San Antonio, TX

San Antonio, TX

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San Antonio, Texas, boasts a rich and diverse history deeply intertwined with the fabric of American culture. Founded in 1718 by Spanish settlers, it was initially a Spanish mission and presidio (fortress) called San Antonio de Béxar, established to secure Spain’s claim to the region and convert indigenous peoples to Christianity. The most famous of these missions is the Alamo, which played a pivotal role in Texas history during the Texas Revolution in 1836. San Antonio later became a key hub for trade, military operations, and cultural exchange, with influences from Native American, Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo-American cultures shaping its identity. Today, it’s renowned for its vibrant arts scene, historic landmarks like the River Walk and Spanish colonial missions, and its celebration of multicultural heritage.

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Calliham, TX (Choke Canyon State Park)

Calliham, TX (Choke Canyon State Park)

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Choke Canyon Lake about 24% full, the nearby grassy area should be underwater
Javalina in our site

Park Review – Choke Canyon State Park

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Location: Calliham, TX
Type: State Park
Check-in/Check-out times: 2:00/12:00
Site Quality / Amenities: Asphalt roads / pads. Each site has a covered patio, a fire pit and a lantern pole.
Access: Off TX-72 West of Three Rivers, TX.
Staff: We had minimal interaction with staff.
Cellular/WiFi: Verizon worked slightly but only with our amplifier and external antenna. Starlink was great as we had a clear view of the north sky.
Restaurants: Live Oak Restaurant in Three Rivers served good food at reasonable prices.
Nearby parks: We didn’t look closely at any other parks nearby. We did drive by a few and they were pretty rough looking.
What we liked: We saw wildlife while we were there including numerous types of birds, javelina, wild turkeys and deer. They have signs posted about alligators being in the park but we didn’t see any. The park was fairly quiet even on the weekends.
What we didn’t like: We were in site 107 and although it worked it was a bit challenging to get into due to a post and trees near the site entrance and trees at the back and side of the site. We had to park the truck sideways across the front of the trailer. The sites are water and electric only with no sewer so stays for us are limited to a week or less.
Verdict: This was typical of most Texas State Parks if not on the better side of most. It could have used some TLC in places, particularly in regards to trimming some of the low trees along the roads. This might be a good stop if heading down to the South Padre / Brownsville area but check the sites for trees and other obstructions as well as length first.

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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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