Left drizzling, congested San Diego before Christmas, heading to the Gulf Coast of Texas. Made three stops in Arizona—Yuma, Casa Grande, and Benson (seen above), at Escapee parks. Started to get some pretty cold weather at night that required the use of the furnace. Stayed at Rockhound State Park in New Mexico one night before heading into Texas via El Paso.

Back-in rv sites at Balmorhea State Park.

One word to describe Texas…vast! Stopped at Balmorhea State Park the first night. My pull through rv site is shown above. Beautiful park based on their spring water. An oasis in the desert. There is a spring fed swimming pool and canals run through the park. Not many people there this time of year, very quiet and peaceful. Next day started to climb out of the desert into the hill country. Stopped at South Llano River State Park near the small town of Junction, Texas. The land was donated to the state by a rancher who wanted to allow others to enjoy the area the way he had. In the summer, people ride down the river in innertubes. A lot of the park is closed from October to April to protect nesting wild turkeys. There are still trails and several bird watching blinds open, where you can observe birds without them seeing you. There were lots of red cardinals (below). The park presented me with a sort of bait and switch. It was beautiful when I arrived, so I decided to stay two days. The second day it was freezing cold, with biting winds making it hard to stay outside. Do hope to stay at these two parks again.

Just stayed the one night in Yuma. It was so hot, I got an early start the next day.

Benson, Arizona

Moon over Benson.