We packed up from Ray Roberts Lake State Park - having not really had a chance to check it out as we came in late on Wednesday and left by noon on Friday; spending most of Thanksgiving Day driving down to Waxahachie for a small, outdoor family dinner. We swung by Grandma's house on the way, dropping off a care-package of flowers, a new 500-piece puzzle, and beers (her fave from Houston, 11 Below's 7-Iron). It was so difficult to stand back from her front door and not be able to hug her (damn, pandemic!!) but it was worth it to see her face light up when she opened the door and saw us standing there and to see her ASL "I love you" as we drove away. Love that spry young 94 year old!
We made our way down to our final park of this week-long adventure - Fort Parker State Park near Mexia, TX. It's a small park with only one loop, and incredible views of the lake. But - BIG CAMPERS BE WARNED: They are _not_ maintaining the overhanging tree limbs in a way that's conducive to large 5th wheels like ours (we top out at 12'6"). Rich masterfully guided our rig to avoid limbs, with me out front walking backwards and giving him turn by turn instructions. As soon as we were parked (and y'all, we almost said: nope! to the site we're in, as the large trees that line either side of the entrance and the other side of the street made it really difficult to back in) I was up on the roof making sure we didn't have any scratches or holes from the drive down the park road.
Thankfully, no damage. We pretty much dropped anchor and then jumped right back in the truck- we were close enough to home that we decided to drive back down, spring Diesel from daycare, and come back up Saturday morning to enjoy the park for the weekend with our boy.
He was a happy boy, that's for sure!
On our way back up, we stopped off at the Buccees in Madisonville - and ya'll, it was _crazy_ busy! Lots of travelers this weekend, likely heading back home, or maybe, like us, continuing on the adventures. I grabbed our obligatory Buccees/camper pic, and pound of chopped brisket for a tailgate picnic lunch, AND a picture with Bucee the Beaver himself!!
Sunday found us lounging around the camper for most of the morning; Diesel joined us on the bed for a while, snuggled up between us and under the heating blanket we bought earlier this trip. And of course, when he wasn't in the bed with us, he was lounging on his own furry bed and snuggled with his own blankies. Spoiled dog!
But really? We wouldn't have it any other way!
RDB and I took off into town for a short bit in the later afternoon - we had driven thru Groesbeck Friday afternoon on our way back down to Houston, and noticed that, once again, we were driving thru the county seat (Limestone Co), so we came back over to snag a picture and walk around the county courthouse.
It was unique - different from the others that we've seen in our travels. It didn't seem as large or pretentious - perhaps humble in nature (it certainly wasn't that tall). We grabbed a geocache from the bell in front of the courthouse; sometimes the tiny caches, even when you know you're in the right spot, can be really difficult to locate. I literally had my head up the interior of the bell to retrieve this one!!
"This bell at the north side entrance was manufactured by the Buckeye Bell Foundry in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1908 and placed in the clock tower of the old 1878 Limestone County courthouse. When the current courthouse was built, it was given to the Blake Smith family who donated it back to the county in 2002." The bell was manufactured over a hundred years ago - and still rings beautifully clear today (ask me how I know this? *wink*)
We made it back over to the park in time to watch the sunset over Springfield Lake. It was a beautiful last sunset to cap off this wonderful trip.
Monday afternoon we packed up and headed home (in time for dinner at our favorite hole-in-the-way Mexican food place:
El Gallo). It was a wonder of a trip and I'm so grateful we had all that time together, traveling thru east Texas, getting to see some family, and exploring new parks.
We were at
Fort Parker State Park, site #10. Like I mentioned earlier, this park takes a lot of caution and care getting into (and out of - I walked in front of the camper for the better part of the way out, at one point using our safety flag since RDB had to maneuver over to the opposing traffic side to avoid limbs). RDB says he wouldn't rule this one out, coming back again - just know that you'll want to arrive before dark and pack your patience! Internet service here was a 3 - Excellent (0: none, 1: ok, but not good, 2: ok, good, 3: excellent, like you're hard wired in).
For more camping photos, go here. (Later, cause now Flickr's having problems!)
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