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22 May 2013

Chicot State Park, LA After a long drive we arrived at Chicot State Park. It is Louisiana's largest state park, and quite remote. The bayou here is not infused with salt or brackish water so the vegetation around it is large cypress trees and swamps. The say it rained 7 inches the night before we arrived, and the first campsite we went to was flooded. We settled into a campsite that was dryer with only a large puddle nearby. There are not many campers here, maybe because of the remoteness, or possibly the weather has been so predictable. We drove around the park to find the restrooms, boat launch and fishing pier. The lake is very high, rising about 3 feet from the heavy rain. Fishing should be poor after such heavy rain, but I may just have to give it a try.

24 May 2013

We made it to Texas today. We stopped at Prejeans famous Cajun restaurant in Lafayette La for lunch. Our destination was full, so we opted to stay at a private campsite named Hidden Lake RV Resort, just outside of Beaumont Texas. It’s a very friendly family operated rv stop with a small lake. Most of the people staying here look like they are here simi-permanently, some even have small gardens and fences around their sites. It’s beautifully kept and has a small lake hidden out back. They provide canoes or a paddle boat if you want so we took one out, paddled around and I even caught a bass. It looks like we'll be a little stuck for finding state parks this weekend since it such a big holiday, but Kim did manage to find at least one night at Livingston Lake State Park where we've wanted to go since we've been making plans.

K- Bob and I still haven’t put our canoe in the water yet to test it out. We found an instructional web site on how to paddle and steer without killing each other. Our first time out in the RV Park’s canoe was a success. Tonight we met a couple from Massachusetts and they are on the road for the first time traveling around the U.S. They are having some adjustment issues and have stayed at a hotel for four nights on their trip. We asked if they have had a chance to see some of the state and national parks yet and they looked at us like “huh, you don’t stay at an RV park, we’re Good Sam’s members”. We went ahead to tell them how great the state parks are in Texas and they wanted to know if they were all close to the highway. We wished them luck in getting across Texas in three days and inside we were rolling our eyes knowing they were missing the best part of an RV trip.

25 May 26, 2013

We left Hidden Lake and headed for Livingston Lake State Park. The trip was entirely on rural roads and we felt like we were the only ones travelling at times. We went through long stretches of tall pines and passed an occasional logging truck. There were some really nice little towns along our route. Rye was one, and Livingston a bit larger but a little larger, it must have been the county seat since there was a courthouse in the middle of town. This is a very nice park, many campsites, a boat launch and marina with a small store, bait and tackle, fish cleaning station and a fishing dock. Many people were fishing, but it seemed only the people coming in on the boats had a large catch. The popular fish here seemed to be white bass, and striped bass. Of course, catfish is always popular with catches of 30-40 lbs not uncommon. Our neighbor pulled in with a large catch, had his portable fish cleaning sink all set up, and was going to town with his electric fillet knife. To say this park was full is an understatement. It seems like all of Texas was here. Many extended families with multiple tents, trailers and boats were just about every other campsite. No long termers, nor many land yachts here. Kids, kids everywhere. Gypsy was popular in her basket, but she wasn't too comfortable with so many people around. Oh, and it seemed that every family had brought their dog and a few brought their cats.

K- Bob and I got to talk to a park game warden at the fishing pier. We were talking about some of the better parks to see in Texas. Unfortunately some of the parks and towns on the boarder of Mexico we were told are having issues with drug smugglers and it was not a safe place to visit. We will have to make some adjustments to our schedule. Gypsy is trying to run away every chance she gets. We had to put her on a leash today so she wouldn’t run off.

26 May 2013

We drove to Hunstville State Park, again all rural roads. Believe it or not we passed through a small town named Cut-N-Shoot. It was another very pleasant drive, staying off the major highways really makes a difference. We had to make a grocery stop in Conroe, which is a pretty decent sized town. We are still in the tall pine area of Texas with shallow rolling hills. The weather has remained very nice, getting hot mid day but cooling off towards evening. The park is located on Raven Lake. We couldn't believe the line of cars and trucks to get into this place. Texans sure like their state parks. Tomorrow being Memorial Day, I’m sure the crowds will thin out. People coming just for the day had to walk up to two miles for a picnic. The camp sites with reservations seemed to be in a completely different world, although they were filled also. With this many people you think it was chaos, but everyone was nice, people just having fun with their families, fishing or having a B-B-Q. We had some nice steaks on the grill that Kim had picked up in town. Excellent! We're hoping to get the canoe wet tomorrow and cast a line.

K- Happy we were able to get a camp site here for three days. We are in need of a break from driving. Gypsy is still trying to run away and has a fascination with the bathroom area and keeps heading in that direction. Maybe she thinks someone will take her home to her favorite chair.

27 May 2013Memorial Day. We had a great day today. We took the canoe down to the lake, and as we were putting in a couple pulled to shore with kayaks. We talked about canoes and kayaks and they thought I should try one of them out to see how easily they handled compared to the canoe. I admit it was very nimble and quick to turn, but a little to short for me, and quite small. Maybe I’d like one of those bigger sit on tops made for fishing. It sure was nice of them to offer the test drive, but it seems lots of folks in Texas are really nice. We paddled across the lake and cast about and even trolled a bit, but no bites at all. I didn’t see anyone catching any fish all day, either the boats or those on the bank. Oh well, it was nice to get out on the water. We came back and Kim made a nice picnic lunch and I broke out the ukulele and played some songs. We took the canoe out again and tried fishing, but no luck. The wind was up so we headed back to camp and got ready for dinner After dinner we took the bikes out and rode around the park. The picnic area was still quite full of people, but the camping area had only a few campers. I guess that because this park is located mid way between Houston and Dallas, it attracts more urban weekend campers than other types. It was much more quiet and peaceful today. We’re gonna hit the showers, read for a while and got to sleep early. The weather has been great.

