WALTZ ACROSS TEXAS: MONAHANS SANDILLS AND SOUTH LLANO RIVER STATE PARKS

A work meeting took me to the global oil and gas powerhouse known as the Permian Basin  (722 million barrels in proven reserves, but according to figures quoted recently, that figure could be well into the billions, with the Permian possibly becoming the world's largest oilfield as new fracking-related discoveries are verified).

Along the way, I managed to snag a couple of personal overnights at two state parks that could hardly be more different from each other.  Here's a photo tour of these unique places.

"Watch for sand on road"?  Ya think?!

There's almost as much money in West Texas as there is sand.  I was impressed by the Monahans Sandhills visitor's center - it had to be a seven-figure facility in an otherwise-underfunded state park system where some visitor's centers are little more than converted shacks.  

There's some sand on the road.  I watched for it, eh?  

The visitor's center rents plastic disks that kids use to toboggan down the sand dunes.  It's hilarious.  

By the way, I've left these photos almost entirely unprocessed.  You'll see the tones shifting back and forth from yellows to pinks to blues as sun angles and the compass directions of the photos changed.  That's part of what made this place unique - different colors manifested in every direction I turned.

It was a Monday night in late October - there were a couple of ham radio enthusiasts towing Casitas and three other miscellaneous dispersed campers, but the park was almost empty and I had this branch of the campground all to myself.  

It was very hot while the sun was still high, to the point where I plugged into shore power and ran our roof-mounted air conditioner for several hours, which is something I rarely do.  But as the sun sank lower in the sky, we went out to play.

Incidentally, this is the only state park I have ever seen that does not have defined trails.  The reason for that should be obvious.  Even if trails were designated, the sand would simply swallow them up.  So the humans do just as the animals - they walk wherever they please.

I've never happened upon a better track-viewing place in my entire life.  The density and diversity of unseen life was just amazing. 

Feline, I think. 

Big Bird, perhaps the one from Sesame Street?  Because what else could be out here?  Normally if I saw a bird track that large, I'd guess some kind of heron, but there's no standing water in this part of Texas.  

With tracks there are scents, and our dog reveled in the complexity of it all. 

Texana shot of the old windmill in the park, for contrast.

And the old section house, which is now rented out as a group lodge. 

There's a new term for me - "sand-bogged".  Like a physical analog to "mind-boggled".  

As the sun got lower and lower, the colors intensified.

We could have done without the color contribution from the inversion layer, however.  That air pollution you can see in the distance was originating with the Midland-Odessa metro area. 

What will happen
A dog instinctively knows
If she steps over
The angle of repose. 

Dog on fire, as we climbed our final dune to watch the setting sun. 

#homeiswhereyouparkit

As we sat up there on that sand dune, the creatures that had made all those footprints began to emerge in droves, and we could hear them scurrying about in the twilight.  At one point, our dog began growling at the darkness and shaking uncontrollably with fear.  My guess was javelina, which will attack dogs if they are able.  At that point we retreated to our Airstream Interstate for the night.

After the completion of my work in the area, we proceeded to Junction, Texas.

I actually took the route in blue, which was not what the Apple app had told me in real time - I had to figure it out for myself.  My acute dissatisfaction with current navigational options and especially cell phone connectivity in rural areas (i.e., the lack thereof) is a rant for another day.

By the way, I had a very strong "wish I were 20 years younger" moment in conjunction with this leg of travel.  I broke camp in Monahans Sandills before dawn, traveled 20 miles to Odessa, put in a lot of technical work throughout the day (= mentally challenging), then drove solo 230 miles through vicious West Texas cross-winds with an unexpectedly car-sick dog to my next overnight in Junction.  I was so tired that I couldn't even manage to get the protective cover over the rear door of the Interstate that I left open overnight.  I just couldn't manage it - I crashed out on the sofa bed and did not get back up again until the next morning.   

Every natural venue has its pros and cons, and South Llano River State Park is no exception.

It boasted really good hiking in a diversity of of terrains (18 miles of trails), from the limestone relief that defines the Texas Hill Country to the river bottomlands.  But... 

...river access was mediocre.  Most banks were steep and there were almost no gravel bars or other low-lying physical features that would allow easy entry to the cool, refreshing water.  Not a good place for young children to splash.  

South Llano is famous for its wild turkeys, and in fact the river bottomlands were off limits for all but 5 hours of the day so that they would not be disturbed.  I didn't see any turkeys, but we did see plenty of insect life.  We are definitely well into autumn here, but not yet into the brownest, deadest part of the year, so there is still some color and activity.  

We hiked for almost three hours in the morning before striking out on the final 5-hour leg of driving back to our home in League City Texas.  That's actually my favorite way of traveling if I can manage it - hike in the morning, get everyone's legs tired, and then just relax and drive all afternoon and into the evening if necessary.

Two successive nights, two very different views - Monahans Sandhills on the left, and South Llano on the right.  I was carrying our Yeti cooler full of ice (I didn't need it but I find that the van drives more stably with it in place), and I didn't bother to drop it to the ground, so I only have single-door million-dollar views in these cases, as the cooler blocks the other door while it is in place.