Really Good Barbeque, Really Bad Gas, and a Game of "I Spy!"

So, getting off to a late start seems to be a theme this season.  But waiting for my Jalapeno Cheddar Bread to finish baking so we could have it with breakfast Saturday morning was absolutely worth the wait! RDB and I left out for Lockhart State Park Friday night and rolled into our spot well after dark.

Saturday morning we woke to the sounds of golf balls 'chinking' down the 2nd hole of Lockhart SP's public golf course.  It's the last remaining golf course of any state park that is maintained and staffed by the Parks and Wildlife Department (and yes, we did see the Ranger had given up his usual big truck for a golf cart!).  Though we didn't have to worry too much about errant golf balls, we did hear the occasional "FORE!" (Ever wondered why the word "fore"?  I pondered that over our coffee, the grabbed RDB's phone to ask Uncle Google. )

Much of the day was spent resting at the campsite - remember, we're big fans of Numerous Naps when we camp, but towards the later part of the afternoon we made a run for Wal-Mart (it's nice to walk around in the A/C, ya know!) and went into the heart of Lockhart for some Barbeque.

Did you know that Lockhart is officially the Barbeque Capital of Texas? I had heard it mentioned somewhere before, and after researching on Yelp - it looked like we had several different options.  Black's Barbeque has been run by the same family for 5 generations (82 years!) and is the only one that offers a variety of side dishes as well as the meats - and since the Ranger so highly recommended it, as well as the 3 golfers in line behind me at the Ranger Station - we decided to eat there.  

And we were NOT disappointed.

Yes, that's a 1.4# beef rib beside my normal-sized 10" picnic plate!

There was not a single thing we tried (the beef rib, the brisket, two different types of beans, coleslaw, mashed potatoes, potato salad - and that's just a fraction of the sides they offer!) that wasn't delicious and tasty.  The pecan pie was delightful - and I'm not one who likes pecan pie *at all* so the fact that I went back to get my own piece after having just a bite of RDB's is saying something!  Be sure to wear your stretchy pants, because you will want to devour every last bit of what they serve you.  And if somehow that's not enough to satisfy your need for beef - they ship nation-wide, too!  

I'm pretty sure one of those pecan pies will be showing up at our house for our Steeler's Christmas party this year!  *wink*wink*

We spent a little time walking around the historic areas of downtown Lockhart - it's truly a beautiful little town and such a treat to get to spend some time walk off the (thousands of) calories we'd just enjoyed.  The County Courthouse has quiet an interesting back story - including the fact that it has a nearly-identical twin in the County Courthouse for Goliad County (the same plans were sold to both counties by two different architects!)

Once the sun had started to set, and most of the golfers had gone home for the day, RDB and I took Diesel for a walk out on the golf course.  We didn't cover all 9 holes, but the few we did were a nice leisurely walk before we started up a campfire and gazed at the stars.  When we made it back, our campsite neighbors stopped over to say hi and introduce themselves.  It never ceases to amaze me what a magnet Diesel is for the attention of other dogs lovers.  What started as a "He's such a beautiful dog!" became a great time of conversation and meeting new friends. David and Cheryl - if you happen to be reading this - we loved meeting you and you're welcome to come love on our 'puppy' anytime!

Time always seems to pass too quickly on our trips - before you know it, it's Sunday morning and you have to think about packing up and going home.  A few more pictures, though, before we get to the trip home - this weekend had a bit of an "I Spy!" element to it, too:

I Spied...

A Watermelon Water Tower

A Smiley-Faced Hot Air Balloon over the Golf Course

A Scorpion! Yikes!

