We have a pretty tight driving schedule to make it back to Yuma for our solar install appointment next week so we've been having a lot of back-to-back driving days, which can get tiring for humans and dogs. Because of this, we planned a two night stay at Hilltop RV Park in Fort Stockton, TX to give everyone a little rest.

Making a reservation here was a bit strange. The number you call re-directs to a different phone number voicemail. I left a message saying that if this was the Hilltop RV park to call me back... and moments later they did. Just kind of a weird experience! The woman making the reservation was very helpful and texted us directions to make sure our arrival was easy. If you pay cash you get a 10% discount for overnight stays.

We checked in and got a golf cart escort to our pull-thru spot (all spots are pull thru's).

The park is on a hill right off the 1-10, so it's easy to get to but once you're settled in you will hear the freeway. This is a desert landscape, so in March when we visited it was very hot, dry, windy and dusty. You won't find green grass here (at least not in the summer).

Lucky for the dogs the park has a fenced "puppy patch" with some trees for shade. It's pretty small but the dogs thought it was great and got to have some sunset dog parties with other traveling dogs. Can you find Stimpy in this photo?

Did I mention it was hot? The high when we visited was 95 degrees. Thank goodness for RV AC and the park's pool! Fair warning, the pool was deceptively freezing, but since it was so hot outside it was refreshing.

As the sun started to set, several people came out of their RV's to the fence line to watch the sunset. It was beautiful and this photo doesn't do it justice.

However, I thought the sunrise the next morning was even better!

Wifi was slow but steady (200kB per second). Good for emailing and light web browsing.

The office has a DVD lending library that had some new titles. There's this great fire pit area that would be fun with a group of people. The "bathhouse" bathroom was clean. There's also a laundry room, but we didn't use it.

The owners of this park have put some time into decorating their park in a unique way with sculptures and paintings.

One thing that would make this park even better is if they had a walking path along the perimeter. Across from the fire pit, there's a footbridge which seems like a good place to start but there's no real path and the ground needs to be cleared of brush and prickly plants to make it dog friendly.

Lily's Protip: BUNNIES! Well, probably more like jackrabbits and they roam the outskirts of the park but Lily calls them bunnies and they are great dog television.

Lily on bunny patrol:

"I have a what on my back?!"

Fort Stockton

A little googling led me to find out that Fort Stockton has the world's largest roadrunner statue, or well they did...perhaps time to update the flags!

Now it's the world's largest second-largest roadrunner statue...but still very impressive!

Unbeknownst to us, we had actually seen the overtaker earlier in our travels at a rest stop in New Mexico!

If something is the "world's largest", I'm going to want to go see it. I've already begged Tommi (unsuccessfully) to stop at the world's largest pistachio nut in New Mexico. There's also a giant squirrel in Austin, Texas. We were so close to but didn't have time. I was getting my way with this roadrunner, AND I heard the visitors center gave out free roadrunner pins.

Tommi reluctantly drove us all a few miles to Fort Stockton's historic center to see this impressive bird, named "Paisano Pete."

We parked at the visitor's center because there's no real parking near Pete. There's a Fort Stockton sign photo-opp and some educational placards and a train you can go inside.

The visitors center was very helpful and friendly, and they immediately handed us pins. YES!

It's pretty tricky to cross the street to visit Pete because there are no crosswalks, so be careful!

Eventually we made it across and had the photo shoot I was hoping for.

Here's Lily Goodgirl and Pete:

Since it was so hot we put the top down on the Jeep for the first time since getting it. The dogs loved it.

We continued to the James Rooney Memorial Park to let the dogs stretch their legs. Fort Stockton doesn't have a fenced dog park, but this park was dog friendly and huge.

There's a few other things to do in Fort Stockton, so if you have the time you could make an afternoon out of it. I was happy with just the Paisano Pete visit.

Hilltop RV Park
http://www.ftstocktontexasrvpark.com/
4076 IH 10 West, Fort Stockton, TX 79735
Phone: (432) 336-6090
Nightly base rate: $30 with 10% cash discount