Fri 17 March
Van Horn RV park wasn't such a bad place, but in the morning it was severely cold. Miserably cold. The wind had shifted to the east--odd, for Texas--and it just stripped the heat out of us. Since we'd lost an hour, I set my alarm forward by about 20 minutes, to 6:50, and for the first time this week the alarm woke me up before I did. I only snoozed twice, mainly to give Ed time to get out of my way and to have his first cup of coffee before we walked dogs.
With all that early arising, we only beat the departure time for the day before by two minutes. 9:32 instead of 9:34. How is that possible?
I dunno, but it's typical. Our typical "quick" departure is at 9:30, our typical "lazy" departure 10:30 although we've been known to leave as late as eleven. But there was no particular rush--we only had a four-hour drive. Which, incidentally, took the whole four hours and then some more. There were a lot of slow uphills in the first leg, and then a huge, 15-minute slowdown around Midland.
We'd considered just driving straight though to home, but only if the weather forecast had called for icing. At Van Horn the Friday night forecast had a chance of a "wintry mix". But our destination, Lake Colorado City State Park, did not. It wasn't supposed to get lower than 36 degrees and there was no chance of precipitation. So there would have been no reason for the misery of subjecting ourselves to a 9-hour drive for no good reason.
Our site
Colorado City is a nice but typically boring Texas park built around a reservoir. The reservoirs in this part of the state are all extremely low right now. During our walk, Molly and I went to the boat ramp, which was closed due to lake levels. However, there appeared to be two boat ramps out there and one of them looked usable to me. Not that we walked down to see.
This park is only memorable for all the ground squirrels. There are holes all over the campground and nearly all appear to be occupied. Molly thought so, at least. I don't think she's seen one yet although both Ed and I have.
One thrasher in the tree by our site serenaded us when we arrived. Best I can conclude is that it was a Sage Thrasher. If it was a Curve-Billed Thrasher, it was a juvenile and I can't believe that since it's only mid-March and it was singing very well.
Ground squirrel hole
Also saw a robin, a woodpecker that was probably a Ladder-Backed Woodpecker, a yellow-rumped warbler, some white-crowned sparrows, two White Pelicans soaring overhead, and cardinals, of course.
I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out this daylight savings time thing. It's 7:17 pm now and still very light outside, but so very sharply cold that I don't care to be out there. Yesterday I took Molly for her evening walk at about eight o'clock, and it was still light outside when we returned. I'll probably do the same thing today.
Sat 18 March 2023
Return day. Nothing to say--remarkably uneventful. A little long, at over five hours.
And home.
TRIP NOTES
1. A 6-hour trip starting out is acceptable, provided it's on interstate highways or other easy roads and the camping spot is easy access. Monahans Sandhills worked very well.
2. Bob's Red Mill Oatmeal, blueberry-hazelnut, is awesome. The single-serve packaging is a little wasteful, but at least it's all cardboard with just a single round of plastic wrap at the top. I tried another brand last time--Pure Elizabeth--and it tasted okay but the container was coated with plastic. Also the oatmeal exploded in the microwave but I think that was because I didn't follow instructions.
3. The salmon salad, on the mini wraps with baby spinach leaflets, was excellent. Also the homemade hummus on snack mix (Ghihiradelli brand.) But watch the candy next time.
4. All these places are great: Monahans Sandhills State park; Rusty's RV Ranch; Picacho Peak State Park; Rockhound State Park. Go back. Go back!
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