May 21, 2014 (30th Day)

Breezy morning. Sunny in high 60's

Edith was ready to come out of the van when Erwin motioned her to get her camera NOW.  There was this beautiful Grey hawk on the branch few feet away from our camping site.  Edith took a lot of pictures while it was still perched on the branch. Then it flew to the nest, stayed there a while and watched Edith, then swooped down then up and flew away.  She googled to find what kind of hawk it was and was so excited to learn that it is a Grey hawk. A new lifer for Edith!

Went to Abilene Zoo per a friend's recommendation. It is a very nice zoo.  They were still working on expanding or fixing up some areas. There were some animals that we had never seen before.  Ok, the very first one we saw after getting in the zoo was what?  An alligator!  Did you think we would get excited over seeing it? Nah.. Not really... Because we do see a lot of them in Florida. However, it did not stop Edith from taking pictures of it. BUT BUT look at how close the ducklings swam by the alligator!  It took us more than 2 hours to walk around the zoo.

First time we saw Scarlet Ibis, very beautiful birds!

After we exited the zoo Edith wanted to take a selfie of her and Erwin in front of the Zoo sign. While Erwin patiently stood there to allow Edith to figure out the settings on her camera the Taco Bueno guy was walking by, then invited himself to pose next to Erwin.  Erwin did not expect it, so he let out a chuckle.  Sort of photobombed, then he gave us coupons for tacos.  In exchange, he took a picture for us.

Because we got coupons we decided to eat at Taco Bueno on Judge Ely Drive for lunch and see how good they were.  They were surprisingly good.  Reasonable priced.

Went downtown to look for Dino Bob (Roadside Attraction)

Look for Dino Bob and the orange Volkswagen on the roof of the NCCIL's storage building at the intersection of N. 1st and Cedar streets in downtown Abilene

Explored Anson, TX downtown for a bit.

Mural on the side of a building

Dr. Pepper ad mural on the side of a building

Anson Courthouse

We got on 277 to US 83 N, then US 83 W to Hamlin, TX. After Hamlin we turned left for TX-92 to Ronton, TX.  On that route there were hundreds and hundreds of wind turbines.

Wind Turbines along Route 92

Saw the mesa in the distance.

On 84 at Post, TX there were plenty of oil well pumps and wind turbines, also.

Arrived Buffalo Springs Lake Campground near Lubbock, TX at 4:30 pm. Paid $30 for one night.  It started to get very cloudy and windy, then lightning.  We slept through the night without any problems