Signal! The Geocaching Frog

A Thorny-looking Spider

A Peaceful Place to Ponder

And a "Check Engine" Light

The pulling power our "clydesdale" of an F250 means we run thru a lot of diesel each trip.  We were down to about 1/8th of a tank Sunday morning, and I went into town to fill 'er up for our trip back home (much easier to do without Honey attached - the trailer presents its own unique issues when you're trying to refuel).  About 30 minutes into our return trip (about the time that last 1/8 of a tank ran out) we lost nearly all the pulling power our dear Clyde is known for.  We were topping out, pedal to the floor, at only 55 mph.  On go the flashers, and out come loads of patience.  What should have been a short 3 hours home, turned into 5.  (You know you're getting tired of the road when you count the number of cars that whizz passed you: on average? 14 cars/mile.  Until a car carrier passes.... not sure if he counts as 1 or 10!?)  A quick check with Uncle Google and RDB & I are both hoping it's a tank-full of bad gas or the fuel filter being clogged.  (A big thanks to RandShe who kept us up-to-date with the Steelers game via texts till we got home - you, Sir, are a true friend!)

We were in site #3 at Lockhart State Park this weekend.  It was nearly perfectly level, had a semi view of the golf course (hole #2) and a tree line.  Each site in the Fairview Loop has a great cover over the table and full hook-ups.  We're noticing more and more of the parks are installing the covers and we love that feature.  Great Barbeque in town and Palmetto SP is a short 30 minutes away, just watch out for the bad gas....

For more camping photos, go here.

Numerous Naps

Who the heck calls it: "microsleep"?

I love naps. Intermissions. A snooze. A respite.  Camping provides plenty of opportunities to do just that: pause. Not that you ever need a *reason* to take a nap, but this past week RDB drove from Houston to Dallas to Alabama and back (and I just drove to Dallas).  The week before we terminated a 2-month-long saga into real estate - and I won't go into the details, but: 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 1.2 acres,  3 negotiations with the seller, 2 different lenders, 2 appraisals that came in under value, 14 thousand documents signed and sent back and forth, one pool table, lift and John Deere mower, and a partridge in a pear tree.... 

Anywho, back to camping.

Yes, that is our F250 sans tailgate.  Somebody stole it in June.  Add that to the list...

We took a short trip over to Steven F. Austin State Park in San Felipe.  It was just a little over an hour from the house, we were able to get there early enough to have a decent choice of spots.  Headquarters at this campground has gone high-tech: they've got a huge LCD TV behind the counter showing what spots are taken and what's available.  I walked in and almost immediately the Ranger said: "Wrong shirt!" - I was wearing my Brazos Bend SP shirt.  Oops!

The campground is beautiful kept - lots of natural area between each spot, creating privacy. Huge old mature trees, and lots of moss/air plants.  We had deer in our site both mornings. It was fun to watch Diesel who was completely oblivious to them until they sprang off in another direction.  Needless to say, he's no hunting dog.

Saturday morning we got up (late) and dropped in at the San Felipe De Austin historical site (its less than a block north of Park Rd 38).  This was the location where Steven F Austin started his colony in 1823.  As RDB and I camp across the southern part of Texas, it's amazing to learn about the tumultuous times that surrounded our State's birth:

"After the fall of the Alamo, Gen. Sam Houston's army retreated through San Felipe de Austin. On March 30, 1836, the small garrison remaining at San Felipe to defend the Brazos crossing ordered the town evacuated and then burned it to the ground to keep it from falling into the hands of the advancing Mexican army. The terrified residents hastily gathered what few belongings they could carry before fleeing eastward during the incident known as the Runaway Scrape. " -http://www.visitsanfelipedeaustin.com/

A little later, we made our way over to Sealy (two exits west on I-10).  They were hosting their 6th annual Sealy-bration, with live music, a BBQ cook-off, tractor parade and car show.  Ye-haw!  We missed the tractor parade, and I almost gave up after realizing parking the truck was going to be such a task, but then we found a spot and low-and-behold, it was right in front of where all the tractors were parked and the car show was being held!

We wandered around for a bit, but with the heat and humidity we called it quits pretty quickly and went back to the camper for a nap (or two. Or perhaps three, but who's counting?)

