Traveling from Marianna, FL to Las Cruces, NM, part III: traveling across Texas

Marianna to Las Cruces. Part III: 

traveling through Texas

We made our way across most of Texas with just overnight stops hoping to get to Big Bend NP for the last few days before we were due in Las Cruces, NM for our next build. 

Our first stop was at Lake Livingston, a 90,000 acre reservoir and water source for Houston. It is in an area of Texas locally referred to as “the big thicket” due to its impenetrable yaupon and hawthorn thickets. There were tons of birds on the water, and I marveled at their numbers coming and going.

White pelicans, double-breasted cormorants and more.

pelicans getting ready to land

Our next night was in Waco where we visited our good friends, Bill and Joyce Green. They have been on a health kick since we saw them last year including working with a personal trainer and they both looked simply mahvahlous!

We had dinner at a BBQ place and it was amazingly delicious. It was the best BBQ I'd ever eaten. I learned that you have to ask for the “burned bits and ends” which usually aren't listed on the menu as an option, but for those in the know, they are the moistest, tastiest bit of the meat. A true revelation for me.

The ovens where the magic happens

The white board chart they use to keep track of the meat in the ovens.

The next day we made it to San Angelo and camped at the State Park there.  Just in case anyone was wondering, we have left the verdant, lush greenery behind (along with the humidity) and are now definitely in the arid desert.  It's not like there's no green, but the plants have clearly adapted to survive in a very dry climate where they must fight to get and then preserve every drop of moisture possible. 

The contrast may make the flowers seem even more beautiful. 

a lone blossom in amongst the spines of a prickly pear cactus

I saw this guy while I was on a walk. And yes, this is a jack rabbit (not like the little bunnies we see in VT). Just look at those ears and legs!  The ears are another adaptation to the climate. The extra surface area of the ears helps them to regulate their internal temperature. 

He was perfectly happy tootling along until he heard the shutter of my camera…

He wasn't so sure what it was, but he knew he didn't want to find out. Haha

Later I saw this sage thrasher who was just singing his little heart out.

And as I got back closer to the trailer,  i came upon a herd of eleven or so deer grazing in this grass.

It must have been the golden hour because everything just shimmered in the light, the grasses, the deer. It was magical. 

a pic from our campsite the next morning 

our campsite 


Next stop; Big Bend NP revisited, 2025



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