Circle Trip Stop 5: Lockhart State Park

8:57PM, July 5^th, 2013

Well my morning started off nice. I actually slept until a little after seven! I felt so great that I skipped breakfast and just got right into prepping the camper for departure. It didn't take much, since I had not used the TV, the water hookup, or the sewer. I basically only had to secure my cabinets and put the Keurig in the sink. I took my time and even hiked over to the dumpster with my trash instead of driving over on the way out. It was such a pretty morning at Mother Neff that I felt a little sad to leave it.

The route to Lockhart was easy. I retraced my steps to the area I drove to for barbecue at the Backyard, but just kept going on the highway instead of turning off. There were a few road changes until I found myself on I-35 South. I stayed on it until I went on the new toll road, which I took all the way to Lockhart.

The toll road was a worrisome experience. All of the toll booths that said everyone must pay were blocked off with cones. My exit didn't even have a toll booth. N1S said that he thinks they got my license plate electronically and will mail me a bill. I hope so. I don't want Johnny Law knocking on the door with handcuffs some day.

I pulled in a picked site number 12. I got it all parked and set up. I used the BAL leveler to raise the curbside tire off the ground about 4 inches. Then, just when I was getting ready to set up the inside, I got a text from N1S asking what the plans were. He was coming to Lockhart on his way to San Antonio to eat barbecue with me. I didn't have enough service to send a response. I don't know how his text made it to me. I had to drive to headquarters and finish registering anyway, so I went ahead and locked up and headed up there. I was disappointed that they did not have any of the metal plates for my new walking stick. Oh well.

I called N1S and he was planning to leave Austin in about fifteen minutes. That gave me time to go to WalMart and buy a few supplies and get some cash. I wasn't sure if the barbecue place took credit cards and wanted to give N1S some money to enjoy his time in San Antonio. I bought some strawberries, vanilla yogurt, and microwave popcorn, then headed back to the Colby T to put stuff in the fridge. Just then I got a call from N1S. I answered it, but there was nothing but dead air.

I jumped in the truck and headed up towards headquarters to call him back, but got a text from him that said he was at Kruez Market already waiting for me. I texted him and let him know it would be five minutes.

Okay, stopping for the night. Tired of sitting at a computer.

2:36 PM, July 6^th

Picking up from where I left off:

I found N1S sitting in his truck in the parking lot, and pulled in beside him. We went inside and there was a long line. We chatted until it was our time to order. We got three sausage links, a pound and a half of moist brisket, and a half pound of turkey. He said he was really hungry and wanted some to take home.

We found a seat, got some beers, and chowed down. The barbecue was really good. However, Kreuz is very snotty about their meat. They don't use or provide barbecue sauce to go with it, using the tagline “We have nothing to hide.” That doesn't cut it with N1S or me. By definition for us, good barbecue gets coated in tangy sauce, whether during cooking or after. For that one reason, Kreuz can not and will not be the one I rate highest in Lockhart. As good as the meat was, it left us wanting something. I might add that N1S doesn't like the no forks policy either.

I gave N1S some money to take with him, and made sure he had good directions to get home from Lockhart. I used OnStar to get them, but when I got to his truck, he had already gotten them on his cell phone. He headed for San Antonio. I headed to Dairy Queen. I needed the sweetness that I didn't get due to the lack of barbecue sauce.

When I got back to the Colby T, I finished getting set up inside. That included vacuuming the floor to get rid of a the trail dirt I dragged in at Mother Neff. I really like the little 20 dollar vacuum I bought for the trailer. It is really powerful, and because it plugs in, as opposed to being rechargeable, stays powerful all the time.

I got hike ready and headed up to the headquarters. I wanted to check for WiFi. There was none, so I went ahead and hiked up the hill to the recreation hall. That is my favorite hike. It is on the road, but it is climbing the whole time, so you really get a workout.

I wandered around the top looking at things and discovered an old road leading back down that I had missed before. It was overgrown a bit, but there was nothing stopping your from walking down it. It lead me to the golf course. I also found a dirt road at the bottom that took me to one of the holes. It gave me a really nice view of the fairway.

I hadn't done my blog update or checked mail, etc. while on the top of the hill, so I took the old road back up and sat for awhile doing electronic things. I got a text while I was up there, and had to let that conversation run its course before I could come back down due to lack of service in the lower areas.

Back in the Colby T., I ate an early dinner of strawberries and vanilla yogurt and watched the news on TV. I ended up getting drawn in by some new TV show called Siberia. As soon as it ended I turned the TV off so I wouldn't get hooked into watching anything else. I still needed to burn some more calories, just to break even after all that barbecue.

I hiked at a fast pace directly up to the rec center. When I was up there, a wild wind started blowing as if a storm were coming. It was really refreshing. No rain came, but I was cooled down quite a bit. On the way down, I saw a buzzard in a tree against the evening sky. I took a gazillion photos. I hope they are good. I also saw an armadillo running around. I got as close as five feet to him before he ever noticed. I hope those photos are good, too.

Back in the camper, I drank Merlot, ate microwave popcorn, and watched an old Sally Field and Tom Hanks movie on TV. I think it is called Punchline. I don't remember. It is about comedians.

When the movie ended, I started to read but fell asleep. I woke up once in the middle of the night to pee, since I hadn't before going to bed, fully expecting to read for awhile, actually get ready for bed, then go to bed. Then, I slept through until seven again.

I got up and fixed breakfast, but I wasn't feeling all that gung ho. I was still kind of tired and my right foot was hurting a bit. I decided to succomb to laziness and laid back down on bed to read. I read until about 9:30 and remember thinking, “Okay fat ass, time to hit the trails!” The next thing I knew, it was 11:48. I had fallen asleep and had some really vivid dreams about some really crazy things.

I went ahead and ate some strawberries, yogurt, and avocados for lunch before hiking over to headquarters to get a new map. I couldn't find the one they gave me, and I planned on hiking trails today. I took the Clear Fork Trail that runs right across the creek from where I am parked. There is a new trail loop called the Wild Rose. I took it and came into a little valley that is covered with wild rose vines. It was awesome. I have never seen anything like it. There were some roses on the vines, but it was obviously not the blooming time of year. I went to take a picture and my camera was dead! I hate rechargeables! I had it plugged into the computer all night charging, but when closed the laptop, it must have reversed the flow and sucked it all back out.

I came back to the Colby T to charge the camera. Part of the fun of hiking for me is taking pictures. That is the status quo. I am waiting for it to charge, then I am going to hike the trails to get to the rec center instead of the road.

7:55 PM

Got it all charged up and went off on another hike. I repeated the first one so I could get some photos of the wild roses. They were amazing. I would love to come back when they are all in bloom. From there, I followed the Creek View Trail, the Fence Line Trail, the Chisholm Trail, The Comanche Loop, and the Rattlesnake Run Trail. The Comanche Loop trail and the Rattlesnake Run are new. I loved them. I ended up at the recreation center at the top of the hill. I

I stayed on the hill for awhile and updated my mini-blog, checked email, and looked at FaceBook for a few minutes. Then I took the road back to the Colby T. It was really hot, and I was unusually thirsty. You know how sometimes you can't satisfy a thirst? It was like that.