I made cast-iron queso for dinner (recipe coming shortly) and we turned in after a little bit of play time with Diesel outside once the sun went down - even though it was still 90* after sunset. The unfortunate thing about camping in Texas, in the middle of July, is that it's darn near too hot - even with the A/C and hard sides - to bear the heat of the day. Besides, that's just another reason (not that you need one) to take a seista!

This will probably be our last (and only) trip of the summer.  But soon enough, we'll be right back in the swing of things!

We were in site #1 at Steven F. Austin State Park - an easy pull-thru, a few trees perfectly spaced for a hammock, and facing out - so you're seeing the swing-set and the road heading in to the rest of the campsites.  It's right across from the camp hosts (who happen to share my maiden name!) but it's a hike to the nearest facilities.

For more camping photos, like this cute one of our napping pup, go here.

A Bunch of Firsts

We went out to the Country this past weekend.  Once again, it's awesome to head out where we have the place to ourselves (with Dad and Bunny of course).  Even though we've been there before - and will again twice more before summer - we had a bunch of firsts:

First flowers of Spring.

 

First time letting Diesel run free, off leash. Oh, he loooved it!

Ruuuun, Diesel, Ruuun!

First time Diesel met barbed-wire (in the dark unfortunately, we got there late at night, he had no clue - and he came running back to us immediately.)  I was very grateful for my doggie first aid kit and that he only got cuts on his nose and back.

First time taking Clyde the Big Truck out with our camper. Also, first time I drove the Big Truck.

 

That camper looks so tiny!

First time I drove the Big Truck, and got it stuck in the mud.  But I come by it honestly - from what Bunny says, it's a family tradition: Papa's gotten his truck stuck out here, Uncle Roy's gotten his truck stuck.. So has Dad.  And now me.  Huh.

 

Yep.  That's stuck.

First time our camper has been towed by a tractor.... that also rescued the truck from the mud.

Wow, look at those ruts....

 

Regardless of all those firsts, we had bunches of fun.  Diesel was all over every stick and pine cone that he could chew on, and it was a wonderful trip - even with the rain that caused the mud that got me stuck.  Yeah, the rain - I blame it on the rain.  :-)

For more camping photos, go here.

Easy Come, Easy Go

You know Carmax's 5-Day Money Back Guarantee?  Well, they mean it.  No haggle, no hassle - you don't want the lemon - I mean SuperDuty - they sold you, they'll take it back, no questions asked.

Long story short - the gray F250 we bought had faulty trailer light wiring and though the techs in the service department at Carmax said they fixed it - they didn't.  Simply put: if the pigtail isn't showing any voltage on a voltmeter, then the lights on your trailer aren't going to work.  It's not the trailer, its the truck.  We even pulled our pop-up up to Carmax to show them it wasn't the trailer (hooked to a friend's truck with working trailer lights) and can I say, it's a bit of a spectacle pulling a camper trailer into a used car lot?  So, with the gray F250 spending more time in their shop than in our driveway during those first five days, we decided it wasn't supposed to be our truck.

 

Anywho, Rich had his eyes on a white F250 that was up at the Carmax in Dallas, so as luck would have it - I had a meeting in Dallas on a Friday, and Rich took the day off to go with me and visit Carmax to check out this other truck, and low-and-behold: it would put out.  Um, voltage that is. 

So, James and the Carmax in Houston transferred the white F250 down from Dallas for us (and waived the $150 transfer fee) and now, finally, we have a working truck. 

 

 

 

 

 

Now we just need to go camping!!

Be Careful What You Wish For....

....You just might get it.

 

Bye-bye Lone Ranger; Hello, Clydesdale.

 

A big shout out to our sales guy: James English - he's at the Carmax off 290 in Houston/Cypress.  If you ever need a vehicle, Carmax is the way to go - and James is the absolute BEST to work with!  (We should know - this is our 3rd vehicle with him!)

 

 Um, yeah, about that....  Easy Come, Easy Go.