Actually, this post starts in a little place called Crystal City, TX. We needed to have some mail forwarded to us, and we really wanted to enjoy electricity and unlimited water for a few days. Online, we found a nice park with great rates, including good wifi too! They allowed us to wash our rig while we were there, the kids enjoyed watching the hummingbirds at the office porch almost every day, and the club house offered quite a few activities. Unfortunately some of our packages didn’t arrive in time, but the staff very kindly forwarded the packages onward for us. We can highly recommend Triple R RV Park if you’re ever in the area.

Then, we were off to Del Rio on our way towards Big Bend. We really didn’t know what to expect besides a lake, and the possibility of some good food, but there ended up being many enjoyable activities in the area! Del Rio really impressed us, so our quick stop ended up lasting 10 days! It’s been nice having the flexibility to extend our stay, whenever we find a nice site or enjoy a particular area.

There were several campsites around Amistad National Reservoir in Del Rio, but we chose one we were sure we’d fit into with no issues, and hoped there would be a vacant spot. We did have camp neighbors for the first two nights, but the rest of the time we had the entire campground to ourselves. At $4 a night, a lake view, and quick access to town, it was wonderful all around.

The kids chased butterflies, watched birds, and photographed bunnies around our site. We took a few walks down to the lake on the boat ramp, which is actually an old road flooded over when the reservoir was created, to watch the fishermen and boats going by. We scared up deer on several occasions, and on one evening we drove past a beautiful grey fox.

We had a couple of really hot days there, and since we were dry camping at the lake, we found ways to keep cool in town. One day we chilled at the library on a 102 degree day, and a couple other times we headed to the San Felipe Creek. The creek is a popular place to take the kids for a swim in clear shallow waters, and for parents to dangle their feet in from the banks. There are several places you can get in to enjoy the waters, but the area near the train bridge had the most younger children.

If you’ve lived in Texas, you know the wonderful deliciousness that is Julio’s seasoned chips. I read the back of the bag many times to see where they were made, but I totally had forgotten that they’re based out of Del Rio! Sadly, there wasn’t a factory tour, but they have their own little restaurant in town. So yes, of course we had to check it out. The food was tasty, and they had a selection of other Julio’s products that I didn’t even know existed: Julio’s queso, hard taco shells, pork rinds, etc.

After out lovely stay, I was on Zillow checking out house/property prices in the area… Then again, I do tend to fall in love with almost every place we visit. Sigh. #travelerproblems

Testing the barbed wire
How sharp is this?

Ruby-throated hummingbird hovering at a red nectar feeder

Two hummingbirds circling a red feeder against a soft green backdrop

Hummingbird in flight with a soft blurred green background

A black cow and a brown cow standing together under a willow in high water
Meeting some neighbors.

Girl in a teal dress and boy with balloons posing under a yard tree on picture day
All dressed up for Easter Sunday in Crystal City.

Boy in glasses picking ripe loquats from a tree heavy with fruit
Several loaded loquat trees were in a parking lot in Del Rio.

Kids playing at a lakeside campground as the sun sets behind the travel trailer

Flooded lakeshore at dusk with a half-submerged tree mirrored in still water

Silhouette of a girl with raised arms before a blazing campsite sunset

Tules along the edge of Amistad Lake with a snag rising from calm water

Black bird with pale wing patch perched on a desert branch against the sky

Cottontail rabbit sitting alert at the edge of a gravel road
Several bunnies would come out in the evenings.

Cottontail rabbit resting in the grass beside a roadside
This guy showed me he wasn’t the least bit worried about my presence.

Three children in gloves collecting litter in white bags on a dry field
Cleaning up the campsite. There was quite a bit of trash left from Easter weekend.

Roadway dipped under floodwater with an orange road-work-ahead sign

Two children looking out over a lake that has flooded across the boat ramp
The flooded road.

Hand holding a grasshopper at eye level on a gravel path
We thought this hopper was pretty cool. He blended into the rocks very well, but he had blue legs!

Painted wooden signpost at the Whitehead Memorial Museum in San Felipe

Old farm windmill framed by green trees against a cloudless blue sky

Desert brush framing a view of the blue water of Amistad Reservoir

Father carrying a girl on his shoulders as the family walks toward the lake

Prickly pear cactus in bud dotted with yellow blooms along a hillside

Single yellow prickly pear cactus flower in close-up

Cottontail rabbit on a gravel trail among pale foliage and orange blooms
Another cottontail, but this photo was by Benji!

Girl in a turquoise dress kneeling to pick yellow wildflowers in a desert meadow