I went to the bathhouse and took a nice hot shower. Then I came back and cooked my last dinner on this trip. I had chicken taco rice. It was good, but I still couldn't get enough to drink. I drank so much I felt bloated, but it did nothing for my thirst.

I got a text from Rachel out of the blue. I tried to respond, but couldn't. I walked away from the camper a bit and got just enough to send one. Then I realized I was hot again and decided to drive to DQ for a blizzard. When I got in the car, I noticed I needed gas. I forgot to get it yesterday again.

I went in to a Valero and filled up. While I was getting gas, I saw a man come out loaded down with styrofoam cups of soda for his family. I went in and got a 60 ouncer. I filled it with as much ice as it would hold then added a splash of Coke Zero. I am not much of a soda drinker, by I figured the ice would melt and give me something cold to drink. I only have three cold bottles of water left in the fridge. I should have put more in last night, but forgot. No sense now. I am going to empty the fridge tonight before bed and stow the thermometer and fridge fan. That way I won't have as much work drying it out when I get back to Packrats.

I'm sitting here watching American Ninja. Not my favorite show, but the best of the choices I can get here. If nothing better comes on after, I'm gonna go back to reading. That's all I'm gonna write tonight. If there is more to add, I will do it in San Antonio. I'm going to shut the computer down and stow it right now.

7:12PM, July 7^th, 2013

Well, my trip is over. It was a good one. I need to tell you what happened last night.

Not long after I shut down the computer, I saw a big ant walking on the wall of the camper by my bed. I got a paper towel and killed it. A few minutes later, there were two more. They were huge ants. I knew that they must be coming in from somewhere, so I grabbed my flashlight and went outside to see what was up. Sure enough, they were climbing up the shoreline (the power cord that connects the camper to the park electricity) and going into the port where the shoreline is stored underneath one of the dinette benches.

I sprayed some Raid to stop the trail. Then I went inside, moved the mattresses, and opened up the compartment under the dinette bench. There were hundreds of the ants in there. I let them have it full on with a ton of Raid. Then I went back out and plugged the porthole with paper towels and saturated them with Raid. That stopped them from coming in, but for the next few hours, I kept finding one or two ants walking on my bed. Some were staggering as if poisoned. Others were perfectly fine, and probably had already left the compartment before I sprayed.

I diligently watched for ants, killing them by hand, until there didn't seem to be anymore. I got in bed and read for awhile, checking for ants occasionally. When I woke up during the night, I turned the light on over the bed and checked again. Fortunately, I didn't see another one, until I stripped the sheets in the morning. One was down between the mattress and the back wall of the camper.

I decided to take the toll road to Seguin to get home. It made it so much easier than worrying about be the slow vehicle on the back roads. It shortened my time getting home because I was able to maintain 60 mph the whole way, and there was no traffic at all on the toll road, and only a little on I10.

At Packrats, I sprayed Raid around all the baseboards as I had planned to do before last night's attack. I had seen a few tiny black ants in the camper at one point during the trip. I never saw anymore, but planned to spray at the end of the trip just in case. As I was locking the gate to leave, I heard an alarm going off. I walked over to the Colby T, and sure enough, it was the carbon monoxide detector reacting to the Raid. I had to disconnect the battery to stop it.

I am not overly concerned about this ant invasion. I have spent 58 nights in the Colby T, and this is the first time it has happened. In the future, I will be proactive and block the port. You live and learn.

Happy Trails!

You can see all of the photos from this trip on my Photobucket site. click here

Circle Trip Stop 4: Mother Neff State park

10:39AM, July 4^th, 2013

I got up early, as has been my habit on this trip, and fixed my breakfast. Then I started getting everything ready for departure. I have mentioned before that I use a checklist compulsively. With picking up and moving every two days, it hasn't been necessary. Instead, I get everything done, then sit at the picnic table and go through the list just in case. I will probably never give up the checklist entirely.

I was ready to go by about 7:45. My next stop was only an hour away, so I didn't fell rushed. I decoded to stop in at headquarters and say goodbye to the awesome ranger lady. She wasn't there. Another very nice ranger lady was working. I didn't stay long to chat or anything. I got in the truck and headed on down the road.

This trip took me back through Clifton, where I got a Blizzard the day before. Then I took a right and headed south through McGregor. All in all, I think I switched roads at the most four times.

[My feet are so cold they hurt! Gonna get my slippers... That's better.]

I almost missed the gate into the headquarters area of the park. Evidently there was a horrific flood in 2007 that left most of the park covered in 13 feet of water for three weeks. At least I think she said three weeks. The park was closed for a long time because of it, and was only for day use for a long time after that. The original headquarters either washed away or was damaged so bad that it was torn down. It was up by where I am camping. No sign of it now.

Right now, the headquarters is in a little white barn like you would put in your backyard to store stuff. They don't have much in there, and sadly I can't get a plate for my walking stick. The rangers have all been very friendly. In fact, when I got to my site (number 3), I knew there was no way I could back into it. The map was deceiving. I called and asked if I could take site number 1 instead. The ranger said that was fine. When I said I would be down there in a few minutes to swap out my paperwork, she told me not to bother, they would bring it to me!

Anyway, site number one was really easy to back into. It isn't shaded like number 3 was, but an hour or so later, neither was number 3. Last night at about 8:00, a huge 5^th wheel came in. He made a loop through the campground and left for like twenty minutes before coming back to try backing into the spot. He pulled in to the loop from the other direction, passed up my site, and then backed straight in in a matter of seconds. I didn't think of that. Oh well. He left early this morning. Must have just been a stop over for him.

There are only six water and electric sites in this little loop. There are a few, right now there are five tent campers, one pop-up, two 5^th wheelers, and me in the entire park. I thought they would be swamped on July 4^th. The ranger told me that this park doesn't draw as many campers because there is not pool or lake to swim in. That suits me fine. You know I'm all about the trails.

I took my first hike on the trails shortly after getting set up. There was a bus full of boys in the park from something called “Project Heatwave out of Temple”. They were coming off of the trail just as I started, which made me happy. I like to here the sounds of nature. Kids don't let that happen.

The park has three different ecosystems, and you can experience them all by walking all of the trails. They are all beautiful in their own ways. On the first part of the trail, you are in a river bottom, even though the little creek is all dry. You hike amongst huge old pecan trees. Then, you get to a more hilly canyon-like area. There is a place called “The Cave” where the water has worn the rock away and left about a 20 foot overhang. It was really cool under the rock.

I headed back the way I came and took the trail to another intersection. This time, the trail climbed up until it suddenly ended in front of a beautiful round tower with stairs and iron railings winding around it. The tower was built by the CCC and is a really stunning feature. From the top, you can see for miles and miles. When I came down, I realized that I was right near the temporary headquarters compound, so I went there and took some photos.

I retraced my steps back to the intersection and discovered a sign for a bird blind. I had missed it when heading to the tower. I followed the short trail and had a seat there for awhile. It was built by and Eagle Scout. It was very nice, but not one bird bothered to visit while I was there. I noticed a path going to the right of it. It took you right back to headquarters in about twenty yards. It is amazing how you have no sense of where you are on the trails!

