89. Dinosaur Valley State Park, 3/19/26

 We visited Dinosaur Valley SP as a day trip because it's so difficult to get a campsite there.  It's a very popular park; the dinosaur models that greeted us a as we drove in were impressive and the tracks themselves - visible even with water in the river - were extremely cool.  There were tons of families and kids having a blast with all the dinosaur stuff.  There are 50 car campsites and numerous backcountry hiking / backpacking trails and 6 backcountry campsites on the other side of the river.  

The dinosaur models at the park store.

They came from the 1964 World's Fair!

Paluxy River, no tracks here. 

Here are some of the tracks! 

88. Lake Whitney SP, 3/16 - 18/26

 Campsite #129 was lovely!  We were at the end of the road (literally) and had a view of the lake from our doorway.  We walked the whole park - both trails, and all the roads from our campsite to the trails.  Lake Whitney is an Army Corp of Engineers lake and the park used to be part of the military complex - in the middle of the park are 2 runways from when it may have been a glider training facility!  Currently, the signs say to contact the park about using the runway but there is a model aircraft group that uses it as well.  So far, this is the only airstrip and model aircraft "base" we've seen in a park!  The trails are lovely, easy, as described.  We birded the park too and saw some unusual birds, probably migrating.  

Campsite 129.

View from our tent. 

Two Bridges Trail. 

Airstrip F50, Register at office.

Whitney Area Miniature Aircraft Club.

One of the runways. 

Nearby: We didn't venture out of the park, but there are a few restaurants and bait shops in Whitney and Laguna Park. 

87. Lake Tawakoni State Park, 11/23 - 11/26, 2025

 Scampsite 22 - our site backed right up to the lake, which was very cool.  We had Coots on our shoreline and song birds in the site.  The bathrooms were single-person, all included: shower, toilet, sink, and because it was November, automatic heater! 

We arrived on Sunday, late in the afternoon.  Monday it poured rain most of the day - we did venture out when we were getting stir-crazy and explore the roads around the lake - drove over all the bridges, causeways and parallel to the dam - saw a Trumpeter Swan at the spillway, but didn't stop due to the pouring rain.  As the rain finally tapered off we explored the Spring Point trails at the north end of the park.  

Tuesday we hiked the rest of the trails that branch off of the Farkleberry Trail; it was a much nicer day and perfect for a long walk in the woods.  

There are no bird blinds in this park, but it's very birdy due to its location near the junctions of multiple migration flyways.  

It's a small park - we brought our folding bikes and didn't even unfold them - we were able to walk everywhere we wanted to go.

Scampsite 22

Part of the Spring Point trail.

View of the lake. 

Part of the Farkleberry Trail.

Lake Tawakoni is due east of Dallas, but it's closest to Wills Point.   The nearest county seats are Sulphur Springs and Canton but neither is close. 

The area supports a lot of horse ranches and a little farming and the countryside is beautiful. 

This was our first Scamping trip without any dogs and while that was sad, they would have HATED the storms on Monday.  

86. Guadalupe River SP, 3/29 - 31/25

 Scampsite 15, what a lovely park!  Outstanding amenities - air-conditioned bathrooms! 2 bird blinds! There were many connecting trails that made this park wonderfully walkable.  Many of the trails were closed due to the recent rains, but we still explored everything close to the campground.  We did not get to participate in the Honey Creek hike with a ranger; those need to be reserved pretty far in advance.  The bird blinds are both lovely - the one near the Discovery Center had food and a water feature, even though the water was not on when we were there.  The one off the Painted Bunting Trail had no food but a working water feature.  Both were equipped with nice, large 3-sided buildings, benches inside and chalkboards of current sightings.  

This park is a popular day-use park for locals - the river gets very busy on hot afternoons.  

We did not leave the park at all, but it is close to San Antonio and even closer to Bulverde, so provisions are available if one needs them.  

Scampsite 15.

Bird blind near Discovery Center.

Discovery Center & amphitheater.

Bird blind off the Persimmon Path.

