We did a bunch of travel in this one which included Carlsbad Caverns and Roswell, New Mexico. We also visited Marfa, Junction and San Antonio, Texas. Each stop was a one night stay but San Antonio had us for three. This was our first time using BLM land and we loved it!

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700 miles, 5 locations in 7 day is a lot to cover but somehow we managed!

Bureau of Land Management

When the zombie apocalypse inevitably comes, the Bureau of Land Management will save those of you that have read this. Consider at least a portion of this article a Public Service Announcement and also consider yourself saved. We feel it is our obligation to share these zombie survival tips.

Rosewell, NM

Have you ever pondered if we’re alone in this universe? Ponder no more. We’ll give you the answers. you heard that right, just like 8th grade when that kid stole the final scantron answer key and proliferated passing grades to all the miscreants. We’ll dish out what the government doesn’t want you to know.

What could possibly be more important than the proof that intelligent life exists outside of our Flaming Hot Cheeto eating selves? How about a Prada store in a ghost town in Texas? It turns out that ghosts also need to look fabulous.

Marfa, TX

Junction, TX

But wait there’s more… we found a rope swing and a river to camp by for free and if that all isn’t enough to make you cry home to mama due to its miraculous nature, we’ll blow your noggin with the best things to do when you’re in San Antonio and we’ll even throw in some details on what we purchased for $1500. That’s what’s coming up next on Leons’ Great Escape!

Up until we started this adventure, I would have considered myself a play it safe kinda guy. Fulltime RV living changes you such that the next thing you know you’re living free off the land and tanning your own leather to make and sell bespoke moccasins at the local flea market. 

Check this BLM thing out. The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior that administers more than 247 million acres of public lands in the United States which constitutes one eighth of the landmass of the country. Here’s the kicker -- Free camping is allowed on most BLM land for up to 14 days.

It’s also true that zombies prefer a robust population density so you are less likely to be eaten first if you know how to navigate to one of these spots. Candice found an app called Boondocking which gave us a few options near Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

Pro Tip: the National Park pass, America the Beautiful, will get you up to 3 adults in for free; that’s what we did, and it saved us $15 per person! We also made sandwiches for lunch ahead of time so, this stop really didn’t break the bank, especially given the gorgeous sites we saw deep below the earth’s surface. We aren’t just surviving the zombie attacks here- we’re having a great time while doing it.

What happened in Roswell in 1947 really shook the place up. Now they’re capitalizing on it with tchotchkes and photo opportunities next to space invaders. The thing about the International UFO Museum and Research Center is that the information that they’ve collected is actually compelling. I couldn’t imagine wanting to spend more than a few hours in Roswell but, if I was passing through and had the time to spare, I would spend it all at this place. The truth is out there so read about it here and snap a photo.

What the f*%k is happening in Marfa, Texas? First, I’ll warn you that June in West Texas has more flies than I prefer to be around. It’s likely been that way since the city was founded in 1880 as a water stop. It rugged there.

Artists Elmgreen and Dragset created, in 2005, what they’re calling Pop Architectural Land Art. You can see this for yourself about 26 miles Northwest of Marfa while you’re driving on US Highway 90. The project was said to have cost $120,000 and was intended to never be repaired so it might slowly degrade back into the natural landscape.

However, the night after Prada Marfa officially debuted, the installation was vandalized. The building was broken into, its contents (six handbags and 14 right footed shoes) were stolen, and the word "Dumb", as well as the phrase "Dum Dum", were spray painted on the sides of the structure.

It has since been repaired and is back to degrading. 

There are a few other minimalist modern art galleries in Marfa proper along with some nice restaurants. We went midweek and everything was empty. Many of the most interesting bars are only open Friday through Sunday. It’s strange and vacant. 

The other thing of note in Marfa would be the Marfa lights which are sometimes referred to as the Marfa Ghost Lights. Locals and tourists alike gather here at sundown and share stories about what causes them. 

We actually parked overnight at the Marfa Lights Outlook and witnessed them in action. I can’t rationalize what I saw. It was, well, odd. They appear, sometimes move and then vanish.

Alpine is the next town over. That’s where we stopped for a quick, cheap and fiend-able breakfast. We split one burrito and it filled us all. Our bill came out to 5 or 6 bucks.

With all this sightseeing, we were happy to find another free spot to camp at Schreiner City Park in Junction, Texas to simply relax. Drive up and park next to the river. There’s a rope to swing from and we saw a barefoot boy with a fishing pole riding a lawn mower around town. Population: 2448. Junction is a hidden gem.

All this travel was meant to land us in San Antonio which is where we’ve arrived at now We didn’t even want to go to San Antonio because we were ignorant fools, clearly. We wanted to go stay in the Texas Hill country for a bit more nature and R&R but it was Father’s Day weekend and we procrastinated. Candice wouldn’t use that word. She says, and I quote, “we were busy and the Planning Fairy got away from us.” This is where we go ahead and thank fate for forcing us to visit the 7th largest city in the US. 

