Peoria to Houston – 5/5/25 to 5/15/25
When we were preparing to leave for our summer’s journey this year, we were pleasantly surprised by how many friends asked, “Are you doing your blog again?” Well yes, we are.
While we had talked about going to Alaska this year, we decided instead to do the Great River Road. It is a series of roads and byways that go through all 10 states on both sides of the Mississippi River. We will travel from south to north, starting in LA where the Mississippi ends in the Gulf of Mexico (oh, sorry, the Gulf of America) to where it begins as just a small creek flowing out of Lake Itasca in northern MN.
Along the way, we expect to be traveling 22 weeks (approximately 5 months) covering about 6,800 miles (compared to last summer’s 6,200 miles). We hope to visit 9 new-to-us National Parks (NP) including (in order):
…..White Sands…..Guadalupe Mountains…..Carlsbad Caverns…..Big Bend…..Hot Springs
.……….Isle Royale…..Voyageurs…..Theodore Roosevelt….. Badlands…..Wind Cave…..……….……….……….……….
To accomplish this, we will drive WOW through 16 new states to add to our decal map, in order (already had NM):
……….TX, LA, MS, AR, TN, KY, MO, IL, IA, WI, MN, ND, SD, NE, KS, OK
On May 5th, we got a late start from home (due to a veterinary visit for Whisper, which turned out to be nothing, fortunately) so did not make it as far as we had hoped on day 1, even driving after dark, which we do not usually do. But we did make it to Deming, NM, and stayed at our first Harvest Hosts of the summer, arriving so late at the middle-of-nowhere crazy Adobe Deli we could only quickly order takeout of French onion soup for Paula and a BBQ sandwich for Tom to eat in WOW. It was nothing but a gravel parking lot with 1 other rig there overnight, but it was quiet, and the food was delicious.
Day 2 was even less desirable. Shortly after leaving, traffic slowed down on I-10, then stopped. We covered 2 miles in 3 hours and 20 minutes. Unfortunately, two 18-wheelers collided, with one running into the back of the other. Sadly, 1 fatality. When we finally passed the wreckage, the cab of one truck was obliterated. We prayed for his family. When God delays us, we wonder how He might have protected us.
Nevertheless, we made it to our first NP of the summer, White Sands NP in the afternoon (pictured at top). White Sands is the largest gypsum dune field in the world, covering 275 square miles, and is surrounded by the White Sands Missile Range. The dazzling white dunes of constantly shifting sand sometimes rise to 60’. The 2 main things to do in White Sands NP are either to drive the narrow 16-mile loop road or hike on one of 4 trails ranging from .5 miles to 5 miles. We ended up only going to the Visitor Center to buy Paula’s patch to sew on her NP fleece jacket, watching the movie, and driving the loop. Our 3+ hour delay had us nearing our check-in time at our next overnight. But it was very pretty.
Night 2, also a Harvest Host, was a unique stop in Alamogordo, NM. Again, mainly just a gravel lot for the RVs just off the highway (and we were the only rig there), it was called Trinity Turtle Healing Labyrinth Park. It was the vision of nurse Teresa Van Winkle who, having lost 2 sisters to cancer, was frustrated with how traditional medical treatments seemed so ineffective. She started CAPPED (Center Advancing Primary Prevention Enlightened Decisions) knowing that 70% of humans die early from preventable diseases. It is the largest permanent labyrinth in the US and walking a labyrinth is thought to reduce stress and be good for one’s health. It is a 26-acre park. We walked the 1-mile labyrinth path of the turtle’s body plus the head before calling it a night.
Our destination on day 3 required a timed reservation to get into Carlsbad Caverns NP, so we had to get moving the next morning. We enjoyed driving through the Lincoln National Forest (elevation 8,676′) and saw our first wildlife – deer, pronghorn, and turkey. We passed through Artesia, NM, a pretty little town committed to art with nice sculptures.
We arrived at Carlsbad Caverns at 1:45 PM after unhooking our Jeep in our campground for the night. We decided to do both paths through the caverns, starting at the natural entrance (see left) going down…down…down into the caverns via switchbacks. This path through the main corridor was 1.25 miles and took us down a very steep path the equivalent of 75 stories or 750’. We thought we would never quit descending. (While many take the trail down, only about a dozen people a day take it up.) This took us down to the Big Room (more easily accessed by elevator) and its path through the cavern was another 1.25 miles. During our entire time there, we saw less than 20 other people on the trails. It was almost as if we had the caverns to ourselves.
