DECEMBER 2018 - TEXAS

TEXAS

Preamble

I arrived at Black Jack Springs, my friend Les's 20-acre ranch north of Houston, Texas, at the end of the second week of November, in good time to join the Thanksgiving celebrations and enjoy the wonderful spread laid on for the 16 guests around the table.

But after a couple of very pleasant weeks, looked after generously and graciously - as always - by Les and Melanie, a little meandering around Texas is in order, revisiting old places and finding some new ones, and including some mountain biking where I can fit it in.

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Tuesday, November 27, 2018 - Navasota, TX, to Pedernales Falls State Park, TX

My wheels rolling again with an 8:30am departure from Black Jack Springs on a chilly late November morning.

The weather had been a little mixed during my stay over the last two weeks - oscillating between fall and winter, with the odd overnight freeze - but of little inconvenience to me as I've been comfortably plugged into shorepower at Black Jack Springs.

Drove for a little over 2 hours to reach the outskirts of Austin where I stopped for a coffee and a little WiFi, including a call back to the UK, before driving on another 20 minutes to an intermediate destination of Walnut Creek Park for some mountain biking.

The day had warmed nicely by the time I hit the trails at 12:15pm, mostly flat singletrack winding through the woods with a few technical sections from time to time, particularly when heading down to or back up from Walnut Creek.

A little back-tracking here and there to take in some of the more enjoyable features - a jump or drop - and to keep more or less on the loop trail around the park, riding 11 miles by the end with 1,200ft of climbing, though none of it more than 100ft at a stretch.

Back on the road after a bite of lunch to drive to up into the Texas Hill Country and Pedernales Falls State Park where I stayed earlier this year and which offers some mountain biking opportunities as well as the attractions of the falls themselves.

A rather cloudy end to the day, so no trip out to look for sunset photos at the falls. And dawn tomorrow likely to be overcast, too, though I'll set my alarm early enough to check and head out for sunrise if the skies seem clear.

Wednesday, November 28, 2018 - Pedernales Falls State Park, TX

The pre-dawn sky seemed fairly clear so I headed out for sunrise might at the falls, but cloud cover low on the eastern horizon obscured the sun.

A similar experience last time here, with clearer skies to the west but cloud cover drifting continually over the southern and eastern skies. Maybe there’s something about the local geography that causes this.

Still an interesting place to walk around searching for photos that characterize the endless rock ledges, boulders, small lakes and streams of the falls.

A weak sun started breaking through the clouds after about 90 minutes as I was wending my way back across the rock ledges but nothing very spectacular.

Back at the campsite just after 9:00am for breakfast, some limited route planning (without the benefit of an Internet connection), then a fortifying coffee, bagel and cream cheese before setting off on a mountain bike ride.

Decided to tackle the Juniper Ridge MTB trail first, returning via a portion of the Wolf Mountain trail - and what a good decision that was, the 10 miles of Juniper Ridge pretty much wearing me out before the final easy 4 miles on Wolf Mountain trail to get me back to the parking lot.

Juniper Ridge was hard work and challenging, not for the distance climbed - 1,000ft elevation gain over 10 miles isn’t such a great deal - but because at least half of the trail was comprised of long sections of limestone “rock garden”, often with a drop-off beside the trail and tight juniper tree trunks to weave between for good measure.

Got a lot of practice on slow bike handling skills...

Back to the Airstream for a shower and late lunch, then back to the falls to see what photo opportunities sunset might bring...

...which were limited, clouds obscuring the sun.

Thursday, November 29, 2018 - Pedernales Falls State Park, TX, to Kerrville, TX

Skies appear a little clearer this morning at 6:30am, 45 minutes before sunrise, so off I skipped to the falls.

But an early appearance of the sun was brief, before it slid behind cloud cover drifting in once more.

Enjoyable to be walking around, though I still seem to be struggling to find a “money shot” at these falls.

Back at the campsite by 8:30am, running gear on and out for three loops of the campground to make up my 4 miles.