Father’s Day is a busy one in the camping world. Everything everywhere seemed to be booked. That was the case until good ol’ KOA came to the rescue. It was more than we wanted to spend at $48 per night but worth every penny. This site is massive with over 300 spaces. They have a bunch of stuff (live music, laundry, pool, playground, etc). It’s also lush in June and there was a bit of a river flowing next to it.  

Pro tip: We saved $10 bucks a night by not having a sewer dump option at our direct site. If you’re in it for the long haul, then this is actually a smart move. Dumping your less savory bits is never a glorious thing and not having the ability to do it at your leisure might sound annoying but plan and you will succeed. We planned and we were $30 dollars richer for it. You can just dump when you arrive and before you leave at the park’s dump station. 

The bulk of our three nights here were spent at or around the Historic Pearl District which is the epicenter, as far as I can tell, of downtown San Antonio.

Pearl has a few large courtyards for congregating. If you have little tiny spuds, then they can play with other tiny spuds on astroturf or splash pads and you’ll find other gracious parents that are in the same lot as you and they’re making the best of it. You can make the best of it together and the sum is greater than its parts. This is where we met Rose and her daughter. Her daughter was adorable. Pepper and she enjoyed multiple laps on the common space astroturf. Rose gave us a quick overview of the town: she said that houses were affordable, people were genuine and there were things to do. Okay Rose, let’s put this to the test...

Zillow says that the median price for a home is $176,000 so affordability of lodging checks out . The median annual household income rings in at $56,774. According to one source, San Antonio is 14% cheaper to live in than the national average so Rose is not a lying liar who lies. 

Rose’s second note was that folks are genuine and she certainly was so we’ll let her be the archetype for the whole city. 

Can we get sidetracked for a bit, though?

San Antonio is murderously hot. It will literally kill you in your waking life and death and anywhere else it can find you. Wow, it’s hot… and humid. They have something that they’ve named the 100 days of 100s wherein 100 is equal to days and 100s is equal to Fahrenheit. 

Now that I got that out… Rose claims that there were things to do… 

I’m not sure and I’m not going to look it up but the rules about strolling around with adult beverages seem to be in favor of those that enjoy walking around with them. We walked the river with frosty beers and we weren’t alone. A google search of the The River Walk will give you all sorts of info on this. You need beer to make it here. Have I mentioned that it’s hot? You are at the starting line of the River Walk when you park at the Pearl. Parking was plentiful and complimentary, by the way. You’ll find a museum, shopping and other dining options as you go, as well as some art installations.

Fine, Rose is right about everything, but the real reason to go to San Antonio is the food!

Can we talk about Henry’s Puffy Tacos? They’re crispy and fluffy and magnificent. The salsa is spicy but that’s up to you to add. Okay, okay… You don’t want to go to a city just for tacos. I feel ya. I don’t relate to you but I feel ya. 

More food, Southerleigh… Yum, give me their oysters, shrimp and crab claw in accompaniment with some piney or fruit forward IPA any day. Candice wants me to add that the southern punch is ridiculous.  Then, to be gluttonous, you could take 500 paces to their next door neighbor to get some perfect cocktails. I had their $9 margarita and Candice knocked it out of the park with their espresso martini. Seriously, the espresso martini. To make things better, they provide some spicy peanuts that they probably boil and spice themselves. They’re scrumptious. They’re called Sternewirth. Just go here, now. Get up. I’ll wait.  

How about charcuterie? Glad you asked. Cured is available to brighten up your taste buds with aged and fermented delicacies. 

It’s not all puppies, kittens and rainbows though...

The freeways in San Antonio are another story. We’re from Los Angeles where you trade your dignity for a drivers license. San Antonio asks that you stab at least one fluffy kitten before you enter the interstate. Seriously, these guys drive like they’ve got nothing to live for. 

It rained, lightninged and thundered while we were here. And we were staying in a flood zone. So that makes for some interesting thought experiments: like where to run in case of a flash flood? Or- a hurricane? When it wasn’t raining it was swelteringly hot… The hot is important and I’d like to share with you what we spent a large sum of money on. 

$1500 dollars will get you a new AC Unit when you find out that you’ve got some irreparable refrigerant lines in your old one. RVs are like boats or so we’re told because everything will break, it’s just a matter of time. For our time in San Antonio, one of our AC units would break. This isn’t something that you can patch up with duct tape. Seems like you should be able to, as there are ducts involved. Not this time. We called a mobile repair guy. Allan was super helpful and efficient. We’ll give you his number if you break down here. That wraps us up for San Antonio. We certainly wouldn’t mind coming back at a later date. Could we live here? --  maybe -- inexpensive, good folks, fun city but man is it hot. We’re off to Austin, TX next and can’t wait. Let’s catch up real soon. Y’all come back now ya hear?