A bit of tidying up and a quick breakfast and we were ready for the road. Oh wait, the water tank needs filling and the other tanks need emptying. Ok, so 10:00am and we’re driving off of our site to the dump station, no waiting, we’re #1. No no issues, time to head west.
Our journey took us out of Austin westward on SR-290 and started as multi-lane highway that all-to-shortly ended at a construction zone. The 290 is an older highway that weaves its way westward across the state. After many traffic lights we were in the country, it was still cloudy and humid after the recent rain. The city had fallen away to Texas Hill Country, the flora was changing to be more tolerant of drought with the trees becoming fewer and the grasslands dominating the landscape.
Johnson City, TX. Not a place we stopped in but clearly the beginning of Texas wine country. Between Johnson City and Fredericksburg there are hundreds of wineries and a few distilleries. Some with interesting names, some trying to sound European, and a few just off the wall, like “Fat Ass Brewery” (where the ass is shown as an outline of a mule). Typically Texan, the wineries and tasting rooms are enormous, some even castle-like in size and appearance so it must be making financial sense to grow grapes and make wine in Texas.
Eventually the SR-290 merged into the I-10W. The surroundings were now clearly desert-like as there are few trees and lots of low scrub. Texans like driving fast, the speed limit is 80mph (130kph) which most seem to exceed. Not us, 75mph is plenty for the van, especially today as the winds have come up and are blowing across the highway not allowing me to relax at all. The temperature is now 29C (up from 17C earlier this morning). No, we’re not complaining of the heat but a little moderation might be nice.
We stopped in Junction, TX to have lunch in a park next to a river. It was warm and allowed us to dry out a few items while we ate.
We stop in Ozona, TX for provisions and fuel. The grocery store, Lowe’s Market, is a typical smaller town grocery store and Barb had some challenges finding exactly what she wanted. However, we will not starve. We decided that Sonic takeout would suffice for dinner and once acquired we were back on the road to our destination.
Fort Lancaster Scenic Overlook (on the old SR-290) had been recommended to us by the Milddogs based on their van trip last year. It’s a picnic area that overlooks an amazing valley. We arrived and chose our spot, there are two other vehicles that look like they’ve settled in for the evening. We ate dinner and then relaxed waiting for sunset. The sunset did not disappoint, the sky was clear except for a few very high clouds that turned a wonderful shade of orange as the sun slipped below the horizon.
We settled down in the van for the night having been joined in the parking lot by two more campervans. As the sky darkened, the stars began to show themselves and what a show. The sky is pitch black, there is no light intrusion from civilization, the stars are brilliant.
Good night all.
P.S. The Milddogs to which we have referred in several of these posts are our friends from home. They too have a campervan and have been traveling about Texas for the past few weeks. Our paths crossed and so we cross-posted in our respective blogs. Please give them a read if you have some time.