I went back to the intersection and headed for “The Wash Pond”. On the way, the trail split in two directions to create Buffalo Loop. I veered to the left. The other trail went off to the right. I soon realized that they were separated by a large ravine that got larger and steeper as I went. At the end of the trail, I saw the pond. It is sort of a pit at the bottom of the rock wall that catches water. It is almost empty right now, but there were some huge pollywogs in there. All kinds of insects were stopping for a drink.

I took some steps down into the ravine and right back up. The other end of the Buffalo Loop trail was off to my right, but I went straight headed for the prairie. About six hundred yards from the ravine, the terrain suddenly flattened out and got grassy. I found myself out on a beautiful golden prairie with a few clumps of cedar trees here and there. The trail goes in a square all around that. I took it, even though it was really getting a little warm to be hiking with no shade. I would say the loop is about two and a half miles around the fence line of that area of the park. It ended by a playground and a big sign that said to watch for snakes.

I followed the trail I was on until it looped back to the trail that got me there. I made my way back to camp. There had been a little trailer similar to mine when I got to the park. They had now packed up and gone leaving only four of us in the loop. The camper was nice and cool, so I relaxed awhile until I was dry. Then I cleaned up and got ready to go explore the area a bit.

I went to the headquarters, because there was a sign about a 4^th of July hike. I wanted to check the time and see where it met. I asked the ranger a little about the flood. Two male rangers came in and sat down. They looked hot and tired. They must have been working hard on something. I asked if there was a place nearby to get barbecue. The older ranger told me to go to the Backyard Barbecue at Morgan's Point, about 20 miles away.

I wanted to see The Grove first, so I drove about 6 miles down the highway. The Grove is just a tiny little downtown area with about 6 buildings. I don't know if it is authentic and was a town at one time, or if it was built as a movie set. You can look at the photos and see what I mean.

From the Grove, the barbecue place was only fourteen miles away. It was actually in Temple. One funny thing about the trip was crossing the Leon River. It was huge like a lake with about a quarter-mile long bridge to cross it. By the park, it is a stagnate looking little creek!

The barbecue was amazing. I got a three-meat plate with potato salad and beans so I could judge it on my criteria. It was all good, but they gave me way too much of everything. I was going to ask for a to go box, but ended up scarfing it all down like a hungry dog. It was just too good not to.

On the way back, I stopped at the dollar general. I was hoping to find a napsack so I could carry extra water on longer hikes. I have plenty at home, but forgot to bring one on the trip. They didn't have any, but they did have some Merlot and some adhesive hooks that I wanted to hang my keys on. I keep laying them down somewhere, and even in this tiny trailer, I can't find them.

[The pop-up just pulled out of the park! The tent campers have been joined by about six other family members. They are sitting in chairs in a circle enjoying the shade.]

I felt so bloated when I got back from eating all that barbecue that I just sat in the camper disgusted with myself for awhile. I read part of my book. I off loaded my photos to the computer. I checked email and all that. I got an email from the Postachio people saying they were having a webinar about using Evernote at 8:00 my time. I didn't think I would get to be part of it, but I installed the GoToMeeting app on my phone to try. Then I played with posting photos to my mini-blog. I finally figured out that it was working. I don't know why I thought it didn't the last time I tried.

At about 5:30, I just couldn't wait anymore to start hiking. I needed at least two hours to pay for the barbecue, and I wanted to be back at the camper in time to shower and try to join the webinar. I followed the park roads checking out all the different areas. When I ended up at the playground by the Prairie, I followed the trails back to the camper. I was a hot stinky wet mess. I grabbed my stuff and went to the shower.

Now, I am not the most bashful person in the world. Just the same, if there is a choice, I will choose the most private of the two showers in the bath house. At this one, it was the handicapped shower closer to the wall. I guess they were expecting me to be seated on the pull down bench, because the shower hit me right in the junk! The other shower up higher was one of those that only stays on while you press it in. Between the two of them, I manage to get scrubbed.

I fixed myself a Jim Beam and diet coke and tried to use the app. It seemed to log me in okay, but nothing happened. It kept saying that it was waiting for a session administrator (something like that) to connect. Finally, at 8:00 PM sharp, I heard the voice of Jared Shaw coming through. Eventually, his computer screen popped into view, and I got to successfully participate. It was interesting and fun. Evernote is one of my favorite things. I use it for a lot of things.

I don't know if it was looking at a tiny screen, or just that fact that I normally do not eat huge amounts of greasy barbecue, but I started feeling a little nausiuos towards the end of the webinar. When it was over at about 9:00, I took an antacid, got in bed, made a few posts on Facebook, and read for awhile. It wasn't long. I fell asleep and woke up around 11:30 with my kindle laying on my chest. I got up, used the bathroom, and then went back to bed.

I woke up at 5:00 AM feeling perfectly fine. I used the bathroom and went back to bed, but finally gave up at 6:00 and fixed breakfast, at it, got dressed, and started off on my first hike of the day. This time, I took the trails strait to the Prairie trailhead, hiked up to the prairie pond, then took a new trail back to the one that goes around the prairie, hiked all the way around that area, and finished by hiking back on the roads. It was great. The weather was perfect.

When I got back to the camper, I hung my wet clothes out to dry, cooled down for awhile, then got caught up with writing this. I took a break for lunch a while back and polished off a pound of ice cold strawberries that I bought at the Brownwood WalMart on Sunday. Now, I am going to relax for about 45 minutes.

I am going to go to the 4^th of July walk. It starts at the playground over by the Prairie trail head. I'm going to hike over there by trail, like I did this morning.

8:29 PM

Well I left a little earlier than planned to go over to the Prairie Trail Head. I walked really slowly so I wouldn't be all hot and sweaty when I got there, but it didn't work. There was absolutely no breeze, and the air was hot and steaming. I was a wet mess when I got there at about 1:27. I sat on a bench by the playground listening to the birds and enjoying the breeze that suddenly came from nowhere.

A man came and joined me on the bench. I asked if he was taking the hike and he said he was, but I guess he misunderstood me. After we chatted for awhile, he said his goodbyes and headed off down the trail. I got up and walked to the parking area and found Ranger Leah there with some others. I asked her some questions that I had accumulated while hear. She answered them all and told me that what I thought was an archaeological dig site was actually where they are starting to build a new campsite with pull-throughs and full hookups.

After it looked like we had everyone assembled, Ranger Leah led us down the trails. We walked at a fast pace, but she stopped about every 10 minutes to tell us things about the park and share patriotic facts and readings for July 4^th. It still didn't help some of the people. They were very slow and many seemed uncomfortable. I can begin to imagine what they thought a hike through the canyon would entail. One family was all dressed for July 4^th. The girls had pretty little dresses with stars one them. Very few people had the right shoes on.

At one point, I was alone with Ranger Leah waiting for the others to catch up. I suggested that she point out poison ivy, because the kids where trying to run around the people in front of them and getting right into it. When everyone caught up, she sad she would show them, but didn't see any right around her. I had moved about ten yards down the trail. I hollered, “There is some right here next to this man's leg!” He jumped away pretty quick, but it was too late. The rest of the trip (about 2 and a half hours), I kept seeing people let it rub up against their legs. I told one lady about tecnu. I had seen her in the poison ivy several times.

