Trippin out of TX
So you want to hit the road and see new sights and adventure like a proper IG’er but you live in Houston…
No problem, just drive for 2 days and don’t never, and I do mean never, pass on Buc-ee’s!
And when I say drive, I mean, survive. The roads are not as big and open as the state: with the highway haulers, speeders, perpetual road construction, deer and even armadillos, you’ll be fighting for every mile.
But the trip is well worth it! I recommend this little ‘starter route’:
From Houston get on I-45 head west to State Hwy 71 and follow State Hwy 71 W/E Hwy 71 and US-87 N to Big Spring then west on Hwy 20 on through Midland. Why Midland? Well, this is where all the fuel for your adventure rig comes from in the good ol US of A. Best to check it out and learn a little of the history and science behind how we produce energy responsibly in Texas at the Petroleum Museum. Spread the word too, you’ll pass a lot of wind and solar farms on this drive, but we will need petro for many years as we bridge into future power systems that are yet to be developed. This is key in a rapid consumer world, where power demands continue to outpace alternative power technologies.
Then head back out of town on toward Lubbock on TX-349 and US-87 N to I-27 N to Amarillo, where you can’t miss The Big Texan, home of the 72oz steak!
When you’ve had your fill of meat, carry on, following I-40 W and cross into New Mexico at Glenrio – You made it across Texas! Well, one small track of WTX anyway😊
From there, take your pick: Head toward Santa Fe then up north to Colorado or further west-NW through Los Alamos and Jemez Springs in the Valles Caldera and circle back to Texas through some of the National Preserves, down to Roswell and Carlsbad, through the Guadalupe Mountains, maybe even down south to Big Bend NP… I’ll fill you in on some of those cool routes in future Blogs (think old mining towns in deep gorges, mountains and forests, aliens, atom bombs, star filled nights like you can’t imagine and of course wide open stretches of the Lonestar state).
What you’ll find at the end of the road in Texas, is that next time, maybe just stay in Texas… more on that in the blog, where vincesvangoes explores the highlights that Texas roads and skies (OMG the skies) have in store for #vanlife adventures.
