Another Moving Day

 Location: Jim Hogg COE campground; Georgetown, Texas

This is the 8th consecutive Corps of Engineers campground I've stayed at since I left Louisiana about a month ago. I've been very satisfied with most of them and a little disappointed in a couple 1 1/2 of them. So, that means I'm about 85% happy with the COE campgrounds on this trip. The next six campgrounds will be a mixture of State, City and County owned campgrounds. I have reservations all the way back to Louisiana except for a couple days at a first-come, first-serve camping area. My plan is to be back in Louisiana on or about April 11th.

A nice campsite here at Jim Hogg's Campground.

Today is moving day and I'll be heading towards the coast. Spring break festivities end in a couple of days in this part of Texas so I'll make a stop about half way to the coast to give plenty of time for people to clear out and things to get cleaned up. I'll stop in a small Texas town called Yoakum. Not much there, but they do have a city owned RV park that had pretty good reviews although a couple were not so good. What I've learned over the years is there are mean-spirited people that will make up stuff just to give a bad review. They lie. This afternoon, I'll find out which reviews were more accurate. But hey, the city has an H-E-B so there's got to be something there, right? It will also be a good location for a base camp for me to explore a town and museum that's I've wanted to see. Yeah, a museum. Again, if I'm disappointed, oh well, it won't be the first or last time. 

I'm still liking these 4 day stays at campgrounds with a short haul in between. Today's tow will be about 130 miles which is longer than most of my recent tows but shorter than when I used to average closer to 200 miles when I started traveling back in 2014. Most of the 130 miles will be through small towns on state highways. I've used Google maps to verify a couple of things about the highway I'll be traveling. One, it's in better than average condition and two, most of it's length has half paved shoulders wide enough to pull off with one wheel still on pavement. I'm looking forward to a nice leisurely drive. I sure hope I didn't just jinx myself.

Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe I'll Cya down the road.

Nothing Much at a So-So Campground

 Location: Cedar Breaks COE Campground; Georgetown, Texas

Today is Day 4 at this campground and is also moving day. I haven't made a post since I got here because I haven't found anything to explore. One place I thought about going was a sculpture garden in a town named Cedar Park. I'm usually on the look-out for places like that ever since I stumbled on the ones in Wausau, Wisconsin and Loveland, Colorado. But after reading the reviews about this one in Cedar Park and talking to some locals about it, I decided it wasn't worth the trip. One review was especially convincing, when it said, "don't make this sculpture garden a destination, but it is worth it if you just  happen to be in the area". I had to make a change in plans. I had also heard about a great Reuben Sandwich at a small delicatessen about 15 miles away. I haven't had a good one is a very long time, even though I've attempted to make them myself. So, off I went, with hunger in my belly and hopes of finding a great sandwich. After missing a turn, I finally found the place. It was small alright. There was one table inside which looked more for decoration than eating. I looked at the menu on the wall but couldn't find the Reuben. The nice young lady behind the counter could tell I was puzzled, so she told be about their special. After politely listening, but not hearing, I asked about the Reuben. Her answer was surprising. They only serve Reubens on Tuesdays and Saturdays. She said it was because they don't want sauerkraut as an ingredient everyday. I guess that made sense, but I was really disappointed. It would have been nice had they posted that fact on their webpage. Oh well, the small hometown cafes in Hinckley, Minnesota and Freeport, Texas will remain as numbers 1 & 2. 

Except for H-E-B and Walmart, I haven't found anything that has captured my interest in terms of exploring. And, that's sad because my next campground is just across the lake from this one so I will be in the general area for another four days. I was somewhat forced to stay in this area when I was making reservations. Spring break is about to be in full swing around here and there weren't any vacancies, down the road, in the type of campgrounds I like.

This is a first for me. Most campgrounds are having a hard time finding camp hosts to man the gatehouses. Since this campground is by on-line reservation only, they can just clip your ID card for your windshield to your campsite number. Like the 60's song, it's just a "sign of the times". (Extra points if you remember the singer without googling)

Nice looking campsite uh? For some reason, I haven't felt comfortable with it. Not super bad mojo, but average bad mojo.

Typical lake picture from taken from about 100 feet from the campsite.

 

One good thing about the campsite is this view from my laptop work location. It's a nice and peaceful view.

