So, getting off to a late start seems to be a theme this season. But waiting for my Jalapeno Cheddar Bread to finish baking so we could have it with breakfast Saturday morning was absolutely worth the wait! RDB and I left out for Lockhart State Park Friday night and rolled into our spot well after dark.
Saturday morning we woke to the sounds of golf balls 'chinking' down the 2nd hole of Lockhart SP's public golf course. It's the last remaining golf course of any state park that is maintained and staffed by the Parks and Wildlife Department (and yes, we did see the Ranger had given up his usual big truck for a golf cart!). Though we didn't have to worry too much about errant golf balls, we did hear the occasional "FORE!" (Ever wondered why the word "fore"? I pondered that over our coffee, the grabbed RDB's phone to ask Uncle Google. )
Much of the day was spent resting at the campsite - remember, we're big fans of Numerous Naps when we camp, but towards the later part of the afternoon we made a run for Wal-Mart (it's nice to walk around in the A/C, ya know!) and went into the heart of Lockhart for some Barbeque.
Did you know that Lockhart is officially the Barbeque Capital of Texas? I had heard it mentioned somewhere before, and after researching on Yelp - it looked like we had several different options. Black's Barbeque has been run by the same family for 5 generations (82 years!) and is the only one that offers a variety of side dishes as well as the meats - and since the Ranger so highly recommended it, as well as the 3 golfers in line behind me at the Ranger Station - we decided to eat there.
And we were NOT disappointed.
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| Yes, that's a 1.4# beef rib beside my normal-sized 10" picnic plate! |
There was not a single thing we tried (the beef rib, the brisket, two different types of beans, coleslaw, mashed potatoes, potato salad - and that's just a fraction of the sides they offer!) that wasn't delicious and tasty. The pecan pie was delightful - and I'm not one who likes pecan pie *at all* so the fact that I went back to get my own piece after having just a bite of RDB's is saying something! Be sure to wear your stretchy pants, because you will want to devour every last bit of what they serve you. And if somehow that's not enough to satisfy your need for beef - they ship nation-wide, too!
I'm pretty sure one of those pecan pies will be showing up at our house for our Steeler's Christmas party this year! *wink*wink*
We spent a little time walking around the historic areas of downtown Lockhart - it's truly a beautiful little town and such a treat to get to spend some time walk off the (thousands of) calories we'd just enjoyed. The County Courthouse has quiet an interesting back story - including the fact that it has a nearly-identical twin in the County Courthouse for Goliad County (the same plans were sold to both counties by two different architects!)
Once the sun had started to set, and most of the golfers had gone home for the day, RDB and I took Diesel for a walk out on the golf course. We didn't cover all 9 holes, but the few we did were a nice leisurely walk before we started up a campfire and gazed at the stars. When we made it back, our campsite neighbors stopped over to say hi and introduce themselves. It never ceases to amaze me what a magnet Diesel is for the attention of other dogs lovers. What started as a "He's such a beautiful dog!" became a great time of conversation and meeting new friends. David and Cheryl - if you happen to be reading this - we loved meeting you and you're welcome to come love on our 'puppy' anytime!
Time always seems to pass too quickly on our trips - before you know it, it's Sunday morning and you have to think about packing up and going home. A few more pictures, though, before we get to the trip home - this weekend had a bit of an "I Spy!" element to it, too:
I Spied...
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| A Watermelon Water Tower |
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| A Smiley-Faced Hot Air Balloon over the Golf Course |
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| A Scorpion! Yikes! |
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| Signal! The Geocaching Frog |
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| A Thorny-looking Spider |
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| A Peaceful Place to Ponder |
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| And a "Check Engine" Light |
The pulling power our "clydesdale" of an F250 means we run thru a lot of diesel each trip. We were down to about 1/8th of a tank Sunday morning, and I went into town to fill 'er up for our trip back home (much easier to do without Honey attached - the trailer presents its own unique issues when you're trying to refuel). About 30 minutes into our return trip (about the time that last 1/8 of a tank ran out) we lost nearly all the pulling power our dear Clyde is known for. We were topping out, pedal to the floor, at only 55 mph. On go the flashers, and out come loads of patience. What should have been a short 3 hours home, turned into 5. (You know you're getting tired of the road when you count the number of cars that whizz passed you: on average? 14 cars/mile. Until a car carrier passes.... not sure if he counts as 1 or 10!?) A quick check with Uncle Google and RDB & I are both hoping it's a tank-full of bad gas or the fuel filter being clogged. (A big thanks to RandShe who kept us up-to-date with the Steelers game via texts till we got home - you, Sir, are a true friend!)
We were in site #3 at Lockhart State Park this weekend. It was nearly perfectly level, had a semi view of the golf course (hole #2) and a tree line. Each site in the Fairview Loop has a great cover over the table and full hook-ups. We're noticing more and more of the parks are installing the covers and we love that feature. Great Barbeque in town and Palmetto SP is a short 30 minutes away, just watch out for the bad gas....
For more camping photos, go here.
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