A Texas Sized View
The Queen and a view of the west Texas sunset. April 2022
Morning coffee, gratitude journaling, and our workout complete, it was time to hit the road as we continued west towards Arizona.
This was day 2 of 3 in our adventure across Texas and we were facing the daunting task of traveling along I-10 from San Antonio to El Paso.
Rolling west, we enjoyed the spring sunshine, rolling hills, and taking in the vastness of Texas.
My mind would wander back in time, as we talked about the courage required for individuals to travel away from everything they knew and into the great unknowns with far little comforts than we have today.
It is amazing how humans have a need for travel, exploration, learning, and there is no better teacher than mother nature.
As we neared our self-imposed driving limit for the day (3 hours) it was time for us to summons our own inner explorer.
Today would be trying something new ourselves. We had never spent the night is a “roadside picnic area” before, but Andrea found this spot on one of our favorite apps, Campendium, so we thought to give it a try.
The reviews told us there were amazing views, unbelievable views, gorgeous west Texas sunsets, and at times sketchy people.
I was hesitant at first as I focused on the latter review over the much more numerous positive reviews.
The get to these views, we would have to venture about 15 miles off our path, up a steep hill, and into a parking lot that many said was too small for a trailer our size to turn around.
Were we willing to take the additional time to make the drive up the steep hill?
Would we face the possibility of having to back our trailer up into the road instead of having the space to turn around?
Was an “unbelievable or amazing” sunset worth the risk of having “sketchy” neighbors nearby that made us feel unsafe?
Many times, in our lives, we would have said a resounding “NO”, not based on what we had experienced but simply based on opinions of others.
We would have sacrificed the “unbelievable or amazing” experience because we focused what could go wrong and were blinded from what could go right.
How many times have we missed an experience or adventure because we played it safe?
It was time for a vote. Two thumbs up we go for it, any other result and we continue driving.
Without much hesitation, and with a determined look in Andrea’s eye, it was an easy vote, two thumbs up for possibility.
Off the highway we went, onto the small Texas country road. Away from our destination, into the unknown for us, and winding up a steep hill.
Would someone else’s “unbelievable or amazing” mean the same thing to us?
As we reached the picnic area, we stopped at the entrance to walk in and see for ourselves.
Surprisingly, we found not only was there more than enough area for us to turn around, but there was the perfect amount of space to create our own pull through site for the night right next to a picnic shelter.
Bringing the King and Queen into their home for the night, we passed a younger gentleman on his computer, working from the passenger seat in his mid-1990’s Winnebago.
Throughout the evening, about a dozen travelers in a variety of rigs came into the area to take pictures of what we would see for ourselves now.
High upon the ridge, overlooking the vastness of west Texas, we saw it.
The sunset was “gorgeous, unbelievable, amazing” just as they described but it was more to us.
The auburn colored sun set below the horizon and gave way to the darkest of skies slowly illuminated by what seemed like thousands of stars.
The view we could only see by venturing out of our comfort zone.
It was affirmation that to experience some of life’s greatest simple moments, you may need to leave your “comfort zone”, reignite your sense of exploration, and choose to create experience for yourself instead of reading about those of others.
While the winds were whipping around that night and didn’t allow us the best night’s sleep. We created new experiences and memories that will remain with us for the rest of our lives.