Sometimes I wish we could stop time, if only to catch up on writing about all of the great people we meet on the road.

A perfect example: last fall when we were workamping at groovy Hillshade RV Park in Gonzales, Texas, a crazy looking RV with an unusual pattern of blue and orange circle stickers pulls in next to us.

Later, we would learn that the stickers were the beginning of a rolling art project conceived by JeMA, a full-time RVer who hit the road with her husband and kids about two years ago and never looked back.

JeMA’s family lives and works in this rolling public art project, which they’ve named the Inspire to Inspire project. On her Facebook page, JeMA describes the project as:

A one of a kind public art project on the white canvas of an RV. Those we meet along the way add their colorful dot to the outside design of a Monarch butterfly symbolizing their unique inspirations in life. Everyone is invited to add their name to the growing list on our website. The idea is your inspirations in turn inspire someone else.

Since her rolling piece of art rolled in next to us about six months ago, it’s really taken shape as you’ll see in the video.

Meeting people like JeMA are a big reason why we love living the full-timing lifestyle. Until we hit the road, it would have been rare for us to strike up a conversation with a stranger parked next to us.

But now we know that everyone has a story, and if you can slow down long enough to find out what it is, you’ll learn that most of their stories are pretty darn interesting.

Life on the road is as unforgettable as most of the people you’ll encounter. This is real life. Why live any other way?

What were you doing 15 years ago today?

I was sipping champagne, while Jim was toking on a cigar with his friends at Clint Eastwood’s ranch in Carmel. No, really. Can you see it?

We sure had class back then, didn’t we?

On May 17, 1997,  after two years of shacking up in San Francisco, Jim and I took the plunge and did the wedding deed in front of about 100 friends and family members.

We had no idea that 15 years later, our lives would be really different, and far richer than we could imagine.

Who needs a BMW and a Silicon Valley middle manager’s salary, when you can be a happy shiftless drifter living in an RV?

Each day I’m so thankful that I’m married to a handsome freak who shares the same dreams and hopes that I do. Happy Anniversary mi amore!

In 15 years, life can take you in a lot of different directions. So, where have the last 15 years taken you? Did these last 15 years turn out as you expected? Better? Worse? Or are you still dreaming about your ideal life?

 

 

Leaving the Stillwell Ranch experience was like slowly acclimating back into society. Even the tiny burg of Alpine seemed like a big city after living within the desolate lands of the Big Bend.

To lessen the impact of immersion, we meandered up the Panhandle through the smallest Texas towns while staying ahead of devastating tornadoes and hailstorms.

One of our first stops was the Roy Orbison Museum in Wink.

“Football, oil fields, oil, grease and sand”

That’s exactly how Roy once described his hometown. It’s still true. But really, how can you resist a town called Wink, especially if it’s the home of a famous rock star?

Jim and I are only old enough to remember Roy from his Traveling Wilburys days, but are well aware of the influence his amazing voice had on 1960s rock and roll. Since I can’t resist a good tourist trap, I had to see the museum honoring his memory.

Don’t blink, or you’ll miss the free Roy Orbison Museum on the main drag.  Each June, the town honors their most famous resident with a Roy Orbison Festival and Pretty Woman beauty pageant. It’s a small place with a massive collection of memorabilia including his trademark sunglasses and even the high school yearbooks he illustrated while attending Wink High.

Wandering into Waylon Territory

As we continued up the Panhandle looking for more fantastic free city parks to pass time until our date with RV America in Loveland, a Days End Directory listing for “Waylon Jennings City Park and RV Campground” caught my eye.

Located just west of Lubbock, I wondered, could this park be named after the Waylon Jennings? Yep, shore is!

Waylon grew up in Littlefield, a small cotton growing town that’s hanging on by a thread. Of course every small town needs a liquor store, and Littlefield has two.

Turns out that one of them is owned by Waylon’s brother James, but we didn’t know this at the time, and stopped at the spiffier competitor up the road. Bad decision. Duh!

We missed Waymore’s Drive Through Liquor Store and Waylon Jennings Museum, which features a collection of Waylon memorabilia, including his first guitar and a a framed platinum record of “Wanted! The Outlaws” the LP that put Outlaw Country on the radar.

If you catch his brother James on a good day, he might even give you a ten minute tour of Littlefield and show you landmarks like the house where Waylon grew up and a popular corner for fistfights back in the day.

Waylon was one of the greatest country musicians who ever lived. He deserves so much more than shrine enclosed in a liquor store. I hope some day his significance is properly honored with a dedicated building.

