Park n' Drive: Lake Ray Roberts State Park, Isle de Bois Unit

 Know before you go - a park drive thru video

Lake Ray Roberts State Park

We were in site #78, 30a/W:  Family, Friends, Fotos

Site #132, 30a/W: Do and Re: Deers and the Sun

Family, Friends, Fotos

A weekend in pictures, worth a few thousand words......

We were at Lake Ray Roberts State Park Idle de Bois Unit, Site #78. It was a cold weekend, but a beautiful time with friends and family. We enjoyed a great lunch out at a local Mexican food place on Monday before we headed back home.  Mom and G stayed at the LoneStar Lodge at the State park - room #120 had incredible views of the gazebo and lake, and was close to the main lodge lobby.  Mom said she'd gladly come back and stay again - we may have found a way to have others camp with us!

For more camping photos, go here.

for a park drive thru video, go here. 

Bumper sticker, Birthday, Back-in-the-Box, and Buddies

A quick trip to Dallas this weekend to celebrate Bunny’s *ahem*2nd birthday, play games with the fam, and visit with Randshe; RDB put a new adornment on the back of the camper before we left out (and I still need to get the reindeer off from our Christmas trip - though it kinda looks like he's giving a thumbs up about our blog!)

We left out Friday after work and made our way to The Vineyards Campground and Caverns arriving well after dark; we stayed here once before when we came up for Randshe’s Hallowedding. This is Sis & TJ‘s favorite place to stay when they come in to town to visit Dad and Bunny and with a close proximity to Dad and Bunny‘s house, I can’t blame them!  The view from our spot was really great, though we weren’t at the camper much to enjoy it. 

Saturday we all met up at Dad‘s favorite restaurant, Lupes, for lunch to celebrate Bunny, then went back over to the house to enjoy a day of  playing dominoes, watching the Cowboys' late game, and plenty of great conversation. 

I got Bunny a money tree for her birthday and joked that I had promised the tree when I picked it out that it wasn’t coming home with me: Bunny has lots of plants and an incredible green thumb; she’s even rescued several sad houseplants that I have unfortunately brought almost to the brink of death in my care. 

Sis & TJ wanted to teach us how to play Mexican train with the travel dominoes that I had from our camper. It seemed like every other round a new rule - or two - was added to the game. Dad cracked me up at one point when he said “That’s the problem with learning the rules: now you’ve got to play by them.” 

Even little Willow seemed a bit overwhelmed with all the instructions! 

My favorite part of playing dominoes is actually the last round of the night. As a tradition, my family has always played a game called “put them back in the box.” Everyone draws tiles to fill their hand and no pile left over. You start with the highest double, then put each in turn till you are out of tiles - so, 9/9, then 9/8, 9/7, etc.  

If you don't have the next on in order, you draw from someone else's hand while they either try to get rid of one that's _not_ the next in line (if they have it)  It’s part dominoes, part Bullshit, part UNO, all trying to put the dominoes back in the box and not being the person holding the last one. Needless to say, it was a lot of fun bullshitting with our family. And if TJ tells you he has the one you’re looking for, he has it. Indeed. 

Sunday morning we got up and checked out from the campsite, taking the trailer and truck down to Dad‘s so we could park in front of their house, called an Uber, and met Randshe at Winewood Grill in Grapevine. 

Three hours, two bottles of champagne, and one happy table full of friends later we parted ways with plans to get together again next weekend when we’re back up to camp north of Dallas at Lake Ray Roberts. 

Back at Dad And Bonnie’s we just happened to run into Grandma G as she was walking back to her house next door. Of course, we also just happened to bring a six pack of “grandma beer” to put in her fridge.  She may look little, but at 94 years young, y’all, she is something fierce. 

We were in site number #91 at The Vineyards Campground and Cabins. Really great site right up against the water with plenty of space — just be aware of the significant drop off to your passenger side and the backend. If you go off that wall, there’s no coming back.

For just a few more camping pictures, go here. 

Park n' Drive: Tyler State Park

 Know before you go - a park drive thru video.

Tyler State Park

Park n' Drive: Purtis Creek State Park

 Know before you go - a park drive thru video

Purtis Creek State Park

We were in site #10, 30a/W

A New Day Rising

2021 Camping Trips

NEW YEAR'S TRIP (#CrossCountryChristmas):

• December 31st - January 2nd: Falls Lake Recreation Area, Durham, NC - Rolling Hills (30a/W) Site A025 (New Year’s) NC Fam
• January 2nd - 4th: Dreher Lake, near Columbia, SC - Islanders Camp Circle (30a/W) Site #61
• January 4th - 6th: Lake Pines RV park, near Columbus, GA - (F)
• January 6th - 8th: Meaher State Park, near Mobile, AL - Improved Campground (F) Site #21
• January 8th: Lake Fausse Point State Park, near Lafayette, LA - (F) Site C1009

February 26th - 28th: Lake Livingston State Park, Pin Oak Site #98 (F) 

March 19th - 21st: Huntsville State Park, Raven Hill Site #7 (F)

EASTER TRIP (#ShortHopNorth):

• April 3rd - 5th: Dallas/Arlington KOA, TX (F) with DFW Fam (Easter)
• April 5th -8th: Lake Murray State Park, Oklahoma, Elephant Rock ER055 (50a/W) 
• April 8th-11th: Hords Creek Lake, Lakeside Loop T007 (50a/W) with D&V

April 16th - 18th: Caddo Lake, Woodpecker Hollow Site #19 (F) with Sis & TJ, Dad & Bunny

May 13th: Leander KOA, TX (F)

