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...