I felt like a pirate finding treasure at the H-E-B. There was enough to make several great meals for what seemed like a cheap $50.00. I double checked my receipt to make sure I didn't miss something when checking myself out. If it hard to see in the picture, there are flat iron steak pinwheels, NY strip steak, Shrimp scampi, potato salad, mushrooms, tortillas, pico de gallo, a salad, shredded chicken, strawberries and bananas. 

You can tell that it is a poor exploration location when I post a picture of my grocery shopping,,,, but I was really happy with it and it all tasted great. Way to go H-E-B.

I hope the next campground has better vibes than this one. Something just doesn't feel right here. We will see. 

Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe I'll Cya down the road.

DG Bacon & Sunset (mostly pictures)

Location: Cedar Ridge Campground (COE); Temple, Texas

It was a lazy day around the campsite. I did walk around the campground a little. I was surprised that there were more people still here. Around noon, I got a hankering for a burger and fries but didn't want to go into the big city about 15 miles away. (I told you it was a lazy day). So, I found a hamburger food truck just a couple miles away in a community called Moffat. No other restaurant or cafe was listed online in the community. Off I went. It was closed. Oh no, not another one of those day, I thought. There was a Dollar General (DG) near by and since they started carrying food products, I knew they would have the bacon that I liked. So, instead of burgers and fries, I would fix some bacon and eggs back at Liberty2. Surprise, surprise, when I pulled into the parking lot, there was a burger food truck there that was not listed online. It worked out perfectly. I ordered a cheeseburger and fries and while they cooked it I did a little shopping. Yep, I still got the bacon. After putting my DG stuff in the truck, I walked over and got my burger and fries and headed back to the campsite a couple miles away. It was a nice lunch on my picnic table with a great view. I fixed some of the bacon later on for supper. A few months ago, I started cooking my bacon in the microwave. Paper plate, two layers of paper towel, 3 slices of bacon (not touching), paper towel to cover and in a little over 3 minutes on high, perfectly crisp bacon. The bonus is no washing dishes, everything is just thrown away. I wish I could say I planned the food truck and stuff, but it was all accidental. Or the big fancy word, serendipitous. I think a lot of us learned that word from the Serendipity Singers in the 70's. Of course back then, we had to look it up in the dictionary. Today, we would call that a "hard copy". 

There is a really good cheeseburger and fries in the box. And the ketchup is 50% less in sugar and sodium. Win, Win.

Along the lines of serendipity, while typing this post, a herd of deer just wandered through my campsite. I was lucky I had the blinds raised on the back window next to the laptop. That may mean it's going to be a good day.

That is two of about a dozen that wandered through the campsite. It's not a good picture since it was quick and my cell phone camera is trying to focus on the window frame. It was nice.

This campsite is convenient to the creek for sunset pictures. No serendipity there, I planned that. Thank you Google Earth.

There is a private subdivision on the other side of the creek. Hard to see, but they are there.

The subdivision explains where the people came from that I saw fishing off that little peninsula at sundown the other day. 

This area is a buzzard's roost. There are about 30 or so buzzards that roost on top of those electrical towers. They are soaring around early in the morning and around sundown. They are an ugly bird, but sure fly pretty.

Sunset through the tree.

Sunset through another tree.

This one is my favorite. The trees and bushes are framing the sunset. Night ya'll.

Tomorrow is moving day and I'll be headed about 50 miles south to the next COE campground. I'm liking these short hauls. I don't have to travel a couple hundred miles to find something different. 

Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe I'll Cya down the road.

 

Watching the Weekenders and a Museum

Location: Cedar Ridge Campground (COE); Temple, Texas

It's Sunday morning and the weekenders are all packing up to go back home so they can go to work tomorrow. It seems like every campground has different types of weekenders. One group here is an older couple with their adult children and grandchildren. The grandparents are staying in a used pop-up trailer they are trying out to see if they will buy it from Craig's list. It's nice of the owner to let them try it out. Their adult children and grandkids are staying in a tent set up near the pop-up. I met the grandfather when I saw they were having trouble with their water heater and went over to see if I could help. After we got the water heater working, I said my goodbyes and was walking back to Liberty2 when they invited me to have supper with them. I thanked them, but declined. I didn't want to interrupt their weekend time with kids/grandkids. They were generally quiet. That is opposed to the two RV's across the road from them. Those people were middle aged and had their teenage kids with them. In total, there must have been about a dozen people. A little whooping and hollering, but not too much. There was about an hour where they thought everyone in the campground liked their music so much they played it loud enough for everyone to hear. All in all, they weren't bad weekenders. 

