October 2 - 11, 2024
We've been doing more driving from campground to campground than we have been sightseeing. We left Bear Paw RV Park in Eagar, AZ on Thursday, October 3. We stayed at Perry Farms Desert RV Park in Socorro, NM for one night. It was a dirt parking lot with full hookups for $30 per night. The owner, Vanetta, was very nice and gave us information about the area's restaurants and things to see. Since we were only there one night we didn't go out. We also didn't get any pictures of the campground, but here's a satellite view.
Our next stop was Wild Willy's RV Park in Roswell, NM. We were also there for only one night. It also was full hookups for $30 per night. It was right on the highway but had a nice gravel pad and the owner was very nice.
We've seen YouTube videos of Roswell so I thought there would be space aliens all over town. It was actually just a regular town with some alien sightings around the downtown area.
On Saturday, October 5 we made it to Texas. We've been taking US Highway 380 all the way from Arizona.
We went to Terry County RV Park in Brownfield, TX for two nights. It was full hookups for $30 per night. It was recently purchased by new owners and they are trying to improve it. It was still mostly a dirt parking lot but it served our needs. We forgot to get pictures.
From there we went to Rain Tree RV in Aspermont, TX for one night. They keep two sites just for overnighters. Both sites are full hookups for $30 per night, but one is 50 amp and one 30 amp. It was by the highway but wasn't that noisy. The owner came by and said hello and was very nice. I think the owners of these small highway campgrounds are happy to get customers and the prices are reasonable. There was one other trailer there that looked like a seasonal one.
On Tuesday, October 8 we drove to Fort Richardson State Park in Jacksboro, TX for two nights. It was 50 amp electric and water for $30 per night. Our site was nice with some shade, but it was too hot to sit outside for long.
Here there was a little sightseeing to do.
Fort Richardson was active from 1867-1878. The U.S. Army stationed over 5,000 troops here, with a standing force of almost 800 soldiers at the height of its power. It was originally established as an "occupational fort" to enforce martial law and the reconstruction policies of the federal government. This lasted until April 1870, when Texas was readmitted into the Union. After 1870 the Army's focus turned to Indian War Campaigns. Three major campaigns and hundreds of scouts and patrols were launched from Richardson. Although the fort originally had over 60 buildings, most were only temporary structures and were torn down by locals after the fort was decommissioned. Most of the remaining original buildings are below.
The Fort Richardson sign was erected in 1936 to commemorate the Texas Centennial. The sign is not at the original entrance to the fort.
The Barracks.
The magazine walls are four feet thick with a vaulted ceiling, which as designed to implode in case of fire. The original door was six inches thick and made of cast iron.
The Guardhouse.
The guardhouse originally consisted of four stone cells, four feet by eight feet, in which three soldiers were confined to each cell. The guardhouse was nearly always at full capacity and additional rooms were added. The post reportedly lost 246 soldiers through desertion.
The Bakery.
The Post Hospital was the largest building on the fort grounds, completed in 1869 at a cost of about $150,000. It is made of sandstone quarried from a neighboring county. The walls are 18 inches thick in places.
On Thursday, October 10 we drove to East Fork Campground, a CoE park in Wylie, TX for three nights. It's 50 amp electric and water for $15 per night with our senior pass. The sites are spaced apart very nicely.
Although the traffic on US 380 has been minimal, it changed when we got close to Denton, TX. Then it was just traffic, lights, and construction. It was nice while it lasted.
Tomorrow we'll be...
Roving on...
"In the beginning GOD created the heavens and the earth".
Genesis 1:1
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