About Us

AusTexGuys Blog 

We are Bert Minten and Lupe Alvarez and call ourselves Austexguys because we're both from Austin, Texas, Austin is our home base and our favorite city in the world - so far. 

Happy smiles from places we've visited

Austexguys blog is about our travels, experiences along the way and special events we want to document and celebrate.  We're keeping it simple for now and just focusing on travel and good times.

More about Bert

I retired from the State of Texas in 2016 after 24 years.  Most of that time I was lucky enough to work in the Information Technology/Application development area and usually as a database administrator.  I was trained by the State of Texas from the getgo.  They saw the potential and a positive work ethic in me and sent me around the country for training in Sybase and Oracle software.  I enjoyed my time with the State and am indebted to the State of Texas for its retirement plan and the annuity I will get each month for the rest of my life.  Many people in today's work environment are not given the opportunities the State gave me.  Also, I will never forget the many people I worked with over the years, their support, kindness, and love.

When I retired at 57, I had been working on a 'retirement' plan for about 5 years.  It's in quotes because I wasn't planning on actually retiring - as in retiring from all work and just drinking whiskey on the back porch, raising plants and keeping fish ponds.  I developed a plan to travel, see the country while workcamping and being a park host.  I read about couples that had been living fulltime on the road very successfully in their RVs for years.  Gone with the Wynns and WheelinIt were two inspiring examples of traveling couples whos on-the-road lives provided a very clear path for getting on the road successfully.

That plan is what drove me (and Lupe, my partner in crime) to sell almost everything or give it away to family and friends, to minimize our lives and our needs so we could move into an RV.  In early 2016, we selected an Airstream Trailer as our RV (we had 3 top picks and the travel trailer won) and we picked the Airstream up in July from Tampa RV.  You can read about that adventure, our Maiden Voyage, in this blog post.  So, that's me for now.

Countries: 8
[France, Germany, Netherlands, Mexico, Belize, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands, Canada]
US States: 35
[California, Hawaii, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Lousiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, So. Carolina, No.Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusets, Virginia, Rhode Island, New York, Vermont, Maine, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Washington, Illinois, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey. Texas.]
US National Parks: 11
[Acadia, Big Bend, Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe, Hot Springs, Joshua tree, Lassen Volcanic, Redwood, Rocky Mountain, Saguaro, Sequoia]
All National Parks
Texas State Parks & Natural Areas: 29
[Balmorhea, Bastrop, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley, Big Bend Ranch, Buescher, Colorado Bend, Davis Mountains, Dinosaur Valley, Enchanted Rock, Estero Llano Grande?, Falcon, Franklin Mountains, Galveston Island, Garner, Goose Island, Guadalupe River, Hueco Tanks, Indian Lodge, Inks Lake, Lost Maples, LBJ, McKinney Falls, Monahans Sandhills, Mustang Island, Pedernales, Port Isabel Lighthouse, Resaca de la Palma, Seminole Canyon, Washington-on-the-Brazos, San Angelo ]
All Tx State Parks

More about Lupe

When I have to write an "About me" or bio about myself it always comes off as a weird personals ad so bare with me on this. My Name is Lupe Alvarez and I was born in the great state of Texas. I have lived in Texas my whole life except for a short period when I was stationed in Fort Jackson, South Carolina. I have a B.A. in Theatre from Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas. After I graduated college I moved back to Austin Texas to be close to family where I met Bert.

Countries: 2 
[ Mexico, Canada]
US States: 36 
[California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Lousiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, So. Carolina, No.Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusets, Virginia, Rhode Island, New York, Vermont, Maine, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Washington DC, Missouri, Texas, Illinois, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey.]
US National Parks: 6 
[Acadia, Big Bend, Hot Springs, Rocky Mountain, Saguaro, Gateway Arch]
Texas State Parks: 19
[Balmorhea, Bastrop, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley, Big Bend Ranch, Buescher, Davis Mountains, Enchanted Rock, Estero Llano Grande?, Falcon, Franklin Mountains, Galveston Island, Garner, Goose Island, Hueco Tanks, Indian Lodge, McKinney Falls, Mustang Island, Resaca de la Palma, San Angelo ]


Along with this travel blog, we also maintain a Facebook page called 'Bert and Lupe on the Road' which you can find here.