Saturday, October 31, 2015

Halloween Weekend and the Bridge is Out

Pretty sure you can say I had a LOT of fun this past weekend:


Big Bug-eyed, LOTS of fun!!

RDB and I traveled back out to Stephen F Austin State Park for the weekend - this is one of our favorites since it's close to home, just an hour away, and the sites are all nicely spaced out and mostly level.

We carved pumpkins for probably the first time in a decade; it was just as much gooey, awesome fun-ness as I remember!



RDB was our photographer this weekend - nearly all the photos were taken with his iPhone 6s Plus (and the video uploaded a little grainy, but on the phone it's crystal clear!) So, you'll actually see me in a few more photos than normal this trip!


I couldn't help but smile: both of our jack-o-lanterns were happy, rather than scary.  Says a lot about how we feel about camping I guess.  And life in general these days.


The weekend started out pretty rainy; we spent most of Saturday morning in side in the camper.  By late afternoon it had cleared off though, and turned into yet another lovely day.  I'll tell you this: if you cancel your camping trip every time the radar shows some rain then you'll never end up camping.  Once the rain cleared, I took the opportunity to do a little decorating...

 
Yep, I know.  I'm fun. ;-)  And I had candy just-in-case of trick or treaters, too.  (Don't you wish you had come camping with us now, huh?)

The downside to all the rain was that the trails were closed, yet that didn't keep RDB and I from going for a walk.  The park was 'slammed full of critters': deer, rabbits, frogs, owls, mice and crawdads.



He was all kinds of vicious until I picked him up from behind. 

We hadn't been back to the park since December of last year, so when we checked in the Rangers gave us a warning that the bridge was out, we didn't exactly know what to make of it.  Sure enough, on our walk, we went back up to the front entrance (we had to enter the park using a side road: "You know, in case the bridge went out.")  Sure enough, there was no longer a bridge to the park! But the golf cart bridge was still standing.


And that's where the road *used to* be....

We spent time playing games inside: a few rounds of "Go Fish" with our giant Texas-sized playing cards, and then a few rounds of Rumikub.  I have a mini tile set that was passed down to me from my Granda Ford.  Odd, how the scoring pages in the cardboard box still smell like her living room.  Sweet memories then, and great new ones now.


It really was a great, relaxing weekend.  Even the time change couldn't put a damper on our spirits.  We were in site #1 again (and have our eyes on site #39 next time we go back.)  The rain flooded a number of the sites - so if you're tent camping, be sure to watch where you settle for the evening!



For a few more camping photos, go here.




Sunday, October 18, 2015

Camping Cache - Fairfield Lake State Park


Found:


Dropped off a trackable Smokey the Bear - the park is under burn ban, and several others (Bastrop, Buescher) are currently closed due to this year's forest fires.  Here's to hoping this traveling Smokey can help spread the message: only YOU can prevent forest fires!


Friday, October 16, 2015

Change in the Weather

Dear Fall.....






















I hope you're here to stay.

Love, Me



We traveled to Fairfield Lake State Park for the weekend, arriving late in the afternoon and grabbing a great lake view spot in site #87.  Very level, but no full-hook ups; we were right across from the bathrooms at least.  Wonderful weather, a quick day trip to Dallas to spend time with Dad and Bunny and the Grandparents.  It was refreshing, relaxing, and just what we needed.

For (just a few more) camping photos, go here.