The past year and a half we've put more miles on our car than most do in five, driving and exploring texas and the american southwest. we've been to countless texas state parks and have enjoyed each one for its own unique features, but the one that has stood out the most was caprock canyons. it offers the striking red rock scenery of arizona while only being a (relatively) short seven hour drive from austin.
growing up in the northeast afforded us with easy access lakes, mountains and a very cold ocean. it was definitely a great place to spend our formative years and instilled a deep admiration for the outdoors in us. but drive seven hours in the north east and the scenery will more or less be the same. the forest may be a little thicker or the water a little warmer but you will not find anything like you do in the west.
the grandeur of texas and the southwest has always drawn us in with its open roads, small towns and sweeping views. the contrast between what humans have created and the vastness of the landscape makes us feel small in a wondrous way. knowing how much open space exists out here is inspiring and only further fuels the fire in us, making our thirst for exploration grow even more.
in our late teens we had dreams of living out west, seeing and doing things that seemed foreign to us growing up in new hampshire. california or arizona were in our minds but texas just fell in to place. in the years between high school and now we lived in philadelphia but still always referred to new hampshire as "home", living the city life was fun but it never felt quite right. after only being in texas a little more than a year we know that we have finally found our new home.
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