Lake Corpus Christi State Park, 11/22 - 11/24/21

 79. Scampsite #5.  Lake Corpus Christi is a lovely, large park.  There are about 3 miles of hiking trails which are lovely and flat.  The bird blind is AMAZING - it's actually a huge area, with a blind and about a dozen different feeders hanging around.  The fishing pier is the nicest one we've seen in a state park - it's long, wide, well-made, and well-lit at night.  The wildlife here wasn't as challenging as at Choke Canyon; we did see one of the resident bobcats - it ran across the road in front of our truck!  We had a skunk investigate the far edges of our Scampsite (bedtime for us!), and there was a small herd of deer that visited every day.  There is a firewood vending machine, which is really nice for those of us who don't tend to carry cash.  Boating and fishing are definitely a big draw here, but there is plenty of other stuff to do too, including the old CCC building.   

Scampsite #5.

The CCC-built refectory.

The bird blind area.

The fishing pier at sunset.

The fishing pier at night.

Lake Corpus Christi has A LOT to do, but is also relatively close to Corpus Christi, which has lots more to do.  Sadly the old courthouse in Corpus Christi is falling into disrepair and last we heard there aren't plans to restore it.  

Choke Canyon State Park, 11/21 - 11/22/21

 78. Scampsite #137, a few days away before the Family Madness of Thanksgiving!  :). 

This was a much-needed break away from our daily lives and the stress of the school year so far.  Choke Canyon is a small, remote park.  If you don't boat or fish, there's not a lot to do - hiking trails are short, and there's a nice bird blind.  Wildlife was interesting: within minutes of our arrival to our site, a flock of wild turkeys showed up and walked past, followed by a small herd of deer, then a few javelinas.   We learned that javelinas WILL chase you if your dog is acting aggressive and threatening towards them; fortunately our dog and the javelinas did not actually meet up close.  The javelinas were very vocal most of the night; I recommend closing windows at night.  

Scampsite 137, the lake in the background.

Javelina in the foreground, turkeys in the background at the edge of the bush line.  

The lovely bird blind. 

Choke Canyon isn't near anyplace big or entertaining, so definitely plan to stay at the park and entertain yourself there.   

Lake Somerville State Park, Birch Creek Unit, 12/30/20 - 1/2/21

 77. Scampsite number 69, we needed to get out of town and fall in love with our Scamp again.  

We began with trepidation - we knew there was a big storm system bearing down on Somerville and the Hill Country, but we went anyways, hoping the weather people would be wrong.  We were able to set up camp while it was still dry and walk along the lakeshore (and have to bushwhack to find the trail again, much to Jen's consternation) but it begain drizzling Wednesday evening.  

Thursday, the four of us (Jen and Jeremy rented a trailer and had a site as well), walked around the trails nearest to our campsites and then the J's decided to return to their trailer.  We kept walking (with the dogs too of course).  We ended up walking almost as far as one can go from our campsite, to the Cedar Elm Day Use area, at which point we turned around.  The rain started in earnest shortly after we turned around and we discovered which parts of our clothing layers were not, in fact, waterproof.  The trails became small creeks and there was no higher ground to walk on, so we sloshed as quickly as we could.  All four of us were partially (me) to totally soaked (Aaron, the dogs) by the time we got back to our trailer.  It continued raining through the night; our attempt at a campfire was foiled (just like the rest of 2020), but New Year's Eve Game Night with the J's was fun - we played several rounds of Monopoly Deal and all of the black cards in Cards Against Humanity in our trailer.  Somehow we stayed up until midnight, rung in the New Year, and crashed. 

Friday, the J's left, the rain stopped and we hiked the trails near Flag Lake in the afternoon.  Saw lots of birds and vow to return with Sherry in the spring for the spring migration.  

Saturday we loaded up and drove through the Group Trailer Area - it turned out there was a Fiberglass RV rally (a couple of the men had approached our trailer on Thursday and invited us to join them) - mostly Casitas, but there was one 19' Scamp similar to ours, an Escape and a Bigfoot.  The folks were real nice and we are interested in joining them in the future.  

We hiked a couple more short trails Saturday morning and hit the road.  

Scampsite 69.

The storm front as we drove in.

Pano of Lake Somerville, before the storms.

The last PATHETIC fire of 2020.

Sunrise, 1/1/21.

Yegua Creek, near Newman Bottom Primitive Sites. 

Also in the area: Well, we didn't explore much this time, due to the weather and the pandemic.  It's just not as easy and safe to go visiting small towns and wandering shops. Plus it was New Year's, so not much would have been open anyway.  But, this park is near Bryan, College Station, Brenham, and Caldwell.  So if one needed to get out to a town, there are lots of options within 30 miles.  

However, there are SO many hiking / equestrian trails that one could stay very busy and see lots of beauty without leaving the park property.  Not to mention fishing, boating and all the usual water fun.  

All in all, we love this park and are looking forward to returning to bird more trails without the dogs (day trips) and possibly backpack / bikepack some of the more remote trails.

