#5 From the Desert to the Swamps

Under an oak tree, in the middle of nowhere, well near China actually (China, TX), we find ourselves eating our last Texan BBQ before crossing the border to Louisiana. And boy is it good! Abigail is eating a pulled pork sandwich and Richie is feasting on ‘The Bomb’; a huge baked potato smothered in nacho- and cream cheese, and topped with three smokey meats. Topic of conversation is to write another update on our blog. It’s been a while, but cut us some slack, we’ve been vacationing on beautiful Magnolia Beach for a week.

Let’s start where we left off. After fleeing from our first cold spell, as south as El Paso, we returned to New Mexico, where we spent three wonderful days at the Organ mountains near Las Cruces. The weather was warm again and we were surrounded by pure beauty. Yukka trees and cacti set scene for our foreground, majestic rocky mountains, our background. We woke up to the howls of coyotes in the early mornings and watched the lavender and orange sunsets in the evenings. It was bliss. We made friends with Linsey and her travelling dog Ello and enjoyed doing what overlanders do best, sitting around a campfire.

After recharging our batteries, we drove to Silver City, where ‘Billy the Kid’ once lived; a laid-back little town and the gateway to Gila National forest. We stocked up our supplies, dumped and re-filled the tanks, and made our way towards Gila Hot Springs. It was a breathtaking windy route through acers of untouched forest and the hot springs did not disappoint. The campsite was run by two real ranchers, it was basic but with a good old western vibe. Who needs hook up when you can soak all day long?

We turned around once again and headed east to Alamagordo. After a long day’s drive and a crying baby in the back, we arrived in the dark with our transmission stuck in fourth gear. Our first car trouble had hit us. The local mechanic the next day couldn’t identify the problem and recommended we continue driving, so upon his advice, we chose to explore the White Sands National Monument. The truck was behaving itself and we enjoyed discovering the snowy sand dunes. What an awesome place.

And from one spectacular place to another, we also visited Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The limestone chambers buried 750 feet below ground were a feast for the eyes. It was another world down there! What a way to conclude our journey through the land of enchantment.

It was here where the landscape started to change, oil rig after oil rig. We crossed the border to Texas and stopped at a small town, called Andrews. To our surprise, the chamber of commerce  provided free electric and water hook up for RV travellers. We were very humbled.

Our car troubles, however did not disappear. The gearbox had a mind of its own. And on top of that, a second, more brutal winter storm, with icy temperatures, was right at our heels, chasing us further south yet again. We endured an extremely stormy and freezing night in the parking lot of  Walmart in San Antonio, waking up frequently to the sound of a loudspeaker telling us to “leave immediately” we were trespassing. What a night! The very next morning, we arranged an appointment at Bert’s Transmission garage and spent time running errands, such as laundry, shopping, cleaning and a hair cut, oh and we endulged in a burger at the Longhorn Cafe…yum!

Thanks to Bert and his team (big shout out to them by the way), we were on the road again by noon the very next day. They had to change the solenoids, a harness, and a few other bits and bolts. Nine hundred dollars later, the truck was running just like a song.

We made it to downtown San Antonio, to take a stroll along the riverwalk, checked out the famous Alamo and learned about the history of Texas.

Next stop was Austin. We were after some BBQ at Franklins but the queue was a tad bit too long for our hunger levels. So we opted for Micklethwaits instead, a popular barbecue truck just around the corner. The smoker itself was bigger than the food truck! The atmosphere was upbeat, free beer was on offer and a magician entertained the guests. Oh and the food was fantastic.

All this driving, sightseeing and our car trouble did make us a little tired though. After camping out in quite a few car parks, we were yearning for some wild boondocking. We decided to head to the coast and ended up at Magnolia Beach, Port Lavaca. This natural shell beach was just what we needed. We parked right by the water and didn’t move for an entire week. Even overlanders need a holiday. Surrounded by fellow travellers, this beach soon felt like home. We didn’t really want to leave our new friends but we’ve got to make Florida by Christmas.

On our way towards Louisiana, we checked out Galveston Island; a fun town with miles of sandy beaches, colourful houses and a thrill-seeker’s pleasure pier. We sure wish we could have stayed longer. We were glad to have spent the night at Galveston Island State Park though, because we met a wonderful Texan family with five girls. Zoe sure enjoyed her new playmates.

The last two nights in this beautiful state were spent in the ‘Alligator capital of Texas’, Anahuac. We have definitely arrived in the swamps and marshlands of the Gulf Coast. The weather is certainly more humid and there is wildlife everywhere. We are looking forward to our next state, Louisiana and finding out what the ‘Big Easy’ has in store for us.

Thanks for reading…we’ll meat you guys around the world!