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Category: Places We’ve Been

Places we have been.

El Campo, TX

El Campo, TX

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El Campo is situated in the center of the Coastal Plains of Texas. Because of the bountiful native grasses, these plains were used as open range for cattle by Spanish explorers, later by Mexican cattlemen and then settlers brought in by Colonist Stephen F. Austin. After Texas won its independence from Mexico, German, Irish and Swedish immigrants moved into the area and cattle production remained the principal income of the people.

In 1882, a railroad camp (section No. 230) was situated where El Campo now stands. The little camp was first called “Prairie Switch” because it served as a switching point on the Houston-Victoria Railroad and a shipping point on the New York, Texas and Mexican Railroad. In fact, during the mid-1880s, El Campo was the largest prairie hay shipping point in the entire United States.

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Galveston, TX

Galveston, TX

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Although we spent three months on Galveston Island between December 2023 and February 2024 we unfortunately didn’t get to see a lot of the “touristy” attractions there. Instead, we spent a lot of time preparing for travel during 2024 including settling on (and ordering) new furniture, looking at interior decorating changes and updating things like one of our vent fans, bathroom faucets and replacing our water heater in the middle of a wind storm with wind gusts to 65 mph. We also spent a fair amount of time planning our route for 2024 and booking many of the stops along the way – more to come as we travel to the north west this summer including a month near Glacier National Park.

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Estes Park, CO

Estes Park, CO

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Well we thought we had seen most everything but on the way to Estes Park we stopped at the Wyoming rest stop just before entering Colorado. While there, we saw a trucker pull in and set up a long ramp from his passenger door. Next he guided his two pet hogs down the ramp and out to the grass where most people take their dogs. It was quite a sight and it might be a while before we can say – well now we’ve seen everything again!

Trucker at the Wyoming Rest Stop with 2 pet hogs
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Penrose (Colorado Springs), CO

Penrose (Colorado Springs), CO

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We spent a month in this area in October 2023. The actual park we stayed at is about half way between Colorado Springs and Penrose / Cañon City. Also nearby is Florence which is the home to numerous prisons including the ADX supermax prison sometimes known as the Alcatraz of the Rockies. It is one of the most secure prisons in the U.S. and has housed several high profile criminals including Ted Kaczynski (the Unibomber), Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (Boston Marathon Bomber), and Richard Reid (the Shoe Bomber). We drove by but didn’t linger in the area!

Also nearby is the Royal Gorge near Cañon City, several roads with beautiful scenery up into the nearby Rocky Mountains (although we played it safe and didn’t try some of the more challenging ones with our dually truck), and of course Florissant, Divide, Woodland Park and Colorado Springs. We took a few road trips and hikes but mostly just hung out at our park. Just before the end of our stay, the area got it’s first winter snow and we woke up one morning to 8″ of snow. Luckily most of it was gone before we left.

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Hot Springs, SD

Hot Springs, SD

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Hot Springs

Hot Springs, South Dakota, has a rich history dating back to the Native American tribes who considered the area sacred for its thermal springs. The Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne, and other tribes believed in the healing properties of the warm waters. In the late 19th century, the town developed as a resort destination, attracting visitors seeking the therapeutic benefits of the natural hot springs. The establishment of the Evans Plunge, one of the oldest indoor swimming facilities in the U.S., in 1890 further boosted Hot Springs’ popularity. During World War II, the town served as a training center for the military. Today, Hot Springs remains a charming small town known for its historic architecture, natural beauty, and the Mammoth Site, a renowned paleontological site showcasing the remains of prehistoric mammoths.

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