Fort Parker State Park

Time flies when you are buying land and eating turkey!  We went on this trip November 2-3 and I have been a lazy blogger.  I should have gotten it to you sooner because this park was great.  We went east this time to Mexia to Fort Parker State Park.  This park has a large lake, a cemetery, and an old wooden fort with a great story.  We arrived Saturday around lunchtime and choose a spot in the primitive area.  It really was not all that primitive as there were pit toilets, a water spigot in the loop and we could park right in front of our site.  It had rained a lot that week so the sites right next to lake were closed unless you like pitching a tent in water.  The sites were beautiful with tall pecan, oak, and cedar (not ash juniper) trees all around.  After setting up and letting the kids play awhile, we went on a hike to the cemetery.  On the way we saw a red tailed hawk perched on a tree very close to the trail, a ladder back woodpecker, and a red bellied woodpecker.  There was a town called Springfield on this land in the 1840's-1860's.  After the Civil War and the railroad came through, the town became deserted and the only thing left are the natural springs and the graves. We wandered around completing a scavenger hunt and learning a lot about the people that lived there. 
That evening, Shawn and the kids went fishing while I got the fire started and relaxed.  Patrick caught 2 white bass big enough to keep.  After dark, the park host lead Natalie and I on a night hike to look for owls and avoid hogs.  We didn't see any, but heard the call of a eastern screech owl, a great horned owl and a bared owl from our campsite. 
The next morning they returned to the lake and got one more fish.  We packed up and left the park to visit the fort just down the road.  The fort is a replica built in 1936 when the state park was built.  Old Fort Parker was the pioneer home of Cynthia Parker, who at age 9, was abducted by attacking Comanches and raised by the tribe.  She eventually married the chief and had 3 children.  It was discovered by Captain Sull of the Texas Rangers that she was not Comanche and was returned to her family in East Texas.  But she never could adapt to anglo ways and died just after the death of her daughter at age 45.  This fort was fun to walk through and look at all of the artifacts. 
This was a great park for Texas history and nature.  I highly recommend it for fishing and enjoying the trees.  The Confederate Reunion Grounds are also nearby, but we did not make it over there.

Summer in Florida and West Texas

Long time no blogging, but we have not started out camping season quite yet.  Just like last October, it has rained or we have had other plans every weekend.  But today it was chilly and the leaves are just starting to hint that they are ready to fall.  I spend a lot of time distracted by foliage, so I notice these things.  This summer we took our usual trip to Florida for sun and family fun.  We went to the beach and the springs and had a lovely time introducing some friends to the real Florida.
We took a trip in August back to the Davis Mountains.  We loved it so much last year we had to come back with my Mom.  We enjoyed the Indian Lodge and the McDonald Observatory again.  We spent hours swimming at Balmorhea.  We also stayed a few nights at the Prude Ranch and went for a trail ride up the mountains.  One of my favorite stops was the Dessert Botanical Garden.  We hiked down into a canyon and saw beautiful gardens.  The weather was as mild as Texas in the summer can be.  The boys are headed to Cub Scout camp this weekend and we are trying to find a state park with sites available for November.  This area is growing so quickly and people love the outdoors so much, it is getting increasingly difficult to get weekend reservations at our State Parks.  A blessing and a curse I suppose.  Perhaps more people will mean more funding for more parks.  Here are a few pictures from our trips.

DO's and DON'Ts for new campers

We have entered into our slower camping season as the summer heat sets in and school comes to an end.  There will be beach and tubing adventures in Florida next month.  There is a trip planned for the Davis Mountains, but we will stay at the lodge instead of the campground.  We shall see what the summer brings, but for now I will get caught up on a few entries that have been swirling around my head for awhile.
First thing to update you on a new equipment addition.  Our beloved camp stove died after a decade of service.  We looked at a lot of different models before settling on the Coleman Triton Series two burner.  We tried it out at an overnight trip to McKinney Falls with scouting friends in April and it works great.



So moving on to advice for new campers.
When we were traveling on spring break, we saw quite a few families that were obviously new to camping. How did I know they were new?  Well other than the pristine, fresh out of the package equipment, there were also lots of rookie mistakes.  So I came up with some advice, a list because I really love lists, to help newbie campers enjoy their experience without irritating the pros.

1.  Check the weather report carefully.

The family across from us at Stephen F Austin left the campground at 5 a.m. with their baby and young son because the temperatures that night dipped into the lower 40's.  It was warm and comfy during the day, but once the sun set it got much colder.  We were near the river, which also lowers the temperature by a few degrees.  All sleeping bags will give you a degree minimum for comfort.  Most cheap bags are 60 degree bags.  Meaning you will be somewhat warm enough as low as 60 degrees in that bag.  To be toasty warm go 10 degrees up.  So a 30 degree bag would have been the minimum for a night that cold in a tent .

2.  Practice setting up your tent before you go.

Don't be those people that arrive late in the evening and pull your tent out of the packaging for the first time.  Make sure you can put your rain fly on easily and in the wind.  Bring extra stakes and a hammer.  We live in Central Texas and in central Texas we don't have dirt, we have dirty rock.  The only way you are getting those stakes in the ground is with a hammer and you may even bend a few so bring extras.  If you are beach camping, invest in sand stakes or your rain fly will end up in the ocean.



3.  Bring a camp stove.

We have seen so many campers eating dinner at 8:30 at night because they only brought charcoal and it takes a long time to get those coals ready to cook on.  If you are cooking on a fire, bring your own wood.  Do no tramp through the brush breaking tree limbs and collecting pine needles to burn.  Not only is it against the rules, but all that brush is usually wet and will create a ton of smoke.

