Turkey Trip #4: Canyons, Cravings, Courthouses, and Cars

We rolled into Palo Duro Canyon State Park long after dark, having spent most of the day chasing bison at Caprock Canyon.  With the tiny lunch we'd had in town, we dropped anchor and then headed into the city of Canyon to find a Mexican food place - we were missing our normal hole-in-the-way weekly fill and it was Taco Tuesday after all.  Joe Taco on the square did not disappoint!

If fact, with it being on the square, I got to check two things off my list: a new restaurant to review AND a courthouse to snag photos of!

The Randall County courthouse had really outdone itself - with color-changing lights illuminating the exterior (the above was just one color scheme, it cycled thru several) and we just happened to be there at 9pm as the clock tower chimed a tune and then tolled out each hour to 9 - the lights blinking along in time.  Pretty, and pretty cool!!

A good night's sleep left us ready and refreshed for the day's adventures in Palo Duro and the surrounding areas.  First up, a 5k hike on the Lighthouse Trail so that we could have the chance to see the rock formations and be up close and personal with the incredible beauty that camping in the canyon had in store.

The park is truly serious about making sure you take hiking safety and hydration seriously.  Camping and hiking in the winter months means that we weren't at risk for severe heat, but both RDB and I could tell that it was much less humid up in the high plains than what we're used to in Houston, and we made sure to bring plenty of water with us for the trek (thanks, Camelbak!).  

The trail increased about 150' in elevation on the section that we hiked, but it wasn't something so strenuous that you couldn't make it happen.  Just taking it slow, stopping often for pictures, and sipping on the water along the way - along with the beautiful fall weather - really made it an excellent adventure!

The trail guide gave great pointers on which mile markers to stop off at and observe formations or points of interest.  The above red hill doesn't have a formal name, so we were challenged to create our own.  I said it reminded me of giant ant hills, RDB said it looked like something from Mars.  So between the two of us, we decided that this is the Martian Ant Hill Formation. 

Our main goal was to hike out to a viewing point of the Lighthouse Formation (above) and just as we rounded the trail to be able to see it, I had to snatch RDB by the arm to keep him from stepping on a snake that was sunning itself in the middle of the trail.  He wasn't the largest snake I've seen in my life, but I'm not a fan of anything that slithers.  We side stepped around him and continued on with our hike. 

Making our way back out (which always seems to go faster than heading in) we had worked up quite the appetite.  So, Yelp to the rescue, and craving our weekly dose of pizza, we jumped in the truck and headed into Amarillo for a late lunch at 575* Pizzeria (they have cauliflower crusts!).  Y'all.  OMG, I wish this place wasn't a full days' drive away! It may not look like much nestled into a strip center on the edge of town, but OMGeee, it was so good! So good, in fact, that we went back the next day for lunch again before we left for our next park!!  On the second trip, I picked up a six pack of Breckenridge Brewery Vanilla Porter (that we're enjoying this evening as I blog, and it is tasty good!) 

Being on the edge of Amarillo meant that we were near a Route 66 roadside attraction that I just couldn't resist: the Cadillac Ranch.  RDB and I drove over to the field where these old beauties are buried nose-first into the earth, parked, and walked out to the art installation to add our own touch to the work.

I had a thought in mind before we left home of what I wanted to put on the hood of one of the cars.... 

It took a little planning to get it just right....

But I'm pretty happy with how it turned out....

Hello my VEC team! Y'all are just as iconic and unique as each one of these caddys; ever changing, always inspiring, and so crazy awesome! I'm so thankful to have each of you on my team and I'm honored to be your leader! Keep making your mark on the world! 143!

RDB and I just happened to be there at the perfect time as the sun was setting and I have way too many pictures of the cars in that golden light!

For those who don't know, I collect earrings as souvenirs of my travels, trying to get something that's a color or style that reminds me of the place I've visited (the ice blue of the glaciers in Alaska, the deep green of succulents from a trip to San Fran, the purple and blue of a stage I presented on in Nashville) So, when I walked up to the merch truck and they had earrings from a local artist who uses chunks of the spray paint from the cars, I was SOLD!

It was a perfect end to an awesome day and a great reminder of this fun trip!

