakfast.  The first pic is by the campground at Caverns of Sonora, near Sonora, Texas, on the western edge of the Hill Country. The next pic was taken a bit further east off of I-10.  I arrived late this afternoon at Pecan Park Riverside RV Park near San Marcos, TX, where I'll be for 5 nights. 

The west Texas landscape is so brown & boring this time of year that today's drive made me yearn for these bougainvilleas back in AZ. This is typical west Texas.  Not sure that it comes through in these pics, but this county-sponsored rest area along I-10 was beautifully done & so well integrated into the surrounding landscape.  This fella is the welcoming committee at the campground at the Caverns of Sonora near Sonora Texas, my home for the night. The live oak trees here indicate that I've entered the Texas Hill Country - it's beautiful & quiet here.  

After enjoying the sunrise, I hated leaving the cranes this morning.   There were about 50 billboards for this place in NM making me think that it was a big roadside attraction like South of the Border. It was time to stretch my legs, so I did go in, but it's just a big store for tourists.  El Paso is 30 miles of dilapidated sprawl where the traffic often crawls along on I-10. The east end of town is just east of Juarez, Mexico, & the smog from across the border was very thick over the city today. It's a reminder of what a great job we have done here cleaning up our air pollution.  The scenery in West Texas is really boring. The first pic was taken while I was in line at the border patrol station on I-10 east of El Paso, & the second one is from my campsite in Van Horn, TX. 

Though not a birder, this stop to see the sandhill cranes has become a highlight of my winter trips to the southwest. One of the biggest concentrations is by Willcox, which is conveniently located right off of I-10.  Here are a few shots I took in town while the cranes were out feeding in the morning, & I was doing laundry.     While the cranes are out feeding in the morning, there are still a variety of other water birds to watch.  Before one can see the cranes returning, one can hear them far off; then they come in waves.  It's impossible to really capture with a pic taken with a phone, but their landing technique is fun to watch.  The pond becomes serene for bit in mid-afternoon after they all return from feeding in the morning & before they fly out again to feed in the evening.  I just love these guys!

It's been a glorious 8 days at Dome Rock with friends & warm sunshine, topped off by a beautiful sunrise this morning.  This is typical Sonoran desert in south central AZ. The extra rainfall this winter is producing more early spring flowers.  After driving about 330 miles, these fellas greeted me as I arrived at Willcox this afternoon; my timing was perfect to watch the sandhill cranes take off for their evening feeding.