We were in Alpine in January 2021, as part of our Winter Warmth Trip. Read about our past visits here: 2019, 2018, and a couple hours in 2016.

After some big city fun in Austin and San Antonio, we shot west toward our probably-favorite (but man that’s a hard choice to make) National Park. We love spending a night in Alpine before and/or after staying in Big Bend National Park.

The little town was extra quiet this trip. Maybe because it was January, maybe because it was Sunday, maybe because of the pandemic, but not many places with outdoor seating were open. It does seem like there are more food trucks around town than when we last visited, but most of those were closed too. Don’t tell Alpine, but next time through we’ll stay in Marathon just to mix it up.

Campground

In the past we’ve stayed just north of downtown, and while that is a very nice park, we thought it would be fun to try a brand new campground on the other side of town and a bit closer to the main drag. Rolling G RV Park is smaller and a bit more bare bones, but we liked it, and bonus: there’s a natural grocer across the street!

Eating and drinking

Our favorite watering hole, Harry’s Tinaja, is still going strong through the pandemic. There’s plenty of dog-friendly outdoor seating, but we were the only ones outside, and the inside bar was full of regulars.

Our favorite food truck, however, is no longer. G-ma’s was a wonderful breakfast and lunch spot run by a lovely proprietress and we looked forward to patronizing her truck, but G-ma has retired! Maria’s Food Truck has taken her spot and we are happy to report that the burritos are delicious! They’re on the small side so consider getting an extra to share.

But maybe Cow Dog is our new favorite food truck. A hot dog truck may not sound exciting (well, J was pretty excited) but their dogs are super creative, and they have a couple veg options for non-dog eaters. And they have dogs for dogs! All three of us were thrilled with our lunches; J said it was the best hotdog he’d ever had.

On Monday morning we got coffee at Cedar Coffee Supply, the self-proclaimed Best Coffee in West Texas. We had excellent lattes, so it really might be the Best Coffee in West Texas. I’ll have to do more research.

To try next time: Railroad Blues, a new bar downtown, has outdoor seating and looks potentially cool, but they were closed. (Although next time we’ll stay in Marathon at this RV park and get cocktails here and coffee here.)

Onward to Big Bend!!