Sheldon Lake SP & Environmental Learning Center, 4/27/20

76. This is a day-use only park, and we are in the middle of the Covid-19 mess.  One of our favorite Houston breweries was having a one-day only curbside pickup, so we thought starting our Houston day here was a great idea!  And it was!  First of all, there was NO traffic - we made it all the way across Houston (coming from the west, Austin) in about 30 minutes, everybody moving at normal highway speeds. 
We had made a reservation to go to the park, and there were people there, but nobody was checking our reservation status.  We carried our masks in our pockets and donned them whenever we saw people approaching and most others did the same. 
The park is beautiful: it's an old fish hatchery, so has rectangular ponds, each one numbered.  The ponds are getting overgrown, but also attract a lot of birds and supposedly there are alligators there too, although we didn't see any.  There is a walking trail around the ponds, to the tower and a boardwalk through the marshy area.  The environmental learning center has a ramp into the water for kids to wade in and collect water samples; there is an elevated tub where they can examine their samples and when they're done, the ranger can pull the plug and the samples go down the drain and back into the pond.  Very cool. 

The observation tower.  There is an elevator but it didn't look like it was functional the day we went.

View from the tower. 

One of the hatchery ponds. 

The learning center. 

Sheldon Lake is part of the greater Houston area, with all the things that entails.  One could probably spend a month in Houston and never see the same things or eat at the same restaurant twice.  Of course, we love the 1910 courthouse and Brash Brewing is the brewery we visited after Sheldon Lake.

Fort Richardson State Park, 12/31/19

75. We didn't camp here either - the park is in the process of rebuilding their water and sewer system, so all campsites are closed for several months.  This was an active fort in the 1800's, and many of the old buildings are still standing, so the park conducts guided tours of some of the old buildings.  We were able to attend the last guided tour of 2019!

Fort Richardson. 

Quakers in Texas! Who knew?

Inside the hospital.

An early flashlight and inhaler. 

The morgue. 

Inside the morgue. 

Barracks. 

Lost Creek. 

The spring at Lost Creek.

Campsite 14, we thought it was the best one.

Jacksboro is just north of Ft. Richardson and has lots of restaurants and shops; it's also a county seat and has a lovely courthouse that's different from the others we have been inside and you wouldn't know it to see it from the outside.  

Possum Kingdom State Park, 12/30/19

74. We didn't camp here this time - turns out the biggest camping area is closed in the winter, so campsites are limited anyways.  We did hike all 3 miles or so of the trails, which took us through the primitive camping area.  The lake is a huge one, with numerous inlets and coves, and in the warmer months, is quite popular with boaters, fishermen and partiers.  Apparently the lake has hosted an international cliff diving competition and also puts on one of the better 4th of July fireworks shows in the state.

Front entrance gate. 

Pano of the lake from one of the primitive campsites.

View from the top of the hill. 

View of the campground and day-use area. 

One of the artistic features of Possum Kingdom State Park. 

The hiking trail. 

There isn't much near Possum Kingdom but because of that, it's pretty quiet in winter.  

Lake Mineral Wells S.P., 12/24/19 - 1/2/20

73.  Scampsite #20, we stayed 9 nights here!  It was really nice to not be moving the trailer around, but just to be at a "home base" and explore the area from there.  Lake Mineral Wells State Park has an interesting history: the lake was dammed up to provide drinking water for the town, but eventually the town found a better source, so the lake and its surrounds were given to the Army, which turned it into Ft. Wolters.  Ft. Wolters was a helicopter training facility, most active during the Vietnam War.  There were helicopter landing sites all around the Mineral Wells area that had the geographically-correct (in relation to each other) Vietnamese names so the pilots wouldn't have any trouble with that aspect of navigation once they got to Vietnam.  When Ft. Wolters shuttered, it gave the property to the state to be a state park, although parts of the old fort are still used for National Guard training.  Lake Mineral Wells SP has numerous trails, including vast equestrian trails and an equestrian camping area.  The lake is abundant with fish and there's a small island in the middle of it with an old fireplace on it, similar to the old stone fireplaces which are scattered throughout the park.  The dam rises above the road, which is sort of creepy to think that right next to one's shoulder is tons of water.

Scampsite 20.

Below the dam, Lake Mineral Wells. 

The road next to the dam, Lake Mineral Wells.

Ft. Wolters and some Eastern Bluebirds.

Waterfront trail.

Lake Mineral Wells. 

The waterfront bird blind. 

The wooded bird blind.

One of the many stone fireplaces around the park.

Mineral Wells: the old Baker Hotel, in the process of restoration, possibly done by 2022.

Mineral Wells is known for its mineral water, which supposedly cured a crazy lady. 

Famous Mineral Wells Water Company. 

Mineral Wells Fossil Park, just northwest of town.

There is a lot to see and do while in Mineral Wells State Park: the town has many old buildings, several of which are being restored.  There are murals downtown as well.  There is a gravel trailway, called the Lake Mineral Wells Trailway, that connects the town of Mineral Wells to Weatherford along an old railroad bed. We didn't bicycle it this time, but maybe in the future. 

Nearby is the Mineral Wells Fossil Park: once the town gravel pit, until they realized it was full of fossils!  Mineral Wells is also near Palo Pinto, a county seat with an old, historic jail which is open for tours every day except the one we were there.  Weatherford is the county seat in the opposite direction and has numerous antique shops, a brewery, and a gorgeous historic courthouse.