I’ve been pondering a change to the weight distribution hitch set-up for a while, mostly because the Airstream sits slightly “nose down”, so although it was getting late in the morning after I was cleaned up from my run, I decided to try some adjustments.

Saving the blow-by-blow account of attempts to get things sorted, in an increasingly warm and sweat-inducing day, the highlight (lowlight?) was a sheared bolt due to rather over-enthusiastic torqueing...

...making me wish I had delayed this exercise in favor of brewing a post-run coffee, which I now made as a consolation exercise, though the inside of the Airstream had become uncomfortably warm at this stage as daytime temperatures headed into the mid-70s.

The resulting less-than-totally-secure hitch set-up encouraged me to drive rather gingerly to Fredericksburg where I managed to find a replacement bolt at the Ace hardware store on my way into town, spending another sweaty half-hour re-adjusting the hitch (at which I was becoming increasingly practiced).

In need of gathering myself together after the day’s hitch dramas, I stopped at the Espresso Ranch coffee shop in Fredericksburg for a mid-afternoon cappuccino and muffin, strolled briefly around the attractive - though touristy - main drag and along to the unusual German “Christmas Pyramid” in the town park.

A 30-minute drive then got me to my overnight commercial campground outside Kerrville where I took advantage of the on-site laundry to freshen up sweaty mountain biking and running gear before settling in for the evening and the Thursday Night Football game (don't you just love reading all these little domestic details...?).

Friday, November 30, 2018 - Kerrville, TX, to Garner State Park, TX

Didn’t sleep particularly well... or, at least, I seemed to be half-awake a lot and dreaming some strange, repetitive dreams.

Up reasonably early to complete some admin courtesy of the campground WiFi, including printing out a couple of documents that required my signature and subsequent mailing to the UK.

With little else to do before getting on the road, it was rather puzzling to me why it was 9:15am before I pulled out of the campground for the short drive to Kerrville, to a UPS store and a conveniently adjacent grocery store.

Then it was south to Bandera, pulling over to brew a coffee there before continuing on the 10 miles to Hill Country State Natural Area, the final mile or so of which was on caliche rather than black-top, so a little slow.

On checking in at the ranger station, I learned (from the British woman working there) that most of the mountain bike trails I had hoped to ride were closed pending repair from severe flooding a couple of months ago. Fortunately, one of the tougher trails was still open so I parked up the truck and Airstream, donned my MTB gear and headed out, getting in a good hour’s sweaty workout over the 6 miles out and back on the trail, much of which was rough and with loose rocks, and even a couple of rocky uphill spots where I had to walk the bike.

Had a quick bite of lunch on return to the Airstream, pondering my overnight destination and finally deciding to enjoy a shorter, scenic drive through the Hill Country to Garner State Park rather than the longer drive along I-10 to South Llano River State Park.

Took a campsite at a different section of the huge Garner State Park (500 campsites spread over several different sections of the park) than where I had stayed earlier this year, this time close to the Frio River, lined with bald cypress trees.

Set up in the campsite just in time to stroll down to the river before the sun sank early beyond the hills behind the campground.

Fiddled with the hitch set-up one more time, based on how the truck/trailer had felt during the day’s drive. Let’s hope this is the final solution, as I don’t have any more combinations to try!

Quiet evening... no cell service, no TV.

Saturday, December 1, 2018 - Garner State Park, TX, to San Angelo State Park, TX

Well, quiet other than a couple of hours of rock'n'roll through my new, and wonderfully clear, Bose wireless headphones...!

Woke late, so not out for my run of 3 loops of the campground until 8:45am on a very pleasant morning, full sunlight, mild temperatures and a cooling breeze.

Late morning coffee before getting on the road to San Angelo via scenic Texas Hill Country roads, passing through the town of “Leakey”, which offers many opportunities for amusing names... Leakey Liquors, Leaky Drug and a favorite (picture from when I came through here in December 2014), Leakey Welding...

Very windy day, predominantly from the west, producing a headwind for the 175-mile drive and knocking the mileage back as a result, down to 13.5mpg.

