Uvalde to Amistad National Recreation Area
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As we were leaving Seguin, Texas to continue on our journey, Google Maps decided to completely lose its mind. The route kept cutting out, recalculating mid-turn, and sending us down one back road after another. For a while it felt like we were stuck in a maze, unsure if we were ever going to find our way back to the interstate. We definitely got an unplanned tour of Texas back country, bouncing along dirt roads, over here, down yonder, and around the bend, until we finally made it back to pavement.
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A giant Matthew McConaughey greeted us as we drove through his hometown of Uvalde, a 17-foot-tall cutout standing along the highway. We stopped to take a picture. Then, I walked over to the Uvalde sign. In front of it stood a line of small white crosses with teddy bears attached, a heartbreaking tribute to the 19 students and two teachers lost in the school shooting here. I remembered the tragedy, but seeing that in person was heavy.
We continued into town and stopped at Taco Bliss for lunch. Aptly named - our first Texas tacos of the trip were indeed blissful. On our way out, we stopped at another memorial in the center of town to pay our respects. God bless the town of Uvalde.
Del Rio was a stopover for us, a practical pause on the way to Big Bend rather than a destination in itself. Not far outside town, though, we passed through Amistad National Recreation Area, which felt like a small oasis in the middle of the desert. The blue water was almost blinding under the sun on a sweltering ninety-four-degree day. It looked incredibly inviting.
I assumed that in March it would still be freezing, but curiosity won out. I walked down to the dock and dipped my hand in. Yep. Ice cold. Beautiful to look at, but definitely not a swimming day for us.
From there, we continued on to Seminole Canyon State Park, about forty miles from Del Rio, where we planned to spend two nights. Almost as soon as we pulled into our campsite, we heard a loud hissing coming from one of the car tires. Not exactly the sound you want greeting you after a long drive. After a little investigation, Danny discovered that the valve stem had burst.
With the right tools, it’s a straightforward fix. For convenience, we briefly considered using a mobile mechanic, right up until we were quoted three hundred and fifty dollars. Hard pass. Instead, we waited for the worst of the heat to die down and, after sunset, Danny swapped in the spare.
We continued into town and stopped at Taco Bliss for lunch. Aptly named - our first Texas tacos of the trip were indeed blissful. On our way out, we stopped at another memorial in the center of town to pay our respects. God bless the town of Uvalde.
Del Rio was a stopover for us, a practical pause on the way to Big Bend rather than a destination in itself. Not far outside town, though, we passed through Amistad National Recreation Area, which felt like a small oasis in the middle of the desert. The blue water was almost blinding under the sun on a sweltering ninety-four-degree day. It looked incredibly inviting.
I assumed that in March it would still be freezing, but curiosity won out. I walked down to the dock and dipped my hand in. Yep. Ice cold. Beautiful to look at, but definitely not a swimming day for us.
From there, we continued on to Seminole Canyon State Park, about forty miles from Del Rio, where we planned to spend two nights. Almost as soon as we pulled into our campsite, we heard a loud hissing coming from one of the car tires. Not exactly the sound you want greeting you after a long drive. After a little investigation, Danny discovered that the valve stem had burst.
With the right tools, it’s a straightforward fix. For convenience, we briefly considered using a mobile mechanic, right up until we were quoted three hundred and fifty dollars. Hard pass. Instead, we waited for the worst of the heat to die down and, after sunset, Danny swapped in the spare.