We pulled into Kerrville-Schreiner Park the evening of July 2nd, after spending the weekend over at Somerville State Park, about mid-way between Houston to Kerrville. The first thing we noticed about the campground was the magnitude of wildlife - deer, jack rabbits, birds, buffalo....
Ok, maybe not live buffaloes... but there was a scorpion in the bathhouse shower the first time I stepped in there - NOT really the kind of wildlife I was excited about!
When we started posting on Facebook that we were camping again, one of our friends, JSP (former Big Kahuna of the All Camper's Welcome Club) reached out to say how excited and happy she was that we were back in the game. She mentioned that they head out to K/S each July, and since I had taken the week off work, and we didn't have a campsite planned yet, we decided to crash their party! It was wonderful to be hugged by her and see the family again; Happy Camper was there, too, as well as a few new friends. It's so refreshing to be with people who love you and care about your happiness. JSP, if you're reading this, know that we love you and your family so much - and the kindness that you show us is unconditional and genuine. Thanks for being who you are!
RDB and I were amazed at how dark and clear the night sky was the first evening there in Kerrville. I have an app (Night Sky) that does an incredible job of overlaying the stars with information and layouts of their namesakes. It was the first time RDB had seen the Milky Way with his bare eyes. The app also helped me to see the constellations like I had never imagined before. I honestly didn't realize that the Big Dipper was actually Ursa Major (the Great Bear)!
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| Just a little foreshadowing that I happen to have captured Scorpio on this evening... |
I love camping.
There are so many things to learn and appreciate; that are right above us, and around us, unseen until we take the time to stop and look. The moments that I take to _pause_ and reflect and realize that there is so much more to life than the grind for money, make me really wonder why we get so caught up (as a society) in the need to accumulate. RDB's Mom posted this to our Facebook pages this week, and it's simply so true:
We planned to have breakfast out in town, and thanks again to Yelp, found an incredible hole-in-the-wall breakfast place called the Save Inn Resturant. Much like the Chess Club Cafe in Blanco, this local spot was sooo good, we went back the next morning to enjoy the exact same breakfast. Have the Lisa's Tacos and you won't be disappointed.
With the summer temps in the high 90*s, we spent the better part of Tuesday hanging out in the camper. I'll be honest when I say that's about all I remember... but pics and texts to Bestie tell a slightly different story.... #trainingforthecruise
Wednesday morning, July 4th, after a
We also stopped by the H-E-B - for ice, coffee, and stuff - but made it a point to drop by the Original H-E-B. The company was founded there in Kerrville and has a pretty neat origin story. I was impressed with their efforts after Hurricane Harvey and the substantial flooding that we recovered from. I like to shop local and small when I can, and though H-E-B isn't small by any means, it certainly has my business.
We spent a portion of the afternoon avoiding the heat (again) by touring the Museum of Western Art. They had a special exhibit of quilts in the entry hall - the handiwork and craftsmanship was outstanding! They have a sizable collection of paintings - some of which were so magnificently painted that you would have thought they were photographs - and saddles from across the southwest along with the stories behind them. I was captivated by the collection of Kachina Dolls as well - some of them were so tiny and yet so detailed.
My favorite Kachina there on the left is Kwahu - the Eagle Kachina. Seems fitting, seeing that it's not only the Fourth of July, but that the Eagle is a symbol of America's independence.
Back at the campground, dark clouds were looming. JSP had been watching the radar and predicted that we'd see rainfall before the fireworks on Wednesday. Sure enough, early afternoon the drizzle started and continued on for several hours. We passed the time playing LCR (the game I picked up at Gibson's) and watching DVDs in the camper.
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| You can rent a tepee if you want to feel like you're really in the wild west.... |
The rain cleared off in time that, had we wanted to, we could have gone into town to watch the fireworks. We opted instead to take Diesel for a walk around the campgrounds and ended up at JSP's front porch. Spent a bit of time there chatting and talking about the day, and Gibson's, and just generally enjoying the company until the booms from fireworks began - our cue to take Diesel back to his "house" and tuck him in for the night with a nice dose of Benadryl.
I started writing this post with "America the Beautiful" in mind and thought I'd tie it in somehow to the lyrics about 'beautiful spacious skies,' but here I am ending it and the CCR song "Up Around the Bend" is pounding out of the little Bose speaker that sits on the bar here in the house, and it feels about as all-American-summer as cheese balls and beer on the Fourth of July.
"Catch a ride to the end of the highway
And we'll meet by the big red tree,
There's a place up ahead and I'm goin'
Come along, come along with me
Come on the risin' wind,
We're goin' up around the bend "
We were in site #235 at Kerrville-Schreiner Park, in the heart of the Hill Country. The sites will need a bit of side to side leveling, and unfortunately this one was near the dumpster (not a big deal except in the heat of the day and if the wind was blowing.) The bathhouse showers left much to be desired - minimal privacy, poor water pressure, oh - and the scorpion that decided he wanted to clean up next to me. (A moment of silence for the dearly departed resting in his watery grave.) Being 4+ hours out from Houston, the humidity had dropped noticeably, and for the most part it was a very enjoyable - though still hot - stay.
For more camping photos, click here.
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