April 15-17, we camped at Fairfield Lake State Park in East Texas. We got site 23 right next to the lake and enjoyed a beautiful view with shore access for fishing. This park is very similar to another park we camped at a few years ago, Ft. Parker. Both have a lake, both are smaller parks, and both have a cemetery to explore. We arrived on Friday late afternoon and got everything quickly set up. It was not busy at all with only a few sites taken in our loop. Shawn had been traveling for work nearby earlier in the week, so he stopped by the park and was able to check us in two nights early by paying for a site ahead to guarantee we got a good one. It got a little busier the next night, but it was still not full. There was rain in the forecast but we decided to chance it after the lack of rain on the Huntsville trip. It was a bit buggy being by the water, but the sunset made up for it.
Saturday morning Shawn went down to start fishing and I took the kids on a bike ride. Our first stop was at the bird watching trail. It was a short loop with good views of the lake. There weren't many birds, but we did see a couple wild hogs. There is quite a bit of hog damage in the park, but that is typical for East Texas. We rode all the way up to the headquarters to get a patch for Romer (my vintage military bag) and a few cute t-shirts. Patrick decided to head back to fish while Natalie and I explored the cemetery. It might sound strange, but I spent many vacations visiting cemeteries. My parents are history buffs, particularly Civil War, and they took my sister and I to many battlefields and historic sites all over the south. Natalie has discovered the story telling possibilities that cemeteries hold and she has a deep appreciation for Texas history. So we spent some time reading headstones and historic markers, cleaning up graves that had been covered by grass clippings, and learning more about the family that once owned the property. We made the long ride back to camp and had lunch. After lunch, we stopped back at the bird loop to find the first geocache on our way to the swim beach area. Normally April is a little early to be swimming, but there is a power plant on this lake which makes the water temperature warmer year round. The kids had a great time swimming while I found the second geocache and took a short nap on a picnic table. Afterwards I brought the kids back and I took off on a solo hike. I hiked about 3 miles of a trail near the north side of the park. That evening we were tired, and once the fiesta next door died down (per my request at 11pm) we slept well.
Sunday morning, we packed up fairly quickly as the drizzle was getting heavier and we knew the rain was coming. Sure enough, as soon as we pulled out of the park it began to pour down rain.
This was a nice park for fishing and swimming. There were not many trails, but they were well maintained and marked.
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| campsite |
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| campsite |
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| path to the lake |
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| visitors and wannabe thieves |
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| lightening damage |
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| path to the marsh on the bird loop |
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| armadillo hole |
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| fixing up the headstone and flowers |
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| geocaching |
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| lake swimming with the power plant in the background |
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| rain clouds building |
