August is typically a slow month for weddings down here in Texas, so it’s always a great time for our family vacation! I loooove planning road trips for the fam and this one was even more fun that I had hoped. First stop, Balmorhea, TX and the clear, cold waters of the San Solomon Springs. Here’s our abode for the first two nights of our trip…
Maggie was in heaven! She loves to swim and she was fearless in this 20-feet deep water. There are catfish and other little fish swimming all around and the water is crystal clear. It’s amazing that it’s out in the middle of the West Texas desert.
Maggie decided that she wanted to jump off of the high dive. We were so proud!
She was feeling pretty good about herself after her big jump, especially since people were clapping and giving her high-fives. That’s our girl!
Ceej, cooking us up some grub!
Our next stop, and probably the highlight of the trip for all of us, was White Sands, New Mexico. Pure, white sand dunes as far as you can see. It’s breathtaking! We decided to really get away from it all and do some back-country camping, but just for one night. The days are still pretty hot out here in August, but as soon as the sun starts to go down, it’s so nice and cool.
You can buy sleds in the gift shop to slide down the dunes. So fun!
The world’s largest sand box! Maggie was sooo happy here, with nothing to do but run and play in the soft, white sand.
I can’t remember the last time I saw the sun rise, but I figured this would be one worth getting up early for.
Good mornin’ Mags!
Then we headed out to Ruidoso, NM. I love all of these vintage signs!
Ruidoso was so beautiful. We had never been there, but all I knew was that it was the closet place we could drive to feel some cooler weather. We’ve had over 60 consecutive days of temperatures over 100-degrees in Austin, and it was soooo nice to feel a cool breeze and wear a sweater at night.
We did lots of hiking while we were there. Such beautiful views and soaring pine trees.
Meet Ranger CJ and Ranger Maggie! We stopped at Carlsbad Caverns on our way back to Texas and the Davis Mountains. It was awesome! It’s as deep as the Empire State Building is tall! Crazy!
We had to stop in Marfa. Here’s Mags waiting for our pizza at Pizza Foundation-good stuff!
Marfa is such a unique little town. It’s like a ghost town in the mountains, with a subtle, Austin flavor. Over the years, lots of artists, and people looking for a much slower pace of life, have migrated here, especially from Austin.
Our last stop was here, at the Indian Lodge in the Davis Mountains. You can read more about our last stay and the history of the lodge here.
If you’re in West Texas, a must-see is the McDonald Observatory. It’s the darkest observatory in the U.S. and they have “star parties” 3 times a week where astronomers point out constellations and you can look through their giant telescopes. This time we got to view Jupiter.
Some folks enjoying some hot chocolate before the star party begins.
It was an amazing trip! Good times, great memories…
by Jennifer
16 comments
link to this post email a friend