Back in the The Republic/Trip Summary

March 8, 2023

Our first night back in Texas was at a somewhat unusual, for us anyway, RV park right near the freeway. Saddleback RV Park, Truck stop and Steakhouse is the ultimate package deal!  

We usually try to get as far away from a freeway as we can, but there aren't a lot of choices in Balmorhea, and after the high prices we'd seen elsewhere for bare dirt with thorns everywhere we were quite happy to see well groomed sites (meaning few if any thorns and stickers) for only $20. All pull-through, with utilities. About half the sites, those closest to the front of the park, have nice cactus plantings in the spaces between the generously sized sites. I suspect these are the original sites, with the others put in later. Yes, there's no grass, but this is West Texas, nobody has any grass! especially with the drought conditions we've had the last few years. Perhaps the rain gods will bless us with some of that wet stuff this year. 

If you're in the mood for a steak for dinner, the restaurant is a stone's throw away, and so are the fuel pumps. I must have slept really soundly as I didn't hear any trucks during the night. 

Early the next morning we pulled out for the last leg of this trip. Next stop:

South Llano River State Park. This is one of our favorite Texas parks, especially for the first and last nights out, as it's only about two hours from the house.  

We had reservations for our favorite site, #19. It's fairly private on the back side and easy to take the dogs for a walk with no complications. The sites have shaded picnic tables and fire rings, and are really spacious, with native vegetation in between most of them. 

This park is particularly focused on the wild turkeys and has an area where they roost that is closed at times to protect them from disturbances. Those times are posted in the park office and on signboards near the trails.  The bridge entering the park is under construction at the moment, as it was damaged during recent flooding, and it looks like they're building a new visitor center too. Something to explore on our next visit!

Birdwatching is popular here, and there are bird blinds available to shelter photographers who are patient enough to sit and wait for the perfect shot. I'm happy to watch from camp, as they flit through the trees around us and sing back and forth from their perches up in the tree tops. 

Here's a post on the first time we stayed here, when we first moved to Texas. It was also in the spring, but there was more wildlife than we've seen this time. 

We thought we had a neighbor camper who was practicing bird calls as the songs seemed a little more frequent than usual, but upon meeting said campers we discovered it was their parrots! Two of them, and they were doing a fantastic job of imitating the Cardinals that are native to this area. I hope they didn't leave the local feathered residents too confused!

We'll be home by this afternoon, and then the unpacking begins!

Summary:  We were on the road for 28 days and traveled 3039 miles.  Total cost (not including food as we eat when we are home!) $2105.  Camping fees: $650 and Fuel:$1504 This averaged out to $77.00 a day.  The daily average was affected by staying at our friends in Fountain Valley for 5 days.  I shopped for the best deals on fuel and paid an average of $4.22 a gallon for diesel and averaged about 9 mpg pulling the trailer.  

Comparing to our travels in 2017 we averaged $43.00 a day.  Fuel prices are up from then and State Parks are about the same.  The big difference was in private campgrounds which were usually around $50 a night currently.

RV touring has changed considerably since covid.  Fuel prices are up and campground fees are up.  The biggest change was the need to make reservation for nightly spots.  I made reservations for this trip starting in September 2022.  It is frustrating as it removes flexibility while traveling.