April 1, 2017 - Big Bend National Park, TX to Alpine, TX

The fan was on all night long.  The night was not as cool and breezy as it was the other night.  

I got up first, got things ready for the “move”.  Then I went to the camp store to use wi-fi to check for campgrounds in Alpine or Van Horn, TX. While I was away Erwin did light maintenance to be sure our rig is all ready to go.

It was 9:45 am when we left the campground. We chose to get on TX 118, took the western gate to leave the Big Bend National Park. It was 11 am when we left the boundary line of the national park.

Chisos Mountains

Good bye, Big Bend

 

It was hazy in the distance.  TX 118 route is not as pretty as Highway 385 from Marathon, TX to Big Bend.  There was a sign warning of burros for next 8 miles, but we did not see any.  We only saw cows.

There was an Inspection station, 12 miles south of Alpine, TX. Just one question was asked: “Are you a citizen?” (with strong Spanish accent).  “Yes”, was Erwin’s reply and we were let go without inspection.

Inspection Station

We decided to see if Lost Alaskan RV Park on TX 11,8 north of Highway 90, has available sites for tonight. The park is called "Lost Alaskan RV Park" because it was founded by a guy from Alaska who claimed to be lost and couldn't find his way back! They have few and we got site #12 (pull-thru with full hookups). $34.16 a night.

Erwin had to fix the mud/rock flapper in the back of the Lil’ Home because one of the holes on the rubber thingy broke off from the bolt.

Erwin took a long nap while I made notes of our journey at Big Bend National Park and explored the campground. After he was up we went out for grocery shopping and sightseeing.

There is only one “supermarket” in Alpine.  Porter’s Thriftyway is a nice store and has lots of stuff I was looking for. 

Big bag of large red chili peppers

We cruised through the downtown and neighboring areas.  There are several murals throughout the town.  Beautiful artwork.  We crossed the bridge going south on TX 118 to check out an old hotel and the church.

Courthouse built in 1887

Dan Blocker, an actor whose role as "Hoss"
in the TV show "Bonanza" was from this town!

It rained and there was lightning when I was ready for bed at 1 am.  The window on my side of the bed was open and the winds were blowing in so hard.  I started to feel so cold and was going to close the window.  However, I had a hard time closing it and had to to wake Erwin up to help me.  Erwin looked like this :-(

~Edith