Tyler State Park and The Switch Turns On

Location: Tyler State Park (el. 420 feet); Tyler, Texas

(all pictures taken with Nokia Lumia 929 cell phone)
(click pictures to enlarge)

Well, I survived my first day on the road after being parked in one place for a while. I took my time during the hitch up process. I guess I remembered everything because I didn't drop the trailer on the truck and everything made it to this park in one piece. 

My campsite at Highway 509 RV Park. I'll be returning there before Thanksgiving.

Typical landscape as I was leaving
Louisiana on I-20 heading west. The
sky was overcast.

This is one hour after the picture
above. The clouds cleared quickly.
The two vapor trails were made
about 10 mins apart. They looked
strange. 

It was a short trip of only 130 miles. I consider it a "shakedown cruise". The last true "shakedown cruise" for me would have been in the mid 70's when my ship, the U.S.S. Manitowoc, had gotten out of 6 months of dry-dock. The cruise was from Little Creek, Virginia to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and back with a few port of calls along the way.

  
When I was steadily traveling and moving every 3 to 4 days, Freedom, Liberty and I seemed to be one thing, one entity. It may sounds strange, but I could sense things as we traveled down the road and I knew everything was either OK or something was just not right. I didn't have that feeling most of yesterday. It felt as if we were strangers. I haven't had many first dates, but the few I have had felt much like it did yesterday. Things changed about 30 minutes before getting to the park and it was as if a switch had been turned on. It was definitely on while I was parking.

It's a pretty drive to the campsites.

This is an older park and some of the campsites are pretty tight. When I checked in, the lady said site #55 was very nice but if I found something I liked better to just call them and they would change me. Site #55 was a small "pull thru" and was in a nice location, but it was too small. I could get in but would have a tough time having enough room to unhitch.

Campsite #77

I backed out of the #55 pull thru which was challenging enough but as usual in campgrounds like this, I had an audience watching. After successfully backing out and not hearing any boos or applauds from the spectators, I drove on until I found site #77. It required 2 blocks to level-up but there was enough room to park.


After getting set up I drove around the park and walked a little bit of the trails. The weather was great with the temperature in the upper 70's to low 80's.

The park has a small (90 acres) lake which seems to be a large attraction for the locals and campers. 

The view from the CCC built "camp store"

The view from the CCC built bath house. As if looking through a picture window. 

 "Just one more time"...... 

On this late summer day, kids were enjoying the water. I watched for a while and heard more than one kid yell out something to their parents that I used to say as a kid. I guess it transcends generations and kids have been hollering it forever. It was,,,, "Just one more time." And of course the parental answer is usually, "OK, just one more." I guess all kids eventually learn when there isn't "just one more". 

My stay here is only for two days and I pull out tomorrow morning. The tow will be about 230 miles as I head to Lake Arrowhead State Park near Wichita Falls. 

I hope the switch stays on.

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