Back at the campsite the next morning, RDB and I got everything set up for an extensive Park and Drive video.  The road that leads into the campground has a 10% grade, is switchbacked and windy, and takes nerves of steel when you have 26,000 lbs of rig and truck (26,660 to be exact - so says our last CAT scale ticket (11k of that is trailer weight, for those who are curious)).   Since we came in at night, we really didn't see how deep into the canyon we were traveling (it's about 800' in elevation drop) and didn't know there weren't guardrails along the sides, either, but our RAM 3500 had no problems holding its own going down or hauling back up. 

We originally had planned to stay over til Friday, then make the trip back towards Houston, stopping off at Colorado City State Park, but Sis called before we started this adventure to let me know that Thanksgiving was being shifted over to the first weekend of December, to co-inside with Dad's 70th b-day, so we rescheduled our campsites for the weekend to nearby Cedar Hill State Park instead.  

Lots of miles to cover, so as much as we could have stayed longer, we packed up Thursday night and headed out for a stop over at the KOA in Abilene (to break the 6 hrs drive over two days, rather than all in one).  The Texas Longhorn herd at the park headquarters wished us safe travels, and beckoned us to come back soon. 

We were at Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Juniper Loop Site #105 (50a/W).  It's a pull thru site, which was great since we came in after dark, but watch out for the really big rocks as you're getting in; I stood on top of one with the flashlight pointed down on myself so RDB could see where it was (on the passenger side, with as big as the truck is, you wouldn't know you hit it till you hit it, and I could tell someone had already done just that). You'll want to bring a mat of some kind to put out at your doorstep - the sites here are really dusty and you'll track that red dirt inside in no time!

More camping pictures here.

For a drive thru video of the campground (and the really steep road in) go here.

Pit Spot

Monday found us driving again - I'm grateful that we set the return trip up to be one day on, one day off.  It was really great to get to enjoy the campsite yesterday in Prosperity.  Today, we're heading down thru Atlanta to get to Lake Pines RV park near Columbus, GA. 

We stopped off at a Cracker Barrel along the way for lunch, and, since I had been saying that I needed to get on the roof to check it out (I try to do that at least once a month and anytime we've driven under low hanging trees), RDB encouraged me to go ahead and do so right after lunch.  Glad that we did, as I found a small tear in the roof membrane that needed to be patched.  Even something as tiny as a scratch can lead to water seeping into the ceiling - and trust me, we've had plenty enough experience with that! 

I asked RDB to grab a picture of me up there working, he disappeared for a moment, then reappeared out of the camper with his DJI Mavick drone.  Not what I was expecting! But I'm kinda glad for the view point!

With the roof freshly patched, we we on our way again.  Smooth sailing for the most of it, till the "fuel filter maintenance needed" light flashed on.  Ugh. (Y'all, I swear, pack your patience on long road trips!). Thankfully, we're staying the day in Columbus Tuesday and I found a RAM dealer that could get RDB and the truck in first thing.  Fuel Filter change, tires rotated, a recall (that we thought our home dealer had corrected, but not), and oil change and that 3500 of ours had itself a spa day in the middle of our trip!

But he's worth it.  This Beast has been the best at towing our camper with no complaints, faithfully, on all these adventures.  It's a great vehicle, that's for sure.  And the Autonation dealer in Columbus? 10/10 recommend!

We arrived at Lake Pines RV park after dark, and driving up the entrance with the lake to one side and the Barn lite up with Christmas lights to the other made it feel so magical.

So with Tuesday morning occupied with our RAM's spa day, RDB set out to make the most of the afternoon. Columbus had a TON of geocaches and parks, so we loaded Diesel into the truck and took off.  

I'd love to say we found the most caches ever, but Diesel was overstimulated with all the other dogs and people in the park we simply took a few quick pictures and then drove thru the rest of the park before heading over to a Love's gas station to adjust the air in our tires. Diesel enjoyed a few moments off leash in their dogpark.

Tuesday night, we fixed dinner and Facetimed with Bestie.  Needless to same a few drinks in, RDB came up with a great idea for the impromptu stand I'd created.

We had a bit of fun to say the least! And we really look forward to being home and having Monday night dinner at El Gallo again!

Even Diesel enjoyed a new toy:

Wednesday morning we packed up and started out for the next leg of our trip hour - 4 hours over to Mobile, Alabama.

We were at Lake Pines Rv Park and Campground, site #10.  Lynn, the office "happy camper" and I had a hilarious chat when I booked the site several months ago (Hi Lynn, if you're still reading along!) The Site was level enough that we didn't need to use leveling legos, and the concrete pad for the picnic table was nice, too.  One thing that was a bit unexpected was the train that come thru around midnight (LOUD) and the artillery practice Wednesday morning over at Fort Benning.  Aside from those two things, we were really happy with our stay. 

