Village Creek SP and Shangri La Gardens

Spring break road trip stop #2!
We pulled into Village Creek around 5:30pm.  It is just north of Beaumont and right on Village Creek.  This is not a big park and your choices for camping are the water/electric loop, which was over run with shoeless kids on bikes, Christmas lights and smokers full of brisket, and the walk-in river sites, which have 2 porta-potties and are 100-750 yards down a hiking trail from the parking lot.  So of course we chose the walk-in sites!  And I am so glad we did because the sites were quiet, spacious and private.  We brought a cart and managed to get everything to the site in three 1/2 miles trips.  We got site #8 with a nice view of the river and a water spigot close by.  There are "real" bathrooms by the RV loop with nice showers.  We stayed 2 nights at this park.  On our first morning the view of the creek was beautiful with the mist rising in the cold.  After breakfast we got showered and ready to go to Shangri La Gardens in Orange.  It was a 45 minute drive into Orange.  The Gardens were amazing!  After a tasty lunch as the cafe, we met Maxine the Barred Owl.  Patrick was in love.  We took an hour boat ride through the swamp area and saw alligators, an osprey, and lots of turtles.  We visited the children's garden and the heron nesting area.  The azaleas were in full bloom and very impressive.  It was a wonderful place to visit and the weather was perfect.  We headed back to Village Creek for our last night.  The next morning we packed up and went hiking to find the geo cache.  This park is most known for canoeing and paddling.  The park does not rent canoes, but there are several outfitters that do in the area listed on the state park website.  There is a swimming area about 1.5 miles down the trail, but it was a little to chilly for swimming and the river is very brown.  If you have your own kayak this is a great park to bring it to. 

Stephen F Austin State Park

Spring Break Road trip!  We decided to recreate our summer trip in a downsized way.  With less heat and fewer miles. 
Planning was definitely easier.  Last year over spring break we went to Caddo Lake and loved the piney woods area.  It was much less crowded than hill country and we loved the tall trees and birds.  So I picked three parks to visit somewhat close together and planned 5 nights away.  The problem was Natalie got truck sick on our last trip which was only 2 hours drive and we were looking at 4 hours of driving on the way home from Jasper.  But we really wanted to take bikes with us.  So we decided to take 2 vehicles even though that meant entrance fees for 1 adult everywhere we went.  State park passes cover everyone in one vehicles unless you opt for 2 cards.  Our park choices were Stephen F Austin, Village Creek (near Beaumont) and Martin Dies Jr. (near Jasper).
We left on Tuesday morning having fully recovered from my birthday and the time change.  Stephen F Austin is the original homestead and town founded by Stephen F Austin.  His cabin and other historic homes are free to tour and just outside of the park.  We only spent 1 night here and it was very busy with first time campers.  The sites are fairly small and close together, but they do have a water only tent loop which is nice.  There is a nature center and trails with large trees and nice sloughs to watch for turtles.  The river is also close by, but the kids and I did not get a chance to make it down there.  We had playground drama, so they had to stay with me instead of going to play with  other kids.  We went geo caching and saw beautiful butterflies down the nature trail.  My favorite thing was the owl calls starting around dusk.  We heard Great Horned owls, Barred owls, and Screech Owls.  I also spotted a couple bluebirds, cardinals, and a few woodpeckers.  The trees were lovely.  It was quite cold that first night, but we stayed warm and toasty in our new sleeping bags.  Overall it was a nice park, one that I would like to return to explore the river and historic areas.

Colorado Bend State Park

Ahhh spring has sprung and we have had cabin fever.  So before our big spring break trip we seized the chance to get away for one night.  We had Colorado Bend booked for 2 nights in October, but cancelled due to rain.  river + rain + Texas = flash flood.  Colorado Bend is located west of Lampassas about 2 hours from our house.  We took the truck even though we left the bikes at home because the last 6 miles into the park is gravel road.  Saturday morning was sunny and in the 60's, perfect camping weather.  I had booked a guided cave tour for the boys at 1:30 ahead of time.  For $35 you get a guide and a helmet to take you through 2 different unmarked caves.  The tour is for ages 6 and up and you have to bring your own gear.  This includes head lamp, knee pads, back-up flashlight, and gloves.  Pants and long sleeved shirts are recommended.  Sturdy shoes or boots were a must.  The cave is also home to bats and small white crickets.  In the summer the walls are an inch thick with crickets and daddy long legs, so winter is the better time to go.  eww.  I don't do small spaces and little girlie is the minimum age, so we opted for the guided hike to Gorman Falls instead.  Our tour started at 2pm.  We ate lunch on the tailgate and headed off on our adventures.  We rode with the rangers to Gorman Springs and learned about how the falls were formed and the history of the property.  The guided hike was great and a bargain at $5 for adults and $2 for kids.  The falls were beautiful!  The hike down can be difficult and impossible with a stroller or wheelchair.  The limestone has become worn and very slick.  They have installed a cable railing to help get safely down there. 
The campsites are down on a grassy area by the river.  There is not much privacy between sites, but we chose site 23 at the end.  This park has only cold rinse outdoor showers and chemical toilets.  But the scenery was beautiful.  We even found a secret little stream by our campsite that begged for the kids to explore with their boots and nets.  The water in the river right now is low, but still flowing and it made for a very soothing sound at night.  While making our fire, we watched the full moon rise over the hill and even saw a bald eagle swoop down for a fish when we first arrived. 
We got new sleeping bags for Christmas and gave our old bags to the kids. I got a Northface 20 degree bag and Shawn got a Marmot 0 degree bag.  We gave the kids our old mummy style 15 and 30 degree bags to replace their Target non-rated sleeping bags.  They said they were much warmer.  Which was good because it was around 40 degrees that night.  We would have slept fantastic with all that warmth and river music, but our beloved Aerobed chose this as its night to die.  So about halfway through we found ourselves sleeping on the rocks.  We are still unsure whether to fix it, replace it, or find something else to sleep on. 
Next morning we had our pancakes and bacon and made a plan.  We packed up camp and went hiking to find the geocache and show the boys the waterfall.  The hike to the falls was 1.5 miles there and we detoured to find the cache on our way back.  All total we hiked around 3.5 miles before loading up and heading back home. 
We really loved this park.  It takes some effort to get to and without warm showers and paved roads, it is ideal for camping purists.  But you will be rewarded with great scenery and beautiful starry skies.