4.  Don't entertain your kids.

The family next to us to Stephen F Austin looked exhausted.  That mom had clearly read one to many pinterest pins and mommy blogs about how to camp with your family.  She had crafts, science activities, and family games including spoon races and bean bag toss to last the whole afternoon.  Stop working so hard!  You have already packed up all your stuff into the car, driven to the park, unpacked everything and set it all up.  Sit down in your brand new Academy canvas chair and let them explore nature.  We bring 2 buckets, 2 shovels, a frisbee or ring, sketch pads and colored pencils, bikes and books.  That's it.  No electronics except for maybe a kindle, no toys, no air soft guns.  I keep a deck of Uno cards in case it rains.  Let them discover making houses out of bark and sticks.  Let them find caterpillars and acorns.  Let them play in puddles, creeks, streams, and lake shores even if it is cold or they get filthy.

5.  Respect your neighbors and don't be afraid to call the ranger

When you arrive somewhere get the phone number of who to call if your neighbors are not observing quiet hours.  It happens, more often than I like.  Large groups start partying and the noise continues long after 10 pm.  I have been known to yell at people on occasion, but sometimes it is better to let the ranger handle it.  10 pm- 6 am are quiet hours in most parks.  So turn off your radio, your generator.  Get everything you need out of your car so the horn doesn't honk when you lock it.  The birds start chirping early so you may as well go to bed.

6.  Dogs and babies are not good campers.

Of course there are exceptions, but in general, babies and toddlers scream and dogs bark.
There are a lot of safety issues with bringing very small children camping.  Before you decide that your child is ready to camp ask yourself the following:  Can my child nap anywhere, even if it is very warm or noisy?  Are they ok with being dirty?  Are they afraid of the dark or strange noises (coyotes howling, armadillos burrowing etc.)?  Do they still put things in their mouth?  Can they follow safety rules near rivers, open fires, dangerous plants (poison ivy, cactus etc.) and animals (snakes, scorpions, spiders)?  If the answers to these questions make you squirm a little, wait.  Our youngest was ready to camp at 3, but our oldest wasn't ready till 5.  Every child is different and taking it slow is best.  Start with a day trip, then try a screened shelter or cabin.  Then try out the tent in your backyard or a very close park.  Then, do one night trips till they are comfortable with camping.
Dogs can be great companions especially on beach trips, but if your dogs barks at other people or other dogs, leave them at home.  Nothing is worse than trying to relax at your site and having to listen to your neighbors dog bark for hours while they are out hiking and have left their dog at the site.  You will see more animals, especially birds if you leave Fido at home.




7.  Know what to pack.

The basics for camping can be found in any book or article about camping.  But there are some things that you need that you may not have thought of.  One roll of paper towels per family of four per day.  Bring hand soap for washing hands at the site.  Headlamps are better than flashlights.  Lotion because campfires dry out your skin.  A hammer.  Flip flops for the shower.  Zip ties and duct tape can fix almost anything.  A good pump for your air mattresses.  One extra meal that doesn't require refrigeration or heat kept in the car.  A can opener.  Extra socks.  Gallon ziploc bags.  Garbage bags for dirty clothes.  One extra blanket in case your kid yaks in the tent at 3 am.

8.  Know what to leave at home

You do not need half of the camping things sold.  Leave at home your nice clothes and school shoes.  No sidewalk chalk, kites, and anything else that will still be there when you leave.  Your stroller.  Get a backpack or front style carrier instead.  Most trails are not level or wide enough for a stroller to pass anyway.  Your radio, unless you have headphones.  I do not share your love of Kid Rock.  Bounce houses, kiddie pools, slip and slides, air soft guns, and karaoke machines are also a no.

Enjoy the end of spring and for anyone up north enjoy the beginning of your camping season!

Martin Dies Jr. State Park

Spring break road trip stop #3!  Wow this has taken me a lot longer to get finished than I intended.  I hope it is worth the wait.  Our last stop on our tour of east Texas was Jasper.  Yes I know, banjos and other things that make Jasper famous in Texas.  But, it is really pretty there and totally worth the trip.
Martin Dies Jr. State Park is on the shore of the B.A. Steinhagen Reservoir.  The park is split into two units.  Walnut Ridge unit has RV sites and some screened shelters.  The nature center is also in this unit.  More about that in a minute.  We stayed in the Hen House unit which has water only tent sites, RV sites, and screened shelters.  This is also the same side as the headquarters and canoe rentals.
We were in site 75 which had large trees and plenty of shade.  This also helped create a good wind break from the lake.  The lake sites have very little shade and wind protection. We enjoyed a bike ride around the loop and watched the sunset across the lake.  We saw lots of birds, especially cardinals.  That night we had a raccoon and a couple armadillos visit us.  No food lost!  Saturday we did a lot of bike riding all over the park, fishing, and went hiking to find the geocache.  One of the trails even had baby alligators sunning nearby.  It was a wonderful relaxing day.  The next morning we packed up and went to the nature center for an 11am reptile program.  The kids loved the nature center and all of the fun things to touch.  We got to see corn snakes eating mice up close and touch the snake.  We got to touch an alligator skull and skin.  We learned that alligators love the smell of wet dog.  So if you let your dog swim in a lake or river with gators, within 20 minutes the gators will show up.  So keep your dog out of the swimming area!  Then the kids got to hold a baby gator.  They loved it!
This is a park I would definitely return to.  It is about 4 hours drive from the Austin area, but if you have kayaks or a boat, love to fish, or bike you will enjoy this park.