Editor’s Note: This post is written by a member of LTV’s sponsored content team, The Leisure Explorers. Do you own a Leisure Travel Van and enjoy writing? Learn more about joining the team.

While I’ve actually been a Texan for longer than I lived in Oklahoma, I still consider Oklahoma as my home as I was born and raised there, and most of my family still resides in the Sooner State. With that said, I would love to share my “home state’s” beauty and opportunities for discovery that are best experienced traveling in an RV. While I have not visited many of these places since I was a kid (my family spent many summer vacations exploring our state), I hope to revisit these places again as an adult and many are on upcoming itineraries.

Let’s get started checking out my list of favorite unique attractions that span from historically significant sites to stunning natural landscapes. This story will take you on a virtual RV journey through some of the best places Oklahoma has to offer, along with a few RV park recommendations to hang your hat on while you are there.

We start our journey in the heart of Oklahoma City, at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. This poignant and reflective site commemorates the tragic bombing that took place here in 1995. The museum provides a detailed narrative of the event, allowing visitors to pay their respects and learn about this pivotal moment in American history.

The Reflecting Pool (Image from Oklahoma City National Museum)

I remember to this day watching the chaos on live TV. It really hit home as one of the most lasting photos is of a friend of my father’s being rescued from the third floor. I visited this site not long ago, and you do not want to miss this beautiful memorial.

There are several other must-see attractions in Oklahoma City, and the next on the list is The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, previously known as the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. This is an integral part of Oklahoma’s cultural and historical narrative, showcasing the rich and diverse traditions of the American West.

From fine art and artifacts to interactive exhibits and events, the museum dives into the history and lore of cowboys, Native American cultures, Western performers, and the rugged pioneers who explored and settled the American West. Its standout features include the iconic statue ‘The End of the Trail,’ the expansive Western art collection, and a fully replicated early 1900s cattle town. This is a must-visit for anyone looking to immerse themselves in the spirit of the West–I have so many fond memories of my grandparents taking us there often.

The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden is one of the nation’s top Zoos, located just northeast of downtown, the OKC Zoo encompasses over 119 acres and is home to more than 1,900 animals from 512 species around the globe. Visitors can marvel at elephants, tigers, giraffes, and exotic birds, all housed in habitats designed to mimic their natural environments. In addition to its impressive animal collection, the Oklahoma City Zoo also features a beautiful botanical garden, adding a lush, green landscape to the zoo’s ambiance. The garden includes a butterfly garden, a tropical rainforest, and the state’s largest walk-through outdoor flamingo exhibit. The zoo’s commitment to conservation, education, and family fun make it an essential stop for any Oklahoma City visitor.

Elephants are one of OKC Zoo’s residents. (Image from Oklahoma City Zoo)

There is also the Zoo Amphitheater, which holds concerts all year long. I’ve rocked out to many an eighties band there back in my teenage years!

Your RV home near the city could be the Twin Fountains RV Park, which is conveniently located near most of Oklahoma City’s attractions and offers full-service amenities, including a pool and a mini-golf course. We look forward to staying there soon.

Now let’s get out of the city and check out Oklahoma’s landscape and wildlife. A little over an hour down the highway from OKC, we travel to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. This expansive area near Lawton is home to a vast array of wildlife and offers outdoor activities such as hiking and bird watching. If you are wanting to test your fitness level, try biking up Mt. Scott like I did when I was 18. It’s not for the faint of heart, as it’s 3 miles up on a steep paved road. The trip down is totally worth it!

The top of Mt. Scott has views for days! (Image from Only in Oklahoma Facebook Page)

While in Lawton, also enjoy a historical exploration at the Museum of the Great Plains. This site provides an in-depth look into the cultural and natural history of the Great Plains region of North America.

For a true outdoor experience, RVers can use the Doris Campground, though it’s worth noting that this is a primitive campground with no hookups and booked through Recreation.gov. Be sure you are set up to boondock if you choose this campsite. If you want a full service RV Park, I’d recommend Pinnacle Peak RV Park.

Let’s jump over to South Central Oklahoma and we arrive at my neck of the woods where I grew up in Davis, OK. There is so much to do in this area! Check out Turner Falls Park, home to Oklahoma’s largest waterfall. This park offers natural swimming areas, hiking trails, and beautiful scenery.

I spent many summers swimming in these waters! (Image from travelawaits.com)

Just seven miles down the road is Sulphur, home to the Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Chickasaw Cultural Center & Lake Arbuckle. This spot is perfect for boating, fishing, or a tranquil picnic by the water. The Turner Falls Park RV Hookups Campsite is the ideal place to park your home on wheels as you explore this natural wonder and surrounding area.

Next, we head to the ruggedly beautiful Robbers Cave State Park. Legend has it that outlaws once used the park’s caves as a hideout, and today, visitors enjoy hiking, fishing, and even horseback riding here. The park offers several campgrounds equipped with RV hookups, ensuring a comfortable stay amid nature.

Robbers Cave State Park is draw-dropping (image from Wikipedia)

Our journey continues to Quartz Mountain State Park, an outdoor lover’s paradise. Located near Lone Wolf, this park is known for its golden quartz sand, offering activities such as boating, rock climbing, and bird watching. An RV park with full hookups ensures that you can take full advantage of everything the park offers.

Quartz Mountain State Park (Image from travelOK.com)

Heading back to city attractions, we visit Tulsa. Tulsa is a major cultural center in Oklahoma and some of the state’s best museums are there, including the Philbrook Museum of Art. The Italian-style villa is home to an extensive art collection ranging from European to Asian art.

The Gilcrease Museum is one of the country’s best facilities for the preservation and study of American art and history. The museum’s charm lies in its extensive collection of art from the American West, as well as artifacts from Central and South America. It houses the world’s largest, most comprehensive collection of art and artifacts of the American West, including an unparalleled collection of Native American art and material. The museum is also famous for its thematic gardens, which are inspired by various periods in American history.

Providing a unique trifecta of experiences: a historic home, a world-class art museum, and 25 acres of gardens. (Image from Philbrook.org)

For those interested in architecture, the Tulsa Art Deco District is a must-see. Tulsa experienced a significant economic boom in the early 20th century thanks to the oil industry, and a lot of the wealth was invested in grand architectural projects. Many of these beautiful buildings, inspired by Art Deco, are preserved in the downtown area.

Tulsa’s Art Deco district is a beautiful step back in time. (Image from Vie Magazine)

Highlights include the Philcade Building, the Tulsa Club Building, and the Boston Avenue Methodist Church, which is considered one of the finest examples of ecclesiastical Art Deco architecture in the United States. Walking tours are available to fully appreciate these architectural gems.

While in Tulsa, check out Mingo RV Park, a perfect base to explore these as well as Tulsa’s other attractions, like the Tulsa Zoo.

Each of these Oklahoma attractions offers a unique slice of what this beautiful state has to offer. So load up your RV, buckle up, and get ready to create unforgettable memories as you journey through the Sooner State.

Editor’s Note: This post is written by a member of LTV’s sponsored content team, The Leisure Explorers. Do you own a Leisure Travel Van and enjoy writing? Learn more about joining the team.

“The question is not what you look at but what you see” Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

At first, we planned to write two articles about 22 Central Texas State Parks. However, during our trip to New Mexico and Arizona in Part One and Part Two of this series, we decided to return to Canada through Texas. This detour allowed us to visit eight more parks, and in this story, we’ll share our experiences in those parks.

Monahans Sandhills State Park

Our first stop back in Texas was Monahans Sandhills State Park which has a very good visitor center describing the history of the park and the surrounding area. There is a very short walking trail through a native plant garden where spring blooms have begun. Our campsite was right beside the dunes and had a covered shelter which was very welcome with the high temperatures. We tried sliding down the dunes like we had done at White Sands National Park in New Mexico, but the sand here was extremely fine, so we just sunk in. However, we enjoyed the physicality of freely hiking through the dune area.

Monahans Sandhills State Park

Hiking to the top of the tallest dune

Nature Trail flowers in bloom

Lake Colorado State Park

The following morning the winds were forecast to pick up significantly, so we attempted to leave early enough to avoid them, but it didn’t work. We got caught in very bad winds, with dust blowing across the Interstate as we headed east to Lake Colorado City State Park. The scary handling of our Unity in high winds has now prompted us to book our suspension upgrades to be done this summer!

Dust blowing across the Interstate with high winds

This park has a large man-made lake which is good for fishing. There are also a couple of hiking trails, so we did the Cactus Trail for 5 kilometers along the lake. There were unique rock formations and some Lace Hedgehog Cactus blooming.

Cactus Trail along Lake Colorado City

Cool rock pillar along Cactus Trail

Lace Hedgehog Cactus starting to bloom

Abilene State Park

As we left the park the next day to head to Abilene State Park, we were amazed by the number of wind turbines, and it turned out that this area had the largest number of wind turbines in Texas. The state of Texas is the largest wind power producer in the United States and ranks fifth globally.

Wind Turbines everywhere

We arrived at Abilene on a Saturday, and it was extremely busy as many of the Texas State Parks are on the weekends. We walked along the Elm Creek and Eagle trails to see the CCC structures in the park.

Abilene State Park CCC structures

CCC built water tower

There is a 5800-gallon swimming pool, which wasn’t open for the season yet, and a large water tower by the pool.

Pavilion by the pool

View of the empty pools

On Sunday, the park completely emptied out, and we did a mountain bike ride on the dam and north trails. Unfortunately, Sharon ran over a very large thorn and got her third flat tire of this trip. Naturally, it occurred halfway through the trail, so we had to walk her bike back to the campground. We carry spare tubes in the RV, so I swapped the tube, and we did an additional ride around the campground to see the other camping sections and the bird blind.

Lake Abilene and the dam

Torrey Yucca in bloom

Dinosaur Valley State Park

After two nights at Abilene, we drove to Dinosaur Valley State Park, it deserves a multiple-day stay. The dinosaur tracks in the park are incredibly cool to see! There are 2 types of tracks you can see in this park along the Paluxy River, the Acrocanthosaurus and Sauroposeidon tracks. They were discovered in the 1930’s and some were excavated in the 1940’s.

Types of tracks in Dinosaur Valley State Park

Acrocanthosaurus tracks

Acrocanthosaurus and Sauroposeidon tracks in the main site

We first checked out the Blue Hole site, but the water level was too high to see the tracks there, so we went to the Ballroom site, where we waded into the water to see the three toed Acrocanthosaurus tracks. Later in the afternoon, we went to the main site, where a pool had both tracks, although the Sauroposeidon ones were harder to distinguish.

Joel wading out at the Ballroom site

The next day we decided to do a long hiking loop (13 kilometers) covering Denio Creek, Cedar Break, Black-Capped Vireo, Overlook, Limestone Ledge, and the Paluxy River trails. The Denio Creek trail was fascinating with the geology along the creek.