Arrived at San Angelo State Park around 4:00pm, checked in, and set up in my site down near the significantly dried up O.C. Fisher Lake around which the park is set.

Largely open grassland around the lake and flat, as the countryside has been since leaving the Hill Country. Campsites widely spaced but open to each other, in contrast to the intimate Pecan Grove campsites from last night. Not entirely sure that the flat landscape will offer much in the way of MTB challenge - one of the main reasons for detouring through this park - but I’ll ride the trails tomorrow and try to make up in miles what doesn’t get thrown at me in the way of difficulty.

The breeze still up, and whistling around the Airstream, but the day has remained sunny and warm - low 70s - and the late afternoon sun is keeping the inside of the Airstream comfortably warm.

Good TV reception - important for football games tomorrow - and strong cell signal, a pleasant change from the campgrounds over the past few days.

Sunday, December 2, 2018 - San Angelo State Park, TX

A mouthful of broken tooth half-way through my pasta last night... quite a surprise.

So the first task this morning - after a sunrise photo, reflected in an Airstream window - was to cruise through nearby San Angelo scoping out some of the candidate dentists that I had researched online.

The best choice - as far as this can be judged by looking at the premises and the neighborhood and reading reviews - opens at 8:00am tomorrow morning, so it will be an early start for me to be there right as the doors open to see what might be done.

Made a quick grocery stop on the way back to the campground after snooping around the dentists of San Angelo, brewed coffee, got kitted up and headed out for a MTB ride.

The park trails were a mixture of smooth singletrack, rough stony singletrack, and a number of rock gardens on short, tough climbs.

A few cactus gardens, too... not the place to have run off the trail...!

14 miles ridden over a couple of hours, 900ft of climbing overall.

Lunch back at the Airstream while the water was heating up for a shower... a couple of adjustments on the bike... back of the truck cleaned up... by which time it was close to kick-off time on the Patriots football game - a win at home over the Minnesota Vikings 24:10 - accompanied by an early beer and careful one-sided munching on pita chips.

Monday, December 3, 2018 - San Angelo State Park, TX

Presented myself at my chosen San Angelo dentist at 7:58am, only to learn that the dentist himself wouldn’t be in that day...

Very apologetic and friendly receptionist, who offered me a 9:00am appointment tomorrow and, when I asked about an alternative place I could try, directed me to a dentist opposite.

No chance at this other dentist of seeing anyone before midday tomorrow, and I didn’t much care for the vibe there, so drove to another dentist I hadn’t scoped out yesterday but didn’t much care for the location or the look of the place, so back to Dentist #1 and got set up for tomorrow.

Back at the campground I signed up for another night and decided I had better get a run in while I could - despite rather chilly, though sunny, weather - so off I went along the quiet park roads around the end of the lake where I’m camped.

Difficult run, more breathless than heavy in the legs, so I allowed myself plenty of walking breaks. Possibly the 2,000ft altitude having an effect?

Decided to head the 2 miles back into town for Starbucks coffee, breakfast sandwich and WiFi to catch up on some e-mails, though the WiFi slowed to a crawl and made work slow and difficult.

Late lunch in the Airstream and a few chores knocked off the never-ending list during a quiet afternoon that ended with an attractive sunset.

Tuesday, December 4, 2018 - San Angelo State Park, TX

A short 10-minute drive to the dentist, arriving there 15 minutes early for my 9:00am appointment.

Fairly promptly ushered into the dentists “working area” and the evaluation of my broken tooth began.

4 hours and $2,500 later, the tooth has been saved, I have a porcelain crown (custom made on the premises, no less, which I was able to watch being machined out of a chunk of solid porcelain) and all is fine... just waiting for the pain that I’ve been promised over the next couple of days after the anesthetic wears off as the dentist had to go down deep and cut away some flesh with a laser to provide enough of a residual “stub” on which to mount the crown.

I judged that my half-frozen mouth would just about allow me to sip through the small aperture of a coffee cup lid so drove to a nearby Starbucks to reward myself with coffee and soft chocolate croissant while catching up on e-mails that had come in.

