Travelin' for the Turkey: Part Four

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!) 

Travelin' for the Turkey: Part Three

 

If a picture's worth a thousand words, 
then this Thanksgiving we were rich.

Camp Cooking #13: 10 minute Whipped Cheesecake Pumpkin Pie

So, I wasn't sure what would be a more enticing title: "10 minute" or "no bake"? Because in this case, they're BOTH true!

Traveling for Thanksgiving and we're having a very toned-down family gathering at R&S's house this year, so I volunteered to bring dessert since I had just recently made this pie and RDB and I LOVE it!  It's incredibly easy - though you'll not likely have a pair of electric beaters in your camper kitchen.  

Though, for as easy as this is? You just _might_ want to bring a set!

Ok, let's go!

2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
3/4 can of Libby's Pumpkin Puree
Jell-o sugar free instant pudding, Cheesecake flavor
about 3/4 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
2 regular spoon's worth of Monk Fruit Blend Sugar substitute

Pecan pie crust 

Measuring spoons, can opener, spatula, electric mixer, big and small bowl

So, you'll notice a theme in the ingredients up there - this dessert is meant to be keto-friendly. RDB started eating that way last January and I've tried to be supportive - finding recipes like this that taste amazing certainly helps.  Give it a try before you turn your nose up at it... or just change out the sugars for the regular and it'll likely turn out just fine, too!

Measure out 2 cups of heavy whipping cream.  Or, if like me, you somehow manage to have measuring spoons but not measuring cups... then measure out 16 tablespoons of HWC into a dixie cup and mark a line (so that you don't have to measure another 16 tablespoons.....)

Pour your heavy whipping cream into a large bowl and sprinkle over the entire package of Jello instant pudding.  Mix on low for a moment to combine, then on high speed for nearly a minute until it stiffens.

Now, truth be told?  You could stop right there - ignore the pumpkin puree, grab a spoon, go turn on the Thanksgiving Day parade and go to town on that pudding mix.  Cause y'all?  That stuff is the BEST.  Super simple and WAY good.  Wanna be fancy? Put it in a bowl with your favorite berries. *mic drop*

But really, we're going for pie, so, prep your pumpkin mixture in a separate small bowl by combining about 3/4 a can of the puree with the pumpkin pie spice and sugar, using the spatula or a spoon.

Next up, scrape the spiced pumpkin puree into the stiffened pudding mix, turn the mixer back on and blend it all together.

You know what's coming next - spoon the mixture into your pecan pie shell and smooth out the top.  From there - you're done!  Or, if you want to get fancy - put a few pecan halves decoratively on the top, and then you're done!  

You can cut and serve this immediately or let it sit in the fridge till later.  But I'm telling you, once you've tried this, it'll be hard to wait!

Happy Thanksgiving - or happy any day you make this delicious dessert!! 

Travelin' for the Turkey: Part Two

Continuing on thru our East Texas tour, we left out Sunday afternoon to head over to Cooper Lake State Park for the next several days.  So, just an FYI - if you have the lego leveling blocks, and you think they'll travel ok in the back of the open truck bed under the hitch, well, you should probably think again.  We were missing about half our stash of them by the time we made it to the next camp ground!

We were watching the temp gauge outside slowly dropping from the mid 70*s to the mid 50*s.  The clouds ahead had the classic "cold weather" look to them (and needless to say, on next trip stop to Walmart we picked up a heated throw for the couch and a small space heater for the bathroom - blogging the last post I had me feet in thick socks and snuggled into a heating pad!) 

Monday afternoon we dropped down to Sulphur Springs and spent a little time downtown in the town square.  It was really neat! The county courthouse is set in one corner of the block, rather than in the center - which left the rest of the block for other monuments, benches, and landscaping.

You'd never guess what's inside that mirrored box....

Both creative and, um, crazy - but when you've got to go, you've got to GO!  Kudos to the Town of Sulphur Springs for finding a unique way to provide a room of requirement in the middle of city center.

Monday evening we drove up to Paris and arrived right around sunset - couldn't have timed it better! Paris, TX is a cute little East Texas town, with its own claim to fame: a miniature replica of the Eiffel Tower!  Complete with a red cowboy hat on top!

