69. We drove through the massive thunderstorm that drenched most of Central and East Texas, and snowed mightily on the Midwest and Rockies. Sea Rim was merely a drizzle compared to the torrential rains in Port Arthur and Beaumont! On our way to Lake Livingston we saw huge puddles of standing water and began to wonder about the park. When we got to the Ranger Station, our first question was (joking), "Do you have any dry sites left?" To which the ranger said, "No." Uh oh. So we drove all over the park looking at campsites and finally picked one whose puddles were far enough away from the trailer pad that we could walk around the trailer without needing rain boots! Since the park was so wet, we decided to spend the afternoon in Livingston, exploring and restocking our groceries. We walked around the historic town cemetery and wandered through 2 antique shops before driving the Scenic Loop and experiencing the lakeside patio at the Wet Deck bar. We also checked out the sunset over the lake with the dogs - walked only on the roads since they were relatively dry. (The park is built for rain - the roads and trailer pads are elevated above the land around them and there is a network of drain tunnels throughout the park that we saw filled with running water the whole time we were there.)
Friday we decided to take our chances with the trails. The Boardwalk trail was mostly dry, with the exception of the 2 spots where it intersected with the Equestrian trail. The Oak Flat trail was a wet mess and 2 rangers were busy chainsawing up a pine tree that had uprooted itself across the trail in the storms Wednesday night.
We built a lovely camp fire and burned all of our wood before dinner - sort of planned it that way as it was getting chilly quickly. We ended up eating locally-renowned burgers at the Wet Deck for dinner, which really hit the spot.
Soggy Oak Flat trail.
Entrance sign.
Scampsite #82.
Bulkhead at sunset, park store and observation tower.
Panorama from the Observation Tower.
Great Blue Heron at sunset.
Lake Livingston SP is near Livingston, which is the county seat. The courthouse is nice, the town is bustling. Wet Deck has great burgers and an average beer selection.
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