Back at the campground mid-afternoon for a little more admin, booking campgrounds for a couple of days ahead, switching insurance provider on the truck, printing out new insurance cards, sending birthday cards in the UK via the wonders of on-line services...

Followed by a quiet and surprisingly pain-free evening.

Wednesday, December 5, 2018 - San Angelo State Park, TX, to Iraan, TX

Allowed myself to sleep in a little, fortunately still with no pain from yesterday’s dental procedure.

George H W Bush’s funeral this morning, the closest the US gets in terms of pomp and ceremony to a Royal Family funeral, so this was on the TV in the background as I continued with a few admin tasks and forward planning. Some warm and touching eulogies for probably the last of the seriously solid presidents.

With the funeral mainly over shortly after noon, I tidied up the Airstream, filled the fresh water tank, hooked up to the truck and dumped tanks on the way out of the campground, getting on the road a little after 1:00pm.

An uneventful 2-hour drive - other than headwinds knocking the mpg down once again - brought me to Iraan (pronounced Ira-an, named for Ira and Ann Yates, owners of the ranch land upon which the town was built), a small oil outpost town town where I had stayed earlier this year. Once again, I’m making an overnight stop in the town park, not feeling entirely “legal” in doing so but one of my overnight camping resources suggests it’s OK and I wasn’t disturbed last time here.

Although it isn’t forecast to be quite as cold overnight as the last two nights, when it dropped down to freezing by dawn, I’m not plugged in to shorepower so will be running the propane heater for my evening warmth.

Quiet, dark.

Thursday, December 6, 2018 - Iraan, TX, to Marathon, TX

Awake for a couple of long spells during the night, for no apparent reason, and as a result ended up sleeping rather late.

So I didn’t head out on my 6-lap run around Iraan Park until 9:15am. A little chilly and breezy but reasonable mile times (8:10 or 8:15 average, depending on whether you believe my Apple Watch or Fitbit). Certainly faster and more comfortable than my run earlier in the week at San Angelo State Park.

Got cleaned up, had a late morning coffee and set out on the drive to Marathon, stopping midway at Fort Stockton for a couple of grocery items and a call to the office in Connecticut.

Then a straight shot south for an hour on a road I’ve usually driven at dawn, heading towards Marathon with Big Bend National Park 70 miles beyond. Nice to be on quiet roads with mountain scenery around and ahead.

Checked into the Marathon Motel and RV Park at 3:30pm, setting up as last time here on a dirt/gravel site close to the highway and train tracks, with only intermittently effective WiFi and very fuzzy cable TV.

Friday, December 7, 2018 - Marathon, TX

A few trains overnight with horns blaring as they rumbled through town, the tracks only 150-ft away on the other side of the highway.

With rain starting to patter on the roof of the Airstream at about 2:30am and keeping me awake, I spent a fruitful non-sleeping hour downloading a couple of large updates for my “old” Apple MacBook while the campground WiFi was free from other users.

Overcast and drizzling early morning as I settled down to the start of a day’s admin. As the drizzle eased and dried up mid-morning, I took the opportunity to walk the half-mile into Marathon to the coffee shop there for cappuccino, tasty breakfast muffin and strong WiFi.

Rain had started again as I walked the half-mile back to the campground and continued my day's admin work, though with periodic frustrations from a frozen or dropped campground WiFi signal.

During the afternoon an interesting home-built trailer pulled into a campsite behind. Would love to have seen the interior.

Entirely unexpectedly, caught a showing of The Graduate movie on the (rather fuzzy) campground cable for my evening’s entertainment. What a great movie.

Saturday, December 8, 2018 - Marathon, TX, to Rio Grande Village Campground, TX

Debated with myself whether I might perhaps go for a run before heading down to Big Bend National Park but decided I shouldn’t delay getting to the Rio Grande Village campground to secure a site - besides which it was damp and a bitterly cold morning in the fresh breeze.

On the road by 9:00am for the gentle drive south, about 70 miles to the Panther Junction Visitor Center and another 20 from there to the campground.