It takes a good hour, with all hands working, for them to break camp. It makes for some interesting people watching. Most all of them will be gone by noon and the campground occupancy will drop to about 20% from nearly 90%. They cycle repeats itself when Friday evening rolls around again. 

This is looking downstream from the boat ramp area. The boat ramp is almost dry but is still open. It is one of two in the campground with the other one wide open and crowded. 

This is another hard to access dam structure. Although they let you drive across the top of the dam, it is restricted access to the backside of the dam. With the lake a little low, there probably only a minimum water being release. 

I saw this on the way to the museum. I looked for a place to park but since it was Saturday and the courthouse square is surrounded with thriving small businesses, there wasn't any parking. So I settled from second best and got this shot while stopped at a redlight. 

I've said many times that I've become jaded to small town museums, but I can't help myself, I keep going to them. I saw, online, a local one in the town of Belton. It was close by, check,,,, it was free,,,, double check,,,, and one of the pictures of the entrance had Carnegie carved above the door,,,,, triple check. Let's go.

It was a typical small town museum. Lots of stuff that had been donated by local families. It did have an interesting section as to  archaeology digs in the area. It was a nice way to spend about an hour and learn a few things. On the 1 to 10 scale, it ranked about a 6. It polished off some of the sharp edges of my "jadedness". 

I got to the museum around 11:00 am and was the only visitor. I wandered around for about an hour. The thing that enticed me to visit was the word "Carnegie" over the door. I suspected it was one of the original 2,509 libraries built by Andrew Carnegie. The curator confirmed my suspicions but they don't elaborate about it in any section of the museum. Strange.

Today is day 3 of 4 here and not sure what my plans are for the day. The weather is great, so I may just hang around the campground and do a little walking. 

Ya'll take care of each other. 

Maybe I'll Cya down the road.

Moving Day, a Sign & Buc-ee's

 Location: Cedar Ridge Campground (COE); Temple, Texas

The wind advisory officially ended at 10:00 am this morning so I scheduled my departure for around 11 or 12. The tow was only about 60 miles so I could leave as late as check-out time which was 2:00 pm. But, since someone probably had reservations for my campsite, I wanted to leave by noon in case they got there early. The majority of the tow was on Interstate 35. After getting on the interstate, I realized I hadn't traveled on interstate since I exited off of I-20 on day 1 of this trip which was almost 3 weeks ago. That is unusual for me since one of my rules is to tow on the interstates and explore on the blue highways. I don't know what's happened to me, I broke my rule about the laundromat and now about interstate towing. I wonder what rule will bite the dust next. It's worrisome.

I made one stop today and it was at a Buc-ee's. I didn't need gas although they have 120 gas pumps at this location. What I wanted and what I had been hankering for, was their chopped beef sandwich and banana pudding. I wasn't disappointed, it was great and the weather was perfect for eating it in the parking lot. A good sign happened while I was eating. A guy pulled up next to me towing a Rockwood fifth wheel. Not the same model and year as Liberty, but in the ball park. We chatted for a few minutes. I took it as a good sign.

That row of gas pumps is one of two. 120 pumps and cars everywhere. No 18 wheelers allowed in the parking lot and no truck pumps. For my Yankee friends, the place is pronounced "Buck-ease". It's a destination place if you're in Texas. 

After taking a few bites I decided to take a picture. I also noticed the nanner pudding was a "large" one which implied there is a "small" one. I didn't see the small one. Getting the large was OK, especially after the very pretty middle age woman with deep blue eyes that twinkled when she smiled said they were fat-free, calorie-free, cholesterol-free. I really don't remember what all she said after "Hi". 

I've been to the campground before. It was a little more than three years ago. But this campground is so large and since I'm staying in a different loop, it's all new. I've reread my posts from back then, and the two campsites are equal as to how good they are. There isn't a lot to explore in this area but I'll give it a shot. 

Pretty good campsite for $12.00 per night, uh?

Cedar Creek is running a little low like most places in central Texas. It flows into Belton Lake.

Nice shot looking upstream toward the boat ramp.

There are helicopters constantly flying over the campground. I know I'm on the edge of Fort Hood, but the amount of helicopters is surprising. The beat, beat, beat of the rotors have me flashing back to my Navy days. One of my duties was to talk to the pilots on the radio during flight ops. I was near their landing circle on the ship and we exchanged important information and coordinated our decisions. Flight ops were never routine, everyone was on their toes and had their s&%$ together. Oh well, that was another life and I was a different person. Ha,,,, I just remembered something from back then. Do you know the difference between a fairy tale and a sea story?? A fairy tale begins with "Once upon a time,,," and a sea story begins with "And this is no sh$$,,,". 

