Lockhart SP- All about the BBQ!

NOTE: I don't edit this stuff anymore. Please forgive the mistakes. I'm sort of like a cook who isn't hungry enough to eat his own cooking. I'm too lazy to read this again.

Lockhart State Park

Friday, June 15^th, 2012

Well, I am on another trip. Since Rachel is leaving for North Carolina soon, I am trying to get as many in as I can. The remodeling will keep me pretty busy, and I don't know how easy it will be for me to slip away. This week already involved spending parts of two days with the designer picking out things. The window guy came and measured for the windows. I expect to get a call on Monday saying they are ready to start something or other. Rachel and I are spending Monday cleaning out the kitchen cabinets and pantry. We will have other clean-outs to do, but that's where we are starting. Tuesday, I spend all day at the dentist's office getting a complete dental overhaul.

Yep. I needed this quick trip. This summer will probably not be the most “restful”.

I got up a little after 7:30 and showered and shaved. My stuff was already packed, and I had planned to leave, but just as I finished dressing, Rachel popped into the shower to get ready for her hair appointment. I went on down and had a couple of cups of coffee while I waited for her to come down. We left the house at the same time headed for different destinations.

Everything at Packrats went really quickly! I backed within one inch of the hitch on the first try and only had to edge that little bit back to be directly under it. It was nice and cool in the morning, and the sun was hidden by a blanket of clouds waiting to be burned off.

The drive to Lockhart was totally uneventful. I was amazed, as I always am, at the traffic on I-35 these days. Back when I was going between Mom and Dad's and SWTSU in the 1970's, there was no traffic at all on weekday mornings. Friday's were bad because SWTSU was a suitcase university, which meant everyone left for the weekend. Sunday's were bad northbound when everyone was returning to school. Now there is so much built up along the road that all of the I-35 corridor between San Antonio and Austin (and further north-I'm sure) is one big blurry suburban area.

At this state park, they let you set up your camper and then come back to register at headquarters. I drove around the full hook up circle by mistake. Then I got to the pull-throughs and kept changing my mind about which one to take. That one was too hard to pull into because of the tree. That one was too slopey. That one had too sharp of a hill to the picnic table. That one was close to a family with a horde of kids in one little tent. (Dad was already hollering and cussing at them all. They're going to have a long weekend!) I finally decided on number 19.

I unhitched, leveled, got the AC and fridge on (I installed my new little fridge fan that is supposed to help it cool down faster. We'll see.), and then locked it up and headed to headquarters to register. Before I left, I noticed that there was a bad smell coming from the sewer tank. I went ahead and added more water to it and dumped in two more packs of deodorizer stuff.

I bought a T-shirt when I registered. I am going to start getting them from all the state parks. I figure it puts some money in their hoppers, and I like the shirts. I didn't stay to chat much, because I really didn't have many questions about this park.

Back at the camper, the smell was still bad. I decided to go to Wal-Mart and get some other kind of deodorizer product. The stuff I have simply wasn't doing the job. Since there is practically no phone service here to speak off, I used OnStar to find the Wal-Mart. It took me to a closed one. Remembering that Tom Tom did that to me in Boerne once, I kept driving expecting to see a new Wal-Mart pretty close by. I was right. It was so new, the paint looked sticky! It was really nice. They had a huge RV section. I even found a new end piece for my Barker tote-along sewer tank. I got the tank for Father's Day. I will use it to empty my gray water tank and haul the water to the dump station. That way, I don't have to break camp, pull the camper over there, dump the tanks, pull it back over here, and set it all up again. I couldn't get a “full hookup site” with sewer. Some state parks don't even offer them, so I needed a tank anyway. I can usually go two days before the gray water (from the sink or shower) tank fills and four days before the black (from the toilet) fills. I use way too much water in the toilet, but the experienced RVers all tell you to.

The new stuff I bought is super concentrated drop in packs. I read it and saw that I can't use it with the stuff I already have. I decided to come home and dump the black tank in my Barker since it only had water in it, albeit stinky water. I dumped it in Bastrop during the last trip. Anyway, when I got back to the camper the smell was gone. I guess that the other stuff needed time to eat the bacteria that was causing the smell. I decided to wait until I leave to dump that tank. I really don't want anything toilet related in my Barker tank.

Before heading back to camp, I stopped at Chisholm Trail BBQ and picked up lunch. Lockhart has been officially declared the BBQ Capital of Texas by our State Government. There are four places to get BBQ: Chisholm Trail (most popular with the locals- according to a video I watched at the recommendation of my RV Forum buddy, Smokedummy), Blacks' (which I have been to several times in the last 30 years), Smitty's (which, after passing by today, I realized I had never been to), and Kreutz Market (which I had also never been to). My weekend goal is to visit them all and see who is best. I am going to order the same thing in each one: beef ribs and a sausage ring.

