Study Butte & Terlingua, Texas, Villages near Big Bend National Park

We spent 4 days in Study Butte which was just outside of 

Big Bend National Park.

Paisano Village RV Sites in Study Butte.

This park was established in October 2018 all gravel and dirt.

  

The sites were close together, however we had water, electric and sewer.  Verizon didn't work at all, AT&T did have reception.  .

Since we don't have a satellite we 

did't get any television stations over the air. 

The village of Terlingua was a collection of eclectic people and things.  This is the porch of the Trading Post which also sold cold drinks.  On the porch were a group of people hanging out, shooting the shit, some singing, others playing instruments.
 
The village attracts artistic performers
and is quite famous for it's entertainment. 

To the right of the porch is the Starlight Theater which offers food and entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights.   People come from miles around to have dinner and watch a show.   

Outside seating to the side of the theater.

Pretty cool bar stools.

Deck is sitting on a horse butt.

 Locals are still buried in this cemetery.

Some of the grave sites.

Marathon Southwest Texas

We left the Hill Country heading west on 10 then south towards Big Bend National Park.

The drive south to Marathon TX is the beginning of the desert.

Our campsite at the Marathon Motel and RV Park.

 

It's desert, brown and very little green vegetation.

View from our campground.

 

Inside the walled area was a place for campers to picnic or have a fire.

The GAGE Hotel in Marathon
a really cool place to stay if your not camping.

Inside the lobby of the Gage Hotel.

An exterior wall of the Hotel.

Texas Hill Country

Were camping 12 miles out in the hill country near the town of Bandera.  
The Cowboy Capital of the World.
It's a neat little town of 800 residents, very upbeat and busy, the Fickle Pickle is like a bread and butter then comes a hot a spicy finish, hard to describe but just good and it's made in Bandera.  

Camp Verde is now a General Store, Post Office and restaurant that closes at 3pm. 

Camp Verde was a United States Army facility established on July 8, 1856 in Kerr County, Texas along the road from San Antonio to El Paso.  The camp was the headquarters for U.S. Camel Corps, which experimented with using dromedaries as pack animals in the southwestern United States.

Camp Verde is beautiful with amazing gardens and a nearby stream.

Rails a Cafe At the Depot
Kerrville, TX
An old depot building serving meals on white linen table cloths, very upscale and tasty food. 

Just South of San Antonio we entered the hill country.

A typical view.

There are many large ranches in this area along with Exotic Game Ranches. 

Were camping in a gated community typical of this area, called Holiday Villages of Medina.

Water, electric and sewer, there is a hot tub and recreation room.

We've enjoyed this area of Texas and wanted to attend the rodeo in San Antonio, however we found out it starts at 7pm and runs until 12pm, were 90 minutes away.   Our fellow Texans warned us not to make the drive at night with the amount of deer, antelope, and wild boars that roam the roads at night, sounds like good advice.

San Antonio Riverwalk, Eilan Hotel and Spa

We may be living in our "Moose" however our 41st  wedding aniversary took place February 3rd, as vacation club owners look what we found available in San Antonio, the Eilan Hotel and Spa what perfect timing.  We stayed at the Eilan and were able to drive to the Alamo, right across from the Alamo you can enter the Riverwalk.  What a beautiful place, it goes on for miles in downtown San Antonio. You can walk either side of the river with bridges and passages from side to side.  

It was very enchanting.

Front of the Eilan Hotel

Rear of the Eilan Hotel

After leaving the Alamo we crossed the street
and came down to the Riverwalk.

From street level these beautiful falls lead you down to the river.

Along the way there are restaurants and shops.
We were lucky to catch happy hour from 4-6.

We walked for over 6 hours, leaving after dark.

All the restaurants had outdoor seating.

This picture was from a crossover bridge.
You can see the walkway doesn't have a lot of fencing,
so you must pay attention or you will end up in the river.

This sculpture was outside of the
Briscoe Western Art Museum on the Riverwalk.

San Antonio, The Alamo

As a John Wayne fan growing up watching all the westerns, The Alamo was a definite stop in San Antonio.

James Bowie played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution, culminating in his death at the Battle of the Alamo along with Davy Crockett,  stories of them as fighters and frontiersman, both real and fictitious have made them legendary figures in Texas history and folk heroes of American culture.

Built in 1718 as a  spanish mision, the Battle of The Alamo took place on March 6, 1836. 
A plaque inside the church"Honoring the Fallen" list the names of the 188 men who died.

This view is from the back of the Alamo

Interesting facts on the Alamo timeline

More timeline facts

Reinactment volunteer explaning the differant armarment loads for
canons on the battlefield.

These are medical devices and medicines used in the battle, the
explanatiions of their applications was painful to hear.

The Alamo at night

The MOOSE

Deck finally gave into calling the motorhome the MOOSE, yeah!  
The name came to be after we found t-shirts with moose this was our favorite,  yes I own this now.