Denio Creek

Black-Capped Vireo was more of a forest walk with nice spring-blooming flowers. The Overlook was high up but didn’t have the best view of the Paluxy River. We could only do part of the Limestone Ledge trail as they had a section of the loop closed for habitat restoration.

Dinosaur Valley State Park flower collage

3 Juniper Hairstreak Butterflies

We returned to the main site river crossing and then followed the Paluxy River trail. This turned out to be our most spectacular find! Further along the river’s edge, the map showed there were some more dinosaur tracks to see. Well, these ones were not underwater, so we got the best view of any of the tracks we had seen!

Paluxy River view

Acrocanthosaurus Tracks

Cleburne State Park

After we got checked in at Cleburne State Park, we did a short walk on the Perch Point Fishing, Coyote Run, and Fossil Ridge trails, and we were amazed by the field of flowers by the water treatment plant.

Cleburne State Park field of flowers

We decided to ride our mountain bikes on Coyote Run, Spillway, and Limestone Ridge Trails the following day. Coyote Run had some very steep rocky sections, but when we got to the Spillway trail, it was fascinating to see the 3-tiered limestone spillway built by the CCC.

Riding Coyote Run Trail

Cedar Lake Spillway built by the CCC

Limestone Ridge was a trail built by DORBA (Dallas Offroad Bike Association), but it had a lot of poison ivy, so we cut the ride short and headed back on the main park road. We saw several very large Ammonite fossils along the trails, which was interesting.

3-tiered spillway carved by hand by the CCC

Ammonite fossils

We have good friends who live in Plano, so we stopped in for a visit and also visited the Plano Mercedes Dealership to have some service work completed. We had an excellent experience with their service shop.

Lake Tawakoni State Park

The next stop was Lake Tawakoni State Park which was just over an hour from Plano. After we got to our site, we went for a 5 km hike on the Spring Point Trails and the White Deer Trail. The Honey Locust tree was unique, with massive thorns on the trunk.

Lake Tawakoni and Spring Point

Honey Locust

Also, a fascinating display board talked about a fly emergence in 2007 that, in turn, started a massive spider (Long Jawed Orb Weavers) invasion and web over the Spring Point Trail. The massive web setup attracted researchers to study the short-lived phenomenon. Luckily, we only saw a few webs on our hike.

Spider gathering

The next morning before we left the park, we did another 5-kilometer hike on the Frackleberry, Red Oak, and Orange Osage Trails. On these trails, we saw a unique caterpillar, a Mayapple plant with some disease, a Virginia Spiderwort flower, and a very small snake. If we’d had more time, we would have finished the other loop trail or ridden our MTBs on these trails.

Unique caterpillar

Virginia Spiderwort

As we left the park and drove along the east side of the lake, there was a pretty spillway with lots of pelicans at the base.

Lake Tawakoni dam

Caddo Lake State Park

Caddo Lake State Park is in the piney woods region of east Texas on Big Cypress Bayou. The area had an interesting history, including the assassination of the tax collector in 1840, as the residents didn’t want to pay taxes. Can you imagine that today? We only stayed one night at this park while trying to cover the distance on our way home. We had a self-imposed deadline to be home by April 26 so we could file our tax returns.

Saw Mill Pond in Caddo Lake State Park

How the Big Cypress Bayou formed

The next morning before leaving the park, we went down to the pier to see the bayou, but no alligators were around. Then we hiked all the trails to see the CCC-built buildings and returned on a different trail to see the flooded-out boat ramp and dock temporarily closed.

CCC Rec Hall

Sharon tries the tree on for size

Atlanta State Park

Our last State Park in Texas was Atlanta State Park on Lake Wright Patman. The park had done a controlled burn a few days before, and at our end of the park, the trails were showing closed. Luckily, they opened the trailhead near us the next morning so that we could leave directly from the RV. We did a long 16-kilometer hiking day, including the White Oak Ridge, Hickory Hollow, Terrace, Volksmarch, Bobo’s Ferry, and Arrowhead trails. We could see and smell the burn area as we walked the White Oak Ridge trail, and there were even a few spots with smoke still rising.

Controlled burn done on right side of trail

When we saw the name Terrace Trail, we imagined some rock/cliff terrace, but it just took you to an empty field where the lake had overflowed and killed the trees! After the Volksmarch trail, we reached the boat ramp at the far end of the park and had our lunch, and watched the school group of kids going for a swim in the lake. Bobo’s Ferry trail reminded us of the Natchez Trace, where you could see the wagon wheels had dug a trough along the path.

Bobo’s Ferry Trail – wagon wheels carved trough

When we got back to the White Oak Ridge trail, we decided to take the side cut to the lakefront, and we’re really glad we did. The most spectacular scenery in the entire park was along the north edge of the lakefront, where none of the trails went!

View along the North shore where we ventured off trail

Very unique rock on the shore

There were interesting clay banks that reminded us of scuba diving in Colpoys Bay, Ontario, contrasting with the red banks of the soil. We were so glad that we ventured off the trail to see this area, even though it meant we had a long walk back on the road to get to the campground.

Incredible clay and red soil cliff

This concludes our Texas State Park adventure this year. We hope you’ve enjoyed this short glimpse of the parks we visited and will add Texas to your travel list with your LTV. We know we’ll return to try out other Texas State Parks and revisit our favorites.

Editor’s Note: This post is written by a member of LTV’s sponsored content team, The Leisure Explorers. Do you own a Leisure Travel Van and enjoy writing? Learn more about joining the team.

Heading North, Then South, Then West

The best plans are flexible enough to change on a dime, and when they do change, often, there’s an unexpected positive result down that new path. If you’ve been following our journey heading west from Michigan instead of going to Florida in 2022, you already know some of the changes we’ve made due to the weather. Our third week on the road was no different.

As we rolled through a continuously desert-like landscape of west Texas, we brought the high winds whipping up dust devils and freezing or nearly so overnight temperatures with us that we’d been dealing with since leaving New Orleans. We would see a lot more in the weeks ahead before reaching California.

One encounters some of the most interesting experiences on the way to Big Bend National Park, like this brief dust storm.

We were still holding out hope to get to White Sands National Park, but with hurricane-strength winds predicted, we gave up and went to our sandbagged alternative. We pointed our 2015.5 Unity Murphy Bed ‘Lucky Us’ south from Whites City and Carlsbad Caverns to Big Bend National Park on the Mexico-U.S. border. If you look at a map, we’ve gone north from San Antonio to Fredericksburg, then White’s City, and now, we’re heading south back into Texas.

We were too late to book a campsite in the park, so we took the next best thing, a private campground in Marathon, close enough for day trips, which had its own great treat in store.

After an interesting phone GPS-directed “shortcut” attempt on Route 720 to Malaga that kept narrowing almost to nearly a two-track, then descending into a creek ford (don’t take it; repeat, do not take it), we turned around and backtracked to the town of Carlsbad and headed, sans creek crossing, towards Marathon.

Marathon

It’s a motel. It’s an RV Park, and Marathon Motel & RV Park is also a dark sky park (bonus!!), something we didn’t know when we booked. The sky here is inky, and when weather permits, campers can line up to peek into a couple of large amateur telescopes for some free star and planet viewing. The motel’s southwest motif was also cute, and local restaurants were nearby.

The following day, we drove through nearly 40 miles (64 kilometers) of the Chihuahuan Desert to the park and turned right towards the destination most who come here want to see: Santa Elena Canyon. But first, a few stops you may want to make.

We turned off the main park road and took the 22-mile Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive that in part runs along the Rio Grande, past the arid-looking Cottonwood Campground. The drive includes a relatively easy one-mile hike to the early 20th-century Homer Wilson Ranch site, about as desolate a place for a ranch as you can imagine, which is why it’s nothing but a skeleton of a house and corral. But no matter what, bring water, plenty of water.

Homer Wilson Ranch is only a mile from the parking area but take water, please. Please.

From the looks of it, life at the Wilson Ranch was probably not the best spot for a ranch.

A scenic turnout will lead to some cute photos at the Mule Ears, a half-mile off the scenic drive.

We also stopped to view Tuff Canyon—it’s not tough, but made of tuff, compacted volcanic ash—from above as others walked the wash. Watch out in the May-September rainy season, when it often flows with water, including flash floods.

Site of a famous annual chili cook-off in November, the near-ghost town of Terlingua has indoor lodging in Big Bend.

The near-ghost town of Terlingua–there is lodging there–a former mercury mining community, hosts a famous chili cook-off each November. Then we arrived at the spot most visitors come to see, the imposing site of the Rio Grande emerging from the walls of Santa Elena Canyon.

The canyon trail takes you about a mile-plus into the canyon.

The limestone formed when this was a sea bed rises straight up 1,500 feet, cut through over millions of years by the Rio Grande. Don’t judge the river’s size here in March by what it can do in the rainy season. There can be class IV rapids upstream. The river was barely moving on our visit. Families waded across to Mexico to say they did.

The Rio Grande emerges from Santa Elena Canyon into the desert. Not very wide, is it?

We crossed Terlingua Creek flowing into the river on a shaky “bridge” of sticks and walked the 1.7-mile trail into the canyon, where the cliffs are the most dramatic unless you are game to kayak upstream. You can also put in 17 miles upstream at Lajitas. That’s the trip that could get “interesting” when those rapids, labyrinths of boulders, and such may come into play.

Crossing Terlingua Creek before it joins the Rio Grande. Mexico is on the other side of the Rio Grande.

This is the shot you need to take from the canyon trail.

Farther into the canyon, the river takes in both sides.

We headed back to Marathon, briefly stopping at the Border Patrol checkpoint, where officers waved us through, not even wanting to peek inside an RV driven by Denise. We arrived at the campground, set up for the evening, and bundled up for another night of viewing the heavens in the dark sky area, including being able to see Galaxy M33 with the naked eye. It’s more than two million light-years away.

Bill sets up his iPhone for a try at some time-lapse night photos at the campground in Marathon.

The next morning, we shook off the ice on our folding chairs and headed deeper into the southwest, successfully turning a weather-related detour into a beautiful experience. But this leg wasn’t over.

Overnight ice in the desert campground at Marathon.

Marfa

On the way, we went through quirky Marfa, a population of about 2,000. How quirky? The local newspaper doubles as a bar and restaurant.

Marfa also rightly has an artsy reputation and was the location for several movies, including the James Dean/Elizabeth Taylor/Rock Hudson 50s blockbuster Giant, that’s featured in a billboard mural along Highway 90. More recently, No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood also were shot there. The town also somehow became a spot to purchase purses and leather goods, but not at the “Prada store.” As a pop art comment on commercialism, it doesn’t sell anything.