I plan to check out the dam tomorrow if I can get to it as well as find a place to eat lunch. I saw a sign for Cracker Barrel, I may give them a chance to redeem their reputation.

Sunset picture number 1

Sunset picture number 2

Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe I'll Cya down the road.  

Tornadoes, Medicine and Laundry

 Location: Midway Park Campground (COE); Waco, Texas

Yesterday was a good day, except for almost getting mugged or blown away by tornadoes. Everything worked out just fine so it's all good. 

Walmart came through for me as usual. They successfully transferred one of my prescriptions from Mansfield, Louisiana to Waco, Texas and filled it within 2 hours. During that 2 hours I was able to get my laundry done, get a couple gel pillows (future seat cushions) from Big Lot's and a Belt Buster combo from Dairy Queen. That finished up my shopping for stuff in Waco. 

The laundromat that I thought was a modern one based on pictures online, turned out to be 80's modern. But they did the job just fine. The place and location was a little sketchy as I entered but since there was an older lady and two well dressed men inside, I thought, "let's get it done while I'm here". By the time my clothes were ready for the dryer, the place was empty except for me. Right after I put my clothes in to dryer and sat down, a couple guys showed up and neither of them had clothes to wash. Of course that turned my radar on and I became very aware of the possibilities. I began wishing I had left my wallet, truck keys and cell phone in the truck and had memorized the lock code for the truck. Oh well, I stood up and faced them to let them know that I was ready. It was then one turned towards the candy machine and the other went to the bathroom. Before the one guy got out of the bathroom, the other had left the laundromat. The bathroom guy was in there for about 10 minutes before re-entering the main room. After he came out he was looking for his partner. When he didn't see him, he instead stopped near me and asked if I knew what time it was. I told him, no I didn't. He took the last swig of his Coke and said, "Ok, I'll see you around" and left. Thinking back on it I'm not sure what it was. It could have been all innocent, or something else, but I'm glad I played it safe than sorry. I think I'll follow my rule about usually using laundromats near colleges in college towns. 

The online pictures with the reviews didn't show the dryers on the left, only the ones on the right. 

The weathermen had been predicting storms with high winds for a couple of days. Their prediction came true just after sunset (no pictures). Tornado warnings went up around the area with a tornado siren going off. I hadn't heard one of those in many years. It is an eerie sound, almost science fiction sounding. The rains started out light then got heavier and heavier as the lightening and thunder started. The winds came next and grew in strength for about 15 minutes and stayed at that strength for another 15 minutes. About half way through, I thought about getting my shoes on in case I needed to go outside or something. But it didn't get beyond the thinking stage. After about an hour of excitement, the siren stopped, the tornado warnings were lifted and the rain decreased to a slow and steady rain. I was real happy with the way Liberty2 handled the winds. She did better than Liberty. Good deal Lucille.

They say what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. Something must be wrong, because I don't feel stronger. 

Today is short moving day so I need to post this and start getting things ready. 

Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe I'll Cya down the road.  

Cracker Barrel Exploit & The Texas Rangers

 Location: Midway Park (COE); Waco, Texas

There's a storm blowing in from the west bringing a some rain and cooler weather. It has been a little warm around here, especially when it is only the first part of March. I definitely don't want to be around here come first of June or July or,,,,,,. I'm not sure where I'll be during the summer, but probably somewhere north. 

As I said in my last post, I'm gathering supplies for a few modifications to Liberty2. I've driven all over this town and went to several stores but have finally got everything I need (hopefully). Of course while driving from one big box store to another, I passed several restaurants that caught my eye. I'm on convenience overload as to stores and restaurants. Most have been pretty good but nothing super duper special. I did do something at a restaurant yesterday that I've never done before. I had a hankering for some home cooking like Country Fried steak with mashed potatoes and green beans. So of course after seeing a billboard that may have started my hankering I stopped at big cold hearted business disguised as a country store. Yep, Cracker Barrel. I wonder why they havn't been forced to change their name. Don't get me wrong, I like Cracker Barrel and have never been disappointed with their food or service. However, yesterday was different. It was close to noon and the parking lot was only half full so I thought I timed it just right. Surprisingly, there was a line waiting to be seated. The SYTYT ("show you to your table") person was a little slow, but that was OK, it was only about 10 minutes before I was seated. After sitting at the table with the menus for another 10 minutes without having a wait-person (notice how politically correct I am) I started noticing things around the dining room. A few tables were like me, just sitting with a menu, a few more had drinks but no food. Doing some rough math in my head, since I didn't have a napkin to do some ciphering on, I figured some of these people had been waiting on their food for nearly 30 minutes. About that time, the SYTYT came by and asked if I had been waited on. So in a calm voice I said, "No ma'am, and looking around the room, there seems to be an excessive amount of waiting, so I think I'll go somewhere else," and while walking away, I handed her the menu. I wasn't mad, I was more disappointed because I had really wanted that meal. I don't blame Cracker Barrel at all, I think I'll blame the government somehow. By the way, the Chinese Buffet I ended up going to was the best I've had in a few months. Everything happens for a reason.

