Camping Oasis in West Texas

We made it through most of western Texas and arrived at Balmorhea State Park with just enough daylight to set up camp and eat a delicious meal of fried spam and veggies. The night sky opened up above us for some of the best stargazing we’d ever seen, and the moon waited to rise until about 2 hours after sunset, giving us plenty of time to play with the camera and tripod to get the settings just right for the star-filled sky: we could even see the Milky Way. Everything was perfect and wonderful until a few hours after we retired to our tent, which was when the coyotes decided to come out and wreak havoc and stir the dogs in a nearby campsite. The crazed barking, yipping, and yelping went on until about 5am, which is when Kristen decided she couldn’t listen anymore and tuned it all out with ear plugs.

The Milky Way

Morning brought peace again. We made a delicious camp breakfast of fried eggs, spam, and onion with some Sriracha, served with coffee. By the time we packed everything up, the temperature had soared into the 90s, so we opted to pay a visit to the Spring for which Balmorhea State park is known. The Spring has been developed into a pool, equipped with a 3m high dive (the water was approaching 30 feet deep on that end), lots of little fish, and a crowd of underwater adventurers: snorkelers and scuba divers. The cool water and high dive ensured we were wide awake before setting off on the road again.

Breakfast: Fried egg, spam, onions and coffee

Natural spring / pool at Balmorhea State Park

Soft-shelled turtle (first-ever turtle that Loren admitted was not cute)

BBQ at its Best

Taking the expert advice of our hosts, we decided to head to one of central Texas’s most famous barbecue restaurants before leaving Austin. Salt Lick is located about 30 minutes south of Austin in a ranch paradise, a sprawling complex housing both a vineyard and restaurant. At the heart of the operation is a giant BBQ pit, which patrons see on the way to their seats, a peek at what’s to come. We arrived around noon on Sunday, which happens to be about an hour after Salt Lick opens, and the parking lot was already about half full. In order to sample as much as possible, we shared a heaping plate called The Rancher, which features the four meats (ribs, brisket, sausage, and turkey) served with cole slaw, potato salad, beans, pickles, onion and a huge chunk of bread. Barbecue at its best. In order to enjoy it fully and not enter into BBQ-coma, we ignored the bread and beans. Breakfast of champions!

The Rancher

In the aftermath of our feast we drove out to Hamilton Pool, a supposedly beautiful swimming hole oasis, but the 2+ hour wait to get in scared us away. It was a tough decision, but we will definitely come back to Austin, during which time we will definitely put Hamilton Pool at the top of the list.

By the way if you’re looking for a gift from Austin, check out the Salt Lick Cookbook full of drool-worthy recipes – they may or may not be the best barbecue recipes in all of Texas.

Austin: New Favorite City?

The results are in: Austin is amazing. We definitely need to live here at some point. In the few hours that we spent around town, we walked the super-cool S. Congress strip, ate the best tacos ever [Torchy’s at the South Austin Trailer Park, a food truck/trailer haven], splurged on a "cake shake" [exactly what you think: cake blended into a milkshake], recharged after our sugar coma with delicious iced coffee at a place known for hot dogs [Frank’s, the coolest restaurant/bar/cafe/music venue we’ve ever been to] and found the house of our dreams [a deal at $700K, slightly out of reach, considering our zero-income status right now]. Austin has won the city challenge so far. Special shout-out to Matt Fedor for the air mattress and awesome hospitality!

Selection at Allens Boots on S. Congress

We didn't even need candy...the rich sugary aromas were enough!

Food trucks abound

Torchy's Tacos trailer

Kristen's pick at Torchy's: the "Trailer Park", served "trashy"

Loren's Torchy's taco: The Crossroads

Frank

Iced coffees at Frank's

With the host! Thanks for everything!!