I would make my first stop in Fort Davis to check out the historic frontier fort as well as go to a star party at McDonald Observatory. Carlsbad Caverns would make another good stop. As far as where to meet your Santa Barbara friends inbetween how about Sedona or the Grand Canyon? Tons of great NP's in that area. Check out NPS.gov and plot your route. Have fun!
Just west of San Antonio, Castroville is approximately 15 minutes west of San Antonio, settled by Henri Castro and a small group of French Alsatian colonists. A neat town & river. My sister & bro-n-law had a vacation place there once on the Medina River, shortest river in Texas. Alsatians are the German-speaking people of the French region of Alsace, located between the Vosges Mountains and the German border. There is no single Alsatian dialectal variant, although High German is used as the written standard. Today, most Alsatians are bilingual, German & French. According to Louis L'Amour in his novel Shalako, they were always. Castroville, I believe the locals & maybe most Texans called it Caster-ville, at least back in the '70s it was.
Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site is located west of Comstock near Langtry in Val Verde County. I have this one on my to see list someday. We have stopped at the Langtry Visitor Center and at the Pecos River Overlook. I love the history of the area. But have not gotten to visit Seminole Canyon. We have never stopped at the Alamo Movie Set in Brackettville Texas, but it could be on the way to the Langtry area. Brackettville began as the home of Fort Clark, built by the U.S. Cavalry in 1852 to protect the frontier from hostile Indians. Through the years it was home to many famous names in the military world including General George S. Patton. During World War II, Fort Clark served as a German POW camp.
Monahans Sandhills State Park is about a half-hour's drive west of Odessa. A neat place, it seems, but I have never stopped.
Big Bend National Park is located in southwest Texas, hundreds of miles from the nearest cities, the isolation of Big Bend is a drawing point for many visitors, it also means that your trip must be well prepared and carefully planned. Several highways lead to Big Bend National Park: TX 118 from Alpine to Study Butte or FM 170 from Presidio to Study Butte (then 26 miles east to park headquarters) or US 90 or US 385 to Marathon (then 70 miles south to park headquarters). Distances between towns and services can be considerable. Always be sure you have plenty of gas, oil, food, and water for your trip. The park has four camper stores, but supply and selection can be limited. There are also small stores in the communities outside the park. The last major shopping areas (grocery and hardware stores) are Alpine, Fort Stockton, and Del Rio. We went once to Big Bend on a Spring Break. Camping ** Fees
Between Van Horn & Alpine you will find Marfa famous for being the area where the movie "Giant" was filmed and for the Marfa Lights. Not that I have seen the Marfa lights, never traveled in the night time along there for one reason. But remember seeing a lot of Pronghorns along the way.
Balmorhea State Park is located in the foothills of the Davis Mountains southwest of Balmorhea and nearby Davis Mountains State Park (along with the famous Big Bend Nat'l Park) are very nice places and one could spend a long time at each. Been to all except Davis State Park, but it is nice areas, be sure to visit the old Fort Davis a nice place to see.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park ( Guadalupe ) is located in far West Texas on U.S. Highway 62/180. The driving distance is 110 miles east of El Paso, Texas, or 56 miles southwest of Carlsbad, New Mexico. It is close enought to drive to Carlsbad Caverns National Park from the campground as a day trip. One could also get to it from Van Horn, Texas off I-10. It is were a little bit of New Mexico slipped over into Texas (Don't throw rocks, I happen to be a Native Texan who has choosen to live in New Mexico, my part of NM & Guadalupe are part of the land the Old Republic of Texas claimed as Texas, Ha! RepublicTX ). The visitor center is really neat, neatly landscaped and a small campground is near it. We have stopped there a few times on our way to Carlsbad Caverns. Never overnighted.
Leasburg Dam State Park near Las Cruces, nice desert camping or by the Rio Grande. By using I-10 to Ft. Stockton, take US 285 to Pecos, on to Carlsbad, on to Artesia, then take US 82 to Cloudcroft, to Alamogordo; then US 70 to Las Cruces. Or From Ft Stockton keep on to Balmorhea, see the water hole, go to Fort Davis and whatever else you are wanting to see, then head down to Van Horn then take TX 54 to Guadalupe, the Carlsbad & so on to Las Cruces. Leasbugh is up I-25 about 15 miles or less. Or go to Seminole Canyon first, Big Bend, Ft Davis, etc then I-10 to I-20 to Pecos, etc to Carlsbad & on to Las Cruces. Lot of ways to get over west without going by El Paso.
In the Bisbee/Tombstone Area, the town of Bisbee itself is neat to walk around in and we enjoyed the art galleries. The Queen Mine Tour was neat, we enjoyed it. Tombstone is a very tourist trap site, if you get my meaning. The old Court House was interesting. Tombstone was the site of a lot of wild west history, but is now very commercial. Neat Tour - Queen Mine
You could use Kartchner Caverns State Park - as base to see both Bisbee & Tombstone in a day trip. When we went to the area last, we stayed in a hotel off I-10 in Benson and did both as a day trip, then drove back to Las Cruces. It was my son-in-laws first time to see them.
Near Wilcox is The Amerind Foundation ( Amerind Art Gallery is Neat ) a ethnological, anthropological, archaeological museum and art gallery with paintings by 20th century Anglo and Native American artists. We enjoyed the art gallery and the museum. A neat out of the way, hidden site in the boulders of Texas Canyon. The Amerind is located in Cochise County, one mile south of Interstate 10, only about an hour east of Tucson, between Benson and Willcox. It is easy to find - just look for Dragoon Road exit, #318, and head south until you see mile marker 1 on one side of the road and the Amerind entrance on the other. Amerind.Org Cochise Strong Hold is in the same area, drove to it but did not camp, a nice setting. Cochise Stronghold
Chiricahua National Monument by Willcox is great, been there will go back. Chiricahua NPS but if rigs are too long for the Nat'l Mon Campground in the Coronado National Forest above it you can desperse camp for free.
Close by Chiricahua Nat'l Mon there is the neat ruins of a fort, some hiking to get to it. Fort Bowie National Historic Site is worth the 3 mile round-trip walk for the best experience of Fort Bowie National Historic Site. If you physically can not walk the trail, please contact the visitor center staff at 520-847-2500 for directions to the alternate access. Fort
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DesertHawk - Las Cruces, NM USA
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DESERTHAWK is giving lots and lots of excellent info above. Read all his links provided in his text. Do not miss Big Bend it is great. There is lots and lots to see and enjoy West of San Antonio altho that area itself is awesome.
Harry
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I don't know if it is still open but the we visited the site where the movie The Alamo was filmed. It was a great adventure but I heard it closed this spring becuase the lady that owned it died. It was a great stop if your a John Wayne movie buff. Just check the website and it is closed. It's a real shame. Here is the website Alamo Village
Dave & Beth
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But remember seeing a lot of 
