From Fishing to Christmas Trees

October 30-November 28, 2019

We enjoyed our short stay on the Gulf Coast, Dave got plenty of fishing in so the freezer is stocked. The shrimp boat never went out due, the weather didn’t cooperate with them, so instead we visited our local HEB, grocery store, where they sell Gulf Shrimp at a really good price, so the freezer has some shrimp in it also. 

While here we celebrated the life of our dear friend Rena, who passed away this last July. A bonfire, on the beach she loved so much, with family and friends who hold her dear in their hearts. So thankful we were able to be here for this special gathering. 

Pat-Rena's husband, Justin-one of their sons, Olivia-granddaughter

We enjoyed seeing our Gulf Water family if only for a very brief visit. We even got the chance to go out to dinner with friends Linda and Patrick, always fun catching up with them. 

Toward the end of our stay our friends, Greg and Jill, called and asked if we could cover their Christmas Tree Lot this year. Greg is having some medical issues and they weren’t going to be able to make it this year. Of course, we said yes, so another change in plans. Canceled a bunch of reservations, got some things ordered we’d need. 

We stayed a few more days at Gulf Waters than originally planned, Dave got one last fishing day in with his buddy Pat. I had the opportunity to try out water aerobics, it looks like something I'll have to look into when we're in AZ at Pioneer.  One last dinner in with friends and before we knew it, it was time to leave. 

On 11/18 we headed north to McKinney Falls State Park in Austin TX. I’ve wanted to visit this park as I’ve seen some pictures of it. It’s on the south side of Austin, a real suburban state park, surrounded by the city. We enjoyed hiking the trails in the park over the few days we were there. At our site we were able to get satellite signal and the Verizon signal worked well, water and electric with a dump station on the way out. 

Site 6

McKinney Falls State Park has a few trails around the park, the Onion trail is paved while the Homestead, Flint Rock and Williamson trail is natural. We got a chance to get out on them, even found a couple of Geocaches out there. 

McKinney Falls-spring time it must be beautiful

Visitor Center-closed due to floods in 2013 & 2015

This Geocache was placed here in 2001 and is still active

On one of the Grand Design Facebook pages a couple had posted they were hosting at McKinney Falls SP. We reached out to them and connected while staying at the park, a dinner out and we’ve now made some new full time rv friends. We look forward to catching up with Rick and Julie down the road.

On 11/21 we moved up to Holiday COE in south Ft Worth, about 35 miles from Keller where our Christmas Tree Lot is. While the park is nice enough it’s infrastructure needs some help, the roads were crumbling, the site numbers were hard to read-need some painting. Benbrook Lake which the campground is situated on is so low the boat ramps are no longer usable. This is probably affecting the $$s they bring in which might affect their funding, hence the sprucing up the place looks like it needs. That being said I would go back again if we find ourselves in the area. Water and electric, good Verizon and satellite, just what we need for our 3 day stays. 

site 52

One of our days was a washout and rained the whole day, Dave took it upon himself to bake some cookies that day. Yummy!! The other day we took a ride up to check out where we’d be spending most of the rest of the year. 

Scenes around Holiday COE. 

Nuts in TX are certainly BIG!!

On Sunday 11/24 we made the hour drive up to our Christmas Tree Lot in Keller TX. We will be working for Trow Tree Farm, our friends have been here the previous 5 years. By the time Sunday had rolled around our friend Greg and Jill we’re on their way to Mission TX, Greg’s tests had come back all right but he still needs to get meds regulated. They spent 2 nights here with us showing us the ropes. We so appreciate all their help.

Our days since we arrived have been filled with Christmas trees, getting them unwrapped and untagged from their trip south, getting the tent ready for our opening, getting more trees delivered, untagged and unwrapped. When the lot opens we will be working every day from 9-9 until the lot closes. 

We carry mostly Fraser Firs, ranging from 4’ to 12’, from $100 to $429, mind-boggling for these Vermonters who used to go cut their own for $35. This area though isn’t known for its Christmas tree farms. We finally started selling late afternoon on 11/27, the second tree sold was a 12’ for $400, and we’re off to a good start. More to follow about our time selling trees in the next post. 

Today is Thanksgiving, Dave and I would like to wish all of our family and friends a wonderful day. We are thankful to have you all in our lives. Have a wonderful holiday season. 

Until next time...

Staying Ahead Of The Cold and Snow

October 21-29, 2019

We were up and out early, after getting ice off the slides before we brought them in. We made it over Raton Pass before the weather changed and 177 miles later we arrived in Capulin NM well before the cold front got there. Capulin RV Park & Camp is the only game in town and served the purpose of an overnight stop just fine.

We had arrived early enough to go check out Capulin Volcano National Monument, this would be our 3^rd try to visit this park. Why I didn’t check their website I don’t know, if I had we would have gone a little further south. A month ago they had some torrential rains that washed out the road to the top of the volcano. With plenty of time on our hands, we decided to do a hike in the park. The Bocca Trial provided us with some nice views of the surrounding landscape.

Old homestead ruins

The next morning we got up and headed even further south to Oasis RV Resort in Amarillo TX, a windy 197 mile ride trying to keep ahead of the cold weather.

Where else to go for dinner when in Amarillo

The next morning we got up and high tailed it out of Amarillo, there was snow in the forecast for there. By looking at the reservation system for TX state parks I determined there were no reservations, the day before our arrival. By noon we were on our site, 24, at Caprock Canyon State Park. Our 106 mile ride went smoothly then the rains came, the cold came and the snow came.

The next day we had to move to site 17, by the time we moved the snow was gone, the temps were coming up and the sun was out.

Caprock Canyon State Park is a place we’d like to check out when the weather is a little nicer. The Texas State Bison Herd calls Caprock Canyon home, we saw the herd as we drove into the campground upon arrival. There are prairie dog colonies here near the trail head we hiked from.

We enjoyed a few nights at Caprock, got some hiking in, found a geocache and enjoyed the peace and quiet. Our satellite Dish TV worked fine, Verizon signal wasn’t that great but one of us could get onto our hot spot at time.

Geocache-check

Our next overnight stop was at Fredericksburg RV Park, 370 miles of TX highways and 7 hours later we were parked for the night.

By the time Dave was ready for his second cup of coffee the next morning, we were on our way to the Gulf Coast. 250 miles later and we were pulling into our lot at Gulf Waters Beachfront RV Resort in Port Aransas TX. We’ll be here for 17 nights before we head out and explore some of the Texas State Parks and COE campgrounds before heading west to AZ. Time for Dave to get some fishing done and to keep our fingers crossed the shrimp boat goes out while we’re here, and no snow in the forecast. 

Until next time…