Texas Roadtrip--Camping in Big Bend and a Giveaway!

It's the sound of fighting that wakes you up. The kids have been bickering back-and-forth the entire trip over DVD's, iPads, snacks, and anything else they can think of. You are exhausted, have a sunburn on half your body from sitting in the passenger seat, and have been tormented for the last 9 hours by constant arguing, the buzzing of every-technological device known to man, and the occasional outburst from your husband yelling about slow drivers on the road. You can't wait to get there. You need this. You ALL need this. Your children have become way too absorbed in their "virtual" worlds of texting, Facebook, and video games . They need to get outside, breathe some clean air, and take the freakin' headphones out of their ears.

“Don’t touch me!” your daughter yells.

“Well then stop looking at me!” your son exclaims.

"Guys, PLEASE!!! Just be quiet--we are almost there" you beg them.

“I’m bored.”’ your youngest son whines.

“How can you be bored? You got your iPAD." And you think to yourself that it's the same thing he would be doing at home.

"But I can't get on YouTube."

“Don’t worry, we’ll be there soon. There’s going to be all kinds of fun things for you to do. We can go horseback riding, and hiking--we’re going to be roughin’ it like the cowboys. We’ll be cooking over a fire, roasting marshmallows and telling ghost stories. And that reminds me, I even read online that there’s a ghost town nearby!”

He perks up. “Are there really ghosts there?!”

“No stupid” your daughter decides to chime in.

“Thank you for contributing Casey, but don’t call your brother stupid.” Turning your attention back to your son you say “it’s an abandoned mining town with lots of old buildings to explore.”

Looking disappointed, your son slumps back in his seat. You look out the window at the landscape but there's not a whole lot to look at…mostly just dirt, a few spiky plants, and some low-lying hills in the distance. You grab your phone to text your sister. “Great, there’s no cell phone service!” you say outloud.

“Well…” your husband glances over at you with a know-it-all-look, “this is what you wanted. No technology, right?”. Unlike you, he wanted to take a vacation in an air-conditioned hotel with cable.

You want to tell him to be quiet, but you just roll your eyes. “Of course it is” you remind yourself and glance out the window again.

And then your daughter yells out again “This is so stupid! How am I going to talk to my friends out here? Is there even going to be any shopping?”

There’s not even so much as a Wal-Mart where you’re going. “Honey, I’m sure they’ll have some gift shops with some cute turquoise jewelry or something. Or maybe we can all get matching T-shirts with the name of the park written on it!”

“Seriously Mom? It’s not funny. All of my friends are going to the beach for vacation, but we’re going to some stupid campground out in the middle of nowhere and there’s probably not going to be anyone to hang out with.” You think to yourself that she is probably right. The place you’re going is one of the most sparsely populated places in the US. But that’s what attracted you to it in the first place. The only sounds you’d hear would be the sounds of nature—no constant buzz of technology to invade your thoughts. And the scenery is supposed to be breathtaking. It's the Texas version of the Grand Canyon. “And what about you guys?" she says. "You don’t even have your sewing machine.”

“Your dad and I will be fine. I have my hexies and brought along some books I've been wanting to read. " But secretly you are worried. You can't remember the last time you went more than a few days without sewing. And normally your vacations are conveniently located near a fabric shop or quilt show, but this time there's not going to be anything like that--unless you decide to drive a few extra hours. But you'll be fine, right? You really do have so many unfinished projects at home that you would have loved to finish. But you tell yourself it's okay. You are too attached to quilting. It's on your mind constantly, and this will be nice stress free break. You don't have to worry about blogging, checking instagram or Pinterest. But then the thought enters your mind, that while you're out here in the sticks, someone is probably going to come out with the most amazing design ever and you're going to miss it! You really should have taken a vacation on the coast somewhere. The kids would be happy and occupied and you could check-out the local art, do some fabric shopping, and still be able to get internet access. But it's too late to change your mind--your husband would freak out if you asked him. "No", you tell yourself, "this is going to be great". But you don't even believe the words you're thinking. And you realize you are just as bad as the kids. You turn around and look at them and they all look miserable.

You turn back around just in time to see an exit sign out for a gas station with the disclaimer that says “last fuel stop until Big Bend National Park-- 45 miles”.

You lean in to your husband and say, "I bet Galveston is really nice this time of year." And it's his turn to roll his eyes.

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Okay, I'm not trying to talk anyone out of Big Bend, because the scenery is supposed to be beautiful, but just beware, it is really desolate, there's not a Wal-Mart (or quilt shops) and you probably won't get cell phone service. But if you like camping, hiking, nature, and kayaking this would be a great destination. And there really is a ghost town to explore in Terlingua. As for the story above--it is not true--but I imagined it probably could be. 

So anyway, now onto the quilt block. For the block I wanted to make something that represented camping--since that's what you'll probably be doing if you go to Big Bend. So I made a vintage camper. Click here to download the instructions.

I sent Melissa the instructions to test, and she sent this pic back of her camper with the cute bunting!!!

So I had to add some bunting on mine too--but I still like the arrangement of the bunting on Melissa's better:)

I also have been adding some things to the outside of my quilt, so after I read about the ghost town, I decided to make one for my quilt. When it was all done it looked more like the downtown area of small-town Texas, so now I've appropriately named it "Downtown Small Town" and it's about 8.5" x 17". If you would like to make one of your own, you can get the instructions here:) 

  

Note: You'll have to excuse my photos...it's been dark and rainy all weekend!

And now for the giveaway...

Aurifil has generously given us tons of thread to giveaway, so if you've been following along you've probably seen the giveaway a few times before. But that makes your chances of winning even better right? We're giving away a designer mystery pack of thread, and Aurifil color chart, and a sample pack of thread of the same color in different weights. The winner will get all three! So, to enter, just leave me a comment and tell me about your most memorable vacation. Also, make sure you to leave your email if you are a no-reply blogger so I can notify if you win. If you aren't sure if you a no-reply blogger, then leave your email just in case:)  

Thanks for stopping by on the Texas Roadtrip QAL!