K- And yes.. Gypsy is still trying to escape.

28 May 2013

We had to go the park entrance for Kim to use the internet. It is the only place you can get reception. She was able to make reservations at the next two places. They are some of the most popular parks in Texas so we wanted to be sure to get a site for at least the weekend coming up. Next stop will be Fairfield Lake and then Whitney Lake.

We went for a hike this afternoon before dinner and had a great breeze in our faces along the lake on the way back. This place has lots of cardinals, titmice and woodpeckers. Also there are lots of rabbits and turtles always around. The squirrels are particularly fat.

Burritos and chili al-la-Kim tonight, yummy!

29 May 2013

We drove to Fairfield Lake State Park in Texas today. It is a small, remote park, much more quaint than the two previous parks. There is no internet at all here, so maybe we’ll be able to find a connection in town if we head in for a meal. The rangers said the best typical Texan food was Sam’s, and we’re to try the chicken fried steak and the biscuits and gravy at I-40 truck stop are the best to be found. I have to try my hand at fishing here. There are Channel, Blue and Flathead catfish, Red Drum, Crappie, Blue Tilapia and Largemouth Bass. We were sure to get the Texas State Parks Annual Pass again, it no only saves a bunch on camping fees, but you can fish in any Texas park without a fishing license.

31 May 2013

Kim made some penne pasta with pesto mixed with mesquite grilled chicken, sundried tomatoes and pine nuts. She didn’t leave her cooking skills back home. I spoke to the camp host when we arrive just to find out a little more of the availability of hosts and what is expected. It seems they are in very short supply of people who wish to host camp grounds here. We’re not considering it, but it is nice to know what is available. After dinner I thought it would be a good idea to try my luck at fishing. I drove down to the boat ramps to give it a try, but no luck. A few guys had been able to catch some tilapia with a cast net, but no fish were biting.

1 June 2013

Our camp site, this time, was located on a rock bluff on the edge of Lake Whitney. There were fish jumping close to shore. They looked to be some type of large shad or even small carp. They were darker gray on the top, their sides were copper-gold colored with very large scales. I figured I’d go cast a few lines and see if I could conjure up some luck. I caught a fish I’d never seen before. It was about 2 lbs., silver-gray in color, small scales and a soft mouth with no barbells. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a game fish. I came back in after it was getting too hot. Kim and I sat down and ate half a bag of peaches bought from a road side farm stand. It was a nice time, I can’t remember the last time I did that. We drove around the park at dusk and saw some deer and turkeys. When we arrived back at camp, Kim had a surprise. Ice cream! What a nice way to end the day.

Gypsy continues to be tormented by any type flying bug that resembles a fly. I don’t know how she got to be so afraid of them. Sometimes she will hide her face in a corner if she suspects a fly is in the camper. Her hardness of hearing, or rather her deafness has complicated things. She no longer responds to verbal commands whatsoever, unless a hand sign is given also. She is still sweet as can be but gets confused much more easily. She went on an adventure by herself this morning, she rambled off into some very thick brush filled with vines, thorns and fallen trees. We called and called but she couldn’t hear. We found her standing in the middle of the thicket just sniffing around as calm as could be. We could see her but couldn’t get to her through all the bramble, and eventually she emerged near the camper, happy to see us and acting as if she had a supreme adventure.

She is not used to being on a leash, since she was being trained as a puppy. She actually takes affront to having it on her. She has the same response as an old person having their license taken away because they can’t see so well.

It was actually nice and cool this morning when we got up. It looks to be another fine day. The terrain is changing, slowly evolving towards a more arid climate. We saw our first mesquite trees and a few small cactus plants. There are still plenty of oaks and pines, but they tend to be smaller and always mixed with tall grasses. K-So far this is my favorite park. Animals, wild flowers and a pretty blue lake. Nice weather too with a nice little town.

5 June 2013

Today was the second day in Austin. We’re really enjoying the city. We went to Maria’s Taco Express yesterday and had some great tacos. It had a great Food Network rating and we chose their recommended Tacos al Pastor. Very good. From there we had to do some laundry and came back. We went out for our usual dusk drive and saw plenty of deer. This morning we headed to the Zilker Botanical Gardens and then had a great lunch at Chuys Tex/Mex. We both ate more than we should have, but what the heck. Kim got a buzz on with some Negro Modello beers. We headed to the grocery store to stock up again, and then came back to camp. We went to the Upper McKinney Falls, and at least there was some falling water from Onion Creek. We had a long day and we’re going to read awhile and go to sleep. It seems we are not having too much luck with internet this time. We really don’t want to have to drive into town just to update the web site, so we do it when we can, usually by parking near the headquarters before leaving the park. The economy in Texas seems to be doing quite well. There is a lot of highway construction and new buildings being built. Of course, Austin being the capital, one should expect many projects to be going on. There seems to be live music at just about any kind of eatery. The new motto of Austin is “Keep it Weird”. It is not so far out as say, Height Ashbury of San Francisco, but it is a much more liberal city than one would find elsewhere in Texas. It was quite hot today, the temperature was 98, but in the shade it was bearable, especially with a breeze. The 98 degrees here is much more tolerable than if we were in Tampa.