The drive to Austin was scheduled to be a long days' haul. As we bounced like a baby on I-10W towards Houston, we suddenly realized that our already long day was just about to get even longer. Shortly after a truck carrying a kayak passed us we abruptly stopped when we saw brake lights and suddenly, stopped traffic. Just five cars ahead, the truck that passed us was clipped by an SUV carrying a family of three. The SUV rolled over several times before coming to a stop on the right median; the truck ended up on the left median. While the life-flight helicopters airlifted the injured to a nearby hospital, all lanes of traffic were at a stand still. Even though we had been delayed about 2-1/2 hours, we counted our Blessings and said a prayer for the injured - we were, at least able to continue our travels. Once traffic was released we were on our way but only to realize that it was Friday, a holiday weekend, rush-hour traffic and it was downtown Houston...traffic was at a crawl, further increasing our drive time. We finally made it out of Houston and on to I-35N but not without even more delays. The skies opened up with torrential rains and hard wind - and it started as we got into a major construction zone. Visibilty was at a minimal and traffic movement even less. None-the-less, we pushed on toward our next stop in Buda, TX. The day was horrendous and exhausting but when we finally made it to Crestview RV Park, we welcomed dinner at Chili's, a run to Walmart and a nice, cozy bed. The next day we would visit with dear friends, John & Sandy.

We had lunch at The Oasis which sits on a bluff about 300 feet high overlooking Lake Travis. This place was awesome with all of it's sculptures. artwork and flowers - the food was outstanding as was the scenery and the visit with our friends. The water level at Lake Travis is about 60 vertical feet below normal leaving the marina, personal docks and boats sitting on dry land. After enjoying the day with our friends, we drove on back to camp to get ready for the next week in Big Bend National Park. We plan an intermediate stop in Fort Stockton before driving the 175 miles to the Maverick RV and Resort just west of the park.