Koyote Ranch, November 2012

Well, N2S and I are here at Koyote taking advantage of the time off from school and the two for one special they are running out here. The special isn't valid for the rest of the week. Evidently they have a big Thanksgiving crowd that comes for the holidays and enjoys a huge feast at the dining room. There is a good crowd here already, but there are at least 15 RV sites sitting empty. We have a nice pull through that is closest to the restrooms just up the hill that I like to use.

One of my goals for this trip was to winterize the Colby T. I had planned on taking it in to the dealer to have it done for me. Just put a big IDIOT sticker on my head. They are booked solid through mid-January. You evidently make your appointment for winterizing in the summer. I had no idea! Anyway, I went on line and did the research needed to do it all myself. (NOTE added later- Wow! Even with the purchase of parts, winterizing was easy and cost under $30. In the future, it will only cost me about $10 to buy the antifreeze. The dealer quoted me $175. It honestly only takes about 10 minutes and NO effort to do once you have your bypass installed!)

It seems there are two methods. One involves blowing out the lines with an air compressor. I don't have one and certainly don't want to get one. We have enough crap taking up space in our garage. The other method involves draining all the water out of the system and putting potable antifreeze in its place. Everybody recommended bypassing the water heater to save six gallons of antifreeze. I went on line and watched several videos that showed me how to install a bypass. It looked fairly simple, so I ordered all the stuff I thought I needed online: a bypass installation kit, a water heater plug wrench, and a hand pump for putting the antifreeze in the fresh water intake.

That brought us to today. N2S and I got up, showered, finished our packing and headed to Walmart to buy a few supplies for the trip. Then we headed over to Packrats to get the Colby T. That was, in itself, a scary proposition for me. Last week, someone stole my tailgate right off the truck. My backup camera was in it. Hitching up was going to be more of a challenge. It would not be impossible though. The really nerve wracking part was waiting to see if the thieves had damaged my wiring for the trailer signals and brake. If they had, our trip would have been aborted. Fortunately, they had not done any damage, and N2S did a great job of helping me get backed up and hitched almost effortlessly.

I decided that, since the first step of putting in the bypass was to drain the water heater, I would do it at Packrats before we hit the road. The water in it smelled like rotten eggs, and I didn't want to drain it at our campsite. Unfortunately, I could not get the drain plug off of it. The wrench I bought must be for another type of camper because it doesn't do squat for me. Nothing I tried, including pliers and a crescent wrench would get that stupid plug to budge at all! I was not a happy camper. We just packed the tools and got on the road.

Our journey to Bandera went really quickly. I drove a little faster than I used to. The Laredo trip was a nice long trip that gave me more confidence. If the road is nice and there isn't any wind, I feel comfortable going as fast as 65. I rarely get past 60, but it is faster than the 55 limit I used to set for myself. On the way into town, I told N2S to keep his eyes open for an auto parts or hardware store. I didn't think it would be open, but wanted to know if it was even worthwhile to come back the next day.

As luck would have it, there was a True Value hardware store that was not only open, but easy for me to pull in and out of. They actually had a special wrench that fits over the plug and loosens it. I was now a happier camper. We closed everything up and headed on to the ranch.

The drive over to the Medina area was beautiful. All the cypress trees along the river were in in the process of changing colors. We were lucky that nobody got behind us until the last four miles. I drove nice and slow taking in all the fiery beauty. I didn't know that cypress changed colors. Tomorrow, we plan to go see Lost Maples specifically for the fall colors. There seems to be a lot of maple near Medina, too.

When we got to Koyote, we learned that the restaurant will be closed the whole time we will be here. They are getting ready for the big Thanksgiving feast. That is fine with me. I wasn't planning on eating there. We like the food, but we both want to eat at Bricks River Cafe, and planned to only eat out once on this trip to save some money.(NOTE added later- We saw on the sign when we came back from dinner in Bandera that the restaurant is always closed on Monday and Tuesday this time of year.)

When we got to our spot, I decided to finish draining the water heater and install the bypass. Of course what should have been easy wasn't. The directions neglected to mention some things, and when N2S turned on the water, we had a major leak. I finally figured out that there were rubber gaskets attached to the old parts I removed that actually belonged to the parts that were still being used. I hadn't even seen them up inside the parts, and only found them when I had decided to put things back the way they were. Once the mystery was solved and the gaskets were in place we were set. The whole process took about two hours. It should have taken ten minutes. Oh well.

