From the Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo, to seeing the Big Boy 4014 Vintage Steam Locomotive roll through mid Texas, to the Galveston Island Gulf Coast, all are Texas supersized!

Leaving Colorado we headed south on I-25 into New Mexico to Hwy 87 to the Amarillo area and stayed one night at the Palo Duro Canyon State Park located just south of Amarillo.

Palo Duro Canyon is huge, 21 miles long and 6+ miles wide, second only to the Grand Canyon in size. Not fully understanding the large area this state park encompasses, we had quite a drive to the Juniper Loop campground area.

Located at the bottom of the canyon, the drive included a steep decent (10% grade) with lots of curves. We made it in and out fine, but probably more suited for a multi night stay!

On to the Bryan/College Station area where we able to see the Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 Steam Locomotive which was on its Heartland of America Tour heading back to Cheyenne Wyoming.

A magnificent machine that underwent a multi-year restoration beginning in 2013 and returned to service in 2019 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad completion. It is quite a site coming into the train station.

We also visited the George H.W. Bush presidential library located in College Station on the campus of Texas A&M University.

Quite grand and nicely done, it is loaded with artifacts and historical displays. An enclosed pavilion added in recent years houses the Union Pacific train engine used for President Bush’s funeral as well as a Marine One helicopter.

Lastly, but certainly not least, our stay on Galveston Island. This was our first time visiting and what a way to spend our last multi-day stay for this trip.

We drove south from Bryan, around the west side of Houston to enter Galveston Island on the west end. The island is approximately 27 miles long with the City of Galveston located on the east end highlighted by the “Historic Pleasure Pier”.

We stayed mid island at the Galveston Island KOA Holiday situated across the road from the Gulf of Mexico. This is the nicest KOA we have stayed at, more like a resort; with pool, hot tub, lazy river and an option for site with a deck with views of the gulf.

We loved the miles long stretches of beach, including Seawall Urban Park in the City of Galveston with more than 10 miles of unobstructed views and a continuous walkway along the beach. No high rises along the beach here!

Time to return to Florida; nice to have our lot waiting for us. What a trip; from Michigan to Florida – 4,812 miles.

No mechanical issues, advanced plans and reservations worked well. Again, I’ll mention the Open Road fuel program; using the app to plan stops with significant savings.

In the coming months, we have stays planned at nearby St. Joseph Peninsula and Top Sail State Parks, as well as family trips over the upcoming holidays. Here’s to more adventures!