Slowing Down, Looking for Options

We don’t have a lot of adventures to share as we are trying to work through all the coronavirus madness. The country is closing down around us. Schools are canceled. People are not going to work. Store shelves lay bare. Governors are issuing mandatory stay at home orders and self quarantine orders. State and national parks are closing. Campgrounds are canceling reservations. So where does this leave us? What should we do?

We planned this adventure months ago. We envisioned seven, maybe eight months on the road in our RV exploring and seeing as much of this beautiful country as possible. It’s been a long held dream of ours. I started making campground reservations back in October. We’ve agreed to have our daughter and her husband move into our house while we are gone, a mutually beneficial arrangement. We have made the commitment. Our home now is attached to the bumper of our truck. So on the first of March, one day after the first U.S. death from the virus was reported, we headed off. 

As the situation has become worse, we’ve been asking ourselves what is the right path. Should we go back home to Florida?  Should we stay put in Texas? Should we find an isolated location somewhere and hide out? Is that even possible? Our plans are changing and at this point are fluid. So right now we are just taking it one day at a time.  

We have our travel trailer, our own 176 square foot of space where we control the environment. We limit contact with the outside world as much as we can but we still have to get fuel and we have to buy groceries and worst of all and the most concerning to me is we have to do laundry. We follow the CDC recommendations and practice the 6 foot rule when possible and we do plenty of hand washing and use clorox wipes to clean surfaces.

We try to get out for a walk once a day. It’s a diversion from all that’s going on. On one of our walks we came upon a small field of blue bonnets in full bloom. This beautiful deep blue blossom is the Texas state flower. It blooms this time of year and is celebrated with festivals across the region. One of our bucket list plans was to drive the Ennis Blue Bonnet Trail and stop at the festival. Although we may still make the drive, the festival has been canceled.

We have a nephew who lives in Houston. We hadn’t seen him in probably three years. He drove out for a visit with us the other day. We were really happy to see him, but when he arrived there were no hugs. We kept our distance, maybe not the recommended six feet, but we kept our distance. I hated feeling this was necessary. This virus sucks!

On another day, we felt the need to get out and away from the camper. We went to Monument Hill and Kreische Brewery State Historic Site. Their website said that all the facilities would be closed but the park gates will remain open for use of the trails. This adventure was a highlight of our week. We practically had the entire park to ourselves.

We walked among the ruins of the old brewery and took in the scenery of the Texas landscape from the bluff where the Kreische family’s three story house still stands.

Monument Hill is a memorial to the men who died in the Black Bean Lottery and in the Dawson Massacre. I did a quick internet search of the Black Bean Lottery and read a synopses of the history of that event. The Mexican army was marching captured Texan prisoners to Mexico City when an attempted escape was thwarted.

There were 176 prisoners recaptured and as punishment one in ten would be executed. A clay jar holding 159 white beans and 17 black beans was passed between the prisoners. Those with the black beans were shot by firing squad. It is shocking the brutality the Texans endured.

We signed up for Boondockers Welcome. It is advertised as free overnight RV parking on private property. So for a small fee of around fifty dollars you get a one year subscription with access to a list of host where a fully self contained RV can park overnight. Each host has their own rules as to the size of RVs, length of stay, hookups provided, etc. Most host are RVers themselves who understand and enjoy meeting other RVers. They are just happy to help a fellow RVer. It’s pretty simple, you find a location you want to stay and just send a request and wait for a reply. 

After we left Colorado River RV Park we tried our first private property site for a three night stay near Seguin, Texas. It was a site with full hook ups and wifi which was nice. We were tucked between a small out building and another RV. There was a field with cows behind us and a view of I-10 in front. When we arrived the property owners said they were practicing “social distancing” so we didn’t see much of them. It rained pretty much the whole time we were there and it got really muddy. The temperature dropped so we mostly stayed in and watched movies. This was a convenient stop for us and we are hoping to continue using the Boondockers Welcome as an option for one or two night stays in between longer stays at campgrounds. Whether or not these host remain open during the current circumstances remains to be seen.

This is a blog about our adventures. We will continue to seek adventure where and when we can. But we will be slowing down for the foreseeable future, looking for options. We hope and pray this virus passes soon so we may all get on with our lives. Stay safe!