Back at the Colby T, I pigged out on the delicious BBQ from Chisholm Trail. The ribs were sauced during cooking, so I had to wipe as much off as I could with paper towels. Everything was really good. The sausage ring was juicy, and had a really good flavor to it. I was impressed.

I cleaned up and took my first hike. I went on a trail that goes along the creek. The Colby T is parked close to the creek, but the trail runs along the other side of it. I hiked by road to the trail head and came out at the loop right close to the camper. I was a little shocked when the trail ended, because you had to cross a really rustic little rock damn. The footholds were minimal, and a fall onto rocks below would be lethal, even though it was only about 4-5 feet. Falling the other way would put you in the mucky creek. I crossed it anyway, glad nobody was there to rush me, or to see how long it took me to summon the courage to go to that next step.

When I came out on the circle, which goes around a wide field and is there to help trailers make the turn around to leave the park, I saw a huge turkey standing with his chest up to the bushes. He kept jumping up and grabbing either grasshoppers or leaves themselves. I couldn't tell. When I was finally close enough to get a picture, he ran away. His legs moved like the Roadrunner in cartoons. I taped the whole thing. It was funny.

The trailer was nice and cool. I opened the blinds and the sun started heating up the dinette area really fast, as if I had put the heater on. I decided today was the day I would learn how to use the awning. I got out the manual and put it down about halfway. That cast the whole side of the Colby T into shade. I got a little worried because the directions said to pull it all the way out. Maybe you have to do that? Maybe I'm ruining it the first time? Such thoughts wouldn't leave me, so I texted Jack Funkhouser and got his opinion. I would have spared him and gone on the RV Forum, but remember I mentioned the lousy phone service? About all I can do is send a text. Even that takes about ten minutes to leave because I have one bar of E! Anyway, Jack knows more than the whole forum put together (Sorry forum guys- Jack is so full of helpful information and advice, I sometimes am frightened by it! The weird thing is, he never lets on. If you ask him, he will tell you what you need to know. He isn't one of those know-it-all types who needs to let you know he knows. He just calmly tells you without making you feel like an idiot for not knowing, even though it is usually something every idiot should already know!) Okay... Back on track. It took a while for Jack's text to get back to me, so I went ahead and asked the neighbor guy. They always say ask the other RVers. He said it was fine. But, I don't know that dude. I was really relieved when I got Jack's text telling me it was okay. Anyway, the camper cooled right back down. This trailer stays a constant 75 degrees in the hot Texas sun. I think that is great since it was 97 degrees in Lockhart today!

I took another hike. This time, I took the “Creek View” trail all the way to the intersection with the “Hill Top” trail which brought me back to the same place. Both trails leave from that loop I told you about. They go up hill pretty high. Of course, I was coming down on the Hill Top trail. I had to stop several times to catch my breath on the way up. It was really nice though. I am going to take another hike later this evening, but plan to stay on the roads. The trails here don't seem to get much use. The weeds are pretty high, and poison ivy is prevalent. I'm afraid it might be too hard to see as it gets darker.

I went into the Colby T just long enough to get my glasses. I wanted to go to Kreuz Market to pick up my dinner before the dinner rush got there. It was practically deserted. I ordered the same exact meal that I had gotten at Chisholm. There I paid $8.01 for beef ribs, a ring of sausage, and a large unsweetened tea (which turned out to be sweetened and got dumped!). I was absolutely flabbergasted when the guys who wrapped my meat charged me $18.68! I still had to pay $1.89 for a large iced tea, which was half the size of the other one!

On the way home, I drove around the square. I was scoping things out. I plan to spend some time downtown after hooking up with N1S for lunch at Smitty's BBQ tomorrow. He has to come get his new debit card from me. Once again, Lockhart is only about 30 minutes from Austin. There are several state parks that close to Austin. They are sooooo lucky! Among the things I hope to see are the courthouse, the library, and the old jail house.

Okay, I got back to the Colby T and ate my dinner. The beef ribs were over-seasoned to the point of being so salty I didn't even finish them. That's right. Big fat Jim Baker threw beef ribs away. You never saw that coming from this porker, did you? The sausage could have been from Chisholm Trail. It was exactly the same, unless you count the fifty-five cents more that it cost me. I just looked- ribs were $4.90 a pound at Chisholm and $15.11 at Kreutz!! So far, Chisholm Trail is winning.

