Lake Corpus Christi State Park -- Day 44

After the very stressful saga of replacing the sideview mirror, we needed some serenity. Checking my atlas, I found a state park within our 150 mile travel radius, and plotted our course. What’s that you say? Why am I using a printed atlas? Where’s my sextant? Hardy-har, you! Let me backtrack a bit …

So we were in Alamo, stranded with a busted mirror. The guy said that he would have it no later than 3 pm the next day, so we looked around for a place to hang out. Fortunately, there was a Walmart about six blocks away that allowed overnight parking. Now, you may remember that we hate overnight parking at Walmart, because we had issues with our generator last time, but this time we were confident that it would be different. We had been running the genny off and on all day already, so we thought this would be a great time to use the free WiFi, get some much needed groceries, and save the cost of a camping spot.

After lunch at Carl’s Jr, and a huge shopping trip in Walmart, we settled in for the night. Genny was running good, air conditioning was pumping, WiFi was sketchy -- but better than nothing -- and everybody was happy.  We even had neighbors a few spots away in an old rig that looked like they were doing the same thing. Out of courtesy, and to save fuel, we turned off our generator when we went to bed.

In the morning, the sun was shining, the people were happy, and it was already starting to get warm. Figuring a little AC to cool off the rig was in order, I went to turn on the generator. No joy. Spinning, whining, and then a sick winding down sound was all I got. With no generator, we can’t charge our phones, which we were using heavily last night because of the WiFi. No genny also means no AC and the morning temp was already 70 climbing toward a promised 85. We now have 7 hours to kill in the black-topped, heat radiating Walmart parking lot before our mirror is due to arrive, with nothing electronic to entertain ourselves! Fortunately, we do have books and games, and with the open windows it wasn’t too bad until about one o’clock when we decided that we had to get the air moving to cool off -- for the animals. Gotta keep the pets cool, too.

Our arrival at the repair shop happened to coincide with the parts delivery truck, so we were able to get our mirror and fix it in a jiffy. Then we broke out the atlas to figure out how far we could get before we needed to camp out for the night. I have a Rand McNally Road Atlas with an index card that has 150 miles marked off, and I know that I can make that drive in one day. I realize that 150 miles may not sound like much, but for us that is the perfect amount of travel for a day. Fortunately, Corpus Christi State Park fell within our radius.

This place is magical! Not quite as serene as Inks (see my post), but also much less popular; therefore, more private. We enjoyed two gorgeous sunsets, some hiking, and a little geocaching while we were here. They even have a little WiFi that is just enough to get some emails, and let people know that we’re still alive. We liked it so much that we opted to stay for another day, just to fully recharge our soul batteries (and hopefully the genny’s battery, too.) If you ever find yourself down in Mathis, Tx, I would highly recommend a stopover at this place.

We’re leaving today to head toward Livingston, but it’s going to be two days to get there. We’d like to stop somewhere this side of Houston, because if you don’t have to drive in rush hour, you shouldn’t. My atlas says Stephen F Austin state park, or Brazos Bend state park is within reach. Or we may splurge and get a place with actual wifi.

The beauty of the decision making process is that we get to make decisions. No pressure. Do what you like, and follow your heart. (And the WiFi.)

Places We've Stayed -- Day 21

When we launched this Grand Adventure, we all expected that it was going to be a one-way trip to Portland, Oregon for a semi-permanent living situation. Doing it in an RV was supposed to make it easier to travel, and less hassle to find a place to live once we got there. As we were preparing for that life-changing event, it occurred to us that we don't really like cold weather. Not even a little bit. I have been quoted as saying that I would not want to live anywhere the high temperature is lower than my age. As I get older, this makes the options fewer, and farther south.

After much discussion, we opted to wait a bit before heading north. This gives us time to get our rig optimized for our personal use, making sure that we have everything that we need, and that all of our systems work. Driving shorter distances has given me much needed practice, as handling this behemoth is very different from the little sedan that I was used to. Also, it is rough on the youngster to be separated from friends and family at this age. We've moved cross country before, but this was the first major move where she had a bunch of friends that she had grown close to.

So, here we are, three weeks on the road and barely 950 miles under our belts. This makes me the perfect person for a Top 10 list of Place We've Stayed. Except I only have eight entries.