I'm not going to actually winterize until we are ready to leave here on Tuesday. In the future, the water heater will just stay bypassed. I don't like to shower in the tiny bathroom of the Colby T. I prefer the bathhouses at the parks. We will use the toilet and sink while we are here. Then we just have to drain everything and pump in the antifreeze.

We finished bringing everything else into the trailer and getting everything set up. We have cable TV here, so N2S hooked that up while I was working with the water heater, since the cable runs out under the same dinette bench. I fixed a quick cup of Keurig coffee. By that time, it was almost 4:00, so we went ahead and hit the road to Bandera to eat dinner at Brick's River Cafe. I love that place. N2S had a Reuben sandwich, and I had the venison/pork sausage plate. It was awesome as usual. I hadn't eaten all day, so it really hit the spot.

We headed on back to the camper and got there just as it was starting to get dark. You have to remember that Bandera is about 20 miles from Koyote Ranch. The road follows the river the whole way, so it winds and curves all over the place. That brings out the little old man driver in me, much to the people behind's chagrin. On top of that, the deer were active at that time of night. It took me at least 35 minutes to get to the ranch. We had planned on fishing, but it was just too dark for us.

We ended up spending the rest of the evening in the camper. I did some writing while N2S played several rounds of Angry Birds on his new iPhone 5. We watched The Amazing Race when it finally came on an hour late. Then N2S wanted to play a game. I suggested that he download the 7 Little Words so we could race each other solving the puzzles. We did that for a couple of hours. It was lots of fun. You should try the game sometime, if you haven't.

After that, we were both tired, so we took down the dinette and put the bed together. We both sleep in the bed in our sleeping bags. I only used linens the one time when Rachel went with me to Laredo. I think that I will probably use them when I am in Jim Configuration (I leave the bed set up and use a TV tray for my table). It was really nice sleeping in high-count Egyptian cotton sheets and the old comforter off the bed in our master suite at home. I inherited the castoffs when Rachel bought all new after the remodel. The sheets are so soft they feel like they're made of old T-shirts. I love them.

In the morning, I got up and fixed coffee and breakfast for us. Then I hiked up the hill to use the bathhouse. We are the only ones that ever use it. Everyone else uses the bathrooms in their huge RVs. As I said before, I don't like showering in mine, and I prefer that it not be “pooped” in when there are others staying in it with me. The whole trailer is smaller than most bathrooms. It is a matter of “smells”. Besides, if you sit on the pot, the door won't close because your knees are in the way. I wish they would have left the shower out and just placed the toilet in there. I guess the shorter folks don’t have issues with it.

Anyway, we got motivated and headed out to Lost Maples State Park. We were supposed to stop and have some coffee at The Core coffee shop in Medina, but it is closed on Mondays. Too bad, as it is the best coffee house I have ever been to. I guess we will have to run in tomorrow before leaving for home.

We got to Lost Maples at about 9:45 and actually hit the trail by ten. You can read my blog from 2011 to see what happened the last time we hiked it. To quickly summarize: It didn't go well!I nearly died from exertion and dehydration. This time was completely different. It took about 20 minutes to get to the top of the hill. Last time it took over two hours because I had to stop and rest about every 100 steps. I actually counted them off, forcing myself to go on until I reached 100. Today, I was so surprised when we reached the top so easily, I thought I might have been asleep for part of it!

The Lost Maples area is really pretty. The leaves there actually change colors in the fall. I took lots of pictures using four different cameras. The only problem was the crowds. I have never seen so many people in any state park at the same time. To be honest, I was kind of glad we were walking the trail in the opposite direction of most people. They were waiting in line to get through some of the rougher climbing spots. We just slid right past them.

We stopped for lunch in Medina. I always see the Keese'sBBQ place there, but never stop. Well I am glad we did this time. It was great. We were lucky to get in. Right after we sat down, the waitress locked the doors. They were closing at 2:00 PM. Anyway, N2S had a three meat plate with ribs, sausage, chicken, and all the fixin's. I had sausage and brisket. They were all great. I wish I could've had the buttermilk pie that N2S had for dessert. I got a tiny taste, and it was UNBELIEVABLE.

