Short Breaks

Quick visits, day trips, excursions, and weekends away. Anything under a week, you wouldn’t count as a genuine vacation. This includes camping trips, but excludes our many backpacking trips.

Sunset at Sea Rim State Park, Texas — When it got dark, we found out why we had the beach to ourselves — hordes of ferocious mosquitoes.

Sunset at Sea Rim State Park, Texas — When it got dark, we found out why we had the beach to ourselves — hordes of ferocious mosquitoes.

Sun, sand, and sea — Beach Camping at Sea Rim State Park, Texas.

Beach Camping at Sea Rim State Park, Texas. 2

Ginger soaking up the sun on the Gulf of Mexico — Beach Camping at Sea Rim State Park, Texas. +1

Sea Rim State Park, Texas.

Beach Camping at Sea Rim State Park, Texas — We had the whole beach to ourselves and 80°F in November. We saw some alligator tracks in the sand, and when it got dark, we found out why we had the beach to ourselves — hordes of ferocious mosquitoes. +1

Yes, they are alive… Didn’t see any though. Cattail Marsh, Tyrrell Park, Beaumont, Texas.

Pagoda and boardwalk — Cattail Marsh, Tyrrell Park, Beaumont, Texas.

Cattail Marsh, Tyrrell Park, Beaumont, Texas — Day Five. Morning walk to get away from work and out of the hotel for a break. Studying the maps I discovered that Cattail Marsh is actually a posh name for a sewage treatment pond.

Fish – Toledo Bend Reservoir, Tourist Information Center, Louisiana.

Toledo Bend Reservoir, Louisiana. From the Louisiana Tourist Center, complete with the sounds of an accompanying distant chainsaw. Video: 25 Seconds

Toledo Bend Reservoir, Louisiana. Day Three. Natchitoches, Louisiana to Beaumont, Texas.

US 71 in Louisiana. Day Two. Hot Springs, Arkansas to Natchitoches, Louisiana. +1

Scenic Overlook on Highway 43 near Ponca, Arkansas. One-minute read, +1

Near Gaither Mountain Overlook, Arkansas — The first major scenic overlook of our trip. This is a 180° Panorama, so the image is a bit distorted horizontally. +1

Near Gaither Mountain Overlook, Arkansas — The first major scenic overlook of our trip, and well worth the stop. Video: 24 Seconds

On the road again (Day One) — Near Gaither Mountain Overlook (Arkansas) — The first major scenic overlook of our trip. Two-minute read, +2

Trip: Annular Eclipse — Odessa Texas. The plan is simple. We have set aside three days to drive to Odessa, Texas, which is in the middle of the Annular Eclipse track, where the weather is set to be clear and cold. We’ll watch the eclipse and then spend two or three days driving home. Album: 5   17

Annular Eclipse Timelapse — A series of hand-held photographs of the Annular Eclipse taken by Ginger on her cell phone using a pair of eclipse glasses held in front of the lens.

Eclipse glasses — Ginger and Gary ready for the annular eclipse, in Odessa, Texas. Annular Eclipse Trip Day Four. 8

Faux Stonehenge Odessa, Texas. We stopped here while scoping out potential places to watch the annular eclipse. We decided this might be too twee and too popular. The eclipse photographers were already gathering. +2

Nowhere – State Highway 206, New Mexico — Day Three. We stopped to grab a quick video of the impressive nothingness here for the folks back home. Within ten minutes a couple of guys (from the buildings you can see in the distance behind the water tank) turned up to check on us. It is not as deserted as it might appear! Video: 30 seconds

The northern edge of the Llano Estacado in New Mexico. On state Highway 469. Annular Eclipse Trip Day Two.

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