Houston, TX - Ingram, TX

April 8 - 12. 2021

On Thursday, April 8 we left Houston and were glad to do it.  Getting on the interstate we took an entrance too soon and ended up in the HOV lane.  We couldn't get off for 9 miles, went past our intended exit, and took the long way around to get where we were going.  We didn't have to deal with any traffic while we were in the HOV lane though!

We stopped for the night at Angels in Goliad RV Park in Goliad, TX.  This was a Passport America RV park and very nice.  What a deal for $20 a night!

Friday, April 9 we drove to Brownsville, TX and spent two nights at the Cactus Cart RV Park.  It also was a Passport America park for $20 a night.  There were a few sites that were for RVs like us but most of the sites had permanent single-wide trailers, some in better shape than others.  It wasn't bad, we felt safe there, but I might try to find someplace else if we ever return to Brownsville.

The reason we went there was to see where they launch the SpaceX Starship at Boca Chica.  The day before they had moved the Starship SN-15 to the launchpad so we got to see that.  These Starships are all prototypes and are designed to be reusable.  They launch the Starship, it goes up 6.5 miles, does a belly flop, glides down, and lands on a landing pad. 

Here are some other pictures of the facility at the launchpad.

This is the facility where they assemble the Starship.

If you look in this building you can see where they are assembling the first stage booster BN1, which is 230' tall.  They will move this to the launchpad and the Starship will sit on top of it.

Last week they launched the SN-11 but when they lit the engine it blew up on the way back down to land on the landing pad.  The pieces were still sitting on the beach.

If you want to know more about the SpaceX Starship ask John.  He knows more than he could ever teach me (or maybe more than I ever want to know).

On the way back to the campground on Boca Chica Blvd. there were some historical markers.  This one says that this was the site of a railroad built during the Civil War.

This was the site of Camp Belknap.  It was created in May 1846 during the Mexican War.  It sat on a narrow rise of land, 2 miles long and 1/2 mile at it's widest point, and housed 7,000-8,000 men.  Unfortunately it was hot and humid, there were biting bugs, exposure to the elements, unsanitary conditions, thorny plants and disease.  Many died a premature death, resulting in one to two funerals a day.  No attacks ever took place here, and by December 1846 they moved the men closer to what would become Brownsville.

This is what it looks like now.

This site is where the last battle of the Civil War was fought. It took place on May 12-13, 1865, more than a month after Lee surrendered.  Confederates reported no fatalities; the Union forces reported four officers and 111 men killed, wounded, or missing.  Sad.

On Sunday, April 11 we stayed at the Bar M RV Park in Pleasanton, TX.  It was a Passport America park at $22.00 at night.  We wouldn't go back.

On Monday, April 12 to took a back road around San Antonio to Johnson Creek RV Park in Ingram, TX.  We're getting our use out of Passport America and this one was $26.00.  It sits in what used to be a pecan orchard.  It's a very nice park and I would definitely recommend it.  We asked if we could stay another night but couldn't without moving to another site.  We decided to just keep on going tomorrow.

Tomorrow we will be...

Roving on...

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth".

Genesis 1:1