We got home from our Thanksgiving trip about 3:00 yesterday. I hope y’all had a great Thanksgiving and took a few minutes to reflect on all that you have to be thankful for. I know I did. Sitting at our campsite early in the morning with Sam lying beside me I thought about all the wonderful people and things God has given me. My beautiful wife, Connie, is on top of the list. She takes care of me, inspires me to be more, keeps me on an even keel and most of all puts up with me.
I'm also thankful for our daughter Jackie who has made me so proud over the years. She has turned out to be a wonderful mother and wife. Her and Dana are a true partnership. They have been successful because they work well together building on each other’s strengths. They have given us two beautiful grandkids. Chase & Megan are very special to us and will be the hardest to leave when we hit the road. We'll miss some of their growing up.
I am also very thankful that God sent me to two people who spoiled me first then as I aged supported me and bailed me out of some boneheaded mistakes and decisions that youth can cause. My parents, Ralph & Doris.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the big, ever hungry, ball chasing dog, Sam, lying next to me. I've had a lot of dogs but none like him. He's taught me a lot.
We left home on Wednesday morning and about six hours later arrived at Potter’s Creek C.O.E. park on the north side of Canyon Lake. It’s in the Texas Hill Country and the scenery is very different from what we see along the Gulf coast.
As we crested the hill outside the park the lake came into view and it was a beautiful blue/green color. When we saw it we knew we would enjoy our stay. Sam forgot to take a picture and neither of us remembered either.
We stopped at the office and received our map and rules for the park. The park host gave us directions to our site which I had picked on-line back in early September. As we pulled up I thought “uh oh this doesn’t look good”. The roads are narrow and lined with timber bollards about 18” high. To make matters worse there was a small dumpster on the edge of the road between our site and the next. It was going to be very tricky to back the RV into the site without hitting something. Connie must have read my face because she said “I want to do it, you get out to direct”. I must admit she backs both the RV and the boat better than I do. I think it’s just that she goes slower and thus doesn’t get in a bind like I usually do. Sam & I got out and ran from side to side behind the rig directing while she backed it in. She cleared the dumpster with the RV by about 6” and the bollards with the truck by about 1”. She proceeded to back in perfectly on the first try. No front/back maneuvering, just backup, park and get out of the truck. I’d probably still be maneuvering. I think it might be the good directing she had.
We got setup and sat down to relax when the deer started coming out of the woods. They came very close to us and acted like it was feeding time. This proved to be a early morning and late afternoon ritual every day that we were there. I counted over 20 of them at one time.
Everyone who is a regular at the park seemed to have a 50 pound bag of corn for feeding them. I guess it’s OK but I’m not a big fan of turning wild animals into semi-pets by feeding them. I would prefer the way the state parks we have been to forbid feeding them. I’m not a big fan of the way they are hunted here in Texas either. Just doesn’t seem right to feed them at set times each day during the year then shoot them from a tree house when they come to feed on opening day. I know the population has to be controlled and I’m not against hunting. I just don’t like stand hunting the way they do here. Oops, got sidetracked. In short if you want to see deer this is the park for you.
Sam was very tolerant of the deer and didn’t bark or try to chase them. This is different behavior from last spring when he didn’t want them anywhere near our campsite. I guess he’s either getting older or lazier. Maybe both.
This park is built for water activities and in the summer is probably mobbed. Other than that there isn’t much to do there. It is close to San Antonio, New Braunfels, San Marcos and Fredericksburg so day trips are in order for this time of year.
Thanksgiving morning Connie woke up with pain in her lower back. She thinks she pulled a muscle twisting around to see while backing the RV into the site. We didn’t have any Ibuprofen so I used an app on my iphone called “Around Me”. It’s a pretty neat little deal that you can use to search for gas stations, grocery stores, pharmacies, etc. near your location. I searched for pharmacies and it found several. Most were in New Braunfels about 25 miles away but it listed one about 4 miles from us. Sam & I headed out. We followed the directions and eventually ended up in the driveway of a private lake house. I guess it was owned by a pharmacist who also owned a pharmacy in New Braunfels. We were now at least 4 miles further away from the nearest pharmacy. I re-computed for a grocery store and found one about 20 miles from the park. Sam guarded the truck while I went in to get some Icy-Hot, Ibuprofen and a few other things.
By the time we got back Connie had already cut all the vegetables, baked a pecan pie and was in the process of making dressing.
She popped a couple of the pills and I rubbed a little Icy-Hot on her then she finished cooking a delicious Thanksgiving dinner for us. We ate about 3:30 and then sat around the fire for a couple of hours. Both of us were tired so we went in the RV, got ready for bed and put in a movie. Neither of us watched more than 30 minutes of it.
Friday morning I woke to a lesson. Furnace vents blow hot air. I mean real hot. Look at the table on the left in the picture below. I had pushed the table up to the RV and during the night it melted a hole in the table.
Friday and Saturday we took rides around the area and just generally hung out. We met a really nice couple, Mike & Suzie Eubanks, from Dayton, Texas. They have a beautiful Montana 5th wheel RV and gave us the grand tour. We spent some time getting to know each other Friday night. Mike is retired from his job in the oil business but has a part-time business he started up. Suzie is going to retire this spring. I asked Mike if they were going to become full time RVers after Suzie retired. He said, “No but we’re gonna be real hard to find”. He gave me several tips about 5th wheels and Ford diesels. He’s the kind of guy who does most of his own maintenance and repairs and seems to be very self reliant. I am looking forward to spending more time with them.
Two guys fishing on the Guadalupe River.Canyon Lake
Sunday morning came fast and it was time to hook up and head out. We got on the road about 10:00. Traffic on I-10 was very heavy and we saw a sign saying I-10 was only one lane in Houston. That helped us decide to get off the interstate and head cross country on FM roads. We figured our route and ended up almost a full hour quicker getting home than going to the park on Wednesday. It was nice to see some of the countryside and not just the back of the car that just passed you.
After arriving home we unpacked the RV and just relaxed. I grilled a couple of steaks and Connie baked some spuds then we watched a movie and called it a night. Sam was snoring before we were even through eating so I guess camping wore him out too.
Adios for now, enjoy the day. --Rod
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