This is the longest drive across Texas I think we’ve planned. From Dallas to Terlingua, and then into Big Bend National Park (and Big Bend Ranch State Park, if we have time.) We are going so we can sleep in a bubble.
It’s almost 590 miles according to the step-by-step driving instructions from the Google Map. If we went in the other direction, we’d be halfway to the kids in Ohio. The difference is that this drive is all within one State. (El Paso is even further away, and in a different time zone.)
I have been trying to get Virginia to go to Big Bend for years, but she never had much interest. I finally realized I was using the wrong approach.
“Hey, do you want to visit a ghost town in the middle of nowhere?”
No.
“Hey, do you want to see Big Bend? It’s only ten hours from here, and you can’t really fly there.”
No.
“Hey, do you want to drive half-way to Ohio, in the other direction?”
No.
“Hey, do you want to sleep in an inflatable bubble?”
Tell me more. What is this bubble of which you speak?
It has taken me longer to see all the regions of Texas than it has to visit most of the other States. This is a bit sad, but it shows the size of the State.
I grew up in Dallas, and am still here. I went to college in San Antonio. I worked in Houston for a couple of years. I’ve sailed on a cruise ship from Galveston. I had a college girlfriend from the Valley, and we visited her family. My son was married in the Valley. My family used to go to D’Hanis to visit my grandmother and we went to Port Aransas.
I spent a weekend in Midland years ago, helping a college classmate find an apartment. (I heard when his wife from St Louis landed and saw all the glory of West Texas, she cried. They may not have been tears of joy.)
Midland was about as far west in Texas as I have been. Once we get past Midland, it’s new territory for me. Plus, I flew to Midland, so I didn’t really see the landscape.
The Spousal Unit has been as far west as Weatherford, I think – we went to the Peach Festival one year. She may have been farther west to rescue a dog. (She reminded me we did spend an hour or so in Lubbock one year when Southwest needed to divert for storms in Dallas.)
She’s been through East Texas, because it’s on the way to New Jersey and Ohio. She’s been to South Padre and the Valley (for my son’s wedding). She’s been to Galveston and Houston (for cruises and to see the Rolling Stones). She’s been to San Antonio, Castroville, Hondo and D’Hanis. We visited the Hill Country one year for Spring Break.
After this trip, we still have the Panhandle to visit. I think I’ve covered the other regions of the State.