When we finally got back to the starting point, Ranger Leah gave us all an ice cold bottle of water from a cooler in her truck. I poured half of it into my water bottle so that what I had left with me would be cooler for the walk home and drank the rest. I thanked her for a great hike and started back to camp on the road. I didn't want to take the trails because somehow or another I had strip all the skin off one of my toes. It was a little tender. I honestly don't know what I could have done to cause it. It was rubbing something. Maybe a wrinkle of sweaty sock got between the two toes. It wasn't horribly painful unless I landed on rocks and stuff. Ranger Leah was passing by and asked me if I wanted a lift. I declined. I needed the exercise to get to my calorie burn goal.

By the time I got back to the Colby T, I was wiped. I went to the bathhouse and took a shower, then I came back and doctored my toe with Neosporin and a bandaid before cooking up a delicious dinner of tuna casserole.

After I ate, I laid on the bed for a few minutes to see how soft it was with my sleeping bag under the mattress. Sleeping on the four inch foam mattress panels with my big butt has compressed it a bit. It usually gets more time to spring back to life. Anyway that did the trick. I still think that I may get a real mattress in here someday. I don't use the dinette unless N2S is with me. On those rare trips, I could leave the mattress in the garage.

I decided to try using the Movie Vault app, since I left my kindle on, and it went dead and needed to be recharged. It has specially minimized movie files that will run well on 3G service. I wasn't sure if it would work with 1 bar, but it has done great. I am about halfway through Mae West's She Done Him Wrong. Hey, I'm easily entertained. I took a break to put the awning up and finish this so I can stowe the computer before getting more settled in and watching the rest of the movie.

I want to get an early start tomorrow. Lockhart is only about 120 miles away, but I want to be there and get set up in plenty of time to meet N1S for a barbecue lunch. Anyway, I guess I will end this here.

Happy Trails

You may see all of the photos from this trip on my Photobucket site. click here

Circle Trip Stop 3: Meridian State Park

9:04 PM, July 1^st, 2013

 I got up really early (5:30 AM) and fixed breakfast. Then I did the departure routine. I was underway to Meridian SP by 6:30. It was another one of those drives where I changed roads every ten or so miles. The sun was still rising part of the way. I was really enjoying it, with Patsy Cline blaring from my iPod and the windows down for a change, until a raccoon ran right in front of me. I put my foot on the brake, but he was under me before I could even apply pressure. It really bothered me. I cried like a baby for about twenty miles. I am so sick of death. I was ashamed that I had caused this one.

When I got to Meridian, I spent a little longer than usual in the headquarters. My annual pass to the state parks expired yesterday, and I was advised to wait until today to get it so I would go through the end of July next year. The ranger at the desk was really helpful. She let me pick my site, but recommended number 5. She said it was farther from the bathrooms than the other options and had trees on both side of it. When I told her I was a school teacher, she gave me some awesome pamphlets from each of the regions of Texas. I've seen them for sale in other parks. I told her my wife was a fourth grade teacher and she tried to give me another set. I told her she had been generous enough. I will let Rachel see them. I think 4^th graders do the regions of Texas.

The site is really nice. The shade has kept the camper downright cold today. Plus, it is perfectly level, which meant I got to skip the extra 15 minute chore of setting up the BAL leveler. Unfortunately, I took the trailer off the hitch in a spot that I figured would be close to the hose connection. I realized right away that it was too far from the sewer connection. I put it back on the hitch without hooking up the chains or electricity and pulled it forward about five feet. I thought I would need to go buy another hose, but mine reached the water afterall.

There is absolutely no AT&T reception here. As soon as I was set up enough, I went to headquarters and asked the ranger where I needed to drive to get service. She gave me some spots, but said I could get it for sure in town. She also told me that the park has WiFi and that some people in my campsite, Crosstimbers, are able to use the wifi. I decided to go into town and test that theory when I got back. I needed to get a text off to Rachel to let her know I had safely arrived at Meridian.

The town is tiny, but has a beautiful courthouse. It is the Bosque County courthouse. The ranger had told me that it was recently restored to its original grandeur. I parked on the square and walked around taking photos. I saw a drugstore and thought they might have the Gold Bond Friction Defense, so I went in and looked for it. The pharmacist told me she could order it for me and have it tomorrow. I took her up on it. Chafing is no fun. (Luckily, it didn't happen today in the cooler weather!) I have two more parks to visit and don't want to risk chafing later.

I also stopped at the Family Dollar store just to see what they had. I bought a triple outlet thingy for the Colby T. I'm tired of unplugging my Keuring to charge something. I also got some batteries for the refrigerator fan. It is a little gizmo that sits in the fridge and circulates the air to help keep it cooler.

Back at the camper, I finished getting everything set up then headed off on my first hike to find the lake. I walked along a great trail that winded through the woods. Then it finally came out on a road by the lake. I walked along the shoreline and out onto the fishing pier. I took some photos of the pavillion, then headed back to the camper.

I cooled off for awhile by trying out the WiFi. It works in the camper, but is not very robust. It is funny how selective it is. I can not get it at all on my phone. The computer and my kindle seem to do fine. But, I can't get to email using the kindle app. I have to go to yahoo.com with the browser. As was the case in South Llano, Evernote seems to sync with no issues. I sent Rachel an email and told her to use that to communicate with me while I am here.

I walked over to the headquarters to download the third book in the Fred series, Escape from Fred. The Wifi wasn't that much faster, and it didn't go nearly as long as I thought it would. I went back to the camper and read for a little while.

My second hike was around the lake. Parts of it were really nice, but others were lousy. The ranger had warned me that part of it was overgrown and needed to be mowed. She was right. Unfortunately it was worse than not being able to see where I put my feet and being afraid I would step on a snake. It was covered with those awful tiny grass burrs that stick to your clothes and the hair on your legs like velcro. Everytime I cleared them off, I went through another patch. They get on the hem of your shorts and scratch with every step. I won't take that trail again.

When I got back from that ordeal, I decided to hook up the TV. I saw that the other campers had their antennas up. I was surprised that I picked up 11 channels. I am getting all of the major networks. Some are from the Dallas/Fortworth area. The ranger told me I am close to Waco. When you navigate by OnStar, you don't really know where you are.

I fixed dinner early, planning a long hike for later. I had chipotle flavored Knorr noodles with tuna. It was great. I am liking the instant dinners. So far I have only eaten two meals a day. I better lose some weight on this trip!

The last hike of the day was really nice, but it wiped me out. I followed the road up to the trail head for the Shinnery Ridge Trail. It was probably about two miles to get there. A lot of it was uphill. Then the Shinnery Ridge Trail was 1.6 miles, followed by the same two miles to get back to the Colby T. It was nice and cool. While off in the woods, I actually took my T-shirt off and enjoyed the cool breeze. That is something I NEVER do. But, as usual, I was the only person on the trail, so it didn't matter. Nobody got to see my bouncing manboobs!

When I got back, I headed straight to the bathhouse and took a nice hot shower. Well, nice is relative. I did share it with some moths, a daddy longlegs, and two little cockroaches. I used Tecnu on my legs and arms out of fear of poison ivy. I don't think I touched any of it, but it was EVERYWHERE! I went back with my razor and shaved instead of using my little battery razor, which is my usual method in the Colby T.