There's also a significant war memorial in the same park as the tower replica - and with the sun setting behind us it was a very moving experience.  RDB and I were talking about Gold Star families on our drive up here, and there just happened to be a section dedicated to them and an explanation of where the tradition of the Gold Stars came from.  There is so much for us to be grateful for, and remember those who aren't home this holiday season, along with those who never made it home, keeps the real focus of this week to the forefront.

We traveled back over to Paris' town square Tuesday afternoon, I have a thing lately for wanting to capture county courthouses (and Paris is the county seat of Lamar County) so we drove over in a bit of drizzly rain and snapped a few photos.

The city suffered a significant fire back in 1916 but very quickly rebuilt, the county courthouse being one of the last buildings to be finished.  We enjoyed walking around the square and smelt some delicious fried food at one point, so we followed our noses over to Jaxx Gourmet Burgers.  Though we didn't have a full lunch, the onion rings and beers were really enjoyable. 

The only thing that was missing was a cowboy hat on top of that tower! Ha!

The town square was already decorated for Christmas - so we had a little fun with the signs they had installed. RDB took my picture first, then when I asked him to take one, he said "Ok, but I'm not raising my arms like that."  I love my man and that he plays along with me! 

I was hoping to find a pair of earrings (my favorite travel souvenir) for our "trip to Paris in the Fall" but even with visiting several of the antique shops and boutiques along the square, I couldn't find something that just jumped out at me.

On our way back to our campsite, we stopped off in other areas of the park to grab a few geocaches.  I'm always so glad that we do because it leads us to beautiful views we may have otherwise missed.  Both evenings this trip we've had beautiful sunsets.  

 

Red sky at night, sailor's delight - well, that's certainly not the case as I'm sitting here blogging this evening; we're under a severe thunderstorm warning and the rain is pounding so loudly on the slide above my head that I can't even hear the newscasters on the one of two local channels we've got on the TV. 

Hoping that ugly line of storms with its 60 MPH winds will blow over quickly (no pun intended); and hoping that I won't have to grab the backpacks with our "must take" items that I packed up about an hour ago in prep for this to come barreling thru.  I guess growing up in Tornado Alley and it's "be ready at moment's notice" never leaves you, huh, Mom?  I know we'll be fine; I'm still just not a fan of the rain since Hurricane Harvey 3 years ago. 

.......

So we woke up the next morning and RDB said: "well, the rain was sure rainy and the wind was certainly windy."  I love my goof - he slept thru pretty much _all_ of my tornado preparedness drill last night.

Another few geocaches and then we packed up to head out to our next stop - continuing on Travelin' for the Turkey!

We were in Site #5 at Cooper Lake State Park.  Needed a little leveling side to side (which was a bit funny, seeing that we lost half our leveling blocks on the trip over! Doh!). It was a beautiful spot - nestled in amongst the trees - you couldn't see anyone looking out our side windows. RDB asked me to start adding notes about internet - and I'd had to say this was a 1: yes, there was signal, but it wasn't any good. (0 - no internet, 1 - there's some, but it's not good, 2 - there's internet and it's workable, 3 - the internet was excellent).  If we go back, we'd love to be in Site #15 - it's a pull thru and had a long view of the beachfront.

For more camping photos, wait.  A while. Because the internet was #1

Travelin' for the Turkey: Part One

Taking eleven days to travel thru East Texas this holiday, getting four more "dots" for our camping map, enjoying the quiet and calm of camping for a week+ and getting to see family along the way.... 

We have SO MUCH to be thankful for. 

RDB and I started the adventure Thursday evening after work, heading out to Martin Creek Lake State Park and arriving to our site well after dark.  We were both excited to kick off our Thanksgiving travels to a park that Sis & TJ would be joining us at for the first time (we'd tried to camp with them a few times since they go their toy hauler last year, but, well, if you've been following along, you'll know the troubles we've had!) 

Sis had to work a half day Friday, and TJ was making his way back in from a work trip to Alaska, so Friday morning RDB and I enjoyed a quiet breakfast in the camper and then a trip out to the local Walmart to grab a few forgotten items. 

On our way back into the campgrounds, we stopped off at the Harmony Hill Cemetery that's right outside the park entrance.  