Okay, I've been sitting here at the computer harvesting pictures from my Flip videos and writing this blog post. It is 7:10 PM. Time for a nice LONG hike in the heat.

Well, that was a nice walk, even though it was a bit arduos. I'm not sure how far I went, but it was at least 1.5 miles uphill to the recreation center. It turned out to be another of those old State Park lodge buildings. The climb was shaded and quite pretty. Coming down was easier on my heart, but harder on my old knees. Now, I'm sitting here all cleaned up getting ready to watch some Walenda dude walk across Niagara Falls. Lord, please help get him across. Crazy!

That's it for today. I'm gonna wait until tomorrow to get the few photos I took processed. I have three choices for this evening: write (too tired), watch TV (nope-going off after that dude crosses or falls), read (only thing I have is Frankenstein, which will put me right to sleep when I'm this tired), or just call it a night and get a LONG NIGHT'S SLEEP!!!(We have a winner!) Time for a Bushmill's... Nighty-night!

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Oh, well! I guess when someone like me who usually only sleeps from 4-6 hours (don't start preaching) goes to sleep at 11:00 PM, he should expect to wake up at 4:00 AM. I tried to go back to sleep, but couldn't. I decided to eat an early breakfast of BBQ leftovers from the Chisholm Trail and have a nice cup of coffee. Then, I tried going back to bed, but, once again, no go.

I laid in bed for awhile playing 7 Little Words on my iPhone. It is one of the few games I like to play. They give you seven clues and a bunch of word parts. You have to put the parts together to make the words. Fun. As I played, I kept hearing a banging noise that sounded like it was coming from under the camper. I couldn't be sure, because every time it happened, it wouldn't repeat for a long time. I thought there might be a raccoon messing under me or something. Then I noticed a car light shining from in front of the camper. I looked out the window and saw a car sitting right there by me. It was in my little driveway space at 4:30 AM. I couldn't think of any acceptable reason. That and the sounds made me really nervous. I got my truck keys and put my finger on the alarm button in case whoever it was tried to break in, all the while cursing my lack of phone service. After about five minutes, the car pulled slowly away. Then I saw the pickup camper from the next site slowly come into view and follow it. The banging had been them packing up to leave.

At about 5:15, I went ahead and set the dinette up and started watching some crazy show that has video clips. Not my favorite thing, but it was something to do while waiting for the sun to come up so I can take a nice long hike. That got too boring for me, so I turned on the computer and caught up with this. Now it is almost 6:00 AM, but there doesn't seem to be any sign of sunrise. I'm not sure when that happens here, but it should be soon. Time for another cup of coffee.

My morning walk stretched out to almost two hours. I headed back up to the recreation hall and watched the final stages of the sun rise, although now a little after 9:00, it is still low in the sky. I sat there for just a few minutes and caught up on email and FB. Then I started back down the hill. There were several cotton-tailed rabbits hopping around. One of them stayed in front of me for quite a while. As I got close, he would hop about ten feet ahead. I hope my Flip captured him close enough to see.

At the bottom of the hill, I just kept walking up to the park headquarters. I got to watch a ranger put the flag up. I also got to buy an ice cold bottle of water out of the machine. It was wonderful. (Note to self-buy some water for the fridge when you are in town today.

I arrived back at the camper at around 8:30. Since I was covered in a cool morning coat of sweat from the humidity, I went ahead and had my sink bath and shaved. Then I tidied up a bit, and here I am. I accidentally left the Flip running at one point, so I have to get the movies off before I go meet up with N1S for lunch. I only have about a minute left. It must have recorded the interior of my pocket for a bout 15 minutes. Geesh!!!

Oh, I forgot to mention that a female cardinal has been sitting on my truck mirror having a war with herself the whole time I have been here. I caught her sitting on the site 19 post. I hope that turns out. Cardinals were Mom's favorite birds. She had them all over the house and fed them twice daily for years. Every time I see one, I think of her. I know- silly, but I feel like she is with me when I see one.

WOW!!!! Something was knocking on the back of the trailer. It kept happening, so I went to see what it was, and a bird was doing it with its beak. I was so startled I didn't get a good look, but I think it was a wood pecker? Do they peck aluminum siding? I wish I had internet here!!!!! [NOTE: There were two cardinals, a male and a female. They banged on the back of the trailer all dang day off and on. They were fighting with their reflections in my shiny diamond stuff that is on the bottom half of the camper behind the hitch. Even my banging on the wall wouldn't stop them. I had to go out there and shoo them away, which lasted about thirty minutes.]