From there we headed back to Bandera to see the Frontier Times Museum. We had some issues finding it. TomTom had us headed for Camp Verde. Siri gave us the wrong address. We finally found it and realized that the sign as you enter Bandera is exactly where you turn to get to it. It is a nice collection of Texas artifacts collected over several decades. The museum opened in the 1930s. Some things are a bit odd, such as the naturally mummified squirrel someone found in their attic and encased in a glass case. All in all, we enjoyed browsing around looking at things. We were the only ones visiting until we were just about ready to go.

We left there and headed back to Medina. We stopped in the little gas station/grocery store and bought some rubber worms and a few odds and ends before going back to the Colby T. We decided to try our hand at fishing. The last time we did at Koyote, we caught about 4 big bass between us. We practiced catch and release, but evidently the bass learned their lesson and weren't having it this time. We didn't even get a nibble.

The rest of the evening was spent in the Colby T playing trivial pursuit and other games. I was disappointed to learn that the Spurs game was not on the cable system. I tried to find it on the radio, but for some reason WOAI wasn't broadcasting the game as usual. The LA station that was supposed to have the Clippers games wasn't broadcasting it either. Instead, I had to just keep refreshing my basketball app to get updated scores. Even though the Spurs lost, it was a really close game that I would have enjoyed.

We went to bed earlier than usual. No complaints from me! I was starting to feel the effects of hiking in Lost Maples. I used some muscles in my butt that you just don't get to normally. It hurt to stand up after sitting. It hurt to sit down after standing. I hurt climbing the steps into the Colby T. Oh well, I guess I know how those Atlanta Housewives can work on their “donkey butts” they are so proud of. Me, I would just as soon pass on that one. Ouch.

We both slept until about 7:00AM. That's pretty late for me, and horribly early for N2S. I drank a cup of coffee before hiking up the hill to wash up, etc. When I got back, I made some quick breakfast and more coffee. Then we spent a few hours leisurely packing up and prepping the Colby T for departure. I needed to drain the holding tanks and run some fresh water through them, in prep for winterizing, which I planned to do as soon as we got back to Packrats instead of performing in front of the camp audience. That is my one dislike of an RV park. They all sit under their awnings watching what everyone else is doing. You feel a little bit “goldfished”.

At about 10:00AM, we hitched up and drove up to the Ranch store/cafe. I have to tell you that N2S guided me like an expert when I was backing up to hitch. It took about 10 seconds from the start of the engine for him to have me perfectly in place. You have no idea how much of an improvement that is. In the past, before I learned to trust the backing camera, N2S and I would get into shouting matches. I kept having to pull up and start over. Once, it took about 15 minutes of frustration in the hot sun. This time I said, “I don't care about the truck. You keep your eyes on the hitch ball, and guide it under the receiver.” I had always assumed he understood that simple point. Whatever- he gets it now, and hitching without the camera was great both times on this trip.

We played a best of 5 series of eight-ball at the ranch before hitting the road. We thought about stopping at The Core for a coffee, but I just didn't see a good place to park with the trailer hitched up behind us. Instead, we decided to stop for lunch again at Brick's River Cafe in Bandera. I told N2S I was willing to drive in, but if there was no place to park comfortably, I would just pull right back out. We found a great spot to park and enjoyed an awesome lunch. I had a shaved rib-eye salad. N2S had an antelope burger. We were happy fellas.

The ride home was completely non-eventful, which is the way most of us like it when we are towing a trailer. We gave thought to stopping in Pipe Creek for coffee at the little coffee hut. I had scoped it out every time I passed by and knew that I could make a loop around it to get back on the road. I guess I just wasn't feeling it, so I passed it up. N2S says I “wimped out”.

Back at Packrats, I got the Colby T parked and off the hitch. Then N2S and I finished draining the fresh water tank (I thought I had it done at the ranch.). Then we pumped in the potable antifreeze before heading home. I hope I did it all right. I guess we'll know after a big freeze. I can't think of any reason it won't work. We followed the directions I wrote out after watching several how-to videos and reading several how-to articles.

I don't know when my next trip will be. I do have a Palmetto State Park trip scheduled at the end of December with some friends who now have a trailer. I'll use the trailer in “dry camp” mode until Spring. That just means I won't be using the sink, shower, or toilet since they are winterized. I'll use the park bathhouse for all my toileting and bathing needs. That really isn't any big deal. That's what I did with the pop-up. Of course, I 'll have a pee bottle for my old man middle of the night potty emergencies. (I know- too much information!)

Until next time!
You may see all of the photos from this trip HERE.