Confessions of a Hit and Run Tourist - Day Six

[Riverbrian]

I have recently completed a solo 18 day road trip covering 8 ballparks, 9 games, 14 states, national parks, normal tourist traps and not so normal stops. My fairly new 2022 Kia Seltos had 6,400 miles on it before the trip and the journey tacked on 8,522 additional miles. Some of you may find this interesting and some may say what's the big deal, it's a crazy man with a torture filled vacation plan. I was encouraged to tell the story here by individual day because it would be a very lengthy post if not broken down by day. Some days are not that interesting, some days were more interesting than others and some days need a new adjective, but each day was different and they were days that I couldn't experience in my living room. 

Feel free to comment, shake your head at my moments of stupidity or tell your own experiences of the places I experienced. This is hit and run tourism... I didn't have a lot of time to hit all the stops but I wanted to hit all the stops because who knows if I would ever be back in any of the areas travelled. I researched and scheduled the trip to the minute and followed the schedule to the letter. 

Day Six - August 3 - Houston to Big Bend National Park

I left on schedule (Yes Continental Breakfast - I loaded up on Sausage and Bacon and a little yogurt) Today was the start of the drive across Texas from East to West, the only planned stop was a little exploration of San Antonio. 

I arrived in San Antonio, paid 20 bucks to park for 3 hours a couple of blocks from the Alamo and that is where I headed immediately. 40 Years ago, Ozzy Osbourne was arrested in San Antonio for taking a piss on a statue in the Alamo Plaza and he would end up with what was a 10 year ban from ever stepping foot in San Antonio period. I was going to respectfully behave myself. Walking around the Alamo, There are plenty of historical things to look at, historical things to read and little theatres with documentaries depicting the events that took place back in 1836. After soaking it all in, I was pretty well versed and I concluded that Santa Anna and his troops must have attacked from the Hyatt Regency across the street. After all that driving, coffee, water and soda, I was a little disappointed to learn that there are no bathrooms at the Alamo... AHH, I see... Now I know why Ozzy Osbourne did what he did. Under the circumstances, that 10 year ban may have been a little harsh. Now... just stop what you are thinking... I waited like a gentlemen until I left the Alamo and got over to the famous Riverwalk which is really beautiful and a clever idea to do with your river winding through town. It's a beautiful pedestrian sidewalk that traces the San Antonio river. Now... just stop what you are thinking... I didn't use the River either. However... I will tell you this in all honestly... It was 103 degrees in San Antonio as I walked the majority if not the entire Riverwalk along this seemingly peaceful flowing river. With every sweat soaked step, it took everything in my power to not jump into that river. I'm saying that the only reason I didn't was because I didn't want my wallet and cell phone soaked and I assumed there was a city ordinance against that sort of thing, although I didn't see any signs posted and I got to the point where I was looking for those signs. It was 103 degrees, if it wasn't for those three things, jumping into that river would have been completely reasonable. 

Lunch in San Antonio was a selection made from research. According to what I was reading, the San Antonio dish to try was a soup called Fideo and the place to enjoy it was Pete's Tako House. On Google Maps in North Dakota it looked closer than the reality it was in Texas. I Paid for my parking spot, I wasn't driving so I had simply planned to walk to Pete's Tako House, Turns out it ended up maybe two miles away because of a road closure from where I started. It's still 103 degrees and now I'm moving away from the River removing that option to jump in.

Disclaimer: Warning - Sometimes my personal choices are not that pretty. When I finally arrived at the restaurant, I was a complete sweat soaked mess, I wouldn't have let me in but they did. The Waitress came by and asked me if she could get me anything. I said "Yes Please... A big big big glass of water and if you don't mind, I could use a towel of sorts". She was like... "do you need (pause) napkins"? And I'm saying... "an actual towel, towel" and that point she kind of noticed my condition and said... I understand. I went into the bathroom (Now... just stop what you are thinking... I found a shop on the Riverwalk with a bathroom earlier)... I towel off the best I could and finish by throwing water on myself from the sink... at that moment...  this felt fantastic. I could have stood there and done it all day.  

