Santa Rosa Lake State Park

Well, it was time to move into New Mexico and leave Texas for the first time in a while. We spent the last 33 days in Texas and now we're headed to Santa Rosa Lake State Park in New Mexico. 

This was a new stop for us which are becoming harder and harder to find after all our years of traveling. It was a rather long drive of 144 miles, but we pulled into a nice pull-through site and were one of the only ones in our loop. Our site had a nice, covered pavilion Sharon took advantage of to do her workouts. We had a small view of the lake some distance away. 

We took several hikes at Santa Rosa Lake State Park because there were lots of trails. Around our site there were wildflowers in bloom and the birds were plentiful including several roadrunners. As we've never been to Santa Rosa Lake State Park before we considered ourselves lucky the lake was full when we arrived. 

 

After settling in, the next morning we took a hike to the lake, and it was beautiful. The sky was strewn with clouds; temperatures were mild and there was no wind whatsoever. The water was as flat as it could be while reflecting the sky above. What a spectacular sight it was on that day. We've sure enjoyed our stay at this New Mexico State Park and are very glad we went out of the way to find it. This is yet another beautiful Park in the state of New Mexico, truly the Land of Enchantment!

Driving the panhandle of Texas

We always love staying in San Angelo State Park, especially now, while the lake is so full! Our next stop will be taking us to the brink of the panhandle of Texas. We left San Angelo and it wasn't too long before we pulled into Colorado City State Park. We had a nice pull-through site with a partial view of the lake for the two nights we spent there. During our stay we enjoyed the beauty of the area and took a long hike where we saw lots of beautiful views. We even came across what appeared to be a petrified alien's head. Though we enjoyed another lake stay, now the Texas panhandle must be crossed.

Our next stop was the Levelland Texas free city campground. That's right, you heard me, this campground is free! It has 50-amp electricity and water. We didn't plan to stay here long, but Sharon had been bitten by an insect and the bite became infected. Therefore, we drove over to Lubbock about 30 minutes away to an urgent care. Well, our stay ended up being a few days because she had to have two antibiotic shots in the butt a day apart along with prescription oral antibiotics and antibiotic cream.  Luckily it did not have to be excised so we were allowed to leave on day three. 

While we were in Lubbock, we did have a chance to go for one last stop for groceries at HEB and purchase our favorite HEB products. And happily, this HEB also had a barbecue place in it. We were able to have one last Long Pint IPA since they had it on tap. It's one of our favorite Texas IPAS out of Magnolia, Texas. The next morning, we drove about 60 miles north to stop at Muleshoe, Texas which hosts yet another free RV park. This one does have a donation box to help cover electricity which is no problem considering it costs nothing else to stay there.

There's not much to do in Muleshoe, so we drove over to the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge. And although we knew there wouldn't be much to see there in the middle of the summer, it was still a nice drive, and we did see a few interesting birds. 

We only stayed in Muleshoe for a day and then took a longer drive of 145 mi to our next stop which took us out of the state of Texas for the first time in a while. We will stay in Santa Rosa Lake State Park in New Mexico for a few nights, a place we haven't explored before. 

On to Mason and San Angelo TX

We sure enjoyed our time with our family in Canyon Lake Texas, but it was time to roll on down the road. Our next stop wasa a one night stay at Fort Mason City Park in Mason, Texas.

 

The drive was a pretty easy 109 mi to Fort Mason City Park. Mason experienced a lot of the same rains the Hill Country had received. As result it was green everywhere which was really beautiful this time of year because it's normally brown.

The purpose of our stay in Mason, Texas was to visit a friend of mine I hadn't seen in years. I used to work with him at Texas Parks and Wildlife many years ago in the mid-80s and ran into him a time or two since then. 

I knew he had retired to Mason and was looking forward to seeing him again. I texted him when Sharon and I were in the town square doing a self-guided walking tour. Robert and his wife Leticia pulled up beside us and told us they would help us finish the tour. 

This is when I received the surprise of my life regarding Robert who as it turns out is now the Mayor of Mason, Texas. So, the Mayor and his wife gave us a very special tour of downtown Mason.  While touring the courthouse he introduced us to the County Judge who was very gracious. It was also fun to hear as we walked the square all the quirky small-town stories he shared from his experiences as mayor. 

After touring the town, we chatted for several hours at their house. It sure was fun catching up with Robert and Leticia. It still amazes me how now two of my old friends have become mayors of towns in Texas!

The next morning, we drove another 110 mi down the road and pulled into a park we've stayed at before, San Angelo State Park, in San Angelo, Texas. 

We spent a few days reminiscing about past visits as we've have always enjoyed this town. We hiked along the Concho River like we've done before and nothing much had changed since the last time we were here. We also made a return visit to the Lilypad garden which is always a great visit!

