Winter was coming to the Davis Mountains of west Texas. Tom said “Let’s stay in Texas for the winter. We can go to the Gulf Coast. It’s warmer there.”
One good thing about the coast is there’s lots of sand on the beach. I love sand! It feels funny between my toes, and it’s easy to dig in. Here’s a video of me doing a happy dance at Bruneau Sand Dunes in Idaho:
You have to drive a long way to get anywhere in Texas. So, we made a few stops along the way. There’s a place in the center of Texas called the Hill Country. It’s easy to see why. You can’t go anywhere without going over or around a hill. It’s also a big place, and we stayed at three different campgrounds.
We went first to San Angelo State Park, just outside the city of San Angelo. It was still pretty cold when we got there, but not as cold as in the mountains. It rained a lot, too. But, there were some nice hiking trails and lots of animals.
I thought I’d seen everything, but this was the first time I saw a javelina. It’s a kind of small, ugly pig, and they were raiding the bird feeders! I didn’t like it. I growled at them, and they ran away. The next day, they were back again. Tom told me to hush and tried to take some pictures, but they wouldn’t come out from the shadows.
We left San Angelo just as the weather was getting really nice. Tom wanted to stay at Guadelupe River State Park, but the campground was closed for hunting. We stayed at an RV park near Bandera instead.
There’s a little park in the city of Bandera that explains why they’re the Cowboy Capital of the World. The bricks in the walkway show the brands of all the nearby ranches. There’s even a statue of a cowboy on horseback. He looks like he’s rounding up the herd!
Finally, we moved from Bandera to Potters Creek Campground near Canyon Lake. It’s not a state park, but it’s just as nice. Most people go there to fish, and there weren’t any hiking trails. But, there was a herd of friendly deer that came around our campsite almost every day. I remembered from Washington how they wouldn’t run away if I stayed quiet. It was nice to just sit by the door and watch them.
The hunters were finished at Guadelupe River State Park, so we went there to hike. We camped there a long time ago when we first started this adventure. It’s still just as pretty. The trail along the river passes by some cypress trees and palmettos. If you didn’t know better, you might think you were in Florida.
We had a great time looking around the Texas Hill Country, but it started getting cold again. So, Tom pointed our den-on wheels south toward the coast. We haven’t been to the coast since we left Washington. There wasn’t a beach there, but Tom says there’s plenty on the Gulf Coast. I can hardly wait!