Somewhere in the past serval months the remnants of the All Campers Welcome Club mentioned a trip to Stephen F Austin State Park this weekend; so, I booked us a site for several nights, and then didn't think much of it. I tried to keep my work calendar light on Friday so that maybe, maybe we could get out to that side of town before traffic, but it never seems to work that way (add to that the insane amount of continuing education I need to complete by March and I'm one busy boss lady. By the time I was done with work, RDB and I decided to have an early dinner at Torchy's and then drive the hour out to the park afterwards.
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| Yep. Continuing Ed. Making sense of things beyond insurance licensing. |
I put a roll-call post on Facebook to the friends who were in the ACWC and got a ping from JSP - she and DP were int he park, along with Mr Airstream, both just a few sites down from us. We set up camp and then walked over to spend some time chatting with our dear friends; neither of us were sure how we knew that the other was going to be in the park this weekend, but were so glad that we could hang out and catch up. A few other former members of the club were coming in for lunch on Saturday, so we made a point to drop by again and hang out.
We slept in Saturday morning, all snuggly and warm. It was a beautiful day Friday, but the weather turned cold pretty quickly overnight. Needless to say Diesel is still one of the most spoiled dogs we know - sleeping on a heated dog bed, with his fancy fleece lined jacket, and then getting to curl up on the bed with us every morning (and to be honest? That morning snuggle buys us an extra hour or tow before having to take him out for a walk, so it's worth it for us, too.)
Saturday morning, we went into town and had a late breakfast at Tony's Restaurant. We'd been before, on a camping trip to SFA as well, but I realized that I hadn't written them a review. Definitely worth coming back and having it again!
Right outside the park, is the San Felipe De Austin State Historical Site. It wasn't complete the last time we were here, so we made it a point to drop in this weekend and I'm so glad we did! It was a windy and cold afternoon, so we practically had the entire museum (both inside and out) to ourselves.
It's interactive and excellently done and absolutely worth the $10 admission (there's a discount if you have a State Park Pass). Not only does it walk thru the history of the town of
San Felipe, but they've also taken time to find several historical families in the local area and trace them back to the time period of Texas' Independence.
I was drawn to the printing press and loved that you were actually encouraged to touch the plates there in the display. As I tap-tap-tap away on my laptop (while watching Super Bowl XXVI) I can't help but think how blessed I am as an author to be able to enjoy the technology of today, and not have to place every single letter of every single word into a plate and press that onto individual pages. Oh, and that when I mistype, I can simply hit the backspace and the error goes away, versus having to start all over again. (Not to mention how much I appreciate the red squiggly line of spell check!)
Another impress advancement in technology was the large electronic touch-sensitive mural. We rounded the corner and at first, it just looked like a back-lit panel, but as you stood there for a moment, you'd notice small movements: the swishing of an animal's tail, flames licking the hog on a spit, the rippling of waves in the water. But it wasn't just these small movements that made this mural so interesting.... each of those white circles throughout were 'touchable' - giving you the ability to bring up even more visual artifacts and pictures.
It. Was. SO. COOL! This museum had some many different ways to engage with the history of the very land we were standing upon. After
the Battle of the Alamo, and
the massacre at Goliad, the Mexican army was relentlessly pursuing the newly independent Texan army eastward, the citizens of San Felipe knew that their town was in sites of the advancing army.
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"The enemy has demanded a surrender...
I have answered the demand with a cannon shot." |
Pulling into the parking lot of the historical site, RDB and I just had a conversation about how rugged and strong the settlers would have had to have been to come to 'wilds' of Texas and now here they were, running for their lives in front of an advancing army and having to make the impossibly difficult decision of burning their homes and shops to keep the raw materials out of the hands of the enemy.
There was another section outside - a reenactment village with printshop and blacksmith, school, and other buildings - but with the cold and wind, RDB and I opted out of that part of the exhibit and went back over the park. JSP and our friends had gathered together, and J/D came in for lunch as well. It was really great to get to chat with them all.
The evening continued to get more windy, and more cold, so we all went our separate ways. Diesel was glad for us to be back at the camper.
One pic from my lap....
...and another from RDB's....
...and one when he finally settled down to sleep. Again.
Sunday morning JSP and DP came over to check out our new digs. We talked for a while as they loved on Diesel (who can resist, right?) and then we packed up to head home. It was a great, albeit short, trip and we're already anxiously excited about the next time we bring the camper out .... as we're taking the "castle" to the Magic Kingdom for my 40th birthday!
We were in site #3 at
Stephen F Austin State Park: very level both side to side and front to back, with 30a and full hook-ups. This park is
exceptionally particular about their check-in rules: no one, and I mean, no one, is allowed to check in before 2pm. I received two emails (one at time of booking, and another the week we were to arrive) along with a phone call the day of our first reservation, giving specific instructions about
not arriving early unless we anted to wait at the headquarters until check-in. sure enough, as RDB and I were leaving the park just a few minutes after 2pm, we had to pass several campers on their way in. So, we'd highly recommend, if you're leaving out in the afternoon - be sure to leave before everyone else is making their way in at 2pm or wait till 2:30 so everyone else can get settled - the park roads are not really trimmed well enough for two campers to pass without someone brushing the tree limbs.
We've stayed here several times before:
Numerous Naps,
The Greatest Gifts,
Halloween Weekend and the Bridge is Out
For (not many more) camping photos, go
here.
For a video drive thru of the park, go
here.
