Shortest Route Planner:
Dec 23
Houston
Dec 24
Austin
Start driving west
Dec 25
Drive west
Dec 26
Big Bend National Park
Dec 27
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Dec 28
White Sands National Monument
Opportunistic option: Ski Apache & Ski Cloudcroft are Ski areas nearby. Nearby Lincoln National Forest has snowshoeing options.
Dec 29
Carslbad Caverns National Park
Start driving back
Dec 30
Keep driving back
Dec 31
Padre Island National Seashore:
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge: view Whooping Cranes in winter, water activities
Stay in Corpus Christi
Jan 1
Galveston: Ferry to Port Bolivar
Beaumont: Gator Country, Botanical Gardens
Drive to Houston
Jan 2
Drop off van in Houston.
Visit NASA.
Jan 3
Houston to Austin.
Jan 4
Fly back
