SW16: Goodbye TX, Hello LA

Bird's Eye View

Not a lot to choose from in these two driving days, but here's a cute Wild Turkey who thinks he's an Alligator:

Day 35: March 11

It rained again last night, but the morning looked good for a day of driving. We headed towards Choke Canyon State Park. It was a long drive and featured these observations:

• BBQ from Cowboy's BBQ Station in Alice
• lots of Blue Bonnets in the ditches

• a series of billboards: Homemade Kitchen; Monster Burger; Tire Service (as in spare tire from eating the Monster Burger?)
• “New Wine Worship Center”
• Valero Refinery in Three Rivers (with a Shell station across the road)

We checked in to Choke Canyon State Park (near Three Rivers). It's a fishing park (and a catching park since the cleaning tables were busy). We rode our bikes everywhere and saw the Turkeys, some waterfowl, and returned to five deer in our backyard (I find the first picture hysterical: she's pooping!).

Here's the view from my chair in campsite 113 ($22 E/W):

Day 36: March 12

Time to try Brazos Bend State Park again, so off we went.

As we passed a Federal Prison, I noted that the first track trap we've seen since noon yesterday was for the prison! We're long past Mexico now.

Highway 59N (we drove two “N” highways today, so I guess we're officially heading home) is a nice drive through small Texas towns, with notable billboards:

• Berclair Ranch: Where President Bush Hunts
• Victoria's HUGE Sheriff's building with three Bail Bonds Offices across the road
• FullAutoFirearms.com
• “Eat, Fuel, Flush” (for a truck stop and restaurant)

As we joined the lineup to enter Brazos Bend, we weren't optimistic since we had no reservations and it was the first Saturday of Spring Break! And yes, there was no room for us. Though disappointed for a few minutes, until we realized the park was FULL of families and lots of kids. Not our favourite way to camp. So we decided to head to Louisiana.

That meant Houston! It was a fairly decent passage through this big city, somewhat slowed by traffic for Spring Break, a Gun Show and a Rodeo. But we survived and hoped to stay at the Welcome Centre in LA.

As was our luck for the day, it was closed for renovation, so we drove farther until the Sulphur Walmart. It was safe, reasonably quiet and looked like all Walmarts, so no view from my chair!