With a busy year and several commitments with work and family plus weekly golfing, I wanted to get back to camping, so I headed to West Texas for a week-long trip.

My first stop was Monahan’s Sandhill State Park. The drive from Dallas was fun but a long haul. Arrived late afternoon and set up the camper to enjoy the outdoors. The Park was clean, and my site was # 4. Met several nice folks passing through just like me. The weather was cool and the new AC/Heat RTU unit kept me warm along with a space heater.

Left the next morning and headed to Fort Davis State Park. Along the way I drove by and stopped at Balmorhea State Park to see the spring fed swimming hole. It appeared to be a great place to swim, dive and enjoy the pool in the hot summer. From the Texas parks and Wildlife website, more than 15 million gallons of water flow through the pool each day, gushing from the San Solomon Springs. The pool is up to 25 feet deep, covers 1.3 acres, and holds 3.5 million gallons of water. The water temperature stays at 72 to 76 degrees year-round. For sure, it was too cool on my trip to take a dip.

Arrived at Fort Davis State Park mid-day, set up at site # 4 and toured the area. The Lodge looked perfect for non – campers. The restaurant was closed for remodeling. Nice folks and very friendly staff. The bathroom and shower were very clean. Looking for wildlife like Mountain Lion, but only saw a few deer and javelina. Enjoyed chicken in the crock pot with cream of chicken soup and onions. Really good stuff. The first night was cool but was prepared.

The second day was a great trip to the McDonald Observatory. 

About 13 miles from Ft Davis where I camped, I listened to a talk on solar sun and toured the major telescopes on site. Normally the sky is clear, but due to clouds the Star Party did not happen. Maybe next time I can attend and look through the telescope to see the universe in a different light. www.mcdonaldobservatory.org

The third day is a special relaxing day for me before I head back east to South Llano. Did some work but the highlight was cooking an Allen Brother’s steak with fresh cherry cobbler. FYI, I did bring some ice cream too.

 On the fourth day, I left the park and drove from Fort Davis to South Llano State Park. In previous years, I have attended the Oktoberfisch for the Fredericksburg Flyfishers in the area several times. Great area and do miss the event in Junction – now in Fredericksburg. The drive took 5 hours, and the road and wind conditions were rough. I believe all the large trucks have made indentions or ruts in the road and made the drive bumpy and pulled you back in the ruts as you drove the highway. The wind blew quite hard swagging the camper as the road conditions changed with each rut. Made it difficult for sure. The South Llano Park is quite clean and quaint. The site was 28 with back in parking with a nice cover over the picnic table. The fire pit allowed a wood fire, and several folks did as the night got colder. I left my firewood for the next camper to pay forward. Up early and thinking about what I missed at work, so will spend a few hours catching up.

On the last day of the road trip, I headed to Lake Whitney. I plan to take the north route out of Junction and drive across the state near several old stops along the way. Passed by the Czapski Ranch at Richland Springs, visited the new grocery store in San Saba. I enjoyed the slow pace and seeing the landscape. The camp site was OK with rain and cold weather. The bathroom seemed quite run down. Anyway, good dinner and hit the sack early to return to Big D.
Great trip for a break before I start the process of 2023. Happy New Year and Peace be with you!