In mid-April, we kicked off our county-collecting adventures
for 2026 with a spring trip to Texas. We landed in El Paso on a Wednesday
night, picked up our Infiniti QX60 rental, and headed to the Hyatt Place El
Paso Airport. The next morning, we drove north into New Mexico to visit White
Sands National Park. We’d been there before, but this was our first visit since
it became a National Park. Afterward, we had lunch at the Outback Steakhouse in
Las Cruces. Then we returned to Texas, drove along I-10 for a bit, and stopped
for dinner at The Traveling Tiger Center in Sierra Blanca, which turned out to
be surprisingly good. We left I-10 at Van Horn and soon came across an art
installation that looks like a Prada store in the middle of the desert. A few
miles later, near Marfa, we saw some huge murals where the 1956 James Dean
movie Giant was filmed. We also spotted a large drone-like
“torpedo” called a TARS (Tethered Aerostat Radar System). These are used to
fight drug smuggling or possibly to spot illegal border crossings. There are 11
in the world, and four are in Texas. We managed to see all four! After that, we
drove a couple more hours to the Hampton Inn in Alpine, passing through
Presidio and Brewster Counties on the way.
On Friday, we set out for Big Bend National Park. The park is massive and sits right next to the Mexican border. The Rio Grande was so dry in one area that we could walk over to an “island” that was actually on the Mexican side.
After leaving the park, we took HWY 90 east and southeast,
driving alongside the Mexican border most of the day. We stopped for lunch at
the Ranch House in Sanderson and added Pecos, Terrell, and Val Verde Counties
to our list. Near Del Rio, we switched to HWY 277 and continued southeast to
our hotel, the Hyatt Place Eagle Pass, picking up Kinney and Maverick Counties
along the way. We also spotted another TARS drone near Eagle Pass.
Saturday was our longest drive of the trip. We mostly headed
southeast, staying close to the Mexican border for much of the morning. We
passed through Dimmit, Zavala, Webb, La Salle, and Zapata Counties, stopping
only for lunch at Subway in Zapata. As we continued, we saw another TARS drone
and drove through Starr, Hidalgo, and Cameron Counties. After joining I-69E, we
went north at Harrington and passed through Willacy and Kenedy Counties. Near
Rivera, we left the interstate and headed west, eventually reaching Brooks
County. We continued west on HWY 285, staying near the county lines for Jim
Wells (where we’d been before) and Duval Counties. Following the road along the
borders of Duval and Brooks Counties, we entered Jim Hogg County. In
Hebbronville, we turned north onto HWY 16 and headed to the Hyatt Regency San
Antonio Riverwalk. We drove through McMullen County on the way. After arriving,
we relaxed in our room, which was made even easier by the upgrade to a large
suite. We were even able to watch part of a parade from our room.
The next morning, we toured the Alamo, which was just across
the street from our hotel. After checking out, we left town on HWY 90 west and
stopped for lunch at Whataburger in Castroville. We drove through Medina County
(where we’d been before) to reach Uvalde County. Heading north on HWY 83, we
entered Real County, then continued into Kerr County (another repeat), and
turned into Edwards County. We made sure to cross into the county by taking a
quick left and driving a few yards. We continued to Junction, passing through
Kimble County. After a short stretch on I-10 West, we took some access roads to
pick up Sutton County. We had to double back before heading north on HWY 1674
to Fort McKavett, entering Menard County. At the Fort, we turned left for a few
blocks to cross into Schleicher County. Next, we went east on HWY 90, took a
detour south at Menard, and entered Mason County. We drove north on HWY 1311,
crossed into McCulloch County, and stopped at both McDonald’s and Subway in
Brady for dinner. Leaving Brady, we drove north on HWY 283 into Coleman County.
In Santa Anna, we went east on HWY 84 for about seven miles to reach Brown
County, then turned around, drove back through Coleman County, and entered
Runnels County. Following HWY 67 southwest, we took a side road near the
southwest border of Runnels County to cross into Concho County. From there, we
got back on HWY 67, briefly passed through Tom Green County, and arrived at the
Home2 Suites By Hilton, San Angelo.
On Monday, we woke up very early, thinking we had a long
drive ahead. I realized too late that I hadn’t updated our route, so the drive
was much shorter than we thought, and we could have slept in. We left while it
was still dark and headed northwest on HWY 87 out of San Angelo, passing
through Coke and Sterling Counties. At Sterling City, we turned south on HWY
168 to pick up Irion County and then Crockett County. After that, we turned
around, drove back to Barnhart, and went west on HWY 67, crossing into Reagan
County about six miles later. We kept going west and entered Upton County,
which was our last new county of the day and the trip.
That wrapped up the county-collecting part of our trip, but
we still had more to see. We kept driving through West Texas and eventually
reached Guadalupe National Park. Since we weren’t ready for hiking, there
wasn’t much for us to do there. I’m sure there are some beautiful sights, but
we didn’t see many. Things picked up when we crossed into New Mexico and
visited Carlsbad Caverns. I wrote in this blog a few years ago about our last
visit, when the elevator was broken. This time, we were glad to find it working.
We arrived in time for our scheduled tour, went down into the cavern, and saw a
scene that felt truly out of this world. “Breathtaking” doesn’t even begin to
describe it. After leaving the park, we had lunch at Chili’s in Carlsbad and
relaxed at the Hyatt House Carlsbad before heading back to Carlsbad Caverns for
the evening bat show. Photography isn’t allowed, but watching hundreds of
thousands of bats fly out of the cavern was unforgettable. I highly recommend
visiting this National Park!
On Tuesday, we drove back to El Paso, had lunch at the PGA Tour Grill at the airport, and then flew home. By the end of the trip, we had added 41 new counties and two new National Parks to our list (four total). What’s next? We have a couple of non-county trips coming up, but our next county (or county equivalent) adventure is planned for September, when we’ll visit Alaska—our least-visited state. Stay tuned!