We also planned to play a couple of nine-hole disc golf courses. However, like everywhere else it had rained so much this year. Both of the courses had grass about knee-high. We decided to try and play one of them but spent way more time than needed just looking for our disc after each throw in the very tall grass. We played about eight or nine holes and then said, to heck with it. 

We did find a new brewery we haven't been to before called the Zero One in San Angelo. They have some really good beer. There was a nice IPA, a good Stout and a really interesting barrel-aged Weissbier. If you happen to be in town, check it out. 

We really like staying at San Angelo State Park because we always see a lot of wildlife and birds. This trip was no different as there were deer around almost every morning and I spotted a bobcat crossing the road across from our site. I also saw a feral cat who looked a bit like a bobcat with the markings in its face. One morning two Great-horned owls were perched in a tree beside the rig and they were "talking" to each other. What fun! 

I sure like this Park but alas, it became time to move on again and so we shall...     

Canyon Lake TX and family time

The week went by very fast, especially considering we usually stay a month or longer in our old hometown of College Station, Texas. Before we knew it we were back on the road!

The drive was about 130 mi to a place we stay at often, primarily because of its beauty, Potters Creek Park in Canyon Lake located in the Hill Country of Texas. It was a little sad when we pulled up because the lake was so low. This area is in extreme drought and the lake was sitting at about 47% full on the day we arrived. 

Boy how things would change during our stay.  As many of you know by now, the Texas Hill Country, especially around the Kerrville area, was hit by torrential floods which sadly  took many lives. The river hit was the Guadalupe River, the same river that feeds Canyon Lake where we are staying. While many lost their lives and more yet are still missing, the water causing it all ended up in Canyon Lake. As a result the lake is now sitting at nearly 65% full. A very high cost for the water so sorely needed in this lake.  

So even as we end our stay in Canyon Lake, it is nice to see the lake as full as it's been in several years. Officials have even opened some of the boat ramps which will revitalize the economy around the lake (also sorely needed). Several businesses had closed down and many were running on fumes. 

Our main mission for coming to this area, other than loving the lake, was to visit our son and his family who now live about 10 minutes away from our campground. We used to camp here when he lived in San Antonio, Texas but that drive was close to an hour. It was so nice being able to pop in to see them so easily now. 

Other than spending a lot of quality time with our son, daughter in law,  grandson and grand-dogs, we also took some time to visit our favorite places when it wasn't raining. Our favorite sight around here is driving along the Old River Road which runs from Canyon Lake to New Braunfels, Texas. 

 

We planned to do many other things, but unfortunately it rained a lot while at the lake. Just as we began planning our next stop, rain is in the forecast for the day we leave, sigh. Such is life on the Road of Retirement...

Back in our old hometown and replacing an A/C

    

It was time to leave the greater Houston area, and we didn't have a very long drive to return to our former hometown. College Station is where our RV travels began. I wasn't really looking forward to the trip because I knew I had to drive through North Houston and sure enough there was plenty of traffic.

 

Nevertheless, we did make it through and pulled into the park we typically stay at when we make our return visits called Holiday RV Park. It's proximal to the campus of Texas A& M University which is where I went to school as well as where I worked for over thirty years. 

It's always fun to revisit our hometown to see the changes. And sure enough, we saw a massive building going up close to campus. It appears to be another high-rise dorm as the campus is now the largest in United States at nearly 70,000 students. 

We hoped to do more while we were here, but the rains that have been plaguing us since we left Mississippi continued to find us. It rained off and, on several days, but between showers we were able to get in some hikes and of course, to walk around Texas A&M University campus. We also enjoyed a visit to the George Bush Jr. Presidential Library.

We were also lucky in that we happened to be there during a dual birthday party held at a friend's new home with a pool!  It was a chance for us to reacquaint with a lot of folks we hadn't seen for a while and to notice our friend's kids now have little kids of their own! It's also a reminder that we actually now have way more friends whom we've met on the road than we did when we were living in this town. We cherish both the old and new friendships!

Not only the rain kept us close to home but unfortunately our rear A/C went out requiring research to have a new one shipped and then installation. United RV Parts worked with me ensuring a perfect replacement and C5 Mobile RV Repair came the day after it arrived. Everything actually went smoothly! Both were great people to work with!

We were able to have our happy hours rain or shine mostly at Brookshire Brothers who has an upstairs sitting area overlooking the Texas A&M track and Kyle Field Stadium. We were joined once by a College Station friend we apparently inspired to sell everything and fulltime RV like us! Fun!

Our next stop will be at Canyon Lake in the Hill country of Texas. Our son lives nearby so we will be visiting him shortly after July 4th. We are looking forward to the quiet time on the lake as well as quality time with family.