At about 10:00 AM, I headed on in to town. I parked on a back street in front of a bank building. There was a market day going on on one block of Main Street. They had that one block closed and people were selling crafts, homemade jars of pickled things, and fresh vegies at about twenty little booths. There was a guy singing, too. Last weekend was their big festival for the Chisholm Trail. Glad I wasn't here then. I wanted to enjoy downtown without too many people.

I went into the library. It is the oldest one in Texas. They have a newer building that connects to the old one which is absolutely beautiful. There were lots of people there today reading, browsing the aisles, and using the computers. Since I had a little bit better phone service, I sat down for a few and checked my email. Then I left and took a loop around the downtown looking for a coffee shop. The ranger at the park had told me there were several of them on the square. I walked right by the only one, but later decided to use yelp, which led me back to it.

I was the only customer in the Baker's Rack bakery and coffee shop. I stayed for about an hour drinking coffee and using my iPhone on the internet to check email, read the RV forum, and update Facebook. I wish I could have eaten some goodies, cause, let me tell you- they had some NICE ones. Anyway, when it was almost noon, I walked over to Smitty's to meet up with N1S.

He pulled up about five minutes after I got there. We were stood in a long hot line until an older gentleman broke it in half and sent our section wandering through back halls that looked like something out of a horror film to a different line. There were huge piles of burning logs all over the place and it was hot as hell! I looked at my T-shirt and noticed there was steam coming off it. I asked on of the workers if anyone ever caught on fire. He jokingly said it happened once, but I was convinced I was gonna be the second on. My skin was actually starting to hurt. Finally, I got to the front of the line and we ordered. N1S got a half pound of brisket and two sausages. I got pork ribs (they don't sell beef) and one sausage ring.

After we got the meat, we entered a huge air conditioned room with tables. I got us some drinks and barbecue sauce. N1S was a little put off by the lack of silverware. We did have a plastic knife. Yippy! He thought the brisket was just “okay” and did not like the sausage.(In fact, he threw the second one away, much to the chagrin of the lady sitting next to us. For a minute, I thought she was going to call the sheriff and have us arrested for disrespecting Lockhart BBQ.) I thought the pork ribs were awesome and the sausage was the best so far. (N1S just doesn't like this style of sausage.)

After lunch, we walked over to the old jail house, but it wasn't opening for a few more minutes, so we hung out at Walgreen's for a few minutes talking with the manager. He told us it is against the law in Lockhart for residents to say which BBQ place they like best. I couldn't tell if he was joking or not. They seem to take their sausage very seriously. (There's that damned bird again.)

The jail house was a lot of fun to tour. You can see from the pictures that it was kind of creepy. It is four stories high. The lady who runs the museum was really chatty. On the way out, we talked about 70's sitcoms. We sort of wandered from discussing Sally Rand and Mae West, whom long ago prisoners have scratched their testimonials of undying love for in the cell walls.

We worked up quite a thirst in the jail, so we stopped back in Walgreen's and got some drinks. We walked across the street to the AT&T store. I wanted to see if they sold some kind of signal booster for my iPhone. I saw them on the internet, and supposedly AT&T gives them to their customers whose service isn't good at home. I thought maybe I could buy one. The kid there said he didn't know what I was talking about. I told him I couldn't get more than three bars in all of Lockhart. He walked me over to a phone on the wall to show me that the service was strong. Then he said, “Oh... You didn't tell me you had a 3G!” I guess you have to upgrade to live in Lockhart.

After that, N1S went back to Austin, and I went back to the Colby T, after a quick stop at Wal-Mart to buy a toilet brush, a Renuzit air freshener, and some more Smart Water. I sat at the dinette and started to process today's pictures off the Flip, but I kept nodding off. I finally gave into it and laid down for about an hour long nap. I don't think I got any real sleep in, because the birds kept coming and banging by my head!

I had decided I was sick of BBQ, and since I have been to Black's before, I would skip it. Then I remembered that I need to fill up with gas for the trip home. I probably didn't have to, but I would rather have a full tank than have to find some place that is easy to get gas at pulling the Colby T. I got in the truck at about 5:00. I picked a bad gas station. The pump wouldn't work so I took my card in. Then it still didn't work, so the guy told me to go back and just start pumping and it would work, but it didn't. He came out and messed with it and thought he had it fixed, but when he went back in, it still didn't pump. I finally had to back up to the next one. It ended up taking about 20 minutes!

