Blog 1: Three stops on the way to Big Bend National Park. 

Blog 1

Beach camping on Bolivar County Beach, TX, all alone in Spur 406 Campground at Amistad National Recreation Area, and Marathon Motel and RV Park in Marathon, Texas.

Bolivar County Beach TX.  Free camping

Would you start an adventurous new lifestyle like we did? 

It was a dark and foggy night as we embarked on the first day of our fulltime RV life. Nevertheless, we ended up camping on a beach!

First rule -avoid driving at night.  We knew wanted our first big destination to be Big Bend National Park, but since our goal is to meander along all kinds of trails throughout the United States and see what we see, we turned south off I-10 toward Galveston, TX. 

Driving west along TX Highway 87, a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico, East Bay, and Galveston Bay, we assumed this road would take us to Galveston Island.  However, watching the GPS, I noticed the road ended at a ferry crossing.  Mike and I didn’t know what to do.  Should we turn around and try to get a ferry in the morning?  Where will we end up for the night?  And, if the road ended at a ferry crossing, where were all the cars coming from in the other direction?

Second rule – at least have somewhat of a plan to where you are going to go.

An unexpected means of transportation – night ferry ride.

 Good old Google gave us the information we needed about the ferry crossing!  I checked out Port Bolivar Ferry crossing and found out the ferries run 24 hours a day and are free.  The wait time was a bit long, but the ride was worth the wait.   Riding a ferry at night the moon and stars over the dark water is a fascinating, eerie scene.  We could see the lights of Galveston Island as the ferry brought us closer.

Our second quandary – Where were we going to stay for the night?

 Refer back to Rule #1 – avoid driving at night.

Driving along Seawall Road on Galveston Island was very quiet and still foggy.  Even though it was December 28, 2022 – still during the holiday celebrating time, hardly anyone was out. Lights from the condos, restaurants and hotels lit up the town trying to continue the festive mood.  The drive became more eerie as we left town.  We could hear the waves rolling in on the Gulf, but all we saw was fog.  Google Map and iOverlander app indicated a free beach to camp on.  Following a commenter’s advice, we turned down the driveway that was supposed to lead to the beach. We felt confident that we were in the correct place when we saw other campers.  We pulled into an open spot.  When we stepped out of the van we couldn’t see much, however; we could hear the waves roaring to shore.  The sound sang us to sleep.

We were going to leave the next morning.  Mike took this picture of the golden sunrise.

A camping neighbor came by and encouraged us to stay through New Year’s Eve for all the fun and fireworks.  When would we get another chance like this to camp on the beach?  We went for it – we would stay until January 1, 2023.  Most of the days were foggy until noon, the waves were always loud, and the air was wet. Nonetheless, our time there was enjoyable.  What did we do?

We rode our bikes to Surfside.

Snoopy and Sarj

Wait for the sunrise

Marvel at the sunset.

Listen to the waves

Many people were on the beach for New Year’s Eve. Families and friends were barbecuing, playing soccer, enjoying volleyball, fishing and parasailing.

As we sat in our chairs in front of the camper to watch the fireworks, a young couple parked their car in the space next to us. They unloaded several boxes of fireworks and campfire logs. They built their fire, then the man and woman walked over to us with armloads of logs for us to build a campfire for ourselves since we didn’t have one.

As we watched their spectacular fireworks display, Mike photographed many of the brilliant explosions. And he walked over to the couple and shared some of the images. We told them how much we appreciated the campfire and their display. They were almost finished with their show when the man gave Mike his last box to set off.

However, when Mike set the box down to light it, he didn’t realize the wick was supposed to be on the side. Fireworks went everywhere except up! It was a scary, funny incident. He apologized to the neighbors on both sides of us, but they said the same mistake happened to them the year before.

Amistad National Recreation Area

We left January 1, 2023, intending to continue our journey to Big Bend.  We spent the night at a Walmart in Del Rio, Texas.  Looking on the map, we noticed Amistad National Recreation Area not far from Del Rio. We had to check it out.  Back to rule #2 – plans change!

Five campsites are around Lake Amistad and are on a first come, first served basis.  Since it was off season, not many people were camping. We explored three, 277 North Campground first, which was very nice, but no lake views.   Next, Governors Landing was right on the Lake, but had a lot of campers.  The third campground was the charm – Spur 406.  There were no other campers in the traditional campsites. Exploring a bit further, Mike and I found a beautiful campsite on a cliff overlooking Lake Amistad.  We thought we were all alone and remote until a van with a couple from Germany drove up.  They were wondering if we were leaving, because they wanted that spot too.  We stayed there for three days content not to go anywhere else except a hike and a bike ride down to the lake.

This would be a great area to come back to during another season since there is a variety of things to do and see in other times of the year.

Marathon Motel and RV Park

Finally, we made it to Big Bend National Park, but couldn’t camp there as soon as we arrived. Instead, we spent a few days enjoying Marathon Motel and RV Park.

Our intention was to primitive camp in the park, but we needed a permit from the Visitors Center.  Alas, we wouldn’t be able to get our rig into the primitive sites because we need 4-wheel drive.  We weren’t too disappointed.  Big Bend has two traditional campsites that we could stay in. However, we needed a reservation. There were none available for the next few days. This was disappointing, but things work out. We made a reservation for three days out.  To wait out the time, we returned to Marathon, Texas, the closest town. And it turned out to be a very pleasant experience.

Despite misadventures, happy events do occur.  We got a site with no hook-ups at the Marathon Motel and RV Park, since we like to boondock.  The motel and campground are a wonderful facility. It’s been operating since 1940.  You can tell when you drive up as you see the flashing ‘TV’ neon sign. 

Our site was wonderful. Next to us was:

 I sat on the bench overlooking this waterfall and pond. The little birds enjoyed it too. There aren’t many water sources in this part of Texas.

Very peaceful

Their owner was very friendly, too. We enjoyed conversing with her when she would come over to feed the chickens. She gave us two of the brown eggs she collected. I made Mike and I scrambled eggs the next morning. We thanked her and told her how delicious the eggs were.

The bench swings under a gazebo had pillows on them that said relax’. So, we did relax as we were swinging and looking at the view. The swing under the gazebo overlooks a community garden that no longer has crops. When Mike and I settle down again, I want my garden to have a swing. I will relax and watch my vegetables grow. Meanwhile, on our trails, I am sure that I will find a lot more places to relax in……

And here is one, already!

The best part of Marathon Motel and RV Park was the lovely courtyard.  Mike and I spent two evenings listening to the fountain and enjoying the fire. 

We were delighted with these three unexpected places when we got off the trail!