She has a name: ATHENA

Dad christened the rv—ATHENA (a tiny house exploring new adventures) before we left Murphy. Apropos.

First full day on the road was fairly uneventful. Found a gem of a state park in Jackson, MS, Le Fleur’s Bluff. Wooded, back-in site at edge of lake with electric & water. We settled dad in a hotel for the night then up bright & early & on to Texas. 

I have a love/hate relationship with Texas. I love my people but hate the trip (this is my 44th since 1980...but who is counting?) I have been adamant about never making the trek again. But my dad. 

Dad decided it was time to try senior living for a while. One day while Greg & I were working on Athena this 92 year old spry guy called the Georgetown, TX Chamber of Commerce and asked for the names of three senior living places. Then he called them. Then he told me what he’d done and what he was thinking about. Jumped through all the hoops and on April 30 we (along with my two sisters) moved dad into The Legacy. He’s keeping his options open—if he likes, he’ll stay. If not, he’ll rejoin us when we return in the fall. 

Dropped Athena in a local (Jim Hogg) state park while we were making the move. Enjoyed a short visit. Then Greg & I hit the road headed to Big Bend National Park. We drove through hill country in a steady downpour so there are no pictures of the fields of bluebonnets, the horizon periodically broken by the next ranch gate, scrub oaks, and the multitude of deer we saw through the wall of water. Crashed/camped in Menard’s school parking lot. Woke up to blue skies & puffy white clouds. 

Big Bend campgrounds were full so we parked at a cool old (but cutely renovated) motel/rv park in Marathon. We were hoping to catch the cactus blooming and to have some clear night star gazing. Peak season for Big Bend is November to April because after that, it gets hot. First night was hazy & overcast so we turned in early. We were through the gates at 7 a.m. the next morning to try and minimize the heat factor. Tooled around and found some cool bloomers. Was a little disappointed that the prickly pear were only budded. We hiked the moderate Upper Burro Mesa Trail. It pushed us a bit but we were rewarded with fully blooming prickly pear as we made our way back to the truck!

 

Headed toward LA to visit LJ & Tye. Have a few days so are going to try and stay off the interstate. No set plans--just going exploring to see what we find. Will keep you posted!

 

Pics here.