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Showing posts from December, 2016

ON A MISSION TO THE MISSIONS

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     On our way to San Antonio, Texas we got a little side-tracked to the town of Langtry.  Langtry is the home of Judge Roy Bean...the "Hanging Judge"..."The Law West of the Pecos."  The Judge is famous in Texas as he was quite a character.  Apparently, his rulings were highly creative in finding conduct, malicious or not, to justify the imposition of hefty fines.  And, by the way, the Judge pocketed all the fines for himself.  In fact, there is no evidence that the "Hanging Judge" ever sentenced a person to be hanged.  I guess he found hanging to be less lucrative than fining.  At any rate, the State of Texas established a beautiful museum to celebrate this colorful character and we couldn't resist stopping for a visit. Judge Roy Bean Museum Langtry, TX      San Antonio is a gorgeous city on the San Antonio River and features the famous "Riverwalk." Somebody way back in 1926 had the foresight to "save" the river and preve

ON A "BIG BENDER" WITH GOOD FRIENDS

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     We made it to Big Bend National Park on the Rio Grande River in Texas.  Big Bend is an isolated desert park with its own mountain range.  It has an endless supply of wilderness opportunities including great hikes, wonderful scenery for car touring and gorgeous river float trips on the Rio Grande. Big Bend National Park.      Travel to the park turned out to be quite an adventure.  I checked several map sources including the internet before traveling on the road through Big Bend Ranch State Park.  Seeing no "red flags" off we went.  Although the road was paved, it was no place for an RV of our size.  The road was narrow with no shoulder.  Over its 50 mile length, it had giant, steep dips every few hundred yards for the washes.  It was twisty and featured a 15% grade over a 1 mile portion.  A 15% grade in a car may not be a big deal, but in a 34' gas motorhome it is tighten the seat belts, shift into 1st gear, and pump the brakes like crazy. Since we never