It’s a UFO! No, dang it, just an “eyes in the sky” blimp of the Border Patrol near Maria.

The rumored Marfa lights and viewing area didn’t appear when we passed at mid-day, but we did see an IFO (identified flying object), a white blimp used by the border patrol to keep eyes on the ground since we were only 40 miles from the border.

When You Go

Bring plenty of water anywhere you hike here. This is a dry, dry country, and perspiration dries immediately. The National Park Service recommends one liter of water per person for each hour of hiking. As of this writing, at least two hikers have died in the park this year alone. Be mindful of those overnight temps as well. The desert may be hot, but it can drop near or below freezing at night.

As with any National Park stay, plan ahead if you want to stay in the park proper. Cottonwood Canyon campground has water. There also is camping at Big Bend State Park. Tuff Canyon Trail was temporarily closed due to a rock slide in the spring of 2023. Be sure to check the park’s website for updates.

Editor’s Note: This post is written by a member of LTV’s sponsored content team, The Leisure Explorers. Do you own a Leisure Travel Van and enjoy writing? Learn more about joining the team.

In part one of this series, we covered 11 Central Texas State Parks, and in this one, we’ll cover the other 11 that we visited.

Pedernales Falls State Park

Our next park was Pedernales Falls State Park which has lots of hiking trails and some very challenging mountain biking trails in Juniper Ridge. This park is popular on weekends, so we booked four nights during the week. When we first checked in, the site we had booked had a 5-degree slope, so luckily, the ranger was able to move us to a more level site.

The falls had just a trickle of water flowing over them, and some people call it horizontal falls because the water flows across and down the carved limestone. They have a lookout viewing area, but to truly see and experience it, you need to scramble down the rocks and wander around to see where the water has carved the rocks and to see all the fossils in the limestone. You need to make sure there is no flooding risk if it rains prior to your visit.

When you are in this area, you need to be sure to visit the LBJ State Park and Historic Site (which we did), but another LTV Explorer covered this in a recent article, so we won’t duplicate anything.

Guadalupe River State Park

Our next park was Guadalupe River State Park. If possible, you should try to visit this park on a weekend because it is connected to Honey Creek State Natural Area. Volunteers do a guided hike to see this protected area on Saturday mornings (book in advance).

Honey Creek State Natural Area

In this park the main things to see are the Bald Cypress Trail and the Swallow Cliffs but if you do some of the other trails you are likely to see lots of armadillos. The Honey Creek guided walk takes about three hours and the volunteers share a lot of information on this beautiful, protected area.

Bald Cypress Trail

Swallow Cliffs along Guadalupe River

We had booked to go to South Llano River State Park next, but a major ice event was about to hit Texas, and we were worried about driving, so we canceled our reservation and headed south to San Antonio to avoid the weather. We stayed a few days at an RV park to get some necessary laundry done and then went to a Harvest Host winery. The ice event was quite bad, with school closures and many accidents on the highways.

Lost Maples State Natural Area

After things thawed out, we went to Lost Maples State Natural Area. This natural area is one of the few places left in Texas that still has maple trees, and they are Uvalde Bigtooth Maples that don’t produce syrup and have very small leaves. This park must be incredibly busy in the fall when the leaves are changing colors. There are several good hiking trails, but it is advised to have hiking poles as the trails are rocky and have a fair amount of elevation gain. The interesting features are Monkey Rock, the Grotto, and some crystal-clear springs.

Monkey Rock

Grotto

Spring fed pond

Garner State Park

From Lost Maples, to get to Garner State Park, you take Texas FM/RM 337 (Farm to Market or Ranch to Market) from Vanderpool to Leakey. Unknown to us at the time, it’s famous for its switchbacks and has been called one of the most scenic drives in Texas, not that the driver has the chance to notice the scenery!

Texas FM/RM 337

Garner State Park is not the largest State Park in Texas, but it gets the most visitors, over a million last year!  Since it was off-season, the park wasn’t busy at all. It seemed strange going from a park with 30 campsites to one with 513. Again, this park has lots of hiking and mountain biking trails with varying difficulty levels; poles and hiking boots are recommended. When we book into state parks, we usually look at the trail maps first, and then we can decide how many nights we need to book to complete the trails. We spent four nights in Garner and enjoyed seeing Old Baldy from the bottom and the top and seeing Crystal Cave.

Fisherman in the Frio River with a reflection of Old Baldy

View from the top of Old Baldy

View out from Crystal Cave

They have several interesting CCC structures, including a pavilion with an outdoor dance area, and they still hold dances during their peak season.

Sharon dancing by the Pavillion

Kickapoo Cavern State Park

Kickapoo Cavern State Park offers a cave tour on the weekends.  The tour is popular, so you should pre-book as they only take ten people each Saturday.

Kickapoo Cavern entrance

Kickapoo Cavern is a dead cave (meaning the formations are not continuing to grow), but the size of the formations is incredible, and they date back 4 million years! Just be aware that this tour is very physical. You need to wear a helmet, carry a flashlight, and scramble over rocks in the dark for 2 hours in a humid environment. However, if you can handle this, it’s worthwhile. The park also has several other trails you can hike and/or mountain bike on, so give this tiny park a go.

Formations

Columns that were eight stories tall

In season the Mexican free-tailed bats fly in and out of Stuart Cave. They weren’t back yet for the season, but we could smell they had been there.

Stuart Bat Cave

Seminole Canyon State Park

Seminole Canyon State Park was a repeat park for us, but we enjoyed it and wanted to return. This park is along the Rio Grande River and has canyon rim trails for hiking and mountain biking.

Canyon Rim Trail

There are also guided tours of the Fate Bell Shelter pictograph area (book in advance). The pictographs date from 4200 years old to the youngest at 1500 years old. The ranger had a laser pointer and described what the researchers believed the paintings meant.

Fate Bell Shelter

We stayed an extra day as they were trying a new ranger-led tour called Van-tastic which gave you the history of the Southern Railroad that was built in 1883 and only operated for 10 years, and you saw some more modern-day pictographs.

Shaman with people moving around him

Bread oven used when the railroad was built

Big Bend Ranch State Park

On a prior trip, we had gone to Big Bend National Park, so this time, we decided to go to Big Bend Ranch State Park. Most people drive through this park on River Road when they are going to or coming from the National Park.

View along River Road

Along River Road, we stopped to do the Closed Canyon and Hoodoos trails.

Closed Canyon

Hoodoos

We had booked a non-service site that was 32 kilometers along a dirt road (it took 1.5 hours to cover this distance) in the center of Big Bend Ranch State Park. They called it an equestrian site because it was big enough to park the horse trailers, and it had pens from the earlier ranching days. The dirt road was a washboard surface and got quite narrow in spots, so this adventure would not be for everyone.

Dirt road into our campsite at Big Bend Ranch SP

However, the mountains and desert surrounding the campsite were very peaceful, and the star gazing at night was phenomenal as this is an International Dark Sky Park.

Sunset at our campsite in Big Bend Ranch SP

We would see the park rangers each day as they came in and out from the visitor center further along the dirt road. When you do hikes in this park, you need to be very cognizant of the sun and hydration, as there is almost no shade. We did about 11 kilometers of hiking each day, and that was about our limit. Luckily our campsite had a very good shelter so we could rest in the afternoons. We saw lots of javelinas and mule deer in the park and some border patrol horses going to do a trail ride.

Hiking Rancho Viejo trail

Ojito Adentro spring and waterfall

For Leaton State Historic Site

Once back on the real pavement, we went west to Presidio and Fort Leaton State Historic Site. This site is one of the largest and finest historic adobe structures in Texas. The fort was a trading post on the US-Mexico Border in the 1800s. Juana Pedrasa and Ben Leaton established the trading post in 1848 with their three children and Ben’s partner John Burgess.

Fort Leaton State Historic Site

Adobe walls, damaged fireplace, Ocotillo branch ceilings

There were some journals that described several murders that took place between 1851, when Ben suddenly passed away, and 1872 when the Burgesses managed the fort, and they continued to manage it until 1927. It deteriorated over time as the railway eventually became the trading route, so Fort Leaton became unneeded. Texas State Parks acquired the fort in 1967 and did extensive restoration work, which was completed in 1978. There was a short video on the history of the fort and some exhibits and then we did a self guided tour of the various rooms and the grounds.

Dining Room with the chapel of atonement at the end due to the murders that took place here

The most interesting and unique artifact was the Carreta wagon in the corral area. The Spanish brought these carts to the U.S. region in 1590, and a fully loaded Carreta would need 10 to 12 oxen to pull it!

Joel pulling the Carreta

David Mountains State Park

Our next stop was Davis Mountains State Park. We had been in this area on a prior trip and had seen Fort Davis and the Observatory but wanted to do some hiking in the park.

On the first day, we did a shorter trail and had hoped to see the 1935 CCC-built Indian Lodge, but unfortunately, they had closed it for renovations.

View of the closed (for renovations) Indian Lodge below

That afternoon we went to the interpretive center and saw the Ranger’s excellent presentation on park critters. The next day we hiked across the highway, where we completed the 700-foot ascent on Limpia Creek and Sheep Canyon Pen Trails to reach the Vista connector to the overlook and the park’s highest point, 5700 feet.  The winds were incredibly strong at the top (40 miles-per-hour gusts), so we didn’t stay there too long enjoying the view.

Vista Overlook 5700′

Balmorhea State Park

We were hoping to stay at Balmorhea State Park, but the campsites were closed for renovation; however, we could still go swimming in the San Solomon Spring. Nearly 15 million gallons of water flow daily from the spring into the pool. In 1935, the CCC built the 2-acre swimming pool that used 30,000 square feet of hand-finished local limestone rock.  There are fish (Pecos Gambusia and Catfish) and soft-shelled turtles in the pool (one turtle was close to 2’ long); the fish nip at your skin. The outlet from the pool flows into a canal system and down to a lake and is used for irrigation by the farmers in the area.

Balmorhea State Park pool

Outflow from the pool to the canal system

Franklin Mountains State Park

We headed west, and when we reached El Paso, we took the 375-ring road so we could go to Franklin Mountains State Park. They only have five non-service RV sites, so we were lucky to get a booking.

Reverse sunset from our campsite in Franklin Mountains

Franklin Mountains is the largest urban park in the United States (28 times bigger than Central Park in New York). One of the unique things about this park is that it is one of the only places in the Chihuahuan Desert where you can see the Southwestern Barrel Cactus.

