One advantage to living in North Texas: Wait a while and the weather will change. Five days ago we enjoyed temperatures in the 60s. Three days ago, the Polar Vortex enveloped us and wind chills dipped well below zero. Today, highs were in the upper 40s, with the promise of 70-degree temps four days from…
Upon arriving at Huntsville State Park on Christmas Day, we were greeted by a sign warning of alligators in the park. Although our rig is parked only about 25 feet from the park’s lake, we’ve yet to see any ‘gators. Last night, however, we did spy three armadillos feasting on ants around a tree stump. Considering some…
It’s difficult to imagine a more perfect fall day than one spent at Lake Tawakoni State Park. Opened in 2001, the park is one of the newer facilities in the Texas State Park system. The reservoir, located on the Sabine River and constructed in 1960, supplies water to Dallas and surrounding suburbs, as well as…
When we pulled up to our camp site in Eisenhower State Park, we set up and got everything ready. I noticed that there was a nice ground-installed grill (it wasn’t a grill placed on posts like some parks have). It had a very nice heavy grate with five different level-positions for grilling. I thought, “This…
We’re spending Labor Day weekend at Lake Texoma, one of the largest reservoirs in the U.S., and we’ve set up camp at Eisenhower State Park, which occupies an area of 423 acres. The lake itself is nearly 90,000 acres. The park is named for Dwight Eisenhower, the heroic Supreme Allied Commander of the American Expeditionary…
Sitting outside on a fine summer’s evening, my thoughts drift to Eisenhower State Park and our weekend camping excursion. At this point, we’re hoping it happens. We’ve made all the necessary preparations, arranged our work schedules, reserved our space. Now all we need is our travel trailer. It’s back at the dealership having an electrical…
Memorial Day may be more than nine months away but we’ve already started planning our trip to Yosemite next May. It seems only fitting that the place that led to the creation of America’s national parks is our first long-term camping destination. The wilderness activist John Muir first visited Yosemite Valley in 1868. He then…
One of my favorite films is “On Golden Pond,” which tells the story of an aging couple, Ethel and Norman Thayer, who spend each summer at their cabin on a lake called Golden Pond. Like most good stories, it’s about relationships. There’s the relationship between the Thayers, of course, and between each of them and…
We had one of my colleagues to dinner recently and we proudly showed off our Sportsmen Classic. We carefully explained that it wasn’t a “camper” but a “travel trailer.” We have no intention of camping. Rather, our trailer accommodates our travels. We don’t lack certain creature comforts in our little house on wheels. We have…
Garinns on the Go 