We were up early Saturday morning, taking the freezer and refrigerated foods and last minute items like meds and CPAP. The “old” Honda was hooked up to the motorhome, lights tested, and auxiliary brake installed. I departed at 7:10 AM.

The almost 400 mile drive to Coffee Creek RV Resort was uneventful, including navigating through the Dallas and Fort Worth metro area. It was early to bed.

Sunday’s drive of just over 300 miles to Monahans Sandhills State Park again proved uneventful. This 3,840 acre state park is located in the southern Llano Estacado, in Texas’ rich oil/gas-rich Permian Basin. The site I reserved was narrow and un-level—back wheels off the ground—but the price was only $19 and suitable for overnighting.

Monahans Sandhills State Park is noted for the presence of sand dunes up to 70 feet high. Although desert-like, the Monahans Sandhills are not a desert; they are a part of a semi-arid ecosystem with average annual rainfall of 12.3 inches characterized by the presence of both groundwater and relatively nutrient-poor windblown sand. There were several families enjoying the dunes, and many of the camp sites were occupied.

Near sunset, I walked over the dunes making a few photos along the way. As day turned to night, a near full moon rose above the horizon and highlighted a working windmill on the campground.

Another 300-mile drive on Monday took me into the Mountain Time Zone, through the busy city of El Paso, and into New Mexico to White Sands Missile Base where I have RV park privileges as a retired Department of Defense civilian. Plans to tour the facility where the US space program began was thwarted by the strictly enforced policy of “absolutely no photography allowed.” I hunkered down, and listened to an audiobook—a western, of course.

Tomorrow brings a new month, and birding opportunities.