Southwestern Barrel Cactus–the top always points south

We decided to hike the Aztec Caves Trail with the plan to take a connector to get to the Mundy’s Gap Overlook, but it was a very difficult rock scramble with no signs telling you where to go. Eventually, we made it to the Overlook with an incredible 360 view. We contemplated going to the top of Franklin Mountain, but unfortunately, the winds were gusting to 80 kilometers per hour, making it challenging to stay on the trail, so we returned to our campsite.

View looking west from Aztec Caves

On the morning we were leaving, we woke up to snow-covered peaks! We would like to return to this park to do more of the hiking trails but without the snow!

Snowy Franklin Mountains from our campsite

This concludes our 22 Texas State Park journey, but there are lots of other parks in Texas to visit on future trips. This last photo was a poster that shows in rough position the State Parks across Texas. We hope you have found this series helpful for your future travels.

Texas State Parks

Editor’s Note: This post is written by a member of LTV’s sponsored content team, The Leisure Explorers. Do you own a Leisure Travel Van and enjoy writing? Learn more about joining the team.

As a child, my parents introduced us to the outdoors and taught us to appreciate nature. Mum would slap together some sandwiches, maybe a boiled egg or two, some baked tarts, a bottle of orange squash, and a packet of crisps. Dad would hurry us into the back of our Hillman Husky car and throw in a blanket and cushions.

We would slowly amble along quaint English countryside roads, taking in the warm dusty air through open windows, stopping at the odd thicket of brambles to pick wild blackberries, peaking into a nest of song thrush eggs, and picking a posy of wildflowers. “Where are we going?” we’d ask. “There and back,” was Dad’s reply. Soon enough, we’d end up in a farmer’s meadow or a glade of trees and enjoy the day’s bounty with a picnic in nature.

We have taken our Wonder Rear Twin Bed on many long Canadian road trips over the years–to the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, along most of the Great Lakes, through old-growth forests, and to the top of mountains. We decided to dedicate 2022 to much smaller excursions with less time on the road, so the following is a chronological brief of our journey within Ontario.

May 2, 2022

Our latest pre-camping season began as usual, taking our Wonder for servicing. It’s always a head-turner when I pull into the local Ford dealership. Driving home, the courtesy shuttle bus driver noted that he didn’t realize Ford sold motorhomes. I don’t think he was prepared for my long-winded reply about where and how they are made. In case you didn’t know, LTV owners are passionate about their rigs!

Because we live in a high-rise building, we don’t have the facilities to de-winterize our motorhome and prepare it for upcoming camps. Luckily we have some great friends willing to offer the use of their driveway and water supply. Leisure Travel Vans made this process very simple, and with a trip to our local Flying J services station, our grey and black water tanks and the whole plumbing system were flushed and ready for our next adventures. Where you may ask? There and back.

Rural Rootz Nature Reserve

May 4, 2022

We hit the road and were heading north. Destination Wiarton, Ontario, and our favorite Harvest Hosts, Rural Rootz Nature Reserve. It’s a great time to be there. The trilliums and snowdrops are in bloom, and the colors of spring show their palettes in the floral gardens. It’s always a welcoming destination, and owners Tom and Dee have a gift of providing their time and energy to guests that surpasses all other destinations to make our travels memorable.

While there, we also like to help out around the premises to prepare the nature reserve for opening time. Chakra dragons have to be hung, the store’s summer tarp roof has to be put in place, and the tea room needs furniture brought in from winter storage. Robyn helped out tidying the area, broom in hand. It’s the least we can do for this magnificent location. We love the natural beauty and the whimsical touches that Dee and Tom have created and shared.

Rural Rootz Nature Reserve

May 24

Our first “park” camp of the year was also our introduction to Leisure Travel Vans Travelers Club rallies. After mooch-docking and visiting our relatives in Toronto for the night, we continued east along the busy Highway 401.

The Ontario Sunrisers Spring Rally took place at Rideau Acres Campground outside Kingston, Ontario. The grounds are clean and spacious, very suitable for a Rally, with full-service sites. It was pretty surreal to see over 30 Leisure Travel vans of all ages and models. A benefit for us was to meet several social media followers of ours in the flesh, like Carter the Wonder RV and Lynn and Dave from @Retiredreinspired, as well as other owners of LTVs. There was an interesting meet-and-greet scavenger game and group bonfire, and an opportunity to hear about different camping experiences.

Ontario Sunrisers Rally

A memorable activity for us was a paddle to the Rideau Canal in a 14-seat Voyageur canoe. It was fun to be with about twelve other uncoordinated paddlers aiming for the canal locks at the Kingston Mills lock station. As an interpretive excursion, we learned a lot about the hard-working voyageur way of life, traveling with their loads of furs across brutal waterways, belted with red sashes that offered slight support from hernias, with very few toilet breaks. The saving grace was a meager shot of rum now and then. We have it so good! Our interpretive crew was dressed in period clothing and kept us smiling during our paddling with historical references. It was a fun time, and we were lucky the weather held out for us.

Voyageur Canoe

May 27, 2022

We left the rally and began westward towards home with blackened clouds opening up to a full-on downpour. As it was going to be an extra long drive, we pre-planned to stop in the Kawartha Lakes region of Ontario and camped at Emily Provincial Park. With all the sudden rain, the campsite we had reserved resembled a swamp–muddy puddles everywhere. We like nature, but not like this! We spent the day and night in the rig through the pelting rain and decided in the morning to drive around the campground and scope other prospective sites. Cross-referencing them with the availabilities on the online reservation system, we settled on a few that were confirmed to be available at the front office. Choosing the best site that was dry and on high ground, we switched our paperwork and settled into our new site.

By the time we switched campsites, the weather changed to bright and sunny. We had planned to have an outdoor-cooked meal and looked forward to a visit with friends who lived nearby. It was to be a great time reminiscing, enjoying laughter and good food, and then, for some reason, I didn’t feel so good. I excused myself and decided to go inside the motorhome to figure out what my next steps would be. Lying down on my bed was the only comfortable position. I knew then that the aching pain I was feeling in my side was familiar–I had a kidney stone.

Of course, the mind goes into overdrive. What to do? We are camping–several hours from home. Robyn doesn’t drive, and I knew the pain would only get worse. Our friends, Kitty and Glen, offered to take us to the nearest hospital. Glen, a retired first responder, knew what I was going through and drove with haste. The wait in the emergency room wasn’t too bad, and not long after, a CT scan confirmed my diagnosis, and painkillers were ordered. It was a kidney stone, but it was slow-moving. We were released around 11:00 pm, and our friends graciously picked us up and returned us to the park. After a good night’s sleep, we decided to cancel our next day and leave early. Luckily there were no hiccups on the drive home, and the kidney stone passed a few days later.

Emily Provincial Park

June 20, 2022

We’ve met some lovely people through our travels, and every time we camp, people make positive comments about our Wonder. The sleek design and non-obtrusive color are appealing.

One day while puttering about outside the rig in our storage facility, a fellow was doing the same on his Winnebago. He complimented the good looks of our van, and we struck up a conversation. It turned out that Rod and his wife Sherry lived a few blocks from us and were retired and moved from the same area as us and also bought a motorhome as we did. I gave him our WonderWheels business card and asked him to check out our blog.

A few weeks passed, and we received an email from him asking to get together for a drink. We had a lot in common and struck up a friendship quickly. After a few get-togethers, we suggested a campout together where we chose Pinery Provincial Park along the shore of Lake Huron. Pinery is not too far from home and is one of our favorite destinations. Pinery has a combination of old Carolinian forests, trails, sandy duned beaches, and a beautiful lily pad-lined river, with camping available in tents, yurts, cabins, or RVs.

We reserved two sites next to each other in the Riverside campground and chose to host a dinner. We did some trail walking while our new friends went biking, and we all enjoyed paddling the Old Ausable River in double kayaks, one of our favorite activities at the park. We shared two delicious dinners together, and Robyn and I decided to finish the trip sitting on the near-deserted beautiful sandy beach, watching the waves roll in on Lake Huron. It was a pleasant camp, and Pinery didn’t disappoint.

Rod and Sherry enjoyed their kayak

July 4, 2022

Our next trip was to a small campground on the shores of Georgian Bay. We had traveled to this area for family visits for several years and had passed by this campground hundreds of times but never once stopped to camp. The campground we are talking about is Craigleith Provincial Park at the base of Blue Mountain outside Collingwood, Ontario.

Driving through the nearby towns, we realized how much had changed in the decade since we were here last. The campground was loud, mainly due to the traffic noise from the adjacent highway. Our site had water and electricity–water is unusual for a Provincial Park. For travelers to the region, it is the perfect location to camp and enjoy the nearby attractions. Craigleith was once a shale mining facility. The waterfront is mostly rocky, with a small beach area, though not on our favorite list.

Craigleith Provincial Park

July 7, 2022

We left Craigleith and detoured to Wiarton, staying at Rural Rootz, a welcome change after a so-so camp. There were another Harvest Hosts couple camped in their shiny Airstream. We all enjoyed great conversation and laughter together around the propane fire bowl. Such a relaxing visit with good people and a beautiful environment.

Relaxing at Rural Rootz

August 8, 2022

Robyn and I met in college in the seventies studying graphic design. I was a fresh immigrant from the UK, so my college days were full of new experiences.

One of my closest friends I met in college is my pal John. He introduced me to canoeing, fishing, and camping in the woodland lakes of Ontario. Coming from England and enjoying camping as a youth, I was in awe of the enormous size and beauty of the Canadian lakes, rivers, and forest systems. We camped several times each summer for many years with a few other friends. To this day, we still camp together annually at least once. Though living on the opposite ends of Ontario, we always have a lot to say to each other, washing down our memories with a shot or two of whiskey and reminiscing of days gone by whilst eating fantastic food.

This year, we reserved a campsite at Darlington Provincial Park on the shores of Lake Ontario. John still camps in his tent, while I camp in the luxury of my Wonder. We always have a fun time–we share meals and chores, and there’s always loads of laughter. We even hand-fed some friendly chickadees who dropped in to join us. The campground is perched high on the clifftops overlooking the lake, covered with seeding grasses that migrating birds feed off—a typical Provincial park with comfort stations and good walking trails. There’s also a dump station and a water fill as well as a sandy beach and picnic area.

Old pals at Darlington Provincial Park

August 17, 2022

One park Robyn had discussed visiting many times is the Elora Gorge Conservation Area. Formed by glacial meltwaters, the steep-sided limestone cliffs provide a stunning backdrop to the rushing river below. This is not a Provincial Park but was similarly maintained and well-maintained when we were there.

Campsites have ample room and are fairly private, with the usual fire pit and picnic table. Our campsite was located near the top rim of the gorge. Trails running along the fenced-in edge of the gorge afford hikers excellent views of tubers and kayakers battling the rapids below. There is a rental office for tubes, but be warned, it is a hike to the launch area and an even longer one at the end, carrying your tubes both ways. Nearby is the quaint town of Elora, Ontario. Parking is minimal because it is a tourist destination. However, we were lucky to find a spot that fits our Wonder.