I uploaded my Lake Brownwood photos to photobucket. It took forever. I drank a cup of coffee and watched TV while it did its thing. Then I poured myself a Jim Beam and diet coke and started writing this while Under the Dome was on. It was okay. They aren't following the book as much as I would like, and I probably won't make any effort to watch the series as a whole.

Gonna read now and then go to bed. I am not gonna get up early tomorrow since it is cool enough here to walk all day long.

6:05 PM, July 2, 2013

Well, try as I might, I could not stay in bed after 6:30AM. I went ahead and got up and fixed breakfast. Then I leisurely checked my email, facebook, Open Roads, etc before getting dressed and heading off on my first walk for the day.

I decided to take the road that eventually ends up at the lake. For the first time ever, I actually listened to music on the way. It made for a very pleasant walk. I have a Patsy Cline collection with 24 songs. I guess I can call it an album, as it is listed as one on iTunes. Anyway, it kept me going. I took whatever offshoots I saw also. When I got back to the camper, I was more than happy with my efforts.

After cooling down for awhile, I headed into town to get gas and to pick up the Friction Defense from the pharmacist. On the way in, I stopped at the Dollar General and bought a can of ant and roach spray. Twice now, I have seen two or three tiny little black ants inside. Once I get them, there don't seem to be any others. I am sure they are there, so I am ready for it. Tomorrow, before I tow to the next park, I am going to spray all around the floorboards and hope for the best.

After I got the Friction Defense, I sat on a bench and called Rachel. Suddenly every truck in Texas decided to go right through downtown Meridian. I had to sit in the truck to hear her. We caught up on each other's side of things and said our goodbyes. I promised to call again tomorrow when I arrive at Mother Neff.

I almost came straight back to camp, but saw a grocery store that I had missed. I went in to see if they had anything local. Some small town stores sell local jerky, sausage, or cheeses. This one did not. It was a very nice modern little store, which I later learned is a small chain in this area. I bought a bottle of Merlot just because it was there and some microwave popcorn.

I got back to camp and walked the same walk from the morning, but I took it a lot faster. It was kind of hot because of my effort, but the breezes were cool. It was only about 87 degrees at the time. At the lake, people were laying out tanning. I didn't think people did that anymore. Oh well. I had stopped in at headquarters to ask some questions before starting the hike. The ranger was getting some walking sticks ready to sell. I decided to buy one for $9 and start collecting the little nail on plates from each park instead of buying T-shirts. This will be cheaper, and I never wear the shirts. I didn't have my wallet, so it motivated me to walk faster to get back before they closed.

After my walk, I did go buy the walking stick. That got me talking with the ranger again. She is really friendly and welcoming. We talked about how small Texas towns are disappearing right before our very eyes. I teased her about Meridian having a big national BBQ contest every year but not having a BBQ restaurant. I told her that state law required a barbecue joint in every town. I also told her that the Chinese restaurant on the Meridian town square had to be some kind of crime. Anyway, she told me that they had once had a great barbecue joint, but the guy moved it to Clifton about ten miles away.

I asked the ranger why there was no Bosque County Historical Museum. She told me there was right across the street from the pharmacy. I had seen it. It is called County Collections. I thought it was a hobby store. Anyway, I went to the camper and changed. I had to go back to town anyway, since I had forgotten to get gas.

When I got to town, I parked in the square and walked to the museum. There was a note on the door that said that it would be closed until the 5^th! Oh well. I decided to look for the old school but couldn't find it. I ended up on some back road in town with no idea how to get back to the square. I saw a sign pointing straight ahead for Clifton. I decided to just keep going. Why not try the BBQ?

I drove for awhile, but never saw a sign saying how far Clifton was. I pushed the OnStar button and they told me it was nine miles ahead. No problem. They pointed me to the BBQ place, which I just this second remembered was called Bunkhouse. I pulled in and noticed nobody was there. I walked to the door and saw a sign that written with a marker that said, “We are on vacation until July 5^th. Come back and see us!” I was really disappointed. I have been hungering for barbecue since I left San Antonio because Lockhart is the last leg of the trip and I plan to eat plenty of it! I got back in the truck and googled BBQ to see if there was another. There wasn't, but I noticed on the map that I was on the highway that goes straight to Meridian.

I got back on the road and headed for Meridian driving 75 miles per hour for the first time in ages. Then I saw a Dairy Queen and decided I wanted- no deserved a Blizzard. I got a small Heath Blizzard, which shows how far I have come in life. I never considered anything but a large in the past. This small was bad enough (about 600 calories)!

I got back to Meridian and turned on to the road to the park. I got almost all the way to the gate when I remembered the gas. I made a u-ey and went back to Tommy's gas station. I didn't notice the bag on the pump until I had already gotten out of the truck and unscrewed my gas cap. Then I noticed they were on all of the pumps. The station had no gas! I drove through town and found another one and got gas.

When I got back to the camper, I hooked up the sewer pipe (stinky slinky), then went ahead and fixed my dinner. Tonight I had broccoli rice with tuna. It was yummy! I was going to dump the tanks, but I changed my mind. I will do it tomorrow right before I leave. I don't have sewer at Mother Neff, and I am hoping to go all the way to the end of my Lockhart stop without dumping. If worse comes to worse, I can dump before I leave Mother Neff.

After eating, I sat at the computer and wrote some of this for awhile until about 6:30, when I went for my last walk at this park. I took the same path I used both times earlier in the day. It was nice. I got back and tidied up a bit. Then I turned on the TV and started watching the show Extreme Weight Loss. I opened the bottle of Merlot and poured myself a glass. Now you are caught up.

Before I go to bed, I will stow the TV and bring the antenna down. Everything else can weight until tomorrow.

Well, That's it for this leg of the trip. Happy Trails!!!!!

You can see all of the photos from this trip on my Photobucket site.  click here

Circle Trip Stop 2: Lake Brownwood State Park

Lake Brownwood State Park

9:00 PM, June 29, 2013

This as been an all around great day! It started at 5:45 AM when I first woke up and got out of bed. I fixed my usual camping breakfast, washed the dishes, and started breaking camp. I followed the checklist pretty much like usual, except this time, I did not turn of the refrigerator and I stowed the Keurig in the kitchen sink as I did on the Grand Canyon trip. I was all ready to pull out by 7:15, but I had a slight little problem.

The Colby T has running lights along the sides, front, and back. I had only seen them on a few times before. They are tied into the trucks daylight sensor. After I pulled the truck up a bit to get the chocks, I saw that all the lights stayed on, including my brake lights. It had me puzzled for a while, until I realized that the lights always stay on for awhile after I park. I just never notice it in the daylight. I tested it a few times, and that was what was happening!

On the way out of the park, I saw a huge jack rabbit, a large group of wild turkeys, and a blue heron down where people are usually swimming in the river. I saw a lot of deer throughout the whole trip.

