Forts and Der Fuhrer en Tejas

Remember the snake from our previous posting? Well, Paul found it. Here he is getting his first dose of antivenin in Fort Davis, Texas. The snake had somehow managed to secret itself in a small box containing Paul's sex toys and porn collection. He reached in for the latest DVD titled "The Devil Wears Nada" and wham! The freaking rattler nipped him on the little finger. He's expected to survive but if he doesn't, is there any man out there reading this who would be willing to join me on my continuing road trip? We can stow Paul under the bed. There's plenty of room now that I have pitched his traveling porn collection.

Oh, by the way, after the nip on the finger the snake made a run for it and continues hiding somewhere in the RV. To make matters worse, it turned out to be a pregnant female and has given birth to a bunch of little rattlers. Now they're everywhere but we can't find 'em. You may have seen the movies "Snakes on a Plane" and "Snakes on a Train". Well, try "Snakes in an RV".

I think we also, when we packed our bags in Arizona, inadvertently packed away a couple of desert scorpions. Now those buggers are loose in the RV. Saw one scurrying across the floor last night. Is there any hope that the scorpions will kill the baby rattlers or vice versa? Will an expert please weigh in?

 Please don't let the snakes and scorpions be a deterrent to linking up with me on the road as I really will need a real man, preferably an ex-Marine, to help me wheel this rig on down the interstate.  Incidentally, I enjoy moonlight drives, long walks on gentle white sand beaches, Nelson Eddy and Jeanette McDonald movies, Sunday mornings with Joel Osteen, sweet fluffy kitties, Rand Paul, Ron Paul and their brother Ru Paul, bar food, and cheap boxed wine. Franzia, if ya got it. So I'm both a romantic and a cheap date. Of course Paul is showing signs of recovery so who knows.

Now, back to our blog. It will be short since I have to take Paul to the hospital for his second round of antivenin treatments. You'll recall that we said some negative things about some of the dusty, dirty west Texas towns off of I-10. Well, we haven't changed our minds about those places but in the days since we have been quite happy with some of the other spots we've come across. Most especially Fort Davis, Sonora Caverns and Fredericksburg. So Rick Perry, call off your state troopers. Somehow our first blog reached this tea-baggin' governor and we were informed by email that if we kept up our harangue of his beloved Lone Star State that he would unleash his state troopers who would hunt us down and force us north into Oklahoma, a fate worse than Texas.  Let us make amends by telling you briefly about a few high spots, all of which are relatively short drives off I-10.

The first is a scenic route southeast of Van Horn in the Davis Mountains. You pass by the world famous McDonald Observatory--open to the public, by the way--but we didn't stop because it in no way compares to America's national observatory at Kitt Peak near our winter residence south of Tucson. Hey, Gov. Perry, what the hell do you mean everything's bigger and better in Texas?

Near McDonald Observatory is America's best preserved/restored southwest cavalry outpost: Fort Davis. Established in the 1850s, it helped protect wagon trains traveling the road from San Antonio to El Paso. It's also where black enlisted men and officers called "Buffalo Soldiers" were stationed. The fort and adjacent town are very much worth your time.  And if you're RVing, stay at Davis Mountains State Park, about four miles north of the fort. Large spaces, full hook-ups with cable TV for $20+ per night. You'll share your site with lots of javelina, deer, mountain lions, bees and boxed wine-drinking Canadians. The park buildings and trails were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and the large adobe lodge is currently being refurbished.

After Fort Davis and back up on the interstate we had trouble finding a spot to park the Lance-A-Less one night. We finally stumbled upon an attraction called "Sonora Caverns" with an RV park. A nice spot and the adjacent caverns are larger and far more impressive than better-known Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico but not nearly as impressive as Arizona's Karchner Caverns. Hey Perry, put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Continuing on (ain't this informative?), we made our way to Fredericksburg just north of the interstate. Stayed at a municipal park called "Lady Bird Johnson". She and hubby Lyndon lived just down the road near Johnson City. This truly was one of the better RV parks we've ever spent time in. Full hook-ups, big spaces, plenty of grass, nature trails,  and an 18-hole golf course.

Fredericksburg is a winter nesting spot for a lot of northern tier snowbirds. It's a town settled by German immigrants in the mid-nineteenth century and maintains a strong German flair. This doesn't mean you have to like the fuhrer and goose-stepping Nazis but it helps to like German architecture and German food. Had dinner one night at the Silver Creek Grille on Main Street -- very good wiener schnitzel and fall-off-the-bone braised pork shanks, washed down with Texas wine. 

Fredericksburg is a fun place to spend two or three days. Plenty to see here. For instance, thirty miles down the road is Johnson City and the LBJ ranch on the Pedernales. But more fun than that and closer into town is Luckenbach, a dusty little clapboard crossroads made famous by Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings and their Fourth of July bashes in the surrounding farm fields that would attract hundreds of thousands of the faithful. Don't miss the chance to go to Luckenbach, Texas, as the song goes and meet some very friendly, genuine folks, slug down a long-neck Lone Star beer and listen to a local musician sing Texas swing.

But the best of all in Fredericksburg is the old Nimitz Hotel, birthplace of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. The hotel has been expanded and has morphed into America's premier museum honoring the men and women who fought in the Pacific War. That's World War Two for those of you who don't know your history. 

The museum is a poignant, interactive experience that takes you through all of the campaigns of World War Two in the Pacific, from the Japanese invasion of China, Pearl Harbor, and the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It's quite an experience and as the daughter of a World War Two Marine who fought on Saipan and Pelelieu, it had special significance to me. There was a room dedicated to Pelelieu and I kept looking for pictures of my dad, Sgt. Alan Gravitt, USMC. There's also the George H.W. Bush museum on site along with a detailed history of the Nimitz family and their hotel here in Fredericksburg. This is something you will enjoy. Hey Perry, call off the troopers.  

From Fredericksburg on down the road we went to Houston. Won't even bother telling you about the overnight spent at an RV park along the interstate. It was one of the places where you just park the rig for the night and suck it up.   

Oh, did we mention Daisy? I don't think we did. She is loving her road food and is now up to 32 pounds.  So she's well on her way to her goal weight of 50.