Watching tubers on the Elora Gorge

August 23, 2022

We have always encouraged our children to enjoy nature and camping. When they were young, we would tent camp, sometimes in unfortunate weather. As adults, they still crave the outdoors and have a deep respect for nature. We always enjoy hiking on local trails with them, and so we invited our daughter and her partner to join us for a short camp at Pinery Provincial Park. The two tent camped on our site and took in the outdoor beauty, a restful getaway from their hectic jobs at home.

While camping, they enjoyed hiking the Carolinian Forest Trail, and we even did a short nighttime hike along the river together. The Blackstone came in handy at mealtimes with tacos and steaks. It was great to camp with family again.

End of the day at Pinery

Busy bee at Rural Rootz

September 12, 2022

We returned to Wiarton to catch the beautiful colors and to see our friends again for a few days. Rural Rootz was a happening place, with many visitors coming to see the gardens and hiking the trails. We like to help out when we can, and on this trip, Robyn helped Dee with crafts for sale in the store while I helped Tom bushwhack a seldom-used trail. Armed with a chainsaw and a lopper, we took no time to clear the saplings and brush, blocking the trail ahead. It’s amazing how fast nature can take over.

September 15, 2022

Good friends and old neighbors had talked to us about their previous camping trips. They had recently acquired an unusual Combi-camp tent trailer and suggested we camp together. Due to the glitchy Provincial Park online reservation system, we couldn’t narrow down our preferred park, so we decided to camp at a park neither of us had visited before. Robyn and I left Rural Rootz for the Muskoka region of Ontario.

The last time we were up this way was in the fall of 2020. We reserved two sites on the lakefront at Oastler Provincial Park with our friends Dave, MJ, and their cute dog, Finleigh. Oastler isn’t a bad park; some of the tenting sites have stunning views of the lake. We took a stroll around the park to view these and the forested sites and came out impressed with what we saw.

After our stroll, Robyn rested while we three and Finleigh canoed around the park’s lake perimeter. Robyn came out for a beach walk and even dunked herself in the frigid lake’s waters. Why? I don’t know! Again, we shared meals together, and the scotch and bourbons made for great conversation and laughter beside the fire pit.

Happy hour at Oastler Provincial Park

October 5, 2022

I decided to have one more Provincial park camp. The weather was still looking good, and I wasn’t done yet for the season. We opted for something dependable and returned to Pinery. It was so quiet because family camping had ended, and schools were in progress, though amenities were limited. There were many open sites–just the perfect time of year. It seemed like the campers arriving were there for the peacefulness and the autumn colors.

Pinery Provincial Park

October 7, 2022

We left Pinery and headed north on Lake Huron, stopping in another favorite Harvest Hosts, Bad Apple Brewery. However, we weren’t here to stay the night as it was too early in the day–we were here to stock up on beer. Instead, we forged northwards in rainy weather to Goderich, Ontario. We were too early for the next Harvest Host, so we opted for a late sushi lunch, then headed to Square Brew. After tasting their beer and adding a few more to take home, we called it a night, parking in a private space behind the brewery.

Square Brew Brewery

October 8, 2022

As we had done previously, we decided to end our camping season back at Rural Rootz. Parked at one of the pads was a delightful couple, Nicolle and Collette from New Brunswick, in their Unity. They had wanted to stay at Rural Rootz after hearing we were arriving soon, as they had read about our adventures through our blogs and what a fun time we had together. Tom and Dee hosted a tasty luncheon, and we shared great conversations together.

In the few day’s stay, we were also able to winterize our Wonder and say goodbye to the gardens, signaling the end of our camping season.

Sharing a laugh with these LTV owners

It was a year of short trips but trips full of great memories of the places we visited and the people we were with. We’ve been there, and now we are back.

Editor’s Note: This post is written by a member of LTV’s sponsored content team, The Leisure Explorers. Do you own a Leisure Travel Van and enjoy writing? Learn more about joining the team.

A Day in a Cavern, Windy Cold Weather, and a Change of Plans

We’re taking you along on our trip west last winter–leaving Michigan behind, heading south, then west, to Texas. We’ve skipped Mustang Island due to a harsh cold front, toured San Antonio and Fredericksburg, and are now heading northwest to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, about a six-hour drive. From there, we plan to visit the White Sands National Park. We’ve been carefully watching the weather, paying attention to high winds and near-freezing temperatures, trying to avoid winterizing our 2015.5 Unity Murphy Bed “Lucky Us.” So far, so good. We disconnect the water from the RV nightly but typically find a little ice dripping from the water heater each morning.

Driving through the Texas Hill Country near Ozona.

I can’t say much about our trip from Fredericksburg to Carlsbad Caverns because there ain’t much to see once you leave the Texas Hill Country. Once we came to Fort Stockton and took a turn north, we passed a lot of dusty fields, followed by even more dusty fields. One town demanded a quick stop for obvious reasons.

When you are traveling with a man named Bill, ya better stop in Pecos, Texas, for a photo op. If you don’t know, Pecos Bill was a fictional cowboy and folk hero in stories written by Tex O’Reilly.

We made it to Carlsbad, New Mexico, just in time for dinner and found Rosy’s Mexican Restaurant. Its humble exterior paled in comparison to the authentic, tasty food served here.

If you are eating Mexican in New Mexico, you gotta start out with guacamole, chips, and, of course, Dos Equis.

Wanting to try something we had never heard of before, we chose discada, a delicious blend of ground beef, chorizo, and more, along with refried beans and Mexican rice.

We split this delicious dolce la leche dessert.

Next, we headed about a half-hour south to White’s City RV Park and Campground, close to our next day’s destination: Carlsbad Caverns. This RV Park is about what you’d expect in the desert, and it has a cute general store. BLM land is nearby, but we wanted to be close to the park and have electricity, and we were glad we did, with nighttime temperatures dropped near freezing.

White’s City RV Park and Campground

Carlsbad Caverns

Planning is essential to visit Carlsbad Caverns National Park in the Chihuahuan Desert, within the Guadalupe Mountains. First, a timed ticket must be purchased prior to entry, and they do sell out (don’t worry, they are just a buck each). We purchased our tickets weeks in advance to make sure we could get in. Second, assess your physical abilities prior to visiting. According to the park website, the Natural Entrance Trail is a steep 1-1/4 mile (2-kilometer) descent, equivalent to about 79 stories, from the Natural Entrance to the Big Room. Hiking time is about one hour to get to The Big Room. The park warns that this trail is not recommended for visitors with heart or respiratory conditions, and I’ll warn you if you have bad knees or hips that this descent might be challenging for you. Hiking poles are not allowed, and sturdy, closed-toe shoes are recommended. We took the natural entrance and were glad we did–there are lots to see before you enter The Big Room. If you are not up for the descent, take the elevator to the bottom of the Natural Entrance Trail, where you can enter The Big Room. Third, please pay attention to the warnings not to spread White Nose syndrome in bats, particularly if you will be visiting another cavern. A historic underground lunchroom and bathrooms are near the elevator and The Big Room.

It’s a 7-mile, winding trail from White’s City to the Visitor Center.

Once you’ve parked at the Visitor Center, choose your descent, either by foot or elevator, into the cave.

We chose to take the Natural Entrance.

According to the National Park Service website, hydrogen-sulfide-rich (H₂S) waters began to migrate through fractures and faults in the Capitan limestone between four and six million years ago. This water, mixed with rainwater, formed sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) and moved down from the surface. This acid dissolved the limestone along fractures and folded in the rock to form Carlsbad Cavern. This process left behind massive gypsum deposits, clay, and silt as evidence of how the cave was formed.

The formations you see, some sleek, some gnarled, may inspire you.

You might feel like you are on a journey to the center of the earth as you descend to The Big Room.

Stalactites and stalagmites can be seen throughout your self-guided tour.

The Big Room is the largest single-cave chamber by volume in North America. A 1.25-mile walking path takes you through this limestone chamber, with a shortcut if you don’t want to walk the entire path. National Park Services estimates about an hour and a half to explore. After our hike, we were ready to take the elevator back up to the top.

Taking a Different Direction

We had planned to head north to Artesia and spend the night there before taking the two-and-one-half-hour scenic drive to White Sands National Park, where we would spend the day and then camp nearby overnight. But freezing night temperatures and predicted 70-mile-per-hour winds changed our minds, and we had to scrap our plans. Frozen pipes and a sand-blasted exterior were not on our wish list. So, we changed direction, once again, heading south to a National Park. Watch for our next blog to see where we went. But for now, we’ll follow two other LTV owners, whom we met up top in the parking lot as we exited the park. Happy Travels!

Editor’s Note: This post is written by a member of LTV’s sponsored content team, The Leisure Explorers. Do you own a Leisure Travel Van and enjoy writing? Learn more about joining the team.

We have owned our Unity Island Bed for almost seven years now, and we’ve recognized that everyone has a different travel style. We mainly like to visit state, provincial, and national parks because we figure the park is there to protect something special, and we’d like to find out what is special about that location. The reasons for the parks vary from geologic uniqueness to historical reasons to outdoor activities like hiking and mountain biking. If this is similar to your travel style, you will likely enjoy this story.

As snowbirds, we were trying to find places in the south to visit this year, and we decided to spend more time in Texas to visit some of the state parks. In a three-month span from December through the end of February, we visited 22 Texas state parks.

Texas State Parks have an informative website as well as a mobile app you can use when offline, and they even have a booklet with all the park info and a map of all the park locations. If you do plan to visit Texas State Parks, the best investment you can make is to buy the annual Texas State Park pass.  When we booked our first reservation online (no reservation fees are charged, which is nice), we added the park pass to our account, and it automatically applied all the discounts to this and to future reservations. In 2022/2023, the pass only cost $70 USD, and in essence, we saved more than that in the first week. The pass saves you all the park day use fees, and your second night of camping in each park is half-price. We averaged around $16 USD per night to stay at the parks with electric and water hookups, which we felt was a pretty good deal!

Sea Rim State Park

We started on the eastern side of Texas with Sea Rim State Park, which was right along the gulf coast. If you enjoy beach locations, this is a great park to visit. One day we rode our mountain bikes 7 kilometers east and then returned. Another day we rode 9 kilometers west along the beach and then returned.

Riding along Sea Rim beach

They also have the Gambusia Nature Trail in the park, which goes through the swamp/marsh area, but it was damaged in one of the hurricanes, and they were rebuilding it, so it was closed when we were there. The only issue with this park was that we got abnormally warm weather when we were there in early December, and the mosquitoes were bad at the campsites. Thankfully on the beach, there weren’t any, so we spent a lot of time there.

