All the way from Arkansas to Lincoln National Forest, NM

It’s early afternoon on May 27^th and Will and I are sitting at camp in Lincoln National Forest, NM. We’ve been camping in the dispersed recreation area of the Upper Bonita Lake district since Sunday. After spending about four days in southern Texas, the elevation and cooler climate has been so enjoyable.

After leaving Arkansas about a week or so ago, we made our way into Texas. We camped at two Hipcamp sites. If you’re not familiar with Hipcamp you should check it out. It’s essentially like air bnb, but for camping. We camped first on a ranch just outside of Commerce, TX before making our way to camp on another ranch just outside of Luckenbach. Of course, we had to make time to stop into Luckenbach to check out the store and walk around a bit. It was every bit as cool as we thought it would be.

The next day we had quite a long day of driving through the Texas Hill Country down to Highway 90 which took us west. There were several neat things about driving 90 through southern Texas, but one of the coolest was crossing over the Pecos River Bridge. You can read a bit about it here (https://texaspecostrail.com/plan-your-adventure/historic-sites-and-cities/sites/pecos-river-overlook-pecos-high-bridge). We learned that this bridge was once considered the gateway to West Texas and that crossing the river meant you had arrived in the Wild Frontier.

Originally, we had planned to stay in Big Bend National Park but had to change plans last minute before we headed out on the 15^th because that park is still closed. We found another Hipcamp site just outside of Terlingua, TX which is near both Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park. Unfortunately, the dogs hadn’t handled the heat well then night before in Luckenbach and had been really hot the whole day driving and we knew they really wouldn’t do well if we stayed down in Terlingua. We tried to camp in Marfa, where we had camping reservations for the 24^th and 25^th but when we arrive around 5:00 PM it was just still too hot. In making sure that we didn’t cause our dogs to overheat before we’d even been gone a week, we chose to stay in a small, pet-friendly motel just on the outskirts of Marfa. This ended up being such a good decision. The dogs were able to cool down and get back to normal in the AC of the hotel and we were able to regroup since our plans had been so abruptly changed.

While staying in Marfa we were able to look out for the Marfa lights which was fun even if we didn’t see anything. We were also able to drive down into Terlingua to visit the Terlingua Ghost Town and to stop by the Rio Grande and peer off into Mexico. We explored Marfa a little (went to Prada Marfa and the Tiny Target), but mostly things were still closed.

When we left Marfa, we continue to drive west on 90 to El Paso before we turned north to make our way up to the national forest. The last few days have been spent riding trails with the trailer unhitched, reading, playing cards and simply enjoying being outside. We’re both starting to realize that it’s okay to sit and do nothing and just enjoy being. After having so many responsibilities and timelines to meet for so long, it’s definitely been an interesting transition.

The things we’re doing, the people we’re meeting and the places we’re going are so incredible it’s a bit hard to describe. The thing that’s hitting me the hardest is how incredibly resilient people are. COVID has been devastating for so many, but nothing will ever break the American Spirit. It’s also been really interesting to go to all of these places and still feel like we’re not far from home. Like today, I’m sitting in the grass on top of a hill with the smell of hot pine straw wafting around and horse stables nearby with groups of riders going by every so often. It’s astounding how much it feels like I’m sitting somewhere in Moore County, NC.

We’re still living life in the right lane. And I’m still looking for Blue Bunny Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwiches. I haven’t found a single one yet, but still not losing hope.

–I’m adding this a few days after I originally wrote this. Wanted to mention that we met and visited with a couple that live right inside the Lincoln National Forest on the ranch where they rent horses and guide hunters. The husband is also the author of this book: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hunting-tales-from-the-mountains-of-new-mexico-robert-runnels/1135595837.  They have the most interesting stories to tell. Happy to share more if you’re interested.

Life in the right lane,

Rachel