Balmorhea State Park, Texas

We crossed over into Texas yesterday, and now we are on central time.  We're two hours earlier than when we're back in Oregon.  Two time changes can definitely give the feeling of being a long way from home.

Our ultimate destination is Big Bend National Park.  Our plan is to spend around five days there, and then turn around and start heading back to Oregon.  We're not in a rush to get home, but it is time to turn around if we don't want to have to make a "death march" back at the end of our time away.  (We have to be back to do our taxes.  Bummer.)

Our internet connection is terribly slow, and so I'm not going to spend a lot of time posting while we're here.  I don't know if we'll have internet while we're in Big Bend.  Sometimes, even if we do have a connection, it's so slow as to be unworkable.  This one I'm on now is almost to that point. 

So, all of that to say that I'm not going to spend a lot of time and effort posting pictures of Balmorhea, but I would strongly encourage you to click on this link from my previous blog, Ribbon of Highway.  Balmorhea is a wonderful place.  It's literally an oasis in the middle of the desert where San Solomon Springs bubbles to the surface at the rate of 1 million gallons per hour.  During the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps cemented and bricked-in a two-acre swimming pool that captured the water from the spring.  I can only imagine what a haven this must be for the communities around here.  Imagine being able to come to this huge, clean, clear swimming pool in the dead of summer when it is terribly hot here.  Really . . . click on the link I gave you and then click here to see the pictures.  It's a monument to some of those programs that were so important during a time of terrible economic hardship for so many Americans.

The temperature is very warm here today and the sun is shining.  We're chomping at the bit to get our swimsuits on and take a dip.  This is such a nice campground that we've decided to stay through the three-day weekend.  Last time we were in Big Bend, the campground was nearly full.  Since it's first-come, first-served, we're bettering our chances by waiting until the weekenders leave.  We'll be on our way again on Monday.  Until then, Happy President's Day!