Laszlo and his lovely wife Lexi planned this Epic Adventure trip a long time ago, and they were able to realize it, when both of them retired on July 1, 2019.
Day 1 (Wednesday): July 10, 2019
We planned to leave Houston at 10 AM, but an early morning washing machine sewer line cleaning project gave us hard work and 3 hours delay. However, we did not have a bad mood, solved the problem, and left our house in perfect working condition at 1 PM. Drove on I-45 to Fairfield then on backroads Fairfield Lake State Park, TX, site 109, facing to the Lake and to the setting Sun. Deer, rabbit,s and a lot of birds around us. We enjoyed the Park and took few pictures.
Day 2 (Thursday): July 11, 2019
Got up at 6 AM, after a long morning walk, and a good homemade breakfast, we drove to Ennis then through Fort Worth, Decatur, Wichita Falls to Lake Arrowhead State Park, TX. Set up our camp then swam in the Lake. We watched a flock of Canada Goose and large carps feeding in the shallows. After a good dinner, when the darkness came, we slept.
Day 3 (Friday): July 12, 2019
After an early Bathhouse shower, I hiked the old Mesquite trail and took few shots at sunrise. Morning songs of many songbirds and honking sounds of the Canada Geese wished us good morning. Ate a good breakfast at the campsite then packed and drove on 287, to Quanah, where we found the old Railroad Station Restaurant, which was burned a while ago and now they opened again. Ate a good lunch there, packed leftover for dinner. Continued on 287 through Childress, Memphis, Claude, and on I-40 to Amarillo, then on 27 and 217 to Palo Duro Canyon State Park, TX. Set up our tiny house at Mesquite camp, site 83, next to the Hat Rock. Very nice place, we will be here for two nights. After a good Lexi fine-tuned dinner, we enjoyed the starry night.
Day 4 (Saturday): July 13, 2019
Got up at 5:30, after a Bath House shower, walked around nearby trails around the camp, took few pictures, then after a freshly brewed strong espresso, we ate sandwiches for breakfast, finished our journals and blog. Enjoy a few of my morning pictures. When the heat was brutal around 11 AM, we drove to the Visitor center, enjoyed the nice exhibits then drove to Canyon Walmart Superstore, where we got a new replacement hitch for the “Beast” to pull in better balance our tiny house, the “Titan”. Lexi got fresh vegetables then uploaded our blog using the free WiFi connection. Back to the camp around 5 PM, still extremely hot… drank a lot of water. Lexi cooked great mushroom paprikas with noodles. The Sun is still up at 8:30 PM, but we set up for a few nice side-lit large-format photographs. After sunset, the Moon came up and we tried another image from the textured rock wall with the moon. Walked back to our home, read books, we are happy without tv and radio news.
Day 5 (Sunday): July 14, 2019
Got up at 5:45, after bathroom seance walked around the camp area. Everything is quiet in at early morning, the birds just started to sing a few minutes ago. Huge bugs and Tarantula moving slowly in the grass, Lexi captured a Collared Lizard. After breakfast at 8 AM, we started packing, organizing our camp gear. Closed our Titan and slowly set up. I learned few hitching tricks from the helpful experienced neighbor camper, then we were ready for the next 260-mile drive on 217, I-27, 287 direction to Dumas, then on 354 to Channing, 87 to Dalhart, Texline TX, Clayton, Raton NM, then Raton Pass to Trinidad Lake State Park, CO. At the Rest stop of Des Moines (NM), talked to people in expedition vehicle and trailer, exchanged locations. After a boring drive on the roads through New Mexico grasslands, finally arrived at Trinidad Lake State Park. The campsites are tight, but I was able to back our trailer without a problem. Lexi cooked great “Paprikas krumpli” for dinner, then we hiked around. Nice place, very quiet. After sunset, the storm clouds changed to a nice cloud formation then a magic light came upon the horizon. We are in the hands of Nature. Enjoy a few of my images.
Day 6 (Monday): July 15, 2019
Got up at 5:30 in the Mountain time zone. After shaving and showering, then breakfast sandwiches, tea, and fresh strong coffee, we packed and around 9 AM we are on the road again, drove on the outstanding scenic byway #12 to Stonewall, Cuchara Pass, San Isabell NF, LaVeta, Walsenburg, on I-25 to Pueblo, Colorado Springs then on 24 to Divide and 24 to the beautiful Mueller State Park at 9,700 feet elevation. Set up our tiny house, then Lexi cooked fine food for dinner. In the evening, we went to a Nature program, about wolves and the ongoing wolf conservation project in Yellowstone. We enjoyed the talk and learned a lot. Storm clouds moved around, saw a nice moonrise, the temperature dropped to 50 oF. We were tired, even the night storms did not disturb us.
Day 7 (Tuesday): July 15, 2019
Got up at 6:30 at sunrise, walked around the camp area, beautiful meadows, a lot of aspens between the tall pines, took few nice morning shots on 4×5 film. After a good breakfast, we drove to the Nature Center to learn more about the area, then made a nice 1-mile hike around, slowly moving and photographing nature’s gifts. We were tired because we moved fast to close to 10,000 feet high elevation, without enough acclimatization. Around noon we drove to Divide to the General store to buy ice, fresh vegetables, and freshly grilled chicken for dinner. Back to the camp, stopped at several viewpoints, and after a late afternoon cold water shower and shaving, we ate dinner. Today was a full moon, a cloudy rainy evening, at 9:30 PM, dark outside, went to sleep.