Rather unusual weather compared to my previous (3) times here, roads damp, skies overcast but with interesting cloud formations as the day began clearing.

The Rio Grande Village campground was about 80% empty on my arrival - the poor recent weather no doubt deterring many - so I had a slightly overwhelming choice of campsites. Finally chose a spot very close to my last time here and with no tree cover so that I would get the full heating effect from the sun.

Had coffee after setting up camp and then somehow got sidetracked into a couple of hours of tedious but long overdue venetian blind cleaning in the Airstream...

After completing this chore, had a bite of lunch and drove down to Boquillas Canyon, where the Rio Grande was a good bit higher than I have seen previously as a result of the recent rains.

Walked as far as the riverside trail would take me, rather overdressed in the warming afternoon, then headed back to the campground in time to head up to the hill above to see what the sunset might offer in the way of photo opportunities.

A quiet evening back in the Airstream and with its battery fully charged I was liberal in the use of the propane heater to ensure a comfortable evening.

Sunday, December 9, 2018 - Rio Grande Village Campground, TX

Heavy mist in the campground and hanging over the Rio Grande this morning, but once up on the hill by the campground I was above it and was able to watch the mist drifting with the light early breeze.

The Chisos Mountains - backdrop for my sunrise photos - were clear of the low cloud that had shrouded them yesterday and although the sun lit up the mountains before anything else, they are so many miles away that the intervening atmosphere tends to reduce their “crispness”.

After looking for that elusive sunrise photo, I headed down and drove the short distance to the village store to use their WiFi, check on e-mails and make a call to the UK.

By which time, I decided coffee was in order before starting on the couple of hikes planned, the first of which was the Chisos Mountain Lost Mines Trail that I had walked earlier this year.

A pleasant hike, though late in the morning by the time I got there so the sun rather too high in the sky for good photos.

Mist still hanging in the valleys to the south of the mountains.

Drove back down the mountain and towards Rio Grande Village, turning off onto 4 miles of unpaved road to hike to Ernst Tanaja, a slower drive in the truck with its fairly stiff suspension than it had been earlier in the year in the Jeep Grand Cherokee with its more compliant air suspension.

And plenty of standing water in the dips on the road, requiring a gentle approach to avoid drenching the relatively clean truck in muddy water.

The main “tanaja”, or watering hole, full to the brim on this visit after the heavy rains a couple of days ago. The sun lower in the sky and creating more shadow that when I was here in March, but still a photogenic spot.

Stopped at the village store for more WiFi and another call to the UK on the way back to the campground, where the temperature inside the Airstream was up to 85 degrees after a full day of sun - great time to take a shower before heading up the hill to watch (a rather unremarkable) sunset.

A brief running of the genset early evening, partly to recharge the Airstream battery, which was 50% discharged by this point at 12.4V, but mostly to allow me to give a “free” heating boost to my evening relaxation.

Monday, December 10, 2018 - Rio Grande Village Campground, TX, to Cottonwood Campground, TX

Awake just before the alarm went off at 6:00am, my signal to get up (in a chilly 45-degree interior temperature), grab a quick breakfast and head out to my chosen sunrise spot on the north side of the Chisos Mountains.

Not entirely sure it was a great sunrise location, but at least a little different.

Made the best of the early morning light, stopping at a few more spots on the drive back down to the campground where I arrived a little later than expected, at 9:15am... when it was time to put on my running shoes.

Not a bad run in the warming day, times reasonable, a little faster than when I ran the same 4-mile route in March.

By the time I had finished my post-run ab workout and taken a shower it was time to hitch the truck to the Airstream and head out of the campground, parking on the way out close to the Rio Grande Village store to brew coffee and hook up to their WiFi.

The drive across the park to the western campground, Cottonwood, punctuated by stops for photos, and I was in no rush as I didn’t expect the campground to be busy - and it wasn’t, with 20 out of 24 campsites available.