I used the OnStar app to get routed to Lake Brownwood SP. I pushed the preview to see how I would be going, and it seemed so goofy that I actually hit the OnStar button and had them redo it. It came out the same. I traveled 146 miles with only one long stretch of 40 miles. The rest ranged from 2 miles to 18. Most were at about 11. I would take a left and go North for a while. Then I took a right to head east. It was great. They were a mixture of farm roads, ranch roads, and smaller highways.

It took me through several towns I had never been to. One was London, which looked like an apocalypse movie set. It had never been big, but man. It had fallen on some hard times. It was weirdly beautiful. Another was Brady. The road I was on dead ended on the town square smack dab in front of a beautiful courthouse. I took a quick photo while I was stopped at the light.

The park is nice. I am in site 77, which I picked because it looked easiest of the choices to back in. I did a great job backing in. I went super slow and readjusted as much as I needed without letting anybody watching make me nervous. That's 2 for 2! I was pleased to see that I had enough bars of phone service to actually use my phone a bit. Plus, there is WiFi at the HQ.

The refrigerator kept cold on the drive, so I took the effort needed to balance the trailer with the BAL leveler. I also hooked up the water, but decided to wait until later to hook up the sewer. I don't need to dump yet. I didn't think I had sewer at this park, so I was really being careful to conserve “tank”.

I changed into my walking clothes and took a quick trip down to the fishing pier. I came back another way. A tree was blocking my way, and I think I brushed against some poison ivy getting around it. I used tecnu as soon as I got back to the camper. I washed off and finished doing some of the set up stuff that I had neglected earlier, like setting up the kitchen cabinets. I wasn't hungry due to the heat for the third day in a row. With all the hiking, that is keeping me way below my calorie levels.

I decided to bite the bullet and take another longer hike around parts of the park. I wrapped paper towels around a cold bottle of water and sealed it in some tin foil. Then I hit the trail towards the pier. I was gonna branch out from there. Instead of turning off to climb down the hill to the pier, I stayed on the main trail, which got smaller and smaller, until it just about ended high on a bluff at an old stone fireplace. This park must have been a lot different in the old days. Anyway, to get down to the pier level, I had to walk down a foot wide rut that went almost straight down a hill. I'm not sure if it was an animal trail or a place where water runs off. At street level, I just walked around from area to area. At one point, I got so hot and tired that I sat at a picnic table in an unused camping sit and just rested until I thought I could go on. The hill up from the pier was murder going up. I got to the Colby T, stripped, wiped sweat off of everywhere, and all but chugged one of the two beers I decided not to drink last night.

Once I had cooled down a bit, I decided to go for a drive to get a dish scrubber. I went to a gas station about 4 miles from the park. I should have bought gas, but it was so crowded I didn't want to bother. On the way back into the park, I stopped at HQ and downloaded some things to my kindle using the WiFi. Then I came back to the Colby T and read for a long time before fixing dinner. Tonight I had read beans with rice. Gotta love those Knorr instant side dishes. I hooked up the TV just to see if I could get a channel, but the power went off for a second at about 5:30 and I didn't bother turning it back on. That's good, because I did reset the clock on the microwave, only to have the power go off again at 6:25. It went off once more at about five minutes later. Each time it was only for a second, but it worried me. I didn't know if it was just my camper or the whole park.

At around 7 or so, I decided to take my final hike of the day. I went to the pier, then took the roads back to camp. It was about 8:15 when I got back. It was still hot, but not as bad as earlier. I took another bath and washed my hair before settling down to work on this. Now I am going to read some more and go to bed early so I can get up and walk earlier tomorrow.

3:38 PM, June 30

I woke up right around 6:00 and just went on my hike. I wrapped a bottle of water in paper towels and tinfoil to at least keep it lukewarm by the end of the hike. Then I set off on the park road and headed for the boat ramp area to catch the Lakeside Trail where it starts behind the Beach Lodge. It was a nice morning. The air was cool and breezy. The sky was cloudy, but it wasn't what I would call overcast.

The trail started out fine and then kind of got lost in a thin little strip of overgrown brush and poison ivy. I kept going and came to an amazing set of stairs that led up to the main lodge. I am going to hike directly to it tonight by road, because I didn't get to take any pictures. My camera must have stayed on all night! I charged it before I went to bed. Anyway, the trail got better from there and gave some magnificent views of the lake. All along the way there were ancient fire pits and benches from days gone by. At one point, a tree was down and I had to scale some rocks to get around it. It wasn't terrible, but I'm sure my blood pressure spiked a bit. I am afraid of any situation where I can't get a good foothold or grab something to help me balance. It was worth it though. I had a very serene an beautiful walk. There was not one living soul around until I was almost back at the Colby T. Apparently, nobody else gets up at dawn to hike the trails.

The entire hike lasted a little over two and a half hours. It was cool the whole time, but the humidity and long range activity had me soaked. I got my stuff and went to the bath house for a real shower. I started out fully dressed so I could rinse out my clothes. The less stinky they are in my dirty clothes bag the better. I laid them out in the bed of my truck to dry. I felt refreshed and energized.

I fixed breakfast and read for awhile, enjoying the coolness of the Colby T. I decided that I would go into Brownwood to see whatever sites I could. I knew most of them would be closed. I should have gone yesterday when it was hot and miserable, but I wasn't thinking. Anyway, I decided to take a nap to pass the time. It was so cold in the Colby T that I actually got an arfghan that my mother crocheted back in the 70's out of the closet. When that wasn't enough, I used N1S's little kid batman sleeping bag on top of it. I know you are thinking, “Why didn't he just adjust the AC?” The answer is easy. I didn't want to risk another hot day making it hard to keep the camper cool. Anyway, I napped for a while and then got up and headed into town.

I went to WalMart first simply because I found it as I came into town. I bought another can of squirt cheese (I would hate to run out of that delicasy!), an extra pair of shorts, a roll of paper towels, and two 1-pound boxes of strawberries. I love strawberries! I asked the checker how to get to the town square. She wasn't sure what meant, but told me the courthouse was on Main Street. Most Texans know that the courthouse of any small town is in the center of the town square. She must have been a college student from out of state.

I parked on a side street and hike all over downtown Brownwood taking pictures of the beautiful old buildings. Then I headed over to Howard Payne University to do the same. My friend, Kristina Long had commented on my FB check in at Lake Brownwood Park that her husband, Paul Long, said to say hello to his alma mater. Both places were totally deserted! It was actually kind of creepy. I felt like Charlton Heston in the Omega Man! The buildings downtown are really pretty. I'll just let you look at thee photos for yourself. Howard Payne University Campus is small, but very nice. It is all read brick buildings with straight lines. It made me feel at peace. Of course, I was the only human being anywhere near it, so of course it was peaceful.

I drove around gawking at some other stuff until I found a gas station I liked and filled up for tomorrow's trip. I had enough gas, but my parents raised me to always have more of everything you need just in case. I took a different way back by accident. I thought I was on the right highway, but I didn't remember it having two lanes going in each direction. I pushed the OnStar button and got routed back to the park. Sure enough, I was headed the wrong way. They guided me to a shortcut back to the right highway.