Don’t underestimate the Panhandle, it’s full of fantastic freebies, free camping and nifty little attractions like these.

Just be sure to avoid the stinky parts and visit when there’s less of a chance of a tornado tossing your rig into Oklahoma.

Spending time in the Big Bend region is like journeying to another place and time in our nation’s history. With few places to stock up on groceries, minimal cell coverage throughout and spotty FM radio reception, you must be prepared to sacrifice conveniences, but doing so is a small price to pay in exchange for one of the best travel experiences in the U.S.

We spent almost two months exploring the area south of Highway 90 in Brewster County, home to the small burgs like Alpine, Marathon and their enormous neighbor, Big Bend National Park. Eight weeks still wasn’t enough time to absorb the nation’s largest county.

The Big Bend shows few indicators of modern America. Take a second to scan the jagged Tierra Incognita and you’ll see almost the exact same sights that Spanish conquistador Cabeza de Vaca saw when he crossed the Rio Grande hundreds of years ago.

This no man’s land, where borders have never meant much and little has changed. Here, a landscape of living history is waiting for you to explore.

Hardly any places in North America have remained exactly as they were before the birth of our country.

And for the hardy souls who live here, that’s exactly how they like it.

Fearless Cowgirl Legend Lives On at Stillwell Ranch

Local landmarks recall the names of the Big Bend’s earliest ranching families, but one clan is known far beyond the county borders, thanks to a heroic, savvy and courageous rancher named Hallie Stillwell, whom you’ll get to know if you take time to visit Stillwell Store and RV Park, located near the east entrance to Big Bend Park.

Hallie Stillwell was a pioneer cowgirl in the early 1900s who became an entrepreneur out of necessity when her rancher husband Roy died in 1948 at the beginning of the worst U.S. drought in history.

As word spread about her heroic efforts to keep her family homestead alive, Hallie’s name became synonymous with determination and grit. She was so well known by everyone from governors to vaqueros that during her lifetime she was twice honored as “the Yellow Rose of Texas,” an honor that few, if any others have received.

Hallie was born fearless, but this mother of three never had a tougher fight than when she fought to save the 22,000 acre ranch that she loved. She did everything from serving as justice of the peace to writing a newspaper column to rancher, and no job was too tough or too “unladylike” for her.

Later in life, this sharp-shooting woman’s reputation as a tough cowpunch grew to astronomical proportions.

Hallie became well known when she began speaking at Texas events to share tales of her adventures during the most violent episodes of Pancho Villa’s reign of terror along the borderlands. She also loved sharing stories about her days as a rancher alongside her husband, and the many decades she managed to keep the ranch going after his death.

From the moment she married until her death at age 99 in 1995, she made enduring contributions to Big Bend history that you can immerse yourself in by visiting the Hallie Stillwell Hall of Fame museum located at Stillwell Store & RV Park.

The museum building is on the park grounds, and part of it is an exact replica of the adobe ranch kitchen from Hallie’s old ranch house.

In a 1995 interview, Hallie tell us “If you love this country, it’ll love you. If you hate it, you just better move on. Don’t even stay.”

This winter we stayed, and were so glad we did.

Stillwell Ranch, the Last Real Place

Stillwell Store and RV Park has always been in the shadow of Big Bend National Park and snazzier RV parks like the Big Bend Resort. The park is rarely full, because many visitors speed past Stillwell’s billboard on Highway 287 without a second glance.

But for those folks who are compelled to make that turn to Stillwell, they’ll be rewarded with the best experience that the Big Bend region has to offer.

Stillwell is more than a place to stay. It’s an invitation to slow down and enjoy things like Nan’s Burritos.

It’s where locals and visitors alike sit on the front porch throughout the day while sipping cool beverages and spinning tall tales about the land and its remarkable, tough and quirky residents.

This place is the antithesis of way out Terlingua, the nearest locale to the west that resembles civilization. The two places couldn’t be more opposite.

A local described the Stillwell vibe like this: if a group of characters is hanging out on a front porch in Terlingua and the sheriff pulls up, everyone scatters.

But when the sheriff arrives at Stillwell Store, people invite him to pull up a chair.

Stillwell is a destination for travelers seeking authenticity in this man made world.

Skip the Park, Visit Stillwell Instead

Forget staying in Big Bend National Park – Stillwell is just 10 minutes from the park entrance and its landscape rivals those found inside park borders.