I planned to stop by the old cattle suspension bridge across the Brazos but read that it was closed for maintenance work. After reading what all was planned, it is way beyond just maintenance and sounds like a complete rebuild. I'm glad I saw it a few years ago since I won't see it again. 

But I was able to stop by the Texas Rangers Museum which I wasn't able to see last time I was here. These Rangers are the lawmen, not the baseball team. Yeah, yeah, I know I've said I've become jaded about museums but I can't help myself, I continue to go and hope it'll be good. This one cost me $8.00 to get in with a senior discount. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the best, I would rate it a 4. They should rename the museum and call it The Old Guns Museum. If there was one gun in there, there were a thousand. All types, sizes and ages. It was more interesting than the biographies of some of the real Rangers. 

Got to have a few facts, so here they come. Why were they called Rangers? It was a term used long ago when land barons in Europe would hire men to "range and rove" around their property to keep and eye on things. Eventually, they were called Rangers. So, in 1821, Stephen F. Austin came to Texas to establish colonies in the frontier land of Texas. It was the same year that Mexico won it's independence from Spain. Austin asked permission from Mexico for some land grants so he could bring colonists into Texas. Mexico said OK and Austin brought in 300 families. Now let's see, "the land was Mexican territory, settled on by Anglos and inhabited by Indians." What could possibly go wrong?? After a few Indian raids on the colonists and Mexico not providing enough protection, Austin asked Mexico if he could provide some protection himself. They said sure, go for it. So Austin hired 10 men to ride around the colonies to help protect people. He called them Rangers and that was the beginning of the Texas Rangers. As a point of reference in time, Austin was 28 years old in 1821. 

Later on, after Texas won it's independence in 1836 and statehood in 1845 the Texas Rangers remained a special type of law person. For example, in 1875, there were bloody range wars between Ranchers and Farmers. Yep, that really happened, it wasn't just a movie script. Farmers put up barbed wire fences to keep the cattle out of their crops. The Ranchers would cut the wire so their cows could get to water, grass and the farmers crops. Many people were killed on both sides and the Rangers were sent in to keep the peace and arrest any "fence cutters". Eventually, the Ranchers realized they could use the fences to control their cattle movement and with some strategically placed windmills to pump water, they came around to the fencing idea. Apologies were probably said on both sides and life went on. I made up that last sentence.

This is just scratching the surface of they history of the Rangers. They are tied to just about everything that has happened to Texas since 1821. Just a part of the varied and interesting history of Texas.

Most of the early Rangers were a combination of Ranger and land surveyor. 

I didn't take many pictures inside the museum so I'll let this one represent all of the Rangers. 

Tomorrow is moving day and I'll be headed to another COE campground near Temple, Texas. But, today is laundry day. I've found a laundromat (wash-a-teria) a couple of miles from the campground with the name of  Ma Suds Coin Laundry #1. The name says it all, Ma for family, Suds for cleaning and #1 implying they are a chain of laundromats. But the selling point is the picture of the inside showing commercial style washers and dryers. In a college town, I'll pick a laundromat near the campus because they are cheaper, cleaner, safer and most of the time are better places for "people watching". Today, I'm breaking that unwritten rule and hoping it doesn't bite me in the b'hind. 

Side note: I returned the electric skillet because the on/off/temperature knob was loose when I was cooking my Reuben. That concerned me so I returned it to Walmart and they cheerfully credited my credit card. But, still wanting an electric skillet, I looked for a different brand and found a 12 inch square one. It doesn't have a hinged lid, but it'll do. Cheaper too. Like I said before, everything happens for a reason.

Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe I'll Cya down the road.