Tyler State Park

Tyler State Park has been on our list for a long time, but with a 4 hour drive to northeast Texas, it was going to have to be a holiday weekend.  With our family out of town over the Thanksgiving holiday, we decided this was a great time.  We headed out on a Wednesday afternoon the day before Thanksgiving arriving shortly after dark.  The tent loop was a little confusing in the dark pulling a trailer as it is a series of small loops off the main road.  But we found a spot near the lake and set up.  Pretty quickly my scouts and handy hubbie had the tent up, gear unpacked, and a fire going while I made dinner.
The next day was spent exploring the lake on trails and in canoes.  The lake is so pretty, not at all mucky like some of the smaller lakes can get.  The boys did some fishing and the girls went on a long hike.  That afternoon we got down to the serious business of cooking Thanksgiving dinner.
Most of the sides I cooked ahead of time, but we decided to try out trash can turkey.  Sounded really crazy to us too, but my friend Katy swears by it.  So we put a stake in the fire pit, covered the area in foil and placed the turkey on top.  Then, we covered the turkey with a large metal trash can and surrounded it with glowing charcoal.  A couple hours later we had a perfect, plump, juicy turkey.  I even made gravy.
Friday we headed out to visit a friend and do some shooting.  He has a beautiful property with a full gun range.  We are not gun owners ourselves, but it was fun to go out and do a little target shooting.  On the way back to the park we drove through the town of Lindale.  Being Miranda Lambert fans, Nats and I couldn't resist a quick pop into her store the Pink Pistol. 
Saturday was spent relaxing and hiking some more.  Natalie and I wear attacked by a swarm of ladybugs.  It was much more pinchy than it sounds. 
The park is filled with beautiful, tall trees and rolling hills.  The weather was nice and cool so the fire felt great.  We even made friends with the campers next to us and their friendly pup.  We had a fantastic time at the park and would love to go back.