After departing Tucson, we’re planning a relatively quick transit across New Mexico and Texas hoping for clear views in the upcoming eclipse “Path of Totality”. We last viewed a total eclipse in 2017 when we were in Douglas Wyoming. This time we’ve chosen Bandera Texas as our “prime” spot, with an expected totality of just over 4 minutes.
Our first stop after departing Tucson is at Hacienda RV Resort in Las Cruces, NM. We generally stay at the KOA in Las Cruces, but with extra travelers in our group and eclipse traffic, the park isn’t available. However, Hacienda works just as well for a couple of nights here. The full hookup sites are wide and specious. From Las Cruces we’ll spend one night in Van Horn at the familiar Van Horn RV park and one night at Southern Living RV Park in Ozona, TX. Both of these parks offer bare necessities and are just fine for quick overnights.
Southern Living RV Park, Ozona, TX
We’ve visited Bandera before, but this is the first time we’ve stayed at Riverside RV Park. The Medina River flows along the southern edge of the park and in warmer weather would provide welcoming shade and calm quiet swimming holes. From the easy check-in to the personable park hosts, this is a very nice place. We’re parked in site #77, a wide pull-through site that is mostly shaded by a big tree overhead. The tree is a bit messy, but provides great shade for sitting outside or around the provided picnic table.
Riverside RV Park, Bandera, TX
Riverside RV Park, Medina River, Bandera, TX
As eclipse day arrives on April 8th, so do the clouds across the Texas Hill country. However, all preparations continue with huge tripods of telescopes and camera lenses positioned towards the sky all around the campground. Around 12:30 through partially cloudy skies, we’re able to see the “bite” out of the sun. As totality time at 1:30 approaches, the lights flicker on, birds are quieted and an eerie hush settles over the park. Complete darkness lasts for 4 minutes and 4 seconds in this part of Texas, and very quickly the sun starts to reappear in the now mostly cloudy skies. Not exactly the presentation we’d hoped for, but unfortunately it seems like most of Texas and many other places across the US experienced the same cloudy conditions.
Riverside RV Park, Bandera, TX – “Totality”
While we’re here primarily for the eclipse, we have a great time exploring Bandera and the surrounding area. During an excursion to Kerrville, we check out the new Howdy’s Bar & Chill, formerly the Wild Ass Hey Barn. Back in Bandera, we found a new favorite eatery – the Trail Boss Steak and Grill. Located off the main street, this new restaurant offers a wide selection of steaks, seafood and burgers, combined with a full bar and excellent, attentive staff. A special shout-out to Conner who serviced us during both of our visits – thanks for a great job! And, of course we had to check out the famous Cowboy Bar of Bandera!
Howdy’s Bar & Chill, Kerrville, TX
The Cowboy Bar, Bandera, TX
After Bandera, we’ll spend 3 nights at one of our favorite KOA’s, the San Antonio/Alamo KOA. The park is east of town and provides easy access to the Historic Pearl development on the grounds of the former Pearl Brewery, the downtown Riverwalk and some of the historic residential areas in between. We once again enjoyed the Black Laboratory Brewery and tasty Mexican food at Rosarios, now in their beautiful new location.
Historic Pearl Brewery, San Antonio, TX
Rosarios San Antonio
From San Antonio we’re headed to South Padre Island after a brief stop in Harlingen. More from SPI…
Small Home - Big Yard 