We arrived at Big Bend RV Resort & Adventures in Terlingua, Texas last Friday after a one night stay at Desert Willow RV Park in the sleepy little town of Van Horn, Texas. Van Horn is one of those places that time forgets when the interstate (I-10) gets completed... and passes you by.
What Wikipedia has to say about the place...
"Anglo-Texan[7] settlement began in the late 1850s and early 1860s supportive of the San Antonio-El Paso Overland Mailroute.[8] Although U.S. Army Major Jefferson Van Horne is believed to have passed near the area in 1849 on his way to take command of what would later become Fort Bliss, the town is instead named for Lt. James Judson Van Horn who commanded an army garrison at the Van Horn Wells beginning in 1859. Lt. Van Horn's command was relatively short-lived, as the post was seized by Confederate forces in 1861 and Lt. Van Horn taken prisoner.[9] Settlement was further stimulated by the construction of the Texas and Pacific Railway in 1881.[10][11][12] The town has several buildings on the National Register of Historic Placesincluding the First Presbyterian Church (now Primera Iglesia Bautista), built in 1901."
We walked around town Thursday afternoon, taking the free guided tour of The Clark Hotel Museum...
And a quick peek inside the El Capitan Hotel...
We've traveled through and visited so many of these little towns - but each has it's individual story and unique charm. It's always fun exploring these places. There's often so much to see and experience just off the interstate.
So... back to Big Bend...
As I said, we arrived Friday afternoon. I had concerns about Verizon coverage in the greater Big Bend area after doing some online research a few days before our arrival.
Here's why...
The Red areas represent Verizon coverage
I called the RV park and asked about cell signals and was told it was spotty and that the only way to know for sure was to come on down and give it a try. There are red spots in the area of the RV park so I was hopeful that we would receive a good signal. As I've mentioned in previous blogs, Suzanne works part time, Monday - Friday, and we need to have a good Verizon signal in order for her to participate in conference calls and connect to the internet via our Verizon hot spot(s). Both our phones have hot spot capability and we have a dedicated Ellipsis Jet Pack. In addition to our hot spots we have a Weboost Drive 4G-X system installed in the coach which will significantly boost a weak signal.
As it turned out, even with the aid of our Weboost, we had a very poor signal - strong enough to make phone calls, but not strong enough to get online. The RV park had a room in their main building, available for guest use, where there was wifi, a wireless router and a desk at which one could sit with his/her laptop. Suzanne gave it a test run Saturday afternoon but with the noise from the adjoining rec room, deemed it unacceptable. I walked to the office and arranged a Sunday departure (we were booked through Thursday), returning Thursday (4/25) through Saturday (4/27). Sunday morning we packed up and drove the 83 miles back up to Alpine - a town we had passed through two days earlier and that I knew had a very strong Verizon signal. We have been at The Lost Alaskan RV Park in Alpine since Sunday afternoon and will be leaving tomorrow (Thursday) and returning to Terlingua. We were able to do some exploration of Big Bend National Park on Saturday. It's a beautiful park - the size of the State of Rhode Island and requires more than a day to experience. We drove the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive which terminates at the bank of the Rio Grande after winding through some of the most spectacular landscape this side of the... um... Rio Grande.
After our drive and upon our return to Terlingua, we visited the Terlingua "Ghost Town". There were a couple of cool looking restaurants/watering holes that we'll probably investigate further when we return.
Here are a few shots from a quieter side of town...
Thanks for checking out the blog!
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