We drove to Dallas from Balmorhea, about an 8 hour drive. It was long and hot and we were ready to be there. My Aunt Donna and Uncle David have lived in Dallas for many years and we were so happy to be able to visit them. Aunt Donna made us a delicious dinner, which we all enjoyed, and played games with the girls and toys with Samuel. My cousin Julie's husband and her 3 sons came over later to visit. Unfortuantely, Julie and her daughter Anna were sick and couldn't come.
It was nice to be able to sleep in a real bed and use a real bathroom! The guys were relieved not to have to set the tent up, and it was a nice respite for all of us. The pics are still on the camera and I will upload them in the next day or two.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Balmorhea State Park
Balmorhea State Park was very unusual. All of the sudden, in the middle of the flat Texas landscape, there arose a small village of small buildings, and that was the state park. It was home to a 3.5 million gallon freshwater spring which they had built into a pool. It was HUGE! The kids literally swam all day and climbed up and down the diving board. Sam jumped off the low diving board and begged to be able to jump off the high dive! There were big fish in the bottom of the spring- I did not care to see them or hear about them! All I saw were the little minnows swimming near the top. The water was so refreshing- a cool 72 degrees- enough to really cool you off, but not too cool that you couldn't get in.
Paul took me out to dinner this night to a local tex-mex restaurant. It was so good- we enjoyed it very much, and enjoyed the time away.New Mexico Camping
The campsite in New Mexico was in a beautiful park. However, the lanscape was so different from what we are used to. It is a desert landscape with lots of catcus and jackrabbits everywhere. There were also a lot of road runners! I tried to take a picture of one of them, but never got the camera out and ready before it ran away. I must confess, everytime I saw one I had to say, "meep, meep", like the road runner from the old cartoon!
Benjamin lounging in the back of the van during one of our many stops.
Sam enjoyed this campground because of the playground.
A beautiful New Mexico sunrise, over the Chiuauan Desert. It was kind of easy to get up for the sunrise because it is 2 hours earlier there than at home. We found ourselves getting up rather early while in the west.
Sam praying that dad would stop the van and get him some food.
Benjamin lounging in the back of the van during one of our many stops.
Sam enjoyed this campground because of the playground.
A beautiful New Mexico sunrise, over the Chiuauan Desert. It was kind of easy to get up for the sunrise because it is 2 hours earlier there than at home. We found ourselves getting up rather early while in the west.
Sam praying that dad would stop the van and get him some food.A left over picture from the Grand Canyon!
We had dinner that night with Paul's cousin Clint and his wife Jane. They were so kind and fed us some wonderful food.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Day 8- Balmorea State Park
We are in Balmorea State Park in Texas after a 2 hour drive. There is fresh water spring here that they have made into a pool. The water is at a constant 65 degrees and it is COLD! The kids are having a great time as they have a diving board and a high dive.
Texas is HOT! It is over 96 degrees here- thank God we have that portable a/c unit for tonight. So far, the weather has been great- feeling more like spring than late summer. But I fear that is over! Welcome to Texas!
I'll post pics the next time I get online.
Texas is HOT! It is over 96 degrees here- thank God we have that portable a/c unit for tonight. So far, the weather has been great- feeling more like spring than late summer. But I fear that is over! Welcome to Texas!
I'll post pics the next time I get online.
Day 7- Carlsbad National Park
We got up and drove to Carlsbad National Park. We went here because Paul Jr. really wanted to go splunking (cave exploring), so he and his dad signed up for the spider cave tour. No one else would go- espcially me. Crawling around in caves in not my idea of fun!
Their tour started at 1 and didn't end until 5. The rest of us went on a self guided tour of what they called "The big Room"- like the name implies, it was a room the size of 14 football fields full of cave "stuff". It took us about 1 1/2 hours to get through it. I am not a cave person and after the first 15 minutes, I was ready to be done.
Paul and Paul, however, had quite the time. Paul Sr. had to fight back panic as they had to crawl through an opening 12 inches high and 24 inches around- they crawled through this for 30 feet! I can't even imagine. He had bruises all over his arms from crawling through the caves! I will have to post pics of this later as I am running out of time. Paul Jr, however, was ready to go on the hardest tour!
Their tour started at 1 and didn't end until 5. The rest of us went on a self guided tour of what they called "The big Room"- like the name implies, it was a room the size of 14 football fields full of cave "stuff". It took us about 1 1/2 hours to get through it. I am not a cave person and after the first 15 minutes, I was ready to be done.
Paul and Paul, however, had quite the time. Paul Sr. had to fight back panic as they had to crawl through an opening 12 inches high and 24 inches around- they crawled through this for 30 feet! I can't even imagine. He had bruises all over his arms from crawling through the caves! I will have to post pics of this later as I am running out of time. Paul Jr, however, was ready to go on the hardest tour!
Day 6- Traveling to Carlsbad, New Mexico
On Saturday, we traveled almost 14 hours to Carlsbad, New Mexico. This was another long, long trip and we were glad to arrive. The place where we stayed was in the desert, so the landscape was different from any we had ever seen before. We arrived around 10 at night, so the men had to set up in the dark, which was a fun challenge. (HA)
The weather here was muggy, from the tropical storm that hit Texas. The temperature was only in the70's however.
The weather here was muggy, from the tropical storm that hit Texas. The temperature was only in the70's however.
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