Plus, Stillwell is extremely dog-friendly (which the park isn’t), and it has basic amenities like wifi, laundry and full-hookups.

But that’s not why Stillwell is a great place to visit. The real fun is all about the characters who meet on the porch every afternoon.

From the repeat visitors like the 82-year old mayor of Leonard, Texas who stays here twice yearly and helps give tours of the museum, to the local biker who mingles with guests, there’s no end to the fun people you’ll meet every night of the week.

One afternoon we learned more about this area after talking to local rancher and world-famous flintknapper artist Kinley Coyan, than from any history book.

No matter who you encounter, by the end of the day, you’ll have met and become friends with nearly everyone here. As the saying goes, like attracts like, and it takes a certain breed of individual to kick back and appreciate the Stillwell magic that begins on the front porch, and continues into the evening around the group campfire.

Stillwell Volunteers Keep the Magic Brewing

“This is the antithesis of the KOA,” says Eldon Whitford, who’s been coming here for eight consecutive winters.

“This is real life here. At other RV parks you stay isolated in your own camper — it’s canned. Here (at Stillwell) it’s a community, this is real.”

Eldon is a volunteer Stillwell workamper and world-renowned expert on Gibson guitars. Each year he drives his RV all the way from Michigan, and along with his band mate and lovely wife Ann, plays western music as The Whitfords, six nights a week for guests. There’s even a lively Sunday gospel music session.

Ann calls Stillwell “a camp experience for adults. We feel really lucky to be a part of it.”

Ann and Eldon are part of a large group of mostly retired people who pay rent for a few months each winter then do what needs to be done to keep the park running. From cooking for large events, to troubleshooting electrical outages, volunteers are the heart of the Stillwell community.

A Stillwell family member has always managed the park, and today that responsibility is being handled with grace and grit by Kay Pizzini, Hallie’s granddaughter.

Kay is one of several Stillwell women who have always been the driving force behind keeping the family businesses alive. She recently took over the reigns for the store, ranch and park operations from her sister Nan and now Kay has her sights set on park improvements like adding more lodging facilities for non-RVers.

Kay explains that Stillwell’s family atmosphere began when Hallie ran the park during the 1960s and ’70s. Later, Hallie would would hang out on the porch and chat with guests while Kay’s mom Dadie ran the business.

Today the volunteers like Ann and Eldon are building on the family experience, by generously giving so much of their time to help keep Stillwell alive.

While Kay single-handedly oversees the business details, she says that she couldn’t run the park on her own without the help of the regular flow of volunteers, some who help for just a day or two and others who stay all winter.

“When the volunteers come. I just let them take over,” she says. “I feel really lucky to have all these people here. If it wasn’t for y’all, I wouldn’t even try it” she says to Ann.

With a grandmother like Hallie Stillwell, there’s no doubt that Kay will continue to keep the Stillwell magic alive.

If you’re seeking a break from the predictability of typical RV parks, make it a point to visit Stillwell Store and RV Park during your next trip to the Big Bend.

Stillwell is open all year so if you’re a desert rat and love the heat, you’ll have the place to yourself during summer.

But if you’re looking for a change in your winter snowbird routine and want an inexpensive place to stay with like-minded, offbeat souls, you will love the “Stillwellians” who call this place home.

Recommended Reading

I’ll Gather My Geese, by Hallie Stillwell

“In 1916, Hallie Crawford went to teach school in Presidio, just across the Rio Grande from Ojinaga, Mexico, which had been recently captured by Pancho Villa.

Hallie’s father, considering this a dangerous place for a young woman of nineteen to live alone, told her he thought she was going on a wild goose chase. “Then I’ll gather my geese,” she told him, with determination and independence.

Hallie’s story, told in a personal and engaging way, is fascinating reading for anyone interested in the history of pioneering ranching in Texas.”

Here’s a fun one for ya! Who’s been here?

We stayed at this sweet boondocking spot somewhere about a year ago. Have you been there? Can you tell where it might be? Watch the video for a multiple choice question and leave a comment with your guess.

Use a quick share link below to reveal the answer and invite your friends to play! If the page does not automatically reload, just click the refresh button. Wait an hour to share the link again via another social network.

Pictures from the location in the video also appear throughout this blog. If you’ve followed our adventures, you may even recall how something major happened here, which led to another one those enlightening posts. Cheating allowed if you care to look up where we were a year ago.

How did we do this? Thanks to our WPMU Dev membership, this is a Beta version of their new Pay With A Like plugin!