Black's wasn't crowded at all. I parked across the street and went on in. I got a “giant beef rib” that could have fed Fred Flintstone and a sausage ring. They put them in a foil pan covered with foil, which they slid into a paper sack. The only place out of three that didn't wrap it in brown paper with the grease oozing through. The rib was outstanding. The sausage had a chalky texture that was really weird. Didn't like it much.

Okay, I will now make a list that gives my BBQ findings:

1. Best prices- Chisholm Trail. They were half the price of all the others.
2. Nicest dining atmosphere- Chisholm Trail seemed like an old fashioned country diner.
3. Nicest people- Smitty's. Even though she was working in the fires of hell, the woman who handled our meat sale was really nice.
4. Worst service- Smitty's. The girl behind the counter in the air conditioned room reminded my of Seinfeld's soup Nazi! As I looked for a plastic knife, she yelled, “No forks!” I asked where the knives were and she hollered, “Look in your meat!” I'm pretty sure she said, “Stupid”in her head. It sound like she was saying that.
5. Best Sausage- Smitty's. OMG it was juicy and tasty. Probably have a coronary next week.
6. Worst Sausage- Black's. Icky texture and not much taste. Don't know what that was about.
7. Best Beef Rib- Black's without any competition. Huge. Meaty. Full of greasy flavor!
8. Worst Beef Rib- Kreutz. Way too salty. Threw have of them away! Smitty's didn't even have them, although the pork ribs I had there instead, were probably the best I have ever eaten.

So who has the best BBQ? I don't know. I guess I would stick with Chisholm Trail just because it was pretty good and really cheap. Or, I would drive to Bastrop and get Billy's Pit BBQ's mutton. It is better than all of it. Or, I would drive to Llano and get one of those roast-sized pork chops. They are to die for!

After eating all that meat, I knew I needed to pound the trails. Rachel texted me that the TV was out at home just before I left. It needs a new bulb. I'll take care of it tomorrow. She is afraid to do it herself because she can't hold the TV up while she is working in the back of it. Anyway, I climbed up to the recreation building again. I sat there for a few minutes using the better signal on my phone that I get up there to plan my trip home. I want to go through Fentress, instead of going all the way back into Lockhart.

I discovered a trail that came back down that wasn't on the map. I learned why about half way down. It was so overgrown, I was afraid I was going to get bitten by a snake or something. When I finally bushwhacked through, I was covered in those pesky little field lice! I think that's what they are called. They are tiny little burrs that stick to EVERYTHING. I sat at the picnic table with my T-shirt and shoes off picking those suckers off. I didn't want them in the Colby T.

I had another lovely sink bath before settling down in front of the TV. Reception isn't very good tonight. It keeps going in and out. Instead, I got some writing and picture processing done. It seemed to get dark pretty quickly. Now I am enjoying an Irish coffee and about to play 7 little words or read for awhile. I want to get on the road by 9:00 AM tomorrow. There are only three trailers in this area, and all the others have sewer hookups, so I shouldn't have to wait in the dump station line. I have seen that happen before, but never experienced it. I am a little nervous about using it. How do you put more water in your black tank like your supposed to, if you are already disconnected from the water supply? My plan is to fill my fresh water tank really well and use it with the pump to put water in the black tank. As soon as I get to the campsite at Beuscher, next week, I can refill it. I could even drive by the house and refill the fresh tank with the hose.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Well the BBQ caught up with me. I actually put the trashcan next to my bed. All the grease from that wonderful rib had me queasy. Then again, it may have been that awful chalky sausage. I never did get sick during the night, but in the morning- let's just say it “passed” and be done with it. In fact, waiting for it to finish “passing” delayed my departure by about thirty minutes.

The only problem I had today other than the “passing” was worrying about my Barker tote-along. It fell over in the tub on the way up. I decided to put it in the closet for the ride home. I thought it was secure, but kept worrying it would tip and force the doors open. I ended up laying a blanket under the bed, rolling it under there, wedging it in with the trash can, and duct taping the handle to the floor in about twenty places to it wouldn't roll around during the trip. That did the job. I really don't want to go to the expense of getting an outside mount for it.

I passed through Fentress on the way to San Marcos. It was a nice deserted country drive. I never saw another car. I-35 South was pretty busy all the way to San Antonio. I kept it at 55 though, and really saw a difference in the gas. I didn't even use a quarter of a tank getting home.

For the second time, backing into my spot at Packrats was easy as pie! I think I might have the hang of backing again. It was the trailer mirrors that were throwing me off.

Anyway, I am home and ready for another nap. Happy Father's Day to all my friends and fathers. Thanks Dad for making my land cruises in the Colby T possible.

Photos of this trip may be found here:

http://photobucket.com/Lockhart_SP