From worst to best (based on my enjoyment of the stay):

10. Walmart Supercenter, Huntsville, Texas -- for those of you that don't know, Walmart will often let RVs and big trucks park overnight in the parking lot for free. We actually hit this place up on two occasions, as the convenience of resupplying and staying for free appealed to us. The parking lot is not overly large, so the odds of a big rig parking right next to you and running his generator all night is higher than in other places. BONUS: free WiFi, though the connection was a bit sketchy.

9. TBA

8. TBA

7. Sunset RV Resort, Bee Cave, Tx -- We only stayed here overnight, so I don't have a lot to say. The staff was very friendly, and accommodating considering we were arriving just at closing time. Office is closed on weekends, which struck me as a bit weird. Still, the facilities were nice for the short time that we were there. WiFi was decent.

6. Johnson Branch State Park, Lake Ray Roberts, Tx -- I love lakes (as you can tell by the list) and this one is beautiful. The park had multiple playgrounds for the kids, and tiled shower facilities. The parking pads were severely slanted, and cell reception was unreliable. But if you're trying to get away from it all, I would recommend this place. (When we go back, I'm angling for site 13 in the Juniper Cove, lake view with trees for privacy.)

5. Rainbow's End, Livingston, Tx -- Headquarters of Escapees, and the location of our mail center. Great park, lots of helpful people. The WiFi is pay by the day, and not super strong, but the other amenities make up for it. Swimming pool, clubhouse, and All-You-Can-Eat pancake breakfast on Saturdays!

4. Lake Park Campgrounds, Lake Lewisville, Tx -- Beautiful lake, and really inexpensive! Short walk to the disc golf course, and a short drive to Dallas. Internet was unavailable while we were there, but lake views (campsite 30) and some geocaching made up for it.

3. Loyd Park, Joe Pool Lake, Grand Prairie, Tx -- this was our first stop, and we didn't realize how good we had it! Very nice campground, friendly staff, flat site, very private. Nice bathrooms, lake views (site 59). We stayed there right after the flooding, so some of the lakeside sites were unavailable. The staff was diligently repairing and cleaning them while we were there. I would love to come back again!

2. Inks Lake State Park, Inks Lake, Tx -- Park Ranger recommended site 92, and I have to say that she nailed it. Gorgeous views of the lake, and privacy on one side. No internet, being a state park, but tons of lake based activities to distract!

1. City of Hico's Bosque River RV Park, Hico, Tx -- by far our favorite stop. Quaint little town within walking distance that has a 24-hour laundromat, a historic area, and a couple of restaurants. The park has full hookups, amazing WiFi, and a disc golf course! This is going to be a stop for us, any time we're in the area. The one drawback: the flies. Literally a daily battle. At one count we had 30 in various parts of the coach.

And there you have it. Our next scheduled trip is to the Escapees RV Boot Camp, in Livingston this weekend. Once we have that knowledge in hand, we're planning to head south for the winter. We're thinking Corpus Christi, or maybe even Brownsville. We still want to see Portland, but that can wait until Spring. I need at least two more places to round out my Top 10 list!

THIS is what I signed up for -- Day 11

With the sun up just enough to lend the sky the colors of 80’s mall-girl makeup, reflected off the serene, rippling Inks Lake, the call of the ducks is the loudest sound of this blissful morning. The Canada geese are gathering for breakfast while the winking radio tower miles away reminds me that civilization is still out there.

I could get used to this.

When we first were planning to live in an RV, I had mental pictures of mornings like this, followed by days of hiking, bird watching, and evenings with campfires and bourbon. The reality of last week camping out in Walmart parking lots with no electricity, the difficulty of adjusting to life with no internet, and the unique challenges of keeping three city-minded people from getting discouraged away from the usual creature comforts almost made me throw in the towel and head back to a sticks-and-bricks existence.

But this is life! The chorus of “Amens” from the honking geese punctuates this as I type. I know that it’s been a little rough, and there are still some things to figure out. But I wouldn’t trade this adventure that we’re on for the security of a decent job, a fixed address, and a daily routine that features unchanging scenery.

Today we’re at Inks Lake, which I highly recommend if you’re ever going camping in central Texas. Beautiful scenery, great hiking, lots of lake-related activities. Since this was our first visit here, Park Ranger Kristen New recommended camp site 92 and it is spectacularly located at the end of a peninsula with neighbors only on one side and incredible views all around. The bathrooms with spacious showers are a short walk, with the camp store just a bit further.

We depart today for Hico, and disc golf tomorrow, if the weather holds. But even if it doesn’t, I’m having the time of my life.