Driving Clean Across Texas - Del Rio, San Antonio and Galveston

Drive Clean Across Texas is actually the catch phrase for the state of Texas’ clean highways initiative – we’ve seen it on roadway signs across the state. So while we certainly didn’t toss any trash on our trip across the Lone Star State, I also thought it was a good description for this leg of our journey.





There’s not much going on in Del Rio, a little military town on the banks of the Rio Grande. Our neighbors at the park recommended that we drive to nearby Brackettville for an event at historic Fort Clark. This was a real small town celebration featuring a home-grown version of American Idol, line dance demonstrations by some local ladies, a bake sale, and a parade of historic costumes. There were craft displays and the local motorcycle club also sponsored skill contests for their riders. It was a nice, laid back way to spend an afternoon.

A day later we had some excitement with our first dose of real Texas-style weather – tornado warnings in the area brought some serious rain, hail and wind that rocked the coach for much of the night. No damage thankfully, and the next day dawned clear and sunny. We didn’t realize that the unsettled weather would follow us to our next stop.

In San Antonio we stayed at a park outside of the city in a quiet rural area where Medio Creek flowed by our camp and cattle grazed on the far bank. In fact, shortly after we arrived we watched a new-born calf struggle awkwardly to his feet, take his first tentative steps, and enjoy his first meal. This was fascinating stuff for a city girl like me and I thought often about that little calf over the next several days, especially since we were about to suffer two days of torrential rains. The brown waters of Medio Creek swelled beyond their banks and created a small lake in the field at the far end of the camp. Happily, we were high and dry at our end.

We made several trips into San Antonio to see the sights. Of course we made the obligatory visit to the Alamo and filed slowly through this historic landmark with hundreds of other tourists. The crowds took away some of the luster from this monument, but we enjoyed the beautiful grounds that surround the mission itself.

From here we crossed the street and descended the stairs to the famous Riverwalk. This attraction is what makes San Antonio stand out from so many other urban areas. We took a boat tour around this area of the San Antonio River and enjoyed a leisurely meal on the bank. What a great place to people watch!

We took another day to visit the four other historic missions near San Antonio. Together with the Alamo, they were established in the early 1700s, became centers of farming and ranching, and sometimes served as military outposts. Today Mission Espada, Mission San Jose, Mission San Juan and Mission Concepcion are still active parishes and serve as charming reminders of old Texas. We finished our trip along the Mission Trail at the Alamo and headed across the street to enjoy another great meal at a Riverwalk restaurant.

Another day of driving and we were finally back to the sea – at Galveston Island south of Houston. We had a great spot right on the Gulf of Mexico at Galveston Island State Park. We planned our trip to coincide with our friend Janice’s visit to her parents and brother here in Galveston. This meant we kept busy with lots of dinners, cocktails and conversation, including a very special party for her mother’s 91st birthday!

Galveston is full of charming neighborhoods with lovely old Victorian homes. The historic downtown area is going through a renaissance so there are lots of restaurants, clubs and shopping. The seawall goes for miles along the Gulf of Mexico; across the street are more restaurants, hotels and condos. All of the homes along the shore are built on tall stilts to protect them from the storm surge that would accompany a hurricane. And yes, their insurance rates are sky high! But we had a wonderful time walking the beach, checking out the beach houses (some fancy, some not), and watching the shore birds. We’ll look forward to coming back another time.