Sea Rim sunset

Galveston Island State Park

After a short ferry ride, we reached Galveston Island State Park. This park has campsites on the bay and the gulf side, and we had stayed on the bay side the last time, so this time, we booked on the gulf side. It’s a short walk to the beach, and whether you go east or west, you will find lots of housing developments, very different than Sea Rim.

Housing developments along Galveston Island Beach

We walked along the beach one day, rode our bikes to Isla del Sol another, and then did a ride on the trails on the bay side another day. The bayside also had a fair number of mosquitoes as it had rained that morning, and they were all out looking for a meal.

Roseate Spoonbill on the Bay side of Galveston Island

Goose Island State Park

Next along the coast is Goose Island State Park, which does have campsites along the water, but there is no beach. When we were there, it was duck hunting season, so you will hear the airboats going out very early in the morning. There are also a lot of fishing charters that leave from the state park dock. This means you will see lots of Pelicans as they try to get scraps left behind.

Pelicans near Goose Island dock

One of the most interesting things to do in this park is see “The Big Tree.” The tree was named the Texas State Champion Virginia Live Oak in 1969 and held that title until 2003, when a larger tree was found in Brazoria County. Recent estimates show the tree is close to 2,000 years old, and it has a circumference of over 35 feet, a height of 45 feet, and the spread of the crown is 90 feet!

The Big Tree

Another fascinating thing to do is to see the whooping cranes. They fly down from Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada to stay through the winter in a field near the Big Tree. We got incredibly lucky this time as when we rode our bikes by the field, three of them took off, and we got a photo of them in flight!

Whooping Crane fly by

Mustang Island State Park

The quickest route to get to Mustang Island State Park is to take a free short ferry ride across to the town of Port Aransas. Mustang Island was named after the wild horses that came ashore from shipwrecks and Spanish expeditions. Robert Ainsworth Mercer was the first white settler on the island from 1799-1875. The island was abandoned during the civil war as the USS Arthur was stationed to block the Aransas Pass. In the 1920s sportsmen and tourism started to flourish on the island, and by 1929, the ferry was put in place to grow the economy.

Busy Texas beach

The beach was good for walking and shell collecting. We always check with the rangers if there are any programs/events going on while we’re in the park and at Mustang Island they had a guided walk along the beach one day and a water colour painting class the next day.

Lightning Whelk egg capsules in upper left corner

A cold snap came through on our last day at this park, and we actually had to winterize the RV since we were going to have four nights in a row with low 20’s F every night. Luckily, we had brought antifreeze with us from home as it was all sold out in the local stores as people tried to protect their pipes.

Lake Corpus Christi State Park

Moving inland to Lake Corpus Christi State Park, this was the first park on this trip where we saw some of the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) work. Franklin D. Roosevelt established the CCC during the Great Depression as a way for single men between 18 and 25 to enlist in work programs to improve America’s public lands, forests, and parks.

At Lake Corpus Christi, they built the building nicknamed “The Castle” (circa 1934-1935) with a great view over the lake. The original design called for sandstone blocks, but the source was over 20 miles away, so to save money, they created blocks from concrete mixed with caliche (calcium in the local soil).

The kiln used to make the blocks

CCC Pavillion – The Castle

During our stay, we walked all the trails in the park and saw lots of wildlife, including white-tailed Deer, great blue herons, white herons, egrets, cardinals, and leaf-cutter ants, and the coolest thing we saw were green jays. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get a picture of them, they are usually found in Mexico and South America, but they also come to this area of Texas. The other cool thing we saw was the caterpillar of a pipevine swallowtail butterfly. We hoped it found a warm place to survive the cold, as we saw it on the first day before the temperature dropped 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius) in 4 hours!

Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillar

Goliad State Park and Historic Site

Goliad State Park and Historic Site have the Mission Espiritu Santo and the birthplace of General Ignacio Zaragoza. We were in the Jacales Campground, so we walked the San Antonio River trail to see the Mission Espiritu Santo.

Mission Espiritu Santo

After touring the church, we went through the museum exhibits and around the grounds. There were two volunteers on the mission premises, and they were incredibly knowledgeable to answer any of the questions we had. Here are some of the key things we learned:

• Mission Espiritu Santo was established by the Spanish to defend its territory and convert the Native groups, Cujanes, Karankawa, Jaranames, and Tamiques, in hopes that they would help defend Spanish territory. It was moved to its current location along the San Antonio River in 1749, as this location was better for trade routes.
• In 1758 about 180 people resided at the Mission and Fort, mainly living in Jacales, which were crude clay-plastered brush huts thatched with grass. The surrounding area was good for grazing lands and fertile fields.
• The Columbian Exchange, sometimes called the Grand Exchange, is one of the most important events in history. It was the exchange of goods and ideas between the Old World and the New World. It started in 1492 when Christopher Columbus arrived in North America. Before the Columbian Exchange, there were no oranges in Florida, no bananas in Ecuador, no paprika in Hungary, no zucchini in Italy, no pineapples in Hawaii, no rubber trees in Africa, no cattle in Texas, no chili peppers in Thailand and India, no cigarettes in France, and no chocolate in Switzerland!
• Mission Espiritu Santo officially closed in 1830, and the last Spanish priests withdrew from Mexican Texas. For over 100 years, the mission had served an important role in the development of early Texas.
• In 1932 Goliad County deeded the land to the state for a park, and from 1936-1939 the CCC partially restored the Mission.

On another day, we walked over to the birthplace of General Ignacio Zaragoza and the Presidio La Bahia Fort and church, one of the most fought-over sites in Texas.

Birthplace of Ignacio Zaragoza

Presidio La Bahia was established along the San Antonio River in 1749 and was the location for the first major Texas cattle drive from 1779-1782. On May 5, 1862, a battle occurred in Puebla, Mexico, when General Ignacio Zaragoza led 4000 poorly armed men and defeated the French forces of Napoleon III, who had 8000 soldiers. This heroic victory gave Mexico its great national patriotic anniversary, “El Cinco de Mayo.”

Presidio La Bahia

Choke Canyon State Park

After a stop in the historic town of Goliad to look around, we went to Choke Canyon State Park.

Historic Goliad

The campsites were very separated in this park which we liked, but we had issues with wasps. The weather had gotten warmer, so we had our fans open, and they filled up with wasps. Eventually, we had to dismantle them and clean all of the dead wasps out. You never know what issues you’ll have to deal with when RVing.

Choke Canyon Campsite

Sharon was under the weather at this park, so we didn’t do too much hiking, but we did see some javelinas. There were lots of duck hunters and fishermen out on the lake.

2 javelina’s

Sunset at Choke Canyon

Palmetto State Park

A friend had told us about Palmetto State Park, so we decided to check it out. There are only a small number of electric sites, so we settled for a non-service site. Our campsite was close to the low crossing point of the San Marcos River, so we went across to see the 1935 CCC-built Refectory (a communal place for meals). It was cool how they had built the walls up like it was coming straight out of the ground. Originally the roof was thatched with 35,000 palmetto leaves from the park.

Blanco SP – 1935 CCC Refectory

This park is unique due to the dwarf Palmetto plants that aren’t found anywhere else in central Texas. We did the Palmetto Interpretative Trail and another unique feature was the 1936 ram jet pump system used to fill the water tower. It doesn’t use any electricity and instead uses the force of the rising column of water from the artesian well to send the water to the cistern on the top of the water tower, and it’s still operating today! On another day, we rode our mountain bikes on the other trails and back to the park office so we could get Wi-Fi (the park doesn’t have cell coverage).

Water Tower and cistern

San Marcos River crossing

Lockhart State Park

The weekends are hard to get bookings in Texas State Parks, so we went to three different Harvest Host locations and then to Lockhart State Park on Monday. This was the first time on this trip we had another LTV camped a few sites away.

This park has a golf course, so if you’re a golfer, this is a great place to visit. We hiked all the trails and saw more of the CCC history.

Water Tower and where the hilltop’s first golf tee was – at one point highest tee-off anywhere in Texas

Lockhart SP – CCC Dam

The town of Lockhart is considered the BBQ capital of Texas, so there are lots of places to get your fill of BBQ. Our favorite was Terry Black’s.

Terry Black’s BBQ

McKinney Falls State Park

North of Lockhart was McKinney Falls State Park on the southern edge of Austin. This park is famous for the Upper and Lower Falls.

McKinney Upper Falls

We also found the Rock Shelter Trail between them quite interesting as it had a 100-foot tall, 500-year-old Bald Cypress tree called Old Baldy, and the Rock Shelter was used by the Native Americans over 8000 years ago.

Old Baldy Cypress Tree

Rock shelter

We also spent a couple of days mountain biking on the other trails to see the old McKinney Homestead and the Williamson Creek area. This park truly has a lot of beautiful things to see, so that you can spend several days here.

McKinney Homestead 1849

Williamson Creek

Blanco State Park

Next, we drove west through the Dripping Springs area towards Blanco State Park. There are 32 breweries, wineries, and distilleries in this area, so there are lots of places to stop and do some tastings. Blanco State Park is small, but it has a pretty location along the Blanco River and is close to the town of Blanco for restaurants and shops.

Blanco River

The park has some CCC remnants and a couple of short trails. In Blanco, we liked the wood buffalo products, gelato, and cheese at Oro Bianco Italian Creamery.

Blanco SP – CCC dam and pool

Oro Bianco Italian Creamery

This will conclude Part 1 of our Texas State Park journey, and we’ll cover 11 additional parks in Part 2. We would love to know if you’re looking for additional information on the parks we shared.

Editor’s Note: This post is written by a member of LTV’s sponsored content team, The Leisure Explorers. Do you own a Leisure Travel Van and enjoy writing? Learn more about joining the team.

For many, Christmas elicits images of frolicking in the snow and sitting by a fireplace sipping eggnog. Since Susan and I are not fond of being cold, we headed to Malibu, in Southern California, with its Mediterranean climate, ocean views, beaches, palm trees, surfers, and convertibles. This was a bit surreal, even for Northern Californians like us. Our new puppy Mocha thought nothing of it on her first-ever RV trip and first-ever Christmas!

Mocha is sitting on top of our TV! Photo by Susan Regan

Our first stop in our Unity Murphy Bed from Northern California was a San Miguel winery, part of the Pleasant Valley Wine Trail just north of Paso Robles. Locatelli Winery, a Harvest Hosts destination unaffected by the San Luis Obispo County mandate to cease overnight RV stays, which we had been doing in the Paso Robles wine country since 2010. This mandate drew much criticism, but I want to think my letter to the SLO County Supervisors had something to do with the eventual positive outcome. For context, I also think I’m a rock star and Formula One driver.