May 14th - 17th: Abilene State Park - Brushy Trail Site #59 (50a/W) with D&V

September 3rd - 6th: Lake Livingston State Park, Pin Oak Site #99 (F) (Labor Day)

September 17th: San Antonio/Alamo KOA Holiday (F)

September 18th - 20th: South Llano River State Park, Electric Area Site #10 (30a/W)

October 15th - 17th: Brazos Bend State Park, Burr Oak Loop Site #110 (50a/w) 

October 22nd - 24th: Sea Rim State Park, Piping Plover Site #12 (50a/W)

THANKSGIVING TRIP: (#TurkeyTrip21)

• November 24th - 28th: Possum Kingdom SP, Spanish Oaks, Site 10 with Big Bro D&A (Thanksgiving)
• November 28th: Copper Breaks State Park, Comanche Camp Area, Site #11 (50a/W)
• November 29th: Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway, Honey Flat Camping Loop, Site #17 (30a/W)
• November 30 - December 2nd: Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Juniper Loop, Site #105 (50a/W)
• December 2nd: Abilene KOA Journey (F)
• December 3rd - 5th: Cedar Hill State Park, Site #112 (F) with Mom & G, DFW Fam, Sis & TJ, Big Bro D&A

December 17th - 20th: Texas State Railroad, Site #12 (F) with KD & The Vowels (The Polar Express)

December 23rd - 26th: Goliad State Park,  Karankawa Site #9 (F) (Christmas)

December 30th - Jan 2nd: Purtis Creek State Park, North Camping Area Site #10 (30a/W) (New Year's)

A New Day Rising

New Year's Eve was so good, I'm still listening to the Foo Fighter's 3-hour-long concert from Madison Square Garden that our satellite radio station was rebroadcasting NYE; there's something to be said about the magic of music - and to bring it along while we're camping just makes the new year that much better. 

Happy 2022, y'all!  Here's to health and happiness, and leaving the hard times behind.  

It's times like these you learn to live again
It's times like these you give and give again
It's times like these you learn to love again
It's times like these time and time again

We left for Purtis Creek Park Thursday afternoon; we were supposed to go towards the Hill Country, but I realized Wednesday afternoon that the pull thru site I booked at Inks Lake SP had a BIG branch overhanging the site (#76) and there were no other sites for us to move to, so I searched for another park, and thankfully, found availability here in East Texas.  Booking last minute trips i harder and harder these days!

We made a late night run into Tyler to pick up dog food (I forgot to pack Diesel's kibble!) and then settled in back at the campground for a nice long weekend.  Not much going on Friday afternoon, we made our way back into town again for dinner (at another Jalapeno Tree; I think we found our new East Texas favorite!) and a small surprise - a horse drawn carriage thru the brick-lined streets of Tyler's historic 

I found Hot Springs Carriage Company thru a Google search for "drive thru Christmas lights" in Tyler, which in turn lead me to Trip Advisor,  and eventually to their Facebook page.  For a small cost, they'll drive you thru the old neighborhood outside Bergfeld Park for 5, 10, or 15 minutes.  With two carriages going at a time, we waited less than an hour for our turn and really enjoyed the short ride around with Tanner. (If you happen to be reading this - best of luck as you pursue your dreams: rental properties are a great investment in your retirement and delaying marriage and kids till you feel stable enough to support them is a great investment in your self!) 

After that fun little adventure, we made our way back to the campground, to our mischievous little pup.  While we're gone, we have him 'kenneled' in the bedroom of the camper, with a Blink camera set up so we can keep an eye on him.  We noticed over the last few trips, that he was no longer on camera, laying in his bed where he's supposed to be, but when we returned, the door to the bedroom was still shut.

So, we bought a second Blink camera and set it up to catch a different view of the room... and catch a spoiled little Goldilocks who decided our bed was "just right."  

I mean, you can't blame him - the SleepNumber _is_ more comfortable than his Paws bed, even though he does have a heating pad turned on and tucked into that bed to keep him warm.  And keeping warm as a priority this weekend as the weather was going to take a huge drop to start off the new year.

Saturday was a beautiful day to sleep in for a bit, enjoy lunch at the camper and then take a short drive into Canton to walk the square and check out the Van Zandt County courthouse in the golden sun.  

We could literally see the temp dropping dramatically on the truck's dashboard temp gauge - we were getting ready to see a really cold night:

Diesel was just about as excited about the cold as he was about the fireworks from the night before.

With the heaters going, snuggled up and watching The Martian (that's probably #15 if you're counting), we kept our eyes on the cold front as it hurtled across the state and towards us.  Looking at the future-cast for wind speeds on Sunday, we knew it was going to be a late day in the park before we would be ready to leave.

But then, isn't that the best way to start a brand new year?  

I'm a new day rising
I'm a brand new sky
To hang the stars upon tonight...

It's times like these you learn to live again

We were at Purtis Creek State Park, Site #10 (30a/W). The site backs in and pretty much shares the fire ring and picnic table with the next site over (#11), so that could be great if you're camping with another family - not so great if the strangers int eh other site are avid smokers.  The entire campground seemed to clear out Saturday night - most campers not interested in staying over in freezing temps.  We'd already camped colder than this, so we weren't concerned and actually enjoyed having the place to ourselves.

For more camping photos, go here.

For a drive thru video of the park, go here. 

PS - if you want a serious goosebumps musical experience but can't commit to the 3 hrs of the Foo Fighters? Jump in for the last song before the encore, The Best of You, around 2:10. That's the kind of performance, and audience, that all we all long for.