Sunset from the River Overlook Trail.

85. Hill Country State Natural Area, 3/29 - 3/31/24

Clamsite 129 - wait WHAT?  Yep, no electric or water hookups here (except in the Equestrian area) and the majority of campsites are walk-in or fully primitive.  Site 129 is HUGE, fully shaded by gorgeous Live Oaks and is a short walk from the parking area.  The parking area has a porta-potty and potable water spigot.  The weather was perfect, so no need for electrical fans and such at our site!  

So, we camped in our Clam shelter - left the Scamp at home - and it was awesome!  The Clam is a 6-sided screened shelter with attachable wall panels that's big enough for at least 2 cots, a table, and all our personal gear.  We ended up attaching 2 wall panels when our neighbors arrived, just for a little privacy.  

We hiked a few trails: our dog Gordie is old and short-legged, so we did the Heritage Loop and the Prairie Loop with him - both are flat and relatively short.  We did the West Peak Overlook Trail without him - the view from the top was amazing and we were glad we left him comfortably in the truck.  We absolutely did NOT do the trails justice - there are so many of them and we ran out of time. 

HCSNA is known for its equestrian facilities - horses are accommodated at many campsites, the Group Lodge area and Chapa's Group Camp area.  There are small pens, hitching posts and a couple of horse barns, in addition to an arena at the Group Lodge.  

HCSNA is 10 miles from Bandera, which is a county seat, so of course we walked around the courthouse.  The Bandera Brewery made very good craft beer.  We ran out of time to shop but there are many shops up and down Main Street.  We had dinner at the Old Spanish Trail Restaurant, which is always delicious.  

The surrounding area is a paradise of windy, hilly roads and gorgeous scenery and the wildflowers were in full bloom. 

Clamsite 129.

Clamsite 129, pano view. 

2 picnic tables at 129.

Our hammock tents at 129.

Close-up of the Clam, all set up.

The ranch house and barns of the Merrick family, who donated the land for the park.  The house on the far right was built in 1892.

One of the equestrian campsites. 

View from the top of Twin Peaks.

The Group Lodge (the white house), 5 RV hookup sites, a barn and rodeo arena.

84. Lake Brownwood, 11/17 - 11/19/23

 Park #84 for us, Scampsite 50.  We had a great time at this park - the trails were lovely, our site was very cool and perfectly located to access our friends' cabins.  Their cabins were CCC-built and appointed and provided great spaces in which to hang out and have a group meal.  We also got to meet the resident Indigo Snake with her ranger - she (the snake) was friendly and beautiful.  

Scampsite 50.  The elevated picnic table area felt very private and secluded. 

Lake Brownwood.

Inside the Rec Center.  

There probably is a lot to do in the area - Brownwood is a pretty big town.  We spent the whole weekend at the park.  The Lakeside Trail was beautiful and the Texas Oak Trail was more challenging for our old dogs than we anticipated, but it too was lovely; lots of rock stairs. 

Eisenhower State Park, 11/22/2022

 83. We did not camp here - for a multitude of reasons, we've never been able to camp here!  This trip we chose to camp at Ray Roberts and use that as a more central basecamp to other places, Eisenhower being one of them.  This is a surprisingly big park on the shores of Lake Texhoma.  There are numerous campsites, a huge privately owned marina, and a plethora of ATV trails (which were closed when we visited).  We hiked a short, but hilly trail near the shore, saw ammonites in the rocks, and gawked at the monstrous boats stored at the marina.  

Part of the trail took us to the shore, where we could see just a few of the many boats stored at the marina. 

Pano of Lake Texhoma from the marina. 

Eisenhower State Park is also really close to Denison and Sherman, so we explored those towns a bit as well.  Denison has a brewery, a distillery, lots of antique shops, the old Katy Depot, President Eisenhower's birthplace house, and the home of T.V. Munson, the man who saved the wine industry.  

Sherman has 2 breweries, antiques, and is a county seat as well.  

Katy Depot.

Grayson County courthouse.

President Eisenhower's birth home.