off we go

Lawton High School......







We have had a longer than expected hiatus here in Lawton, visiting with the folks and doing some odd jobs around "the old home place." It has kept us exceptionally busy and Dennis has befitted somewhat... you see, blog pals, it seems I have cooked more since coming here than I have in the last six months at home! Pork chops, king ranch casserole, spaghetti, baby back ribs.....eeks, yes, my weight watcher efforts have suffered.

Got the lawn mowed, some spring, summer, winter and fall cleaning, porch fixed, some carpet replaced and lots of other stuff that generally needed doing. Hoping to leave mom and dad in a little better shape than when we got here.

But all work and no play makes for a very dull vacation....we did take some time out for a little paddling.......

Enjoyed Quanah Parker lake and French Lake out in the Wichita Mountains and of course got to take some really good pics of my favoritist animal, the buffalo!










Dennis took my great nephew, Nathan out for a day of turning rocks and herping.....

But today we bid adieu.....and we are ....Back on the road again....

The weather was terrible last night! No stars but quite a light show....constant lightning and rain, man oh man did it rain. We did discover to our dismay that the Taj (affectionate name for the tent) leaks a bit but, hea....what do you expect? Being as the weather forecast was 90% chance of rain and thunderstorms, we decided to put our float trip off a day and headed into San Antonio.

Thumbs up to San Antonio.....Very well marked streets for the attractions....river walk, Alamo and such. It was easy in and easy out with good times in between.....We visited of course the Alamo....
The Riverwalk.....


found a little something for Ella Anne....







And enjoyed the sights of downtown.
Hopefully, the weather tomorrow will lend itself for our trip down river....we have never paddled a river with an actual CURRENT!! wish us luck!

Hea friends! We packed up this morning after a brief rain shower and headed west from Bastrop. Made it to the friendly little (well, it used to be!) town of new braunfels tx....a town with a history of German settlers. Yes, we stopped and had some wonderful German food. Was going to stay there but decided to go on to guadalupe state park, situated on the guadalupe river, just north of San Antonio. It is just beautiful here and yes......

Two thumbs up!!! Free WiFi at the entrance office! Thank you Texas Parks and Wildlife and thank you Guadalupe State park!
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/guadalupe_river/

We quickly put up our tent and headed down to the river where we floated for an hour or so....just walk upshore a bit then float down......the current is pretty fast but! we will not be put off...tomorrow, weather notwithstanding....we will get a shuttle and take the kayaks upriver for a float down....this is not the Chatahoochee floating through Helen my Georgia friends.....hopefully, we will not end up in the Gulf of Mexico tomorrow and will be able to post some exciting pictures! If it rains, as predicted we will mosey into San Antonio and tour the Alamo, something we did when the kids were little. It will be cool (whew) sleeping...the squeetos are out but it is a beautiful Texas night and I expect lots of stars tonight!

Two thumbs up to Tommy Gunns Cafe in Bastrop Texas.....free WiFi, great coffee, a great menu of the best looking sandwiches, homemade ice cream and I am fixin to check out the homemade chocolate meringue pie, just out of the oven....

We are camping at Bastrop Lake Park, not to be confused with Bastrop State Park. The "lake park" is run by the LCRA (Lower Colorado River Authority). The park its self (i know) is not bad but in questioning the fees (a little pricey for tenters!) I felt the ladies who were "at the front desk" got more than a little testy. They did not offer the information that the State Park, run by TP&W was only a mile down the road. Anyway....it was almost a walk off for Julie.....

We have enjoyed the lake, however and have spent hours checking out the shore line and little inlets and outlets......
Saw this cute little green tree frog hanging out in the cattails....


And we have spent the day checking out the historic little town of Bastrop Texas situated on the banks of the Colorado River. We are indebted to Tommy Gunns Cafe for letting us take a load off and enjoy their hospitality and coffee! We are heading over to the Wal Mart in a few then tomorrow will drift over to Guadalaupe State park for maybe a little more floating, swimming and relaxing. A thought......tent camping is really one of the last things from my childhood that has essentially not changed......find a spot, pitch the tent, pull out the coleman. Of course the tent isn't that heavy canvas and we don't have to use colemant fuel or those delicate little cloth wicks, but other than that.....and camping is like America used to be....it reminds me of how we used to sleep with the garage door open....trusting, exposed and vunerable......hmmmmmmm....i may be liking the big tent more and more.....

Well we have spent the last few days at Dennis' brothers cabin which is located near Roans Prairie, Texas. (North of Houston) it is beautiful there.....a perfect "get out of the big city" retreat for them. Pat and Dennis spent numerous hours roaming up and down dirt roads on his golf cart looking for any interesting critters that may cross their path. Captured and released: A large Texas snapping turtle, two copperhead snakes, five coachwhips,
several gulf coast toads (and a partridge in a pear tree) No sign of the mountain lion seen lurking about of late. One summer tanager and several scissor tail flycatchers. I love those birds!