I know, it seems like we have a fascination with gravesites here lately, but honestly, these acres are filled with so much history and unique features - and it really keeps you humble to find the resting places of people who are your age - or even younger - so much so that you have to take a moment and, as RDB puts it, be grateful for every gray hair on your head.

Also, thinking of things to be thankful for (get ready, y'all, gratitude is going to be a theme this week!), I put together a little treat bag for the camp hosts and headquarters of the parks we are staying in this week.  We dropped off the first of them to one of the camp hosts at Martin Creek and later in the day, he came over specifically to thank us for the gift, saying that no one had ever done something like this before.  Well, Camp Hosts/Rangers that found us b/c of those gifts: y'all deserve SO MUCH PRIASE for all that you do to keep our parks beautiful and a place where we can escape to!!   

Sis & TJ showed up later in the afternoon.  And if you've ever sat back and watched a couple pull into their spot and set up their camp sites, you'll know how much fun this version of people watching can be.  It's even better when the couple that shows up is your little sister and her husband.  

We started up a fire and talked well into the evening hours.  Oh! And just a note, something we learned from the camp hosts - remember the self-pay firewood cages I noticed back at Cedar Hill SP? As we were getting a bucketful of wood from the camp host site, having put a donation into the "iron ranger," he told us that the money from those self-pay cages is split 10/90: 10% of the sales goes to the state-wide park system headquartered in Austin, and the other 90% goes to the company the fills the cages. NOTHING stays in the park that you're actually camping in!! The wood that he sells as a camp host, however, stays 100% in the local park.  So, needless to say, I'll have to make sure we have cash in the camper b/c I'd much rather have our "donations" benefit the local parks.  As they say: Buy it where you burn it!!

Saturday morning Sis cooked us breakfast (and those were some really good breakfast burritos!!) and then we introduced them to Geocaching.  There were three in the park and we managed to find all of them and get some great pictures along the way! 

It was really neat to find one that was attached to a wellhead; having TJ with us and getting an education on all things oil and gas right from him. 

He kinda laughed that this cache was named "Evil Tree" - the pipes above ground are called "trees" in the industry - so we can guess that whomever placed this one isn't a huge fan of energy exploration.  I thought the cache was going to be in one of the actual trees in that area - because some of them were really .... odd!

We took the pups with us for the the final cache (Diesel's off to day-care (boarding) this week, since we know we'll be away from the camper for hours on Turkey Day).  

It added a completely different dynamic with old Jack along - as he stopped 18 times to pee on trees and mark his territory.  18 times - we know - because as he and Sis brought up the rear, she'd yell out the number to the rest of us!

Back at the campsites (after 5 miles of walking!!) we settled in for steaks on the smoker.  RDB is a master at grilling and smoking steaks, and we were delighted to bring up four bone-in ribeyes from our local HEB (the butcher there is incredible).

I'd show you a picture of the finished steaks, but, well, we devoured them!  

Once again, we ended the night around the fire with lots of great conversations and discussions.  Sis and I had a chance to catch up about work and career paths, a bit about the family property in Gladewater, and our own thoughts about family in the future and family past. From the little I could hear, the guys were chatting about day trading and, as RDB put it, we all "danced around the fire of political conversations."  These days it's incredible to be able to have civil conversations, that very well may end with "well, we just don't agree on that" and it's totally ok! It's especially cool that we can have those kind of conversations with family!

As it is, every weekend, all too soon Sunday morning we were having to pack up and head out - Sis & TJ heading back home and RDB and I heading off for the next leg of our state park Thanksgiving-week adventure. 

We were at Martin Lake State Park, Bee Tree Loop, Site #39 (us, white) and #40 (Sis & TJ, black). We had to use leveling legos to get straight left to right - and then watched as Sis & TJ had to do the exact. same. thing! So, be ready for that.  Martin Lake is a cooling lake for a nearby power plant - you can see it (and hear it) from the park. It was eerie the first night as RDB and I were setting up - not just hearing the machinery of the plant, but also the trains running coal in - squealing and screeching in the darkness.  But, for someone who has a great appreciation for our energy sector, the plant at night, reflecting into the water of the lake, was also majestic and beautiful. 

For more camping photos, go here. (LINK - eventually.  Cause upload speeds in this park are slower than molasses in Fargo in December.)