Chose a site with a good amount of sun to help warm up the Airstream, had lunch, then drove down to Santa Elena Canyon, where the late afternoon sun wasn’t penetrating very deeply into the canyon.

To access the trail into the canyon it’s necessary to cross Terlingua Creek, a small tributary to the Rio Grande which is usually dry. But after recent rains it was now running muddily... easy to wade, but rather a messy business, and as the trail is best walked at dawn (photographically speaking) I wasn’t tempted.

Drove to Castolon for an ice-cream on my way, via a few photo stops, to Sotol Vista for sunset, where I found the hillside around the parking lot looking as if there had been some burning and raking over. Certainly not as lush and full of plant life as I remember.

A rather weak sunset, with light cloud cover, haze on the horizon, and no compensating “afterglow” illuminating the underside of the clouds.

Back down to the campground for another quiet evening.

Tuesday, December 11, 2018 - Cottonwood Campground, TX, to Lajitas, TX

A number of clichés come to mind regarding this morning’s “failure to photo”, mostly along the lines of “right place, right time”... both of which I certainly missed.

I had set the alarm to allow me to get to Santa Elena Canyon for sunrise, peeking outside first to see whether in fact there would be a sunrise to photograph, a partly cloudy day being forecast. And my first check of the skies, in plenty of time to get to the canyon, revealed no stars so I mooched around and even contemplated sneaking back, fully dressed, under the duvet to keep warm while I waited.

My second peek outside, however, showed a faint ruddy glow to the east - above the mist in the campground, mist that I had mistaken for clouds.

So I scampered out with a suddenly-hatched Plan B of driving to Sotol Vista to see if I could catch a pre-dawn red sky - one that would have been very considerably “early” for a pre-dawn sky, and which was rapidly fading on me as I raced north, stopping on a few occasions to try - unsuccessfully, I think - to capture at least something.

By the time I reached Sotol Vista, nothing but grey skies - and a chilly breeze.

Back at the Airstream, turned the propane heat on while I huddled and downloaded photos, culling both this morning’s and yesterday’s.

Then hitched up the Airstream and headed out, stopping yet one more time at Sotol Vista on the way out pf the park, this time to brew coffee while the Airstream was gently rocked in the stiff winds blowing over the ridge.

Diverted briefly through the “ghost town” of Terlingua (a slightly tatty, dusty, hippy tourist trap) for shots of the two most photogenic buildings there - the Starlight Theater and the church - as well as a bite of lunch.

Then on to Lajitas, checking into Maverick Ranch RV park - opposite, and part of, the swanky Lajitas Golf Resort.

A little desk work over the balance of the afternoon, making use of the campground WiFi.

Wednesday, December 12, 2018 - Lajitas, TX

Morning weather checking suggested that anywhere much north of where I am now will have temperatures below freezing on Friday morning so my original intention to head north tomorrow not looking so smart.

In the end, decided to stay here one more night and then head north on Friday, pretty much back the way I came.

Drove out of town to the Big Bend Ranch State Park office to pay $5 for a day pass so that I could go mountain biking on the trails in the park, receiving some very helpful guidance from the ranger there who happened to be a mountain biker himself.

Coffee back at the Airstream before heading 8 miles along the winding and rollercoaster river road to the trailhead.

Cloudy and a little cool when I started the ride but pretty much perfect for riding. Took the recommended trails in the recommended direction, covering some ground twice as I formed a loop on the outbound trails.

Quite a lot of smooth, flowy singletrack but some steep limestone ledges and short climbs thrown in. Every plant trailside has thorns, so a little challenging on the narrower sections. 17 miles total, 2,000ft climbed.

Will ride again tomorrow, though on some different trails.

Got cleaned up back at the campground, booked another night here, and then popped in to the local general store for an ice-cream as a reward for my riding and to celebrate the emergence of the sun and some warmer temperatures early afternoon.

Sudden strong wind gusts early evening were physically rocking the Airstream to the point where I eventually felt sufficient concern to step out and fumble in the darkness to put down the stabilizer jacks on each corner. After which the gusts subsided, of course...! But good preparation for the forecast high winds tomorrow.

