An Old Courthouse in Waxahachie, Texas

Location: High View Campground (Corps of Engineers); Ennis, Texas

click pictures to enlarge
pictures were taken with two cell phones and a Nikon 5100 (fancy camera)

I am at Stop # 1

I pulled out of Mansfield early and was on the road by 9:00 a.m. I'm always a little concerned about hitching up after sitting still for so long but everything went well. The temperature was in the mid 30's and I was prepared to get wet and cold while washing off my plastic blocks that are placed under my stabilizing jacks and landing gear. When hitching up after so long, insects and such set up home under those blocks. I usually have to wash them out with a water hose. I was surprised this time and only found one spider, although it was black with a bright red dot on its back. It may have been a black widow. Instead of washing it away, I used a rock to try to kill it. That was a mistake since the rock missed and the spider jumped. I didn't see where it went, but was pretty sure it wasn't on me, so I continued hitching up. Yes, for those wondering, I always, usually sometimes wear gloves when hitching and unhitching just for such encounters with insects. 

I had a couple different options as to the route to get here. Although it was a few miles farther, I chose interstate highways all the way to Ennis. I don't mind traveling on two lane country roads but only if they have shoulders. I am always looking for shoulders on roads ever since Liberty had her tire blow out on the Indian Nations turnpike a while back. I sure was glad to be able to pull off onto a shoulder while waiting for help.

This is about an hour into the trip. The blue skies were just teasing me at this point.

This is the overcast and dreariness that awaited me at the campground. Of the three days I stayed here, it was like this for the first two.

The first two days here were very overcast and dreary due to the leftovers from the strong storms that passed through the area last weekend. Today, though, as been great. Blue skies with a few clouds and 70 degree temperatures. 

The purpose for coming to this area was to see the Ellis County Courthouse in the town of Waxahachie. It is probably one of the most photographed courthouses in Texas and I wanted to see it in person. The cornerstone for the courthouse was laid in 1895 so it's almost 125 years old. It has had some renovations done to it over the years, but the basic structure is original with most of the interior as well. It is worth a stop to see it and walk around the square.

I won't go into all the history about the courthouse since there is a lot about it online. Of course, one little tidbit would be the legend of the faces carved by the stone carver. It may involve a love interest of his and how the appearance of the faces changed when she didn't return his love. 

High View Park is a Corps of Engineers campground located on Bardwell Lake. Like most of the COE campgrounds, it is in need of a little tender loving care. The roadways have a few potholes but the campground hosts are doing a great job with keeping everything clean and picked up. It is the cheapest of all COE campgrounds that I've camped in. With my senior pass, it is only $8.00 per night for 50 amp electric and water. If you come, be very careful which campsites you choose as some of them are impossible to level up, forth and aft. Most, but not all, of the ones on the lake side of the road are the problem sites. I use Google earth to see how unlevel the sites are before making my reservations.

Campsite #8 is level. I used one set of leveling blocks because of a depression in the surfacing.

Campsite #8

A nice bare tree with Bardwell Lake in the background

Same bare tree on the left, but a green on on the right. The contrast was striking.

I think it is great they haven't removed this old tree. 

A couple of ducks came swimming by while I was walking by the lake.

One was hungry. :)

This picture is in memory of Judy Bell who passed away a while back. She was a solo RV'er that volunteered in Wildlife Refuges across the country and seemed to know every bird in the world, or at least in her world. Her blog was "Travels with Emma". Emma was her dog. In her own way, she paved the way for those of us who follow. I never met her in person, but I started following her blog for a couple of years before I started traveling. Over the years, we each commented on each other's blog. She would end many of her blog posts with a picture like the one above that included the words, 'the end' on various things.  

Tomorrow is moving day but only about an hour away. It will be another COE campground.

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