We had an excellent indoor wine tasting with our two dogs, although they abstained. A few other people were tasting, and another dog also not imbibing. One couple in a Sprinter class B van finished tasting and only purchased one bottle of wine, proving another advantage of the Unity and Wonder motorhomes–we have more wine storage! The next morning, parked next to the vineyards, revealed a beautiful winter low fog with the rising sun trying to break through.

Locatelli Vineyards and Winery, San Miguel, California

We left early and headed to a nearby truck stop for fuel. Like many truck stops, they only had biodiesel. Another Unity arrived for fuel while we were there. It turns out the automotive pumps had B5, while the truck and RV pumps were B20. When towing our Jeep Wrangler, I prefer the easy maneuvering of the truck/RV pumps, but not if it’s a B20 biodiesel. I put seven gallons of B5 in, mixed with the existing petroleum-based diesel #2. Many California name-brand fueling stations have gone to 95-99% biomass diesel. Biomass diesel can have more than 20% biodiesel, and my Mercedes mechanic says to avoid B20 and biomass diesel blends. We found ourselves going from station to station in search of 100% petroleum-based diesel, which turned out to be easier to find at the off-brand fueling stations.

Biomass diesel, a new trend in California

We arrived at Malibu Beach RV Park, which is on a bluff, but close enough. The ocean-view sites have million-dollar views, and the beach is just across the highway. Thankfully, the RV rates cost much less than the views but are still pricey. We wouldn’t be able to afford even a quaint house in Malibu. The 21-mile-long, narrow enclave is situated along Highway 1, or as the locals call it, “the PCH” for Pacific Coast Highway. It is about 30 miles west of downtown Los Angeles with a population of 10,000 or so.

The upscale town features ultra-expensive beachfront homes, Pepperdine University, fancy restaurants, and several beautiful California State Beaches. Of course, Malibu is home to many Hollywood movie stars, including my good friends Barbara Streisand and Pierce Brosnan (I’m kidding). The last night, another Unity pulled in a couple of sites away, and there was also a Triple E Empress Elite diesel pusher, which was an impressive (and big) coach in mint condition.

Our 2018 Unity MB at Malibu Beach RV Park, Malibu, California

We had lunch at one of my favorite Santa Monica spots, Wally’s, which happens to have an incredible wine selection from around the world, including Paso Robles. The first time we went there, we ate outside on the sidewalk. It wasn’t until I ventured inside to use the restroom that I stumbled into Mecca! Did I mention they had a great selection of wines?

Wally’s has spirits, cheeses, and a bit of wine.

The Malibu mornings produced amazing sunrises viewed from our patio window while barely awake on our Murphy Bed! There were a couple of good sunsets, too, that made me leave the RV park, camera in hand, to get up close and personal with the beach surf. It was beginning to feel like Christmas…well, I guess if you’re not into the snow.

El Matador Beach (Robert Meyers State Beach), Malibu

Venice Beach Pier, Los Angeles, California

After Christmas, it was time to depart Southern California and head north for home with an overnight in Oceano, just south of Pismo Beach. We like to stay at Pacific Dunes Ranch Campground due to a trailhead leading to the dramatic sand dunes of Oceano Dunes State Park. When I say we, I mean me. Something about the wind, sand in your eyes, and trudging uphill through the soft dunes that do not have the same allure for my wife, oddly enough. Or is it because she only wears sandals?!

This visit was a bit unusual–it rained all day and finally stopped briefly by sunset, albeit being gray with flat light. What was different was that the sand was compacted and hard, making it super easy to walk up and down the dunes, and, miraculously, there was no wind. Footprints stayed for hours when normally they would be filled in by shifting sand within minutes. As a landscape photographer, I like revisiting the same spots but experiencing different conditions.

Oceano Dunes State Park, Oceano, California

The sunrise on the dunes was lovely and a fitting last day to a fun RV trip. Though we missed a white Christmas in December, February saw unprecedented snow in California, even on the beach!

Susan wearing sandals with BoBear and Mocha.

Editor’s Note: This post is written by a member of LTV’s sponsored content team, The Leisure Explorers. Do you own a Leisure Travel Van and enjoy writing? Learn more about joining the team.

Discovering A Presidential Past

When we last left you, we were heading south, then west, from Michigan toward Arizona on our first-ever departure from our usual winter respite in Florida in our 2015.5 Leisure MB ‘Lucky Us.’

We made it to San Antonio, Texas, carefully navigating cold fronts, winds, rain, and freezing temperatures. Now, we were hoping for warmer, milder weather. Watching social media posts, we quickly became aware of what was ahead. Interstate 10, which we would be using to cross west in about a week, had shut down due to high winds, and temperatures were dipping close to freezing at night. But we didn’t have to worry just yet, as we headed north out of San Antonio into the Texas Hill Country to visit a historic presidential home, savor some real Texas barbecue and maybe a little country music before we moved on to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico.

Now, if you didn’t already know this, let me say that Texas is one heck of a big state–the second largest in the U.S. and the largest in the lower 48 with 261,914 square miles, second only to Alaska. Texas is divided into five distinct regions–we already touched the South Texas Plains while in San Antonio and the Gulf Coast while at Mustang Island. Now, we’re headed north to the Texas Hill Country, where we stopped in Johnson City for lunch and started our historical tour.

Johnson City

Bill heads into Ronnie’s Pit BBQ for some tasty Texas vittles.

We split the triple combo—three types of meat plus two sides.

After some delicious Texas barbeque, we were on to our presidential destination, where we explored the “Texas White House” and boyhood home of Lyndon B. Johnson, our 36th president. The Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park consists of two separate districts–one in Johnson City, housing a Visitor Center and Johnson’s boyhood home, the other housing the LBJ Ranch, 14 miles west.

LBJ, as he was known, was a lifelong Texan whose political life began serving as a U.S. representative, U.S. senator, and the Senate’s majority leader. He served as vice president to John F. Kennedy before becoming president following Kennedy’s assassination. Johnson created the term “The Great Society” to describe his efforts to expand civil rights, access to health care, aid to education and the arts, urban and rural development, and more. He created the “War on Poverty” to improve life for low-income Americans and signed the Social Security Amendments of 1965, which created Medicare and Medicaid. His wife, Lady Bird Johnson, was a leader in conservation efforts; she advocated for creating National Park Service units, lobbied for the passage of environmental legislation, and worked to beautify the nation’s highway system and America. She believed that “where flowers bloom, so does hope.” Together, the home where the President and First Lady lived became known as the place where “all the world is welcome here.”

LBJ Ranch earned the moniker “Texas White House” as President Johnson spent about 20 percent of his time there while serving as President. Although the interior of his home is closed due to structural issues, our visit was well worth it to discover LBJ’s Texas roots, Lady Bird Johnson’s efforts to beautify America, and more.

Our history tour starts in Johnson City to see where Lyndon B. Johnson’s boyhood home is.

We drove the six-mile self-guided tour at the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park.

Descendants of LBJ’s original herd of Hereford cattle live at this national park.

LBJ’s home, known as “The Texas White House.” Although the house is closed to visitors, a park ranger gives short talks throughout the day.

LBJ used this beautiful 1934 Ford Phaeton Touring car as an “all-terrain hunting vehicle.” It’s one of several vehicles displayed.

A wet bar with a water faucet, a rifle rack, a V-8 Zephyr engine, plus a steel plate to prevent damage enabled LBJ to escape the rigors of political life by hunting on his ranch.

The Perdernales River flows through the LBJ Ranch.

Final resting place for LBJ and Lady Bird Johnson.

Fredericksburg

Drive about a half-hour west of the LBJ Ranch, and you’ll be in Fredericksburg, where we spent two nights at the conveniently located Lady Bird Municipal Park Campground. You’ll hear planes take off at the nearby airport, but the spacious sites at this campground suited us just fine.

Our site is at Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park Campground.

The next day we visited the National Museum of the Pacific War, named one of the top five history museums in the United States. Established to honor Fredericksburg’s native son Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces, Pacific, this six-acre campus provides the nation’s most comprehensive account of this theater of World War II. We only had time to examine some of the displays at the George H. W. Bush Gallery; history buffs will want to spend an entire day there to read the moving narratives and examine the artifacts. Exhibits detail Pearl Harbor, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, the Atomic Bomb, and more. Also on campus is the Admiral Nimitz Gallery, Plaza of Presidents, Japanese Garden of Peace, Memorial Courtyard, and the Pacific Combat Zone.

George H. W. Bush Gallery

Once we left the museum, we had a hankering for some local cooking and found Backwoods BBQ. It did not disappoint.

No, we didn’t eat all of this for lunch!

Eating local is one of the highlights of traveling. Backwoods BBQ was mighty tasty.

Luckenbach

It’s hard for me to say Luckenbach without adding “Texas” after it, and I can’t say “Luckenbach Texas” without hearing Waylon Jennings singing his tribute to this music mecca in my head. This tiny town, the tiniest in Texas, boasts a population of three. There’s a general store, a dance hall, and, of course, a bar. Plan to grab a beer and hear musicians play during the Picker’s Circle scheduled most days; bigger, ticketed events are held at the dance hall.

Grab a drink and sit a spell while listening to musicians performing at Luckenbach.

The Post Office also serves as the General Store in Luckenbach.

We’re ready now to head north to Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico. It’ll be about a six-hour drive. Watching the weather, it looks like we will just skirt the freezing temperatures. From Carlsbad Caverns, we hope to make it to White Sands National Park, where colder temperatures and high winds have prevailed. Follow along on our adventures to Arizona and our final destination–California!

Editor’s Note: This post is written by a member of LTV’s sponsored content team, The Leisure Explorers. Do you own a Leisure Travel Van and enjoy writing? Learn more about joining the team.

Driving One of America’s Most Historic Routes, The Natchez Trace

The history of one of America’s earliest highways stretches 10,000 years, maybe more. The footpath that ran through the future country of America from its south to its mid-section was used by the first Americans. European and American explorers and soldiers became known as the Natchez Trace. So numerous were its travelers that their footsteps cut through hills 20 feet deep in places you can still explore on foot today along one of America’s great drives, the 444-mile Natchez Trace Parkway. Like similar routes we’ve taken you on, it took decades to complete. It was begun in 1938 during the Depression to put Americans back to work. It was completed in 2005, but the route we’ll call the NTP for short, like others, is nearly always undergoing repairs, as you’d expect for the current version of this route, which runs from near Natchez, Mississippi, to near Nashville, Tenn.

Like we did on our two-part journey along the Blue Ridge Parkway in our 2015.5 Unity Murphy Bed, ‘Lucky Us,’ we’ll take you along from south to north so that you can plan your own great drive. But first, some specifics. We began by visiting New Orleans, which you can read about here.

