Balmorhea State Park

As Storm curses the thin gravel camouflage disguising the muddy overflow parking lot now sucking the rear wheels of our motorhome into an abyss, I try to remain optimistic about our stay at Balmorhea State Park.  Our first pass at our assigned campsite fails because someone is already parked there.  A quick phone call to the office yields another site to try.  Try Storm does, but there is no way our motorhome still connected to our trailer will fit on this campsite space constructed in the 1930s by the CCC.

Another phone call and we learn that we can drop the trailer in the overflow lot if we are careful not to block the parking spaces.  That leads to the sinking mud hole fiasco with which I began this tale.  Admirably the ranger sent someone out to help us each time we called and after at least 5 conversations and parking lot meetings we drop the trailer with Jeep in the more solid maintenance yard allowing Storm to squeeze the RV onto a campsite.  Extra points to the staff here for being so pleasant and going the extra mile to help us get parked and to Storm who managed to get us on the site without denting our stuff or theirs.  

A lot of frustration for a couple night’s stay but in my opinion totally worth it for this quiet, out of the way park. Filled with roadrunners, lizards, fish, turtles and birdwatchers, criss-crossed by the clearest streams I have ever seen and offering for my aquatic pleasure a 1-3/4 acre swimming pool that ranges in depth from 3′-25′, this park is a calm, warm refuge from our recent windy and insect filled past.  Near Fort Davis, the McDonald Observatory and David Mountain State Park, Balmorhea is positioned perfectly as a stop while enjoying the pleasures of southwest Texas.

I find myself swimming in harmony alongside the fish and turtles, but please excuse the gasping breath in my report.  It has been far too long since I last swam plus as my racing relatives already know, I am not a fan of deep water so my heart rate climbs as the pool depth falls to 25′.

• About the Author

About Sunny Weathers

Pilot, motorcyclist and full time RVer. Follow me as I travel all over the US in my Country Coach RV volunteering, making new friends and pursuing a constant outdoor temperature between 70F and 80F. I'll share the fun and the tribulations and any great survival tricks I learn!