After a hearty breakfast under clear skies, we prepped for our trek across the Going-to-the-Sun Road, a 50-mile engineering marvel that traverses the entire park. The road features narrow passages, dark tunnels, hairpin turns, and stunning vistas. Glacier National Park was established in 1910. It is characterized by pristine waterfalls, deep lakes, wind-swept prairies, old-growth…
We set out from Sheridan about two hours later than expected, and soon we were traveling through Montana—the northernmost state we’ve visited. With just more than a million residents, the population of Montana is about a sixth the size of Dallas. We entered the state by way of the Crow Reservation, which includes the Little…
We set out from Dallas for Glacier National Park at 9:45 a.m., successfully avoiding rush hour traffic and construction gridlock. Once we settled comfortably onto U.S. 287, we started listening to Ron Chernow’s epic biography of Alexander Hamilton. There’s no better way to pass the time of nine hours on the road than by listening…
The videos on YouTube made it look so easy. We could simply disconnect our leaky sewer valve, replace the seals, reconnect it and be on our way to a wonderful weekend. “It should take 20 minutes,” Cliff said. “Thirty, tops.” Famous last words. Not only were we unable to make the repair after more than…
One of Jon’s colleagues asked about our weekend plans, and he told her we were headed out for another camp-out. She asked about what we would do, considering the weather forecast was for high heat and humidity. Jon said we would probably just stay inside Cloud 9 most of the weekend, enjoying its creature comforts.…
Our favorite backyard park is a woodland area about 17 miles from our storage unit, but it may as well be a world away. Locally popular but otherwise unknown, Loyd Park provides not only an escape from work but quick, easy access to Joe Pool Lake and 220 campsites nestled under mature native Texas trees.…
We arrived at Loyd Park on a warm, sunny Friday afternoon amid forecasts that pop-up showers were possible on Saturday and Sunday morning. Apparently, we were camped in the right place at the right time, because the heavy rains that rolled in on Saturday evening continued through to Sunday morning. At one point, we were…
Heavy rains on Friday night raised an already full Joe Pool Lake to 7 feet above normal, causing water to creep beyond its banks across access roads throughout Loyd Park. That left the campers in our area only one way out–a seldom-used service road. Although we hoped the water would begin to recede on Sunday,…
Our weekend began with stormy weather. Lots of stormy weather. Although we were able to enjoy Date Night under the pavilion, storms rolled in around 10 p.m. on Friday, driving us into the protective shelter of Cloud 9. Heavy rains, flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder lasted through the night and into Saturday morning,…
We spent a gorgeous weekend at Loyd Park, where we met some fun folks who had gathered for an annual spring fling event. As we observed a guy trying to maneuver his rig into his campsite, we got into a conversation with his wife about the trials and tribulations of backing in. We shared tales…
Garinns on the Go 