Crying Eagle Brewery, Harvest Host, Lake Charles, Louisiana

 We stopped for breakfast at the Green House which was a bakery,  a deli, and farm store with a restaurant. We walked away with a delicious carrot cake. Due to flood warnings, we bypassed our stay at Cagle Recreation Area in Sam Houston National Forest and headed to Lake Charles, Louisiana to Crying Eagle Brewery where we had stayed before. We finally had sunshine and 70 degrees as we sat out on the patio and had mango habanero chicken wings at Crying Eagle Brewery. We moved up to the loft to enjoy eating our tasty fig pizza. Back to the camper, we talked to our neighbor who had a newer version of the teardrop trailer and also was on his way back from Arizona. We woke up the next morning to fog and misty rain so we canceled our last night out in Mississippi and continued on home to Valparaiso.  Our rig is covered in Texas dust.

Our campsite at Crying Eagle Brewery

Back deck

View of the taproom from the loft and wild decorations

Moose and Goose Winery, Harvest Host, Temple, Texas

On our way out of the park, we cruised by the Civilian Conservation Corp construction. It was foggy and misty and rainy all day and the flood warnings kept popping up on Google Maps as we chased the storm. So we stopped at Moose and Goose Winery in Temple, Texas and they agreed for us to park in their gravel driveway and sample their fruit wines. They were all on tap and we were amazed that we liked them. We bought a bottle of Black Current wine and a bottle of Malbec along with her cutting board with her moose and goose logo and she gave us her logo stemless wine glasses. She had friendly dogs and goats and we sat out on the pavilion with a propane fire pit and enjoyed a bottle of wine and our own cheese and salami board. We hiked the trail along the pasture and turned in early. It rained again during the night. 

Beautiful CCC structures preserved at Abilene State Park

Very friendly guard dogs

Happy hour at Moose and Goose Winery

Chickens and guinea hens

Cute pet goats

Curious and oh so friendly

Our campsite at Moose and Goose Winery instead of in muddy field

Loud and herded by two other small herder dogs

Pet goats galore

Abilene State Park, Tuscola, Texas

We stopped for breakfast at Casey's and were surrounded by coke memorabilia and had a delicious diner breakfast.. Along the long stretch of road headed toward Abilenem we found a great little coffee shop. We were amazed to find such a wooded campground in Texas when we pulled into Abilene State Park. The sites were huge and spread out and not many campsites were filled. We took to the hiking trails starting at the bird blind. The park had put out bird feeders and you could watch the birds from the blind. The trail headed to the picnic area with nice screened-in pavillions and tent yurts for rent. The trails led by the streams and through the woods and circled back to the campground loops. The main road ran between Abilene Lake with the boat ramp and the campground so we would have had to go by car. 

Surrounded by Coca Cola memories

Colorful coffee stop

Feeders behind the bird blind

Beautiful bird blind for viewing

The picnic area pavillions

Tent yurts for rent

Hiking along the stream

Our campsite at Abilene State Park

Drylands Taproom and Beer Garden, Harvest Host, Hobbs, New Mexico

 We timed our arrival to San Antonio, New Mexico for the opening of the original Owl Cafe and Bar. They are known for their green chili burgers and fries so that's what we had for breakfast and we were not disappointed. We were headed to Hobbs, New Mexico to the Drylands Taproom and Beer Garden as their brewery is elsewhere. We were the first folks there as the bartender was napping in his car and he turned out to be an amusing fellow. We enjoyed the local brews, watched college basketball, and then had the most spectacular wood-fired pizza from the food truck. We picked the New Mexico pizza which was shredded chicken and green chilis and so tasty. A local couple steered us to old-time Casey's Restaurant for breakfast. This was not the most scenic campsite but we had a very enjoyable evening.

Low lying clouds as we left Eliphant Butte

Decorated with all things owlish

Owls behind the table

The best burger

Drylands Tap Room

Logo from the New Mexico state flag

Our campsite along the Drylands beer garden

Elephant Butte State Park, Elephant Butte, New Mexico

 We got an early start as we were all hitched up and headed south to Longbow Diner in Rio Communities for breakfast. We drove on the back roads stopping at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center. We picked up a road tour map and started on the south loop spotting the bald eagle and the trumpeter swan at the boardwalk and then on to the north loop seeing the turkeys, sandhill cranes, and snow geese. We saw red-tailed hawks, kestrels, and northern harrier hawks along with many different ducks. There were hiking trails and it was a beautiful tour with the mountains in the distance. We continued on to Elephant Butte State Park where we have a gorgeous campsite overlooking the lake. We made black bean chili in the instant pot and enjoyed watching the sunset over the butte.

On the way south

Parking at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center

Bald eagle on the snag

Trumpeter swam sleeping

Red-tailed hawk

Wild turkeys

Sandhill cranes and snow geese

Looking out through the duck blind

The only green was the weed in the canals

Beautifully colored grasslands

Our campsite at Elephant Butte State Park overlooks the lake

Looking down on the lake

Overlooking the boat launch

Our tiki torch at sundown

We woke up to a few sprinkles so headed into the town of Elephant Butte stopping at the marina which consisted of a boat ramp and found Casa Taco open for breakfast for another traditional breakfast burrito with potatoes and pinto beans. We then drove into Truth and Consequences going through the historic hot springs artsy part of town to the visitor center. We got the car tour map for Geronimo Trail and headed to Hillsboro. It rained a bit at the foot of the mountains and was raining over the mountains so we turned around and headed for the town of Hatch. We stopped at Chile Fanatic and the farm store across the street to buy green chili salsa and pepper jelly. At the village market, we bought hamburger meat and buns and poblano peppers to make our own green chili burgers. We made french fries in the air fryer and roasted our peppers for a great burger. Before that we went to Shattuck Winery for a great red wine tasting and enjoyed talking to the locals playing the the guitar. We met Texas the black labrador overseeing the tasting room.

Shattuck Vineyard

Texas named after his white mark

Soon to be a Harvest Host

Farm store where we bought homemade pepper jelly and salsa

At Chili Fanatic gift shop

Loads of red chilis

Along Geronimo Trail

Historic Hillsboro General Store and cafe

North and South routes to Continental Divide

Flock of quail moving through the campsite

Roasting peppers on the grill