Enchanted Forest, Magic Lake

We spent the weekend at Caddo Lake State Park, where we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Heart of Texas Camping Unit of the Wally Byam Caravan Club International. The park was an enchanting, magical place, made even better by good company, lively conversation, and a memorable early-morning boat trip amid Spanish moss-draped Cyprus trees.…

April Showers and Birthday Flowers

We planned to visit Jon’s mother in the St. Louis area for his birthday weekend, but a bedbug infestation forced us to postpone our visit. Still, we used our vacation days for a long weekend at our favorite backyard park. The weekend weather forecast called for a major rain event. Fortunately, the rain held off…

Signs of Spring

Spring weather beckoned us to our favorite backyard park for a weekend get-away, and we happily obliged. We arrived on Friday evening with plenty of daylight to set up and settle in. Chef Cliff prepared a perfect filet mignon for Date Night, along with grilled asparagus, baked potato and caprese salad. An always reliable Ravenswood…

Five Nights in February

The mild February weather drew us to Loyd Park, our favorite local campsite, for two consecutive February weekends. Weekend One included an extra night and a day, thanks to the Presidents Day holiday, as well as a very special Valentine’s surf-and-turf dinner. Weekend Two was dedicated to cleaning Cloud 9 of many months of accumulated…

A Bleak Midwinter Break

With temperatures forecast in the 70s, we cleared our schedules and headed to Loyd Park for a weekend break from Old Man Winter. We weren’t disappointed. Well, except for the squealing Girl Scouts camped nearby. We arrived around 5 p.m. on Friday and set up in time for the evening news. A fine cocktail hour…

Silent Nights

We decided to stay close to home for Christmas, so we headed to Loyd Park for a weekend camp-out. The park was nearly empty, the weather was unseasonably warm, and all was eerily quiet. After setting up camp on Wednesday afternoon, we settled in for our extended stay. For our first night feast, we enjoyed…

Christmas in Cleburne

We traveled a little more than an hour to Cleburne State Park for our Heart of Texas Camping (HOTC) Unit’s annual holiday camp-out. Although relatively small – a little more than 500 acres – the park surrounds a 116-acre spring-fed lake. The area’s dense woods and clear water springs made it a popular hunting area,…

Big Bend: Day 4

Thanksgiving Day found us wandering around Big Bend Ranch State Park, the largest state park in Texas, with more than 300,000 acres of pristine desert wilderness. Adjacent to Big Bend National Park, the state park is similar to its national counterpart in desert ecosystem and topography, but different in its use of the land. The…

Big Bend: Day 3

Because we wanted to stay close to base camp for Day 3 of our Big Bend adventure, we made our way to the Terlingua Ghost Town, in search of an authentic Chihuahuan lunch and expansive views of the Chisos Mountains. We weren’t disappointed. The Terlingua Ghost Town is all that remains of a once-thriving mining…