North from New Orleans

In the early 1800s, the Trace was one of the first roads developed in the then-new part of the United States, resulting from the Louisiana Purchase by Thomas Jefferson. That “postal route,” as it was also called, would prove crucial in the War of 1812 in transporting soldiers for the defense of New Orleans against the British. Flatboats brought goods from the north to New Orleans, and their crews would then make the 500-mile walk back to Nashville on The Trace to do it all over again.

Developing the route also proved disastrous for the first Americans, the Choctaw, Natchez, Creek, and Cherokee, living in the area for centuries. Those tribes using that same route were forcibly removed from the region by the U.S. along what would be called the Trail of Tears, which crosses the Trace several times, ending in the treeless prairie of Oklahoma. There are others with the same name, but this is the original.

We began our journey to join the parkway at its southern end near Natchez, Mississippi, in New Orleans, about 175 miles south. We first headed towards Baton Rouge, then along part of America’s Great River, the Mississippi, along Highway 61, nicknamed the Mississippi Blues Trail, which is worth a tour. Before we hop onto the Trace, a few stops are noteworthy.

The Whitney

We passed by the Mississippi’s huge levees that normally keep the river in check, interspersed with chemical factories—the lower river is famous, or infamous, for these—and other industries, and it’s also infamous for our first stop miles from the start of the Trace. It’s a fitting prelude. Near the tiny community of Wallace, about an hour from New Orleans, is the Whitney Plantation. It’s one of several still marked by their original names on Google Maps. These plantations that made their owners rich in slave labor and sugar cane before the Civil War were set on both sides of the Mississippi.

The Whitney tells its story from the slave’s point of view. You may experience the gamut of emotions, from shame to despair, to anger, to hope, and from this, we all can continue moving in a different direction.

A statue depicting a slave child staring at the “big house” at The Whitney.

You’ll start by passing by iron cauldrons used by slaves for processing cane sugar on this plantation that remained active from 1803 until 1975. Slavery, of course, ended after the Civil War, but the same form with a different name, share-cropping, and other means, meant that the plantation’s workers still were tied to the land.

Walking through the preserved slave quarters, you’ll see how people lived in these shacks not too long ago. You’ll also learn how in the 15th century, the church decreed that all non-believers deserved eternal servitude, driving the notion that slavery was just fine. You’ll also learn of the 300 slave revolts and how slaves allied with free blacks, first Americans, and poor whites to fight their captors, and see the monument dedicated to the more than 100,000 slaves that lived in Louisiana on plantations like The Whitney between 1719 and 1820 alone. Walk the grounds, tour the owner’s house, and ponder the statue of the small slave boy staring at that house.

Cauldrons used to boil cane juice into sugar set outside the cabins of the slaves who worked them at The Whitney.

Afterward, mull over what you saw at local authentic Cajun restaurants like the B&C Seafood in North Vacherie near the riverbank and only a mile from the plantation.

A great meal at this nondescript little restaurant.

The Whitney is one of four sugar plantations you can visit between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Only five miles away, visit Laura Plantation, where rock and blues pianist Fats Domino’s parents lived and worked. When the Civil War broke out, 186 slaves worked its cane fields.

After that sobering journey into American history, we boondocked at the Cabela’s store in Gonzales, LA, then drove through Baton Rouge and on to Natchez, 90 miles north to overnight at Natchez State Park, a few miles from the start of The Natchez Trace.

Tracing the Trace: Take Your Time

We backtracked a bit to the start of The Trace, where tens of thousands started that 500-mile walk north to Nashville. Like the Blue Ridge Parkway, the speed limit on the tree-lined NTP is only 45 mph (70 kph), and for a good reason.

It’s to be enjoyed, not sped through. If it took us a day or four to drive 400 miles, we didn’t care, and you shouldn’t either. It took us five, and there were so many spots to see. Yup, 100 miles a day on average, or less. Here are some of the highlights of our journey north to Nashville. It took those who went before you weeks.

We entered The Trace outside Natchez near two historical spots. The Grand Village of Natchez Indians outside Natchez was the political and religious capital of the tribe that flourished here before Europeans came.

We entered The Trace near Natchez.

Natchez also was known in the mid-1800s as a center for the “domestic” slave trade, meaning slaves that were already in the U.S., since importing kidnapped humans was by then banned. Another was Montgomery, Alabama, which we detailed on that state’s Civil Rights Trail here. A historic site called Forks of The Road in Natchez memorializes the lives traded and changed here. The Grand Village site and its historic mounds are managed by the state. About 45 minutes later, we stopped at our first NTP historic site at milepost 15.5.

Mount Locust

This is the only remaining “stand,” or inn, that foot travelers, known as “Kaintucks” and Native Americans, stopped at overnight along the Trace. There were more than 50. Mount Locust dates from around 1780. Here, 25 cents got you dinner of corn meal mush, plus a spot on the front porch or elsewhere to sleep. The flatboats they brought down through the Ohio River to the New Orleans area were then dismantled after the goods carried were delivered. The wood was used to build houses, which still stand in New Orleans. When steamboats took over on the Mississippi, and The Trace became less traveled, Mount Locust became a cotton plantation. Evidence of that is the old slave cemetery. It’s staffed by the park service and a great intro to The Trace.

The Mount Locust “stand,” or inn, where from the late 1700s to the steamboat era, foot travelers on the 500-mile walk back north after delivering their goods to the New Orleans area on flatboats spent the night, either inside or on the porch.

The Old Trace, Milepost 20, 41.5

You’ll see how deep it was worn by untold thousands of feet and wagon wheels. About 20 miles north, another sign will direct you to another part of the Old Sunken Trace, and sunken it is, at least 20 feet below the hill on either side. Here’s your first chance to head north to walk part of the original Trace.

Magnum Mound and Grindstone Ford, 45.7

Besides a walk to view another portion of The Trace, Grindstone Ford was the site of another “stand” along the trail. Magnum Mound, estimated to be around 1,000 years old, is also reached from the Ford parking lot and remains a sacred site for First Nations tribe members. Another site, Owens Creek, Mile 52.4, is only two miles from your first overnight.

Rocky Springs, 54.8

All campsites within the parkway, including here at Rocky Springs, are first-come, first-served. Water may be available; however, there are occasional issues with the lines, so come with enough for your stay But, with an LTV, who cares. Camping is free.

Day Two, Vicksburg

We left the trail for a day here and detoured west to Vicksburg. If you’re a Civil War buff, you must come to the city’s National Military Park. The two-month siege of the city ended with the Union finally in control of the Mississippi, and honors for General Ulysses S. Grant, who commanded the forces that pummeled the city before it surrendered on July 4, 1863, the same day Lee was defeated at Gettysburg.

Tour the battlements to see how close the opposing armies were during the siege, which forced residents to live in hillside caves, as Union artillery from the Mississippi, clogged with Union ironclads, relentlessly bombarded Confederate forces.

The Vicksburg battlefield. Confederate and Union forces were only a few hundred yards apart.

You can also visit the gunboat Cairo which was sunk in 1862 in the Yazoo River north of where it joins the Mississippi at Vicksburg. It was raised and preserved at a special covered display near the battlefield. The ship holds the ignominious distinction of being the first ever to be sunk by a remotely detonated mine. All crew survived the sinking.

The Union gunboat Cairo recovered from the nearby Yazoo River and took part in the Vicksburg siege.

That night, we stayed in one of the 67 spaces at the Ameristar Casino RV Park, part of that casino overlooking the river, before returning to The Trace.

Day Three, Jackson North

We left Vicksburg and headed toward Jackson to again pick up The Trace. Jackson, in the 1960s, was the site of some of the most violent confrontations during the Civil Rights struggle, including the killing of Medgar Evers. On the more positive side, Ridgeland, just north, is also the site of the Bill Waller Crafts Center just off the NTP, highlighting the works of some of the state’s artists.

We overnighted at Jeff Busby campground, named after the Congressman who introduced the bill that began the parkway. The campground’s 18 sites also are first-come and free. You’re about halfway to Nashville, at mile 193.1.

Shelves are full at the Bill Waller Crafts Center along the Trace near Jackson.

Day Four

There are several stops between here and Music City, including an odd one, a music heritage one, and a historical one. At mile 233.1 is the odd one, the Witch Dance picnic area. According to legend, witches gathered here to dance. Also, according to the legend, where they danced, no grass grew. There are hiking trails here, too.

Tupelo is, for Elvis fans, one of THE places to pay homage. It’s where he grew up to channel the South’s soulful and revival meeting sounds to the style he made famous. Visit the two-room home where he lived, as well as the museum dedicated to him. Tupelo is also the site of another Civil War battlefield and a parkway visitor center.

We headed west off the parkway to overnight at Piney Grove Campground, along the Tennessee-Tom Bigbee Waterway, a 141-site Corps of Engineers site with power, showers, and water.

Piney Grove Corps of Engineers Campground

Meriwether Lewis Burial Site

Some readers may remember our earlier stories detailing the travels of Lewis and Clark in the American West. That saga can begin for you along the parkway at mile 385.9. There, a stone obelisk stands over the grave of one of America’s greatest explorers, Meriwether Lewis. As President Jefferson’s secretary, his boss sent him and William Clark in 1803 to find the source of the Missouri River and reach the Pacific following the Louisiana Purchase. Two years later, they returned. His 1809 death was mysterious, but most accounts figure he committed suicide here while staying overnight at the Grinder’s  “stand” while traveling The Trace, as Lewis suffered from bouts of depression and possibly bipolar disorder.

There’s a free 32-site campground and a section of the Old Trace. See our account of the following part of the pair’s expedition, considered one of the greatest 19th-century exploits, here.

Instead of staying there, we pushed on to Nashville to explore that city from Two Rivers RV Park, which offered an inexpensive shuttle downtown. We’ll save that for another time!

American West explorer Meriwether Lewis’ burial site along The Trace at Grinder’s Stand. The broken obelisk signifies a life cut short.

Another view of the Old Trace near the Meriwether Lewis gravesite.

When You Go

There are three National Park Service-maintained campgrounds directly on the route and a few more for bicyclists. They’re all free and first come, first serve, with 22 to 32 wooded sites each. Campgrounds are spaced about 100 miles apart, so you could easily never leave the parkway, but you’ll then miss some can’t-miss historical sites. Most offer water and flush toilets but no power or dump stations. There are at least four more within a few miles of the parkway, both public and private, including that great Army Corps of Engineers facility on the Tenn-Tom Waterway, with all amenities.

The parkway has a 45 mph (70 kph) speed limit. There are many great turnouts and spots to stop and take in, so this route is for touring, not speeding. Besides the link to the National Park Service above, Natchez Trace Travel.com will also help you plan your trip. For more on the Mississippi’s plantations, visit plantationparade.com