Home On The Range

RV PARK - Actually established by an Alaskan but since sold to others, the Lost Alaskan RV Campground contains 95 RV sites plus a "deluxe" tent ground and a couple of kamperkabins. The building above is the campground office and gift shop. I've already gotten acquainted with some of the staff and enjoy sitting and chatting with them on the office porch.

MY TINY HOME ON THE RANGE - My little Aliner pop-up is definitely the smallest RV in the park. It has drawn a lot curious attention from owners of class A motor homes and fifth trailers who are the typical clientele here. Since my trailer has no bathroom, I asked to be placed near the men's room. It is in the near corner of the club house just 50 ft. behind me. Real convenient.

     After a three-day, 1,700 mile drive from home, I arrived in Alpine TX Feb. 17 and parked my little pop-up in The Lost Alaskan RV Park on the Ft. Davis road just north of town. It is 1.6 flat miles from the RV park to the middle of town, so I can easily ride my bike into town.

     Many, many RV parks in Texas are desolate, shadeless sand lots, but The Lost Alaskan is nicely landscaped with 35 ft. wide RV sites, grass, red pine, Texas oak and a few cactus. Alas, the grass is now brown and sad due to a two-year drought in West Texas, but the cactus is right at home and the trees are doing well because, since they are not native to the Chihuahuan desert, they were installed with an underground irrigation system that quietly pumps water to each individual tree.

     The campground also has a modern and very clean club house with wonderful showers and laundry facilities. So I am set for the duration. I plan to stay here until early April and either take one or two day trips in my van or just kick back in my recliner and read.

     Alpine is a fairly remote place roughly half way between SanAntonio and El Paso and about 80 miles north of Big Bend National Park. With almost 6,000 residents, Alpine is the county seat and by far the largest town in Brewster County. In turn, Brewster is the largest county in Texas, having more land area than Connecticut and Rhode Island combined, yet it has only 9,232 residents, including Alpine. Furthermore, the counties surrounding Brewster are also large in area but small in population: Presidio, pop. 7,818; Jeff Davis, 2,342, Pecos, 15,507; and Terrell, 984. To say the least, there is a lot of wide open empty space around here, and I plan to have a ball exploring it during the coming two months.

THE RANGE - With the many pine trees in the Lost Alaskan RV Campground, I sometimes catch myself thinking I am in Florida, or even Maine. However, when I look out the curbside windows of my camper toward the back fence of the campground, this is what I see ..... oh right, I'm in West Texas.