Thursday, December 13, 2018 - Lajitas, TX

Slept solidly last night, no doubt due to the MTB exertions yesterday.

Although I had originally planned to ride late morning, after coffee, the weather forecast suggested that wind speeds, already reasonably gusty, would start picking up by then. So I decided to ride earlier and get back from being blown about to enjoy a rewarding coffee.

This morning’s trails were part of the Lajitas Trail System, a few miles to the east and close to the airport, Jeep trails as well as MTB singletrack. Rode twice around Loop 3, mostly for the exercise as the trails weren’t hugely challenging, though there were a few fun jumps.

A total of 11 miles ridden and only 680ft climbed, so rather modest compared to yesterday’s ride, though quite a significant headwind in places as the desert trails are entirely exposed with no tree cover.

Many spiky desert plants, and the Ocotillo in particular must be given a wide berth as the thorns are unforgiving.

Coffee back at the campground as the first priority, followed by a shower and then a couple of loads of laundry to make full use of the facilities.

Very entertaining Thursday Night Football game on TV, great plays by the Chiefs’ young quarterback, Mahomes, the Chiefs ahead 28-14 over the Chargers deep into the 4th quarter but then the Chargers came from behind, scoring two touchdowns in the last 4 minutes, the final one with 4 seconds left and a 2-point conversion giving them the win to beat the Chiefs at home 29-28.

Friday, December 14, 2018 - Lajitas, TX, to Marathon, TX

Slept a little late, not waking fully until the sun had crept up over the mountains and was tapping on the Airstream windows.

Up promptly at that point and out for a run, rather warmer than I had expected, uphill on the way out so pleasantly downhill on the 2 miles back.

Ab routine, shower, coffee, tanks filled and emptied, out of the campground and on the road at 11:30am, driving back through the northern part of Big Bend National Park as the shortest route to Marathon. Uplifting to be back in Big Bend, if only on a drive-through.

Got into Marathon just after 2:30pm, stopped at the coffee shop for one of their rather good cappuccinos to accompany me on a short walk around the scruffy streets of town.

Checked into the campground, in a site at the back of the facility (for a change from previous times here) further away from the highway and the train tracks, and in a longer pull-through site so that no unhitching was required.

Took advantage of the campground WiFi to catch up on some work and some research, making provisional flight reservations back to the UK. And entertained in the evening with the best quality cable TV I’ve found at any campground.

All rather unexpected really, given my experience here at other sites.

Saturday, December 15, 2018 - Marathon, TX, to San Angelo, TX

Nudged awake by sunrise once again, spent an hour making use of the campground WiFi to set up a couple of UK card mailings on-line, pulled out of the campground to drive the half-mile into Marathon to the coffee shop for an early cappuccino - one of the best I've found while on the road, good and strong - ahead of the day’s drive.

No tasty muffin on offer so had a couple of slices of stollen bread as a very acceptable substitute.

Power failure at the coffee shop unfortunately prevented me taking a second cappuccino for the road.

Strolled briefly along to the Gage Hotel for a photo of the "wall of skulls" (ice on the small fountain showing just how cold it had been overnight) and then it was a long hour’s drive north to Fort Stockton, stopping briefly at the Walmart store there to pick up lunch, the Airstream larder pretty much empty, before continuing to San Angelo.

Having decided to take state roads rather than I-10 it was a little disappointing to find them die-straight, with flat, unchanging desert scenery and quite a lot of heavy oilfield traffic.

Only a handful of dusty towns to break the monotony of a steady 65mph 3-hour drive, but finally arrived at the outskirts of (now familiar) San Angelo, turning off to the state park and campground, where I secured a spot next to the one I had when here 2 weeks ago.

Dropped off the Airstream, defrosted the freezer (which I had intended to do first thing this morning but forgot) and headed the couple of miles back to town to the Starbucks for a late afternoon coffee and some WiFi.

Sunday, December 16, 2018 - San Angelo, TX

A dull morning, and cool, when the forecast had been offering a little more in the way of sunshine.