For more camping photos, go here.  (Someday, because wifi is slooooow in campsites.)

Happy Hallowedding

 

Camping itself is always a fun adventure, but when we get to go camping _and_ share in the celebrations of our friends and family, it makes for the absolute BEST of all things.  We've been excited about RandShe's wedding since they announced their engagement over a year ago and being able to enjoy or new camper, over a holiday weekend, visiting family AND getting to go to their ceremony? I mentioned that was the best, right?

I took several days off work so we could go enjoy being up near DFW without feeling rushed.  We had booked four nights at The Vineyards Campground in Grand Prairie earlier in the spring (when we were thinking we'd have a camper and could go camp with Sis and TJ) but since we didn't use those nights, I moved them over to this weekend.  Unfortunately for me, I thought we had moved them for Thursday thru Monday, but I got a call Wednesday night asking when we were checking in? Well, I had my days off and wanted to make full use of them, so we ended up booking another single night at Lake Tawakoni State Park for Sunday night.

With the wedding Friday afternoon, we just puttered around the campground and had a lazy day of it.  I thought that the mis-hap with the booking dates was going to be the only bad luck of the weekend.

Well, I was wrong.

I swear, I was backing up and moving less than 1 MPH, but if you were wondering who wins when it's truck tailgate vs 5th wheel hitch?  Yeah, it's gonna be the hitch. Every. Time.  Grateful for a good insurance agent who helped me with what I needed to get a claim started quickly; bummed that I damaged our not-even-a-year-old truck.

Now, with _that_ out of the way, RDB and I got all dressed up and got in our slightly dented fancy truck and drove over for RandShe's shindig.  And, oh, ya'll, what a fun celebration it was!  The maid of honor and best man walked Kali and Ickis down the aisle (such good pupper doggos!) and RandShe wrote their own vows.... 

It's the first time I've ever seen the traditional unity candle ceremony changed out for making a unifying PB&J shandwich (RandShe's trying to get marital sponsorship from Jif and Smuckers, I'll let you know how that turns out!).  There were sweet words that left you misty-eyed and funny moments that had you crying with laughter.  It was the BEST to see these two dear friends commit their lives and love to each other.  May their biggest concern in life be the eternal debate between crunchy and creamy.  <3

RDB and I were making it a point to get lots of candid photos through the evening - our wedding gift to RandShe was going to be a few photos printed and framed to be given to them at the "After Party" for out of towners the next day along with a USB drive with all the photos and videos we took at the wedding and reception (It was a _huge_ hit, BTW, if you're looking for a unique gift for the couple who has everything.)

MR and MRS RandShe!

Saturday afternoon we were over at RandShe's house for the afterparty - it was great to get to have a bit of time with the newlyweds and the family and friends in from out of state.  Saturday evening Dad and Bunny came up to the campsite with fried chicken for a dinner al fresco.

The campground we were at was our first time staying at an RV Resort with planned activities.  they gave us a folder full of information and a calendar of events the night we checked it.  Holiday themed movies, a costume contest, and trick-or-treating were all on the list.  We enjoyed decorating our camper - along with several others - and going for a spook-tacular walk in the evening after my parents left.

Think they shop at the same store? Ha!

Sunday morning we packed up and made our way over to our next site in East Texas. I was grateful that the damage done to the truck was only superficial - it would have been a much different situation had I messed it up in a way that we wouldn't be able to hook up the camper and pull it to our next destination.  RDB reminded me, and really the whole weekend reinforced this: material things like the accident with the truck really aren't important - as long as the people you love are happy and healthy, you have all the good things you need in life and life will be just fine.

We were in Site #6 at The Vineyards Campground and Cabins in Grapevine.  Our first time in a RV Resort - it was expensive in comparison to our state park stays ($56/night for our site vs ~$22 for a state park full hook-ups) but for the convenience of the location, the clean and very level site, and the fun activities (and lots of amenities, though we didn't take advantage of them), some may find that extra price worth it.  It was neat to be right on the marina and close to everything you could possibly need in the north-western side of DFW.  Very close to the Gaylord and Great Wolf Lodge, and Bass Pro Shops, too. 

For more camping photos, go here.

And for a TON more of RandShe wedding photos go here.  (It was honestly hard to pick which ones to include, so here's just a few more....)