West Texas

March 11, 2021 - We started in Fort Davis and I have really heard some great things about this place, but we had a sand storm from you know where!  Every time we walked outside we had sand in our eyes and mouth.  Winds only got up to about 50 MPH and we have had worse in the RV but, without the dog gone sand.  

We tried to eat at The Drug Store - you may have seen this on the Texas Country Reporter - and it was packed, so we hit one of the many Mexican joints in the area.  The next day we hit it right and were able to eat there.  It was really worth the effort.   Highly recommend the place.  

We also found a winery, Chateau Wright, and food truck, Too Hot for TABC, on the scenic route around the Fort Davis area.  The wine was okay, but the food was fantastic and all made in this old Airstream.  Good day over all - had it not been for the wind and sand.

We took a drive to Balmoorhea when the winds died down a bit.  Rumor has it that this place has an awesome State Park with a spring fed swimming pool.  Well, it does appear to be an awesome place, but it was closed for remodeling, so I cannot say much more than what we saw from the road.  The pool is amazing and I would maybe go back if the sand would not be an issue. But you never know, right?

Next stop was the Midland Odessa area.   We stayed at the Palms of Paradise RV Park in Gardendale, which was pretty nice by West Texas standards.  The roads were a bit too narrow and the slips were as well, but they were paved and level.  So they get a thumbs up from us.

The college, UTPB - University of Texas Permian Basin, has a replica of Stonehenge here.  Since I will be going there next year, I though I would get a preview.  It is really cool, but for the wind and sand.

 

Next stop, we found a brewery, Tall City Brewing Co. It was St. Patrick’s Day after all, we had to find one.  This is one of the coolest breweries we have stopped at, and there have been a few on our travels.  They were serving the traditional green beer, but since Dennis is really more of a stout man and it is truly Irish on its own, that is what he had and it was beautiful in the glass.  I thought I would hold down the tradition of the green drink with a green glass of Chardonnay.  It was a really nice glass.  We got there early in the day, say around 3PM and by 5PM it was really getting crowded.  So we headed out to meet an old friend of mine.

 

 

We met my high school buddy, Lissa Joanis and her husband Marvin, and had dinner at the Cork and Pig - great place if you ever have a chance to go there.  I never even thought to pull out the camera for a picture though.  This place has a great outdoor seating area as well as a nice inside seating.  The food was so good that I finished off my entire 14 oz ribeye.  I was so full.

One thing I have to say about the area is that there was trash blowing everywhere.  I know that the wind is a problem here, but why do they not control their garbage. It seemed like as far as the eye can see there are grocery store bags snagged on every bush and fence post.   It was pretty upsetting.  Do you remember the old commercial with the Indian crying about trash.  I felt like that Indian.

Next stop, Lubbock area.  We grabbed a bite to eat when we landed in Lubbock - we are actually staying in Wolfforth - and we saw a sign about a Farmers Market.  We haven’t seen one of those since Nacogdoches.  So we got up early the next morning to check it out.  It was huge and amazing!  The weather was perfect for it and they even had live music.  We had about $70-75 in cash between us, so we were good.  Who could have imagined us spending every dime and then some. They had pickles, grass feed beef, a Tamale Lady, and some of the best salsa I have ever eaten in my life. Anyway, we can go to an ATM for more money, right?

 

 

Anyway, next stop Lubbock.  We had a bit less trash, but not less wind.  We did get a chance to do the Buddy Holly tour, which was really pretty fun. I did not remember that he was only married a minute (6 months to be more accurate) before his left his bride a widow.  Really sad.  His career only lasted 18 months, but he left such an impact on the industry.  We saw his glasses, his statue, his grave.  All pretty neat. 

Unexpectedly, we discovered that there was a Silent Wings Museum in Lubbock.  What does that mean, you ask? Silent wings refer to gliders.  They were instrumental in our invasion of Normandy and were used in many other operations in WWII.  How did I not know this?  No, I am not a big war buff, but it was an amazingly interesting discovery on our part.  These gliders could carry an infantry of 13 fully outfitted paratroopers and even tanks and Jeeps and the like. What??? I know!!!

See how the whole nose opens up to remove the cargo.

See how long those wings are.  

Think of them silently going behind enemy lines with equipment and soldiers ready to go.  Amazing.

Imagine this full of 13 fully outfitted paratroopers.

While in Lubbock we had 2 hail storms and a Haboob, which is a sand storm. I am not sure I want to spend much time in West Texas in the future.  Once we are able to see Palo Dura Canyon, I may be done with this area.  This grit is making me cranky.

Here comes the Haboob.

This is the second of the hail storms - it looked like it snowed.  The first one was hitting our back window and when the hail hit it turned into slush.  Dennis said it was his first slush storm ever.

We will be having the RV washed  the day before we pull out of this place and hope it stays a whole lot cleaner that it has these last couple of months.  We are praying for better weather in Palo Dura Canyon!  

Until we meet again - Happy Trails.