Texas to New Mexico

We are getting spoiled by this weather!  Sunny and breezy with temps in the 70's and chilly nights in the 40's.  No humidity, just nice and dry.  Autumn in central and western Texas can't be beat!  

We have stayed in Kerrville at a Cracker Barrel, and Comfort (twice) and Sheffield rest stops for each night.  The Comfort rest stop on west bound I10 was noisy and crowded, but the east bound side was much quieter as it was larger and we were set back a decent distance.  Sheffield had a smaller rest stop and was close to the interstate so it was pretty noisy.  Nonetheless, we have been so happy about these free camping rest stops with free dump sites and water.  They're well maintained and surrounded by pretty scenery.  We do free camp as often as possible as a way to save money, but it all depends on where we visit and how long we will be at the location.  If our stay will be longer, we will choose a campground with hook-ups.

On the 24th, we decided to pick a Kerrville nature center to visit called Riverside Nature Center after a quick scoot around the town.

The nature center was really nice with a visitor center, some exhibits and a small shop.  We walked a trail through the botanical garden and were surprised about how many plants are still in bloom!

Soldier butterfly.

When we saw the bat specimen below, we remembered that several nights ago at a Walmart in Fredericksburg, we were really surprised to see hundreds of bats flying back and forth in what's called murmuration (around one of the big parking lot lights).  Murmuration usually refers to a flock of starlings that fly as if one bird instead of hundreds or even thousands of birds.  In this case bats were flying back and forth in a way that looked choreographed!  Flying one way as a group, the cloud appears and then it disappears as they fly the other way.  At the beach, tiny shorebirds are often seen flying in murmuration.

The volunteer at the nature center called them part of the "tunnel" bats, referring to a bat colony located at a nearby state park called Lost Tunnel.  There an abandoned railroad tunnel is home to up to three million Mexican free-tailed bats!!

Mexican free-tailed bat specimen.

On Wednesday, we drove from Kerrville to the Sheffield rest stop and watched the rolling green landscape change from hill country to flatter chaparral with mesas and buttes.

Hill Country.