We saw many beautiful formations we had seen before in other caverns and a few we had not. Check this formation! When asked later, a ranger told us he could not think of any formations in other caverns that Carlsbad didn’t have, though they might not have all been as spectacular or had as many of one type. (Here is some information we found later.) We had never been given access to a cavern without a guide before but were told Carlsbad’s Big Room had always been accessible without a guide. (There were other rooms that do require a guide.) All in all, we were pretty amazed by how big Carlsbad was. We wondered if it was the largest in the US, but it is not. (Mammoth Cave is the longest in the world with 412 miles mapped; Carlsbad has 33 miles mapped.) But the Big Room is the largest single cave chamber by volume in North America. The cave was a cool 56°.
Day 4 we headed for our 3rd NP in 3 days – Guadalupe Mountains NP. It was a very short visit because the only road that went a little way into the park was limited to vehicles less than 55’ and we did not want to disconnect the Jeep to drive it. This NP has over 80 miles of trails but only 7 miles of road and the highest elevation in TX is found at Guadalupe Peak at 8,751’. Here is the NPS description of Guadalupe Mountains National Park .
Big Bend National Park
We found a nice hotel and RV park to stay at in Marathon, TX and drove the Jeep 68 miles down to Big Bend NP the following morning. But driving through the park and back (244 miles total) was a full day’s trip. Big Bend is the largest Chihuahuan desert area in the US. Because we have seen Chihuahuan desert in AZ before, it will not be our favorite NP, but Tom thought it would be a nice park to photograph because of the geology, There are 3 distinct parts to the park (the river, the desert, the mountains), with contrasts in elevation from 1,715’ along the Rio Grande to 7,825” at Emory Peak resulting in varied microclimates with much biodiversity. We saw remnants of early settlers and expansive views of a very diverse landscape before sticking our big toes in the Rio Grande at the end of the road at Santa Elena Canyon. One could spend a week in Big Bend and not see it all. Four NPs in 4 days, but now we won’t see any more until AR.
We continued across TX to Amistad National Recreation Area (large lake) near Del Rio, with our next stop at Choke Canyon SP (State Park) on the shore of a large man-made lake.
The following day we stayed at a very large RV park (over 400 sites) in Rockport, TX where Paula enjoyed a large Maine lobster during our first meal out, a leftover special from Mother’s Day, while Tom had delicious large shrimp and catfish plate (see the aftermath here). We also joined Passport America for $49 for a year (with 4 free months). Passport America gives us 50% off at participating RV parks. We saved $22.50 at this park alone, so it should pay for itself quickly.
It started getting hot and when we stayed at Harvest Host The Wilderness Golf Club, a beautiful golf course which we got to walk after the golfers vacated the course for the evening. We had to run our generator and the AC had trouble keeping up.
If you read our blog last year, you’ll remember Harvest Hosts are businesses that allow RVers to park in overflow parking for free with the expectation that one patronizes their business. Since we’re not golfers, we ate in their deli. They were welcoming and gracious and we had the place to ourselves.
Paula is teaching Whisper a new trick…to be “a pest.” She is getting it faster than Paula thought she would. Watch it here. One of our friends said, “Don’t let her into any locker rooms!” As long as there were treats involved, she would have a heyday!
Nearing Houston, we stopped for 3 nights. We spent half a day at the Houston Space Center, the official visitors center of NASA Johnson Space Center, which we enjoyed very much. It was mostly inside exhibits plus we did 1 tram ride to see a Saturn V, which is now kept inside, is the only Saturn V that remains serviceable. We watched 3 movies. The most interesting told us it has been 50 years since man walked on the moon (actually 12 men walked on the moon on Apollo missions). But the US is starting the Artemis program, the next moon mission. We walked a 747 shuttle carrier aircraft (an actual one used for 70 missions) with a mock-up space shuttle atop. Did you know 319 American astronauts have been to space including 60 women? (Internationally, 676 individuals including 90 women have been to space.) There were also a large number of exhibits of things like the lunar lander, the lunar rover, space capsules, space suits, and much more. The thing that impressed Tom the most was how complex everything was. Check out the detail in the engine pictured to the right. How one can make all that work together, at the right time, is amazing!
The following day we had the opportunity to visit the boat we used to own on which we cruised the Great Loop. (Click on “LifesTraVails” at the top for more on that story.) Russ and Iris, the new owners, are getting her ready to move to Guatemala, leaving in just a few weeks. Russ has done a lot of upgrades on the mechanical side of things, like new electronics, new A/C units, a new composting head, solar, a lithium battery system, etc. But the core of the boat was about the same and we felt right at home sitting on the couch we installed looking at the same TV and even a picture we left behind on a wall. Yeah, we miss boating, but for now we’re happy roaming around in our RV. We enjoyed catching up with them.
Next, we will be heading to New Orleans for the beginning of the Great River Road, which we just found out today was named “Best Scenic Drive in America.” Our timing is spot on!
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