Our Epic Summer Road Trip Begins

After celebrating Father's Day in a familiar but very special way -  shooting skeet with close friends & family- we pulled out of Spring Branch, TX the morning of June 19th for what we have dubbed our "Epic Summer Road Trip".  Aside from the flat-top mountains and a single dust devil, the stretch to Fort Stockton wasn't much too talk about, but once getting through Fredricksburg, the drive was short and we caught a nice West Texas sunset.  In passing, we were reminded to 'make time for wine' & a trip to Enchanted Rock!  Our lunch spot was Junction, TX where we visited a dear friend's gravesite.  We had not been there in years and Charles pinned the gps coordinates making it easier for future visits/visitors.  We got to Fort Stockton & set up for the night at Sagebrush RV amongst the big trucks and dry terrain.  Take-out pizza did the trick for dinner and we played a game of hearts.  The next day we swam at Balmorhea State Park.  A lot like Barton Springs Pool in Austin, the only thing that we had wished was that we had our swim masks and that they had a slightly more lenient pet policy!  That evening, our first real destination was Las Cruces, NM to visit Charles's step-sister Dawn Browning & her husband Rob Wu.  We met up for a delicious Southwestern dinner & walked the town of La Mesilla to catch up.  They are both scientists by trade but Rob is a more or less a Field Guide, if you will, and treated us to a 6 mi. hike in the Organ Mountain National Recreation Area the next morning. We started at 6 am and hiked up to a "saddle point" that overlooked the White Sands missile range, and Jornada Del Muerto & Tularosa basins. We started early enough to get ahead of the heat so we all enjoyed it, especially me & Blu!  That day Charles's truck read 108° - needless to say after the hike we showered, rested and stayed inside the rest of the afternoon!  We're loving the RV by-the-way and have no complaints about the sound system, AC, storage space, shower pressure etc. To top the night off, we had light nibbles at with Rob & Dawn here at the RV spot then practiced yoga at Dawn's home studio for the International Day of Yoga!  June 21st is the longest day of the year, the SUMMER SOLSTICE and doing yoga altogether, was an incredibly full-filling experience!  The next day we headed towards California with a pitstop in AZ.
The epic road trip has begun...