I stopped at the Big G grocery store. I didn't need anything, but I wanted to ask them what the castle across the lake was. I tried to find a place to park to get a picture, but the only good shot was from the bridge, and I was too chicken to take a shot driving across. I hate bridges! Anyway, they had Knorr mixes on sale for .99 so I bought a few and asked the checker about the castle. She and a customer there told me it was being built by some oil baron from Midland. He and his brother were in a “pissing contest” to see who could build the biggest house. It was huge! Crazy. I am going to look it up on the Internet.

On the way into the park, I pulled off the road and got a photo of the entrance. I also got a picture showing how the low water has affected some of the people. Their docks are helter skelter or completely sitting on dry ground. It is heart breaking. You work your entire life to finally be able to afford your lake dreamhouse and the lake levels go down to nothing. Who will buy it from you?

Anyway, I am going to offload my photos from today and then cook dinner. Tonight I am having tuna stroganoff and strawberries. I have one last hike in me. That's all.

8:30 PM

Dinner was really good. After I ate, I set the pan to cook and read until 7:00. Then I put on my stinky clothes and hiked to the Oak Lodge. I wanted to see the tower view from the top and get photos of the fancy stairways leading to the river. I wanted to use a little Gold Bond Chafing Defense Anti-Friction Formula. I had a little rubbing while walking downtown. Unfortunately, I must have left it at home. I almost didn't take the hike, just in case. I'm glad I did- no chafing. But I will try and find some Gold Bond tomorrow before hiking at Meridian.

When I got back from the hike, I went ahead and dumped my tanks and disconnected the sewer hose. Then I disconnected the water and stowed my hose in the basement. There were some men across the way trying to do something to their sewer system. One of them had gloves on and the other two had suggestions. Not sure what the problem was. There isn't much that can go wrong with a trailer sewer system. It is a tank. It fills up. You connect a hose from the trailer to the sewer hole. You pull a lever, and WALLAH, tank is dumped. Maybe their kids put stuff in it. Or they didn't use enough water to flush and built the dreaded PYRAMID OF POOP! The cure is to throw a couple of bags of ice before you tow the trailer. It rattles around and knocks everything loose. Enough of that!

Anyway, I am sitting in a very cool Colby T contemplating drinking a Jim Beam and diet coke. It is the diet coke part that is making it not quite worth the effort to get the Jim Beam out of its hidy-hole. I'll probably just read for a while and go to sleep early. I only have about 30 minutes of departure prep left to do. I am going to stow the computer in just a minute. Like the last time, I will start the Meridian post with tomorrow's travel.

One thing- the computer keeps telling me it is detecting usable WiFi tonight. I connects to the park's public network, but doesn't bring up the agreement page. It says, “little or no connectivity” anyway, which means I wouldn't be able to upload any photos, etc. I need to buy a new battery so I can sit and do it outside the HQ. Oh well.

Happy Trails!

You can see all of the photos from this trip on my photobucket site. click here

Circle Trip Stop 1: South Llano State Park

2:30 PM, Thursday, June 27, 2013

 Well I am finally on my mini vacation in the Colby T. This is the first of five stops at Texas state parks. I am traveling in a 615 mile circle and spending two nights at each park. I am excited, as this will be my longest time away in my camper.

I wasn't sure if this trip would even happen. I made all my plans, but Rachel decided to finally get a medical test done. She had been told to do it back in January, but felt like it was a waste of time. But, she kept letting it needle her at the back of her mind and finally decided to get it done. If it was positive, good- she could start treatment. If it was negative, good- we could stop worrying about it. One of the reasons she didn't want to do it was the cost. Can you imagine that? We don't exactly live under a bridge. We have insurance. Oh well... Anyhow, we went yesterday to get the results. All is well, and I headed out as planned.

This is my first time at South Llano River SP. I wanted to come before, but it was booked. I see why now. It is beautiful. The river is just a small meandering one, but the area around it is lush and nice. I am here for the trails, of which there are many.

I got here today around 11:00 AM. I had to back into my site, which I feel like I did pretty well. I have learned to take my time. I had to pull back up a couple of times to straighten out, but that was only because my site is on a curve, and I wasn't able to get straight to begin with. It isn't as easy as you would think. I have to go by site, but the back end is totally blocked by the camper. You really have to trust your mirrors, even though they give you a somewhat distorted picture of what's back there.

I decided to just get everything all moved in and set up right away. I had skipped breakfast and wanted to eat a meal before hitting the trails. First thing to do was vacuum with my new vacuum cleaner. I needed to get all of Nicky's hair out of here. I got a $20 electric vacuum at WalMart. It is small, but more powerful than those rechargeable ones. Since I am using it in the Colby T, the cord is more than long enough. It did a nice job.

For lunch, I made some Thai curried rice with chicken. It was pretty good. I cleaned up trying to use a miniscule amount of water. I don't have a sewer connection here. I hope to wait until I get to my third stop to dump the tanks. I have full sewer there. It can be done by using minimal water for cleaning, and not flushing too much water.

I took a walk to the river. It was a nice loop. I carried water with me, but it got really hot. Unlike Nicky, I am not spoiled enough to carry cold water for me. In fact, I didn't even bring any ice on this trip. I turned the fridge on, but if it doesn't cool down a bit by about 5:00 pm, I will know I am not level enough. I am not going to waste time getting that level just to have ice cold drinks.

There is one bar of E phone service that comes and goes. I can't call my sister, Patti, for her birthday like I had planned. I was able to text Rachel and the project manager for the house. I do not know whether or not my posts to my new mini blog site, More Hot Air, are making it through or not. I also can't add my nutritional information to my Body Media App. I did not realize it need a connection for that. I can transmit my activity stats to it.

Anyway, I came back to the camper after the walk and felt a little overheated. I'm not sure how hot it is out there, but it is scorching. I decided to rest in the cool for a while and get this started. I am not quite ready to try and hike the hill to the scenic outlook. That might be a thing for tomorrow when it is cooler.

6:16 PM

Once I felt cooled down enough, I went back out and hiked the same hike in reverse. I saw a beautiful tiny fawn peaking out at me. I don't know if the pictures will show him. I didn't want to get too close. I actually saw some folks on the trail this time. The whole park is pretty full. When I was headed to town a while ago, there were about six trailers pulling in. There are some tent campers, and the rest are about 50/50 popups to trailers.

I got back to the camper and tried to cool off for awhile. I played a few minutes of a game called Brink of Consciousness: Dorian Gray Syndrome. I'm not much of a gamer, but I figured there would be no TV or Internet out here and downloaded it just in case. I will do more writing and reading, but I also need some thoughtless time wasting activities.

I decided to go and buy a bag of ice. Much to my surprise, the foam cooler that N2S and I bought for the Colby T was not in the bath tub! No problem. There is a Dollar General in Junction. They have everything you could need in a tiny cramped space. If one ever explodes, it will turn into a WalMart. I also bought a cold six pack of beer. I am on vacation!

Back at the camper, I went ahead and cooked dinner. I didn't want any dirty dishes tonight, so I just had powdered eggs on tortillas. I mixed them and cooked them in a paper bowl. No mess. No fuss. Anyway, after I ate, I got you caught up. I know it's early, but I am dog tired. I think I will take a short nap, then take one more trip on the trails.