A little desk work after breakfast, a fairly early run into town for a call back to the UK, coffee, WiFi, and a visit to a car wash to pressure wash off the dust and dirt from the off-road driving in Big Bend.

Back at the campground, MTB gear donned and off on a ride around the same trails I rode exactly two weeks ago, slightly quicker this time, mostly as I didn’t stop to take photos, and perhaps one or two technical sections that I cleaned first time rather than needing a second or third bite at them.

Just made it back to the Airstream in time for the Patriots game which, unfortunately, they lost.

More football in the background during a little evening work sorting through this year’s photos to identify candidates for a year-end electronic Christmas note.

Monday, December 17, 2018 - San Angelo, TX, to Fredericksburg, TX

Out for a run first thing, over the same 4 miles of park roads as 2 weeks ago, but an entirely different experience this morning... no breathlessness, no heavy legs, no walking breaks, average mile times of 8:08 or 8:14 depending on which running watch I believe, as I’m still strapping on my Fitbit for runs even though my Apple Watch seems to be doing a fair job as a substitute.

Out of the park around 11:00am, making a stop at Starbucks for my coffee, post-run breakfast sandwich and WiFi.

175 miles of driving ahead to get to today’s destination of Pedernales Falls State Park, the roads a little less straight, a little hillier as I head closer to Texas Hill Country, and the overcast skies of the morning gradually giving way to full sunshine.

With my ETA drifting well past 4:00pm and knowing there would be no cell coverage at Pedernales, however, I decided to switch to a commercial campground in Fredericksburg where I would have WiFi (for a couple of time-sensitive projects) and then head on to Pedernales tomorrow.

Tuesday, December 18, 2018 - Fredericksburg, TX, to Pedernales Falls State Park, TX

Awake and up early, the couple of projects I’m working on needing a little more polishing, and hoping to take advantage of quicker WiFi before the rest of the campground is stirring.

One project checked off by 9:00am, but which time the WiFi had slowed to a crawl. After a little more desk work, I headed out, stopping in Fredericksburg at the Java Ranch coffee shop for sustenance before the hour’s drive to Pedernales Falls State Park, passing the many boutique wineries, distilleries and breweries springing up in this area.

After checking in and setting up at Pedernales, I headed off for an MTB ride on the same challenging trails I had ridden when here 3 weeks ago.

And they were challenging once again...

...particularly as I wasn’t riding quite so well this time for some reason - an early and painful whacking of my left big toe between pedal and rock not entirely boosting confidence and probably contributing to me backing off a little when more (controlled) aggression usually is better.

A long ride - almost 2 ½ hours - so not back to the Airstream until a little after 4:00pm for a very late lunch while waiting for the water to heat up for my shower.

By which time it was getting too late, and my energy level was too low, to head to the falls to see if the largely cloudy skies might allow the setting sun to peek out before slipping behind the hills.

Tired from the afternoon’s riding, my evening project work was rather desultory.

Wednesday, December 19, 2018 - Pedernales Falls State Park, TX, to Navasota, TX

A little rain overnight and a damp and slightly humid morning as a result.

Drove up to the ranger station to log onto the park WiFi as I was expecting e-mails from the UK, which had indeed come through. Fired off answers and then drove back to the campsite and headed out for a run around the 3-loop route I had run here 3 weeks ago, turning in mile times that were a little ahead of last time.

Hooked up the Airstream after my usual post-run routine and shower, filled the fresh water tank, dumped the holding tanks on the way out of the campground and on the highway by 11:00am for a relatively short drive to Dripping Springs for coffee, post-run breakfast sandwich and WiFi.

Then settled in for the main part of the day’s driving to Navasota and Black Jack Springs, arriving at 4:45pm to a boisterous welcome from Melanie's dog, Spot - quite a turnaround from my first encounters with him in 2014, when he was constantly, and a little painfully, nipping at my calves.

Got the Airstream set up under Les’s RV shelter and headed down to the house for a welcoming Texas Mule and a catch-up chat.

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