The Fideo... It was tasty, I enjoyed it. It's a Mexican noodle soup of sorts... BUT... My god Riverbrian... It's 103 degrees out and you are eating a hot soup. The restaurant gets an A grade from me, I left a 40% Tip because I'm sure the waitress was frightened of whatever illness she thought I had and now I get to do the mile plus walk back to my parking spot for the 6 hours of driving that remain in the day. 19,000 plus steps in total according to my watch and I turned that AC on when I got in my Kia. 

From San Antonio to Big Bend my GPS led me to the town of Uvalde. I saw the signs on US-90 saying Uvalde X amount of Miles. I spent those travel times thinking about Uvalde. Would it be disrespectful to pull in and check out the school like some gawking tourist? Would it be disrespectful to just drive past pretending like it never happened? As I reached the city limits, I decided that the thing to do was to stop at the school and just be... respectful. The memorial outside was huge, posters with words of love and sadness, photos of the victims, crosses, flowers, stuffed animals all taking up almost the entire front of the school, obviously arranged carefully by many people who are very very sad. You see the ravine in the back of the school, the normal looking occupied houses across the street, a big banner saying "Welcome to Robb Elementary". It's a neighborhood school right there in the middle of a normal neighborhood. 

Here's what I'll say and leave it at that. The school looked like almost every elementary school out there, probably built in the same decade as most elementary schools across the country with the same type of design, it felt like I was standing there looking at an elementary school in my own home town, it was that familiar. Uvalde itself is just like any town of it's size that I have ever seen. In the end, I answered that question I was asking myself earlier. Would it be disrespectful to stop at the school? Not in the slightest... as a matter of fact, everybody should... Just to feel just how close to home it feels. I bowed my head and I continued my journey. 

As you leave Uvalde, you also start to leave the not so scenic part of Texas and enter back to what I'll refer to as the western landscape that would keep me company for the rest of my road trip. The Texas Hill Country is off to the north and the distant hills make things interesting again and than it goes desert on you real fast. It's like you are driving on the moon. The Hills turn to sand and scrub brush dots the landscape for miles.    

Big Bend National Park is an hour drive from civilization. I made sure to top off the tank in a town called Marathon before I turned south for that hour drive, not knowing when I would see a gas station again. As you head south, the desert landscape continues but in the distance you can see you are headed for increased drama as those hills gain in size, while mesas join the party. As you get to the park entrance, the roads start to curve as you enter the Chisos Mountains, it is so beautiful that you spend your time saying WOW over and over again and I am not exaggerating when I say that I have the road to myself. It is so quiet that I turned off my radio just to hear the quiet and the silence was loud, it was so quiet. 

I arrived at the Chisos Mountain Lodge maybe an hour before sunset. It is surrounded by mountains on all sides. The guy at the front desk asked me if I "was OK for Food"? Honestly, I was kind of hungry but before I could say that... He said "The restaurant is closed but I could have the chef come in and warm something up for you. I thought that was extremely considerate so I told him "let the chef enjoy his time off,... I'll be alright". There is no internet or TV in the room but you are greeted with a placard stating that Bears are active in the area and a list of instructions on what to do if you should encounter a bear. The room had a back door with a patio, a couple of chairs and a table. I could still make phone calls, Verizon was also active in this area. I sat on the patio, called my son and was in the middle of telling him about the active bear warning placard in my room, when I heard an air horn blast off to my right. The Park Ranger was right on top of it, trying to make noise that bears don't like I guess. I got up from my chair, looked at the ranger and he pointed down into the ravine and sure enough it was an adult black bear just walking slowly through the ravine about 20 yards from me. I stayed outside until the sunset slid behind the mountains. I'm happy to have made this hour out of the way journey just to get some sleep. It was a welcome hour of peace. Big Bend is hard to get to... but it is a gem. I honestly thought about staying an extra day but... I am scheduled to depart at 8AM. 

[ashbury]

An acquaintance of mine lost his life at Big Bend, many years ago now.  Hot day, some kind of heart condition.... not a good combination.  Glad you made it out alive.

[Riverbrian]

4 hours ago, ashbury said:

An acquaintance of mine lost his life at Big Bend, many years ago now.  Hot day, some kind of heart condition.... not a good combination.  Glad you made it out alive.

Well Thanks, I appreciate that

I'm checking Edmonton Real Estate now.