7:49PM

Well. I scrapped the nap and went straight on to the final hike of the evening. I started to follow the same path I took on the second hike, but I was lured into seeing where the scenic overlook trail went. I was just going to get a peak at it, preferring to walk it in the cool of the morning. When I saw it was a paved road, I figured I would go ahead and do it. It was a steep walk. I had to stop several times to catch my breath. The payoff was so worth it though. The view was awesome. I sat at the picnic table for a few minutes entering today's meals since there was just enough signal to do that.

While I was sitting at the overlook, something crashed through the brush headed right for me. I thought it was a deer, but it wasn't. I beautiful golden colored fox was in hot pursuit of a bird. The bird squawked and took off. The fox looked at me and gave me a look that must have said, “Damn it! You scared my dinner away.” Then it turned and hightailed it into the woods.

The walk down was a breeze. I just let the hill pull me. A little lizard started racing ahead of me and stopping about five feet ahead. He finally veered off, and I got a good shot of him.

Now it is time for a sponge bath, a couple brewskis, and a good read.

9:54AM, Friday, June 28^th

This has been an awesome morning! I woke up freezing at 6:00. That seems to be my natural time. If I ignore it, I usually snooze a little until 7:00. Today, however, I wanted to get out on the trails before they got too hot. I fixed a breakfast of two powdered egg, bacon, sriracha, and squirt cheese tacos with a nice hot cup of obsedian coffee from the Keurig. Then I dressed, gathered my stuff, and headed out.

I wanted to hike the Fawn Trail today. It is a two hour loop that leaves from near my camp site and finishes by the park headquarters. It starts out meandering through some lush brushy areas following a dry creek bed. Then it suddenly turns off to the right. At that point, you have a long grueling climb for about twenty minutes (at my pace with stops to recover my heart rate). When you get to the top, you find your self on a wide flat plain with a dirt road going ahead as far as the eye can see. To your left and right, there are beautiful views of nearby hilltops and one large plateau. Today, it was sunny and cool with a wonderful constant breeze blowing towards me.

Eventually, you come to a descent that is windy and steep. Signs warn that it may be dangerous when wet, but it was no problem today. At each twist of the trail, new vistas open up before you. At the bottom, I turned down another short trail. There was a pit there with a large strange looking deer beside it. It looked at me and screeched like I have never heard before running off. The pit was full of deer carcasses. When I asked at HQ, they told me the deer was an exotic. The carcasses are the ones hit by cars or found dead of old age in the park.

A short ways from there, I entered a lushly canopied part of the trail which had little flip-board signs with information on them. I stopped to read everyone and even took some photos. That trail ended at the headquarters. I went in there and asked about 6 questions that were burning on my mind. One of the rangers mentioned that there is a public library in Junction with WiFi, so I am headed there later.

I finished my hike by adding on an hour long loop past the lake, where I sat on a bench and listened to birds and watched some little boys fish for awhile. Then I hiked back to the Colby T. As I passed other campers, they all seemed to be just getting started on their day. I have already burned more than half of my calories for the day, met my step goal, and doubled my moderate activity goal. I don't know why I didn't get points for vigorous activity today or last evening while climbing hills!

As soon as I got into the Colby T, I stripped naked, put a wet washcloth in the microwave, and gave myself a sponge bath. Then I put my wet clothes in the bed of my truck to dry and started getting all of my devices charged.

In town, I am hoping to get my photos posted to photobucket, catch up on email and FaceBook, and research sites to see in Junction. I want to tour around during the hotter hours before coming back and taking a few small hikes in the later evening hours. I also need to call a friend who tried to call me yesterday. My phone rang, but I couldn't hear anything. When I have service (it comes and goes), it it usually no more than 1 bar of 3G and most ofter 1 bar of E. I seem to be able to send texts with any service. Facebook doesn't work at all. Email worked once. Strangely, I seem to be able to sync my Evernote app on the phone.

Anyway, I need to get my photos off the camera and head to town.

2:05PM

Well I am back. It is really hot out there. The LED sign at the bank in Junction said it was 95, but I'm sure that was just the beginning of today's climb to the inferno. I went straight to the library and got caught up on FaceBook, twitter, and email sitting on the porch. Then I tried to upload my photos. My laptop claims to have 6 hours of charge, but only stays on for two or three minutes. I went inside and the librarian showed me a hidden outlet by a table where I could plug in. I had the pictures up in a snap. Then I started researching places to see in Junction. There wasn't much listed, but I went ahead and sent OnStar directions to my truck for the Kimble County Historical Museum. Before leaving the library, I walked through the O.C. Fisher exhibit. It was really nice. He is related to King Fisher and was a congressman.

I drove to the museum, but it was closed. It is just a tiny little building. They are raising money for a new one. There is a sign on a big vacant lot announcing the future home. I was a little disappointed. I decided to park on the town square and just walk around for awhile. I got some good photos. It was unbearably hot, especially on my head! I spent about 45 minutes walking and reading all the signs. Then I got back in the truck and drove the other way through town to see what was there.

Just as I was thinking a cold drink would be nice, I saw a Sonic. I stopped in and sat at a table outside. The phone service was good there, so I called Ann. I sat there in the heat for a while longer enjoying my Route 44 diet cherry limeade. Then it was just time to head back to camp.

I passed a place called the Milky Way. I decided that since I hadn't had any lunch, I would stop for ice cream, if it was an ice cream kind of place. I turned and drove to the school and parked so I could look it up on the Internet. A Police truck was going by and just slammed on his breaks and sat there watching me. I quickly learned that the Milky Way was a full-blown diner. I didn't want lunch. I have food in the camper. I pulled out of the lot, and headed back to camp.

Now, I am going to stay in doors and read for a while. Then I will take at least one more hike around the lake. No big hills. I'm kind of worn out already.

5:15PM

Well, I took a nice long hike around the lake to pass time for dinner. I saw several deer along the way-lots of fawns. When I got to the end of the part of the trail that meets the river, I saw three people carrying their floating tubes. They must have rented them from the park because they were big and yellow with numbers marked on them. A medium sized black dog was trotting along with them. The youngest guy was barefoot and obviously having a bad go of it. I wanted to badly to offer my socks to him. They would have helped with the heat and might have helped with the rocks. But-NO! I was too afraid they would think I was some old crazy guy or something. Instead, I asked how the river was and went on my way.

At the Colby T, I stripped off my clothes and washed up again. I had changed back into my dirty clothes, because all you do is get sweaty in this heat. Now they are drying and getting ready for their trip into the dirty clothes sack for good. I can't go through too many clothes. Beating my shirts on a rock by the water is not an option.

I fixed a nice dinner of chicken flavored taco rice. Since I skipped lunch, I indulged myself with some extra low carb tortillas. I also drank one of the beers from yesterday. The others are on the docket for tonight. I plan to read and relax inside before going to bed early. I have 137 miles to travel tomorrow, and prefer to do it in the cool so the Colby T is easier to cool off. I hope to pull out of here by 7:30, but I am not setting any alarm.

That's it for this leg of the trip. I will start with tomorrow morning in the next post about Lake Brownwood SP. If something amazing happens tonight, I'll update this one.

Happy Trails!

You may view all of my pictures from this trip on my photobucket site.click here