Feb 11- to Biloxi

A few pics of the place we stayed last night.   Poe-Shay is how they pronounce Poche.

For overnight parking, the place was good.  In addition there were several 20 acre fish ponds.

And fishing conveniences around the ponds.

Poche's Cajun Restaurant and Market.  We stopped here to pick up some local prepared meats such as boudin.

Beth in back shopping delicacies.

 Such as these

Breaux bridge crosses 17 miles of lake and wetlands.

Into Baton Rouge

Lunched on Cajun at Rice n Roux.  It was OK.

on 90 Gulf coast and parallel to rail road bridge

It's referred to as the Gold Coast.

Sunset where we camped in Biloxi

Feb 10 - Houston to Breaux Bridge, LA

We just drove by Houston.  Here's some skyline

Before crossing into Louisiana, we tried TX BBQ at the Bar-B-Que Depot, Vidor, TX. The first two cars you see are in the line for pickup window.  The locomotive in front is their mobile smoker.  The restaurant's BBQ is smoked in the back

Probably 85% of their business is takeout, but they have an attractive dining room, where we lunched

We ordered our BBQ served over loaded baked potatoes with a side of slaw.  Yum Yum!

Lake Charles at work

Lake Charles leisure

We stayed at Poche's RV Park, Breaux Bridge, LA -Near Lafayette.

Feb 9 - San Antono

The Alamo Mision made up part of the fort perimer, and this faced inside the fort.  The fort is a outpost started by Spanish to discourage French encorachment in the 1700's.

Around the left corner of the mission are these nice, big cactii

This is the  back of the mission  In 1836, the buiding was incomplete.  The back wall was the wall of the fort and there was a gun placement.  Today, inside the mission is a museum comemorating historical significance of The Alamo and memorializing the sacrifice of those who died.

Besides the mission, part of the barracs are the remains of the fort.  A couple dozen displays tell the story and significance of the Alamo from it's beginnings.

Inside the Alimo barracs, Beth sneaked this photo of a ring Colonel Travis entrusted to Susana Dickinson to give to his young son, Charles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susanna_Dickinson

San Antono is knwn for th arts, partly commercial.  The Alamo is near the river walk, which we walked for a few blocks

Cafe's had outside seating and there were a few musicians.

We ate here.

Some walls bore art like this mosaic

Garcia art glass offers glass b lowing demonsrations.  Beth liked their window exhibit

La Antorcha de la Amistad -a gift from the Mexican government to San antonio - 2002

Stayed at Houston West RV Park, Brookshire TX

Feb 8 - Ft Stockton, TX to San Antonio

Between Ft Stockton and San Antonio, we left Jeff Davis County and crossed the Pecos River into Cockett County.

We passed a number of washes, - or are they draws or arroyos?

Between San Antonio and El Paso, I-10 closely follows an old government road for a string of forts built in 1850's to protect the mail route.  This scenic overlook is east of Ft Lancaster (for which a few foundations remain).

Highway and rail now bypass this town.  Weevils ate cotton.  PO shut down.  Store burned, and owner later died.

We camped at Alamo Fiesta RV Resort in Boerne, TX - just west of San Antonio

Feb 7 - from Las Cruces, NM thru El Paso, TX to Ft Stockton

It's about 20 mi from Las Cruces to El Paso.  We turned off I-10 onto this street that parallels the border with Mexico.  Can you see the Amtrak Sunset Unlimited en route from southern CA to New Orleans?

The Rio Grande River is the grassy strip visible above border fence.  Don't see anybody sneaking across here.

Enough of El Paso

Back on the road I-10 and more inspection stations.  At each, there is an officer with working dog, surveying vehicles.  When we roll up to the stop, somebody often with foreign accent asks are we American citizens and they wave us on as we reply affirmatively.

Roadside scenery.  In TX, everything seems a ways off.

We stayed at Hilltop RV, Ft Stockton, TX.  From the 1850's there was a string of forts securing the mail route from San Antonio to El Paso (along what is now part of I-10).

Feb 6 - Bensn to Las Cruces

A quick photo observatory where we were treated to complimentary star-gazing last evening

Butterfield Observatory

 Twenty-some miles south, two coaches offered tombstone tours

Replica downtown Tombstone contained many touristy stores a little reminiscent of Wall Drug mechanizing.

Cochise County Courthouse.

Cochise County Sheriff's office.  There were a number of displays related to law enforcement about Tombstone including OK Corral 

Cochise County Court

  Cochise County Attorney's Office

More water than the average creek (north of Tombstone)

East of Benson

Texas Canyon east of Benson in Cochise County AZ is characterized by miles of big boulders

 

Sunset almost in NM

We did laundry at Hacienda RV and Rally Resort in Las Cruces, New Mexico