“USA 🇺🇸 Texas ~From Big Bend National Park to Lake Conroe/Montgomery”

• November 2, 2023
• By Pen
• 0 Comment

After our fun stop at Big Bend, we got back on the road, again. 

For two days we drove and drove and drove. The roads continue to be in good shape and we are so grateful for this! 

Our next stop, and final stop in Texas, is a KOA in Montgomery, near Lake Conroe. Our purpose for this stop is to visit with friends. I wish we could stay longer than five days, but we are heading to see grandkiddos on the East Coast.

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Day 1 of 2: Terlinqua to Menard

This would be a 7-hour day, including one fuel stop. We drive 55mph on average (not 75) and we are getting 8.3 mpg with The Whale.

From Terlinqua, near Big Bend National Park, we departed on a gloomy, cloudy day. We had great weather for our activities, we did get to do, and we had a blast, so the clouds, weren’t terrible.

Leaving Terlinqua, we backtracked again, for about 80 miles. We drove out of the clouds in no time at all, and had sunshine, again for the duration.

After a full day of driving, we found a place to pull off the road and boondock for the night. We had finally, made it to The Hill Country. We traveled, mostly, State Highway 90; East, for these two days, which wide open land. There are very few pull-offs, as it’s mostly ranch land, with very few homes. 

The rest of the photos from our first day ⬇️

⬆️ Another checkpoint to make sure we were legal citizens

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Day 2 of 2: Menard to Montgomery/ Lake Conroe Area 

This would be a 7.5 hour day, including one Power Nap for the big guy.

To our surprise, the next morning, we had “Frost on the Pumpkin.” We knew it was suppose to get cold, but, the forecast was wrong. It got into freezing temps! As soon as the sun was coming up, we got back on the road, being extra careful over bridges, since they looked icy.

It’s my understanding, this cold snap was quite broad-ranged; hitting many states.

We stopped to fuel-up in Menard, and a rancher chatted it up with Daryl. He had seen our “Jonah and The Whale” on the side of the road, and he did wonder if everything was okay, at first. But, then he figured what a cool set up, to just park it and sleep. He was spot on!

Diesel price in Menard was $3.99/gallon. That’s the cheapest fuel we have gotten in six months. Prices, elsewhere continued to be over $4.50/gal 

After the sun had been up for a few hours, it got more comfortable and ice on the bridges were no longer a concern. Over the course of this early morning drive, we saw at least 40 deer. We saw mamas and their offspring, as well as many Buck with nice racks. I was having so much fun, I forgot all about my camera sitting in my lap. Ha! No pictures. Oh, and before you get buck-fever, and jump in your truck to go hunting, here. This area is privately owned, by ranchers.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We did stop near Brady, for a rest.
⬇️ I asked D why the sunglasses for napping. He said it was a time saver, from having to look for them, again. 😎🤣

In the course of this travel day, on a road system with very few vehicles, we got hit by rocks, six times on our windshield! Each hit leaving a little chip. So glad we didn’t replace our windshield after the Alaska trip, which also saw some rocks; including a split. It’s a huge windshield, so driving view is not impaired at all, keeping us legal.

We arrived at our campground and got set up. It’s a big RV Park and it’s nice. After we unhooked Jonah, we notice the back passenger tire was a bit low. It was late, so Daryl got the compressor going and pumped it back up. Fortunately it held. We then gave Jonah a quick wash and took off for Texas BBQ Ribs at Rudy’s, a piece down the road. We discovered during her bath, she also took a rock and got another chip.

The next morning, the tire looked okay, still, but Daryl took the bug into a tire shop to get it all checked out, anyway. We REALLY have to pay attention to Jonahs tires, at all times, because as a tow vehicle, we can’t even tell she is back there, if not for our rear-camera, so we are concerned would not notice much, if she got a flat. We’ve been very fortunate and we always say we have guardian angels, because this makes two times we have had a tire issue and both times, it was apparent, after we were parked and done towing.

Just a few photos from this day. It’s tough when driving East, as the sun is always causing glare for pictures, plus, it’s Texas. There is not a lot of change of scenery for hours and hours, on end.

⬆️ Not an uncommon site in Texas

⬆️ My one and only Deer photo, I barely remember taking

At our final stop in Texas, at the Conroe N Houston KOA Holiday ⬇️

We will be quite busy coming and going, visiting friends, while here! I used to live a bit further South, in The Woodlands, and have not been back in eight years! Daryl will get to meet some new people, who have only known him for years, through Facebook and our Blog.

BTW, Daryl was born in Texas City, just south of where we are, now. (see map at the bottom)

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What’s Next?

From Texas, we make our way to Louisiana. Daryl has not been to New Orleans since he was way younger, and it’s been awhile for me too, though I’ve been several times and always enjoy this area.

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TEXAS