So here we are, on the side of the road somewhere in Texas. I think we may be in Byron or College Station.....We think we are headed for Guadeloupe State Park where hopefully we can throw our kayaks in the water....if the recent rains haven't made that plan flow south, like to the Gulf....Dennis is more of a "contained water" kayaker..... as in lakes ...so we will see. Sure will miss that soft bed, air conditioner and Texas hospitality tho.....Thanks Pat and Paula!

Till the next McDonalds or if our next location has WiFi......we are about to be on the road again!

Oh while here at the McDonalds we spotted a pair of doting grandparents sharing an icecream sunday with their adorable granddaughter......makes me yearn for our soon to arrive
Ella Anne....

Well, plan one. Drive north on I 75 to Chattanooga, camp and visit the aquarium. Plan scratched after looking at the weather channel which forecasted severe thunderstorms for 36 hours.

Plan two… off to hwy 80 which connects to I20 in Meridian Mississippi, a route we know well. We did encounter some pretty heavy rain but the nice lady in the “Welcome to Mississippi” visitors looked up the weather and assured us that beyond Chunky (yes, Chunky) we would have clear skies. One we went ---heavy rain---and stopped at Roosevelt State Park near Morton Miss. We erected our new tent (uh oh, much smaller than I had imagined)

yes the dimensions are stated on the packaging but really I am not good at visualizing…. The only thing that matters is our air mattress fit. Uh, the thunder and lightning was making a show but Dennis kept telling me to stop being pessimistic….ME PESSIMISTIC???

It sprinkled...giving both of us a sense of “I am rightness”

Me: see, it is raining…Dennis: that is not rain….

Anyway we were able to sleep with the rainfly open and the fan on. In the middle of the night it got quite chilly so off with the fan and on with the blanket. We awoke to a beautiful morning, clear sunny skies. A quick walk to the lake where I watched a snake swim across the water….Now we are on the road and Woo Hoo stopping at one of my FAVORITE stops on I20…the humongous Bass Pro in Pearl Mississippi…….

A new tent was our big purchase at the Bass Pro…we are in the throes (is that the right word) of a dilemma…..beef up the truck with luggage racks with which to tie down a luggage thing to store our kayaks which take up much space in the bed of the truck, use the big tent (get a bigger one?) or get a small (small) camper. See, I have no objections to tent camping…love it actually but in inclement weathe

r I do not like eating my beanie weenies in the truck……a small bed and table. I am not into watching reruns of CSI or Law and Order from the camper….just staying out of the bad weather…or more than that having the weather influence our decisions. I think of the past years when rain and cold drove our decisions to leave South Dakota and not go to Montana…(Glacier Nat’l park) So, what do you say? Keep tenting or look for a camper??? I will pass the blog votes onto Dennis……

Just say NO….to Vicksburg….

Vicksburg Mississippi has not been shall we say the most pleasant experience to date. First off we spent the better part of the day looking for a campground. There is not state park or federal land that offers camping but numerous private facilities. Which are fine if your drive or pull a large camper and are casino bound (free shuttle!). Otherwise tenter friends you are out of luck. No campgrounds in Vicksburg permit tent camping. Not by city ordinance rule or law….just a choice amongst the owners of said establishments. O

k, lets go explore the battlefield site…..interesting enough, really fascinating …..looking at the cannon placements, imagining the boys in blue and grey battling for ultimate control of the Mississippi River….Vicksburg was called by President Abraham Lincoln “the key” and further stated that the war “would not be won without the key in our pocket”. 16 miles of cannons, historical markers, huge granite monuments…..getting stuck behind someone from Minnesota intent on reading every marker and photographing every monument………

NO WIFI anywhere……

..

Bye Bye Vicksburg…

We are heading to Natchez….via the Natchez Trace trailway…and it is raining…..

Um mmmm do you think we went a little overboard onthe tent???

Here we go!

Well friends...if you want to follow along, I will attempt to once again search out wifi friendly stops along the way this year. We have already taken a short "side trip" to Cape San Blas, Florida...my most favorite beach spot EVER! We did much kayaking, swimming and snorkeling. Dennis did some fishing but was not too successful...if the only measure of success is catching fish, that is.

Anyway, while kayaking we hit a shallow spot that must have been the sting ray cafe....we literally saw dozens of them...big and small!
So, starting from my couch with memories of the beach still fresh on my mind and sand still in my shoes I guess we will shove off tomorrow morning. Still not sure which road we are taking, just know we are heading west.