Jan 17, 2013 - Balmorhea, TX

An overnight stop on our way north. The trip was interesting and Balmorhea is a small quiet town. When we left Lahitas we wanted to travel west along the Rio Grande but first we were warned that there were some narrow roads, sharp curves, and a very long steep climb with a very long steep drop afterwards. We were also told it was one of the prettiest drives in Texas, the steepest road in Texas, and watch out for falling rock. We asked a few other people who agreed with all those things but that a 5th wheel with a suitable truck could do it...

Apr 4, 2012 - Balmorhea, TX

Anyone who has traveled along I-10 between San Antonio and El Paso knows that there aren't a whole lot of places to stop for an overnight stay. We found this one in the middle of nowhere and the price was right - $10 for full hookups! The only other business at this exit along I-10 was the gas station next door. West Texas! Lots of cactus and dust.

Mar 9, 2012 - On the side of Hwy 10

This was a very uneventful day, well, at least until the evening. We traveled from Deming, NM into west Texas. El Paso was a larger city than I thought; it seemed to go on and on as we passed through on the highway. We passed through a town with a Pilot gas stop but we still had 250 miles to go on our tank. We thought we would have no problem finding another gas stop. Wrong! The head wind picked up and our gas mileage went down. Our truck computer showed there was gas 50 miles ahead and we only had 25 miles left in our tank. We were really...

Dec 11, 2011 - OTRA – TX - Balmorhea

12/11/11 Another grey, cloudy day when we left at 11:00 a.m. Big Spring and it didn’t get any better the whole drive west on I-20 but it sure got foggier along the way, lowering visibility to less than a mile. Luckily, traffic was very light and the only thing we really missed were the large vistas in the distance as we passed by a lot of the oil fields. Somewhere along the way, though (I think it was in the Midland/Odessa area, the fog magically lifted and opened up views of miles and miles of what I call “dippy duck” oil pumps, moving...

Oct 21, 2011 - West Texas

After a good rest alongside the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, we tacked on a long drive to another unexpected oasis in west Texas in the middle of nowhere. Balmorhea State Park surrounds an enormous clear spring pool that is half manmade and half natural state. The depth of the pool ranges from 3 feet to 30 feet in the middle of the channel. The shallow depths are concrete and the deep areas are boulders, rocks, aquatic plants and creatures. We saw catfish, sunfish, pupfish, and our favorite, a Texas Spiny Turtle. The incredible blues of...

Jun 27, 2011 - OTRA - TX - Balmorhea

Back onto I-10 for the 1 1/2 drive to Balmorhea, Texas, our next stop on our eastward journey. We stopped here because we want to do a day trip to the Ft. Davis National Monument and Texas Hill Country area. BJ and her husband, friends from Texas, always go to the state park here and rave about it. The McDonald Observatory is also about 16 miles from Ft. Davis so we want to stop there, too. Nellie wasn’t a very good traveler today; not sure why. Taco has settled down a lot but she just meowed almost the whole trip. Pulled into the...

May 31, 2011 - Back In Texas

Yesterday, we were able to find space at “Balmorhea State Park.” This is really an oasis in the desert. It features a 2 acre pool fed by an artesian spring. The spring flows at 3 million gallons an hour. The pool can be filled in 2 hours. It is a constant 75 degrees. It has been quite refreshing. I love swimming with the fish and turtles. The pool was built in the 1930’s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It is lined with local limestone. The water is used to irrigate local farms. The Apache people used the water to irrigate their Peach...

Apr 29, 2011 - Balmorhea, TX

Stayed at a welcome oasis. Passport park in Balmorhea. Wind was blowing, smoke from distant and nearby wildfires, temperature 102F. We bought a bag of ice and had great cold drinks all day. After the sun went down, we took a short walk around the campground looking at the cacti blooming in the Chihuahuan Desert. A/C ran full time until the sun went down. We were comfortable and the refuge gave us a chance to rest.

Dec 11, 2010 - Balmorhea, TX - Saddleback Mountain RV

We drove over 300 miles to the Saddleback Mountain RV Park in Balmorhea on the west side of Texas. It was in the Passport book and in the book listed a 24/7 gas station, restaurant, bar, free wifi and I forget what else. The sites were huge and the landscaping with the cactus and shrubs was beautiful. The restaurant and bar were closed but the gas station was still open. There were two other rigs in the park and it seemed such a shame to have such a beautiful property that seemed to be deserted. The mountains could be seen across the desert...

Oct 21, 2010 - Balmorhea ya hoo

El Paso to Balmorhea, TX. Over more mountains and down more valleys; Texas is different from NM in that there are a lot more plants, even in the desert part. It must be higher because there is a lot of cedar and mesquite. I didn’t have time to do any more than rubberneck but I am sure enjoying all the changing views. I stayed in Saddleback Ranch RV park—yeah, well, it was an RV park at one time, or maybe just someone’s hope, it now is deserted, and desert-ed. I was one of three rigs there(and one of those was a horse carrier). So I locked...

Sep 14, 2010 - Balmorhea, TX

We again did not internet connection last night. It was a very long drive and we were quite tired. You know I am bored with the drive when I am starting to see faces in the clouds (see photo). We went through a very pretty area in Texas called Fredericksburg. Must have a strong German influence since many of the street signs were in German and there were German restaurants. We also passed the LBJ Ranch. Unfortunately, we were on a schedule to get to our next destination and couldn't stop for tours. It was literally in the middle of...

Mar 3, 2010 - Balmorhea, Texas

We arrived in Balmorhea yesterday afternoon. We stayed in a RV park that was behind a gas station & convenience store. It was a Passport America Park - we paid $10.00 for the night. Needless to say, we didn't expect much but there was nothing else in the area. We knew going in that there was no wifi service and no TV service, but there were full hook-ups. We figured for one night that was no problem. What a surprise we had when we saw the park. It was well manicured and landscaped. There were about 15 rigs in there, all but one as transient...