Armadillos and Bobcats

There's a State Park between Luling and Gonzales, Texas that will take your breath away.  Palmetto State Park is nestled among huge trees with a nice little lake for fishing, canoeing or paddle boating. There is also the San Marcos River that meanders through the park and can be accessed at several points for kayaking, tubing or just cooling off.  The hiking trails are just awesome and take you back to another time and era with the canopy of trees overhead, the palmettos growing along the paths and the sounds of wildlife in the woods off the paths.

We prepped most of our food before leaving home so we could spend more time hiking, sightseeing or just chilling out in camp with a good book.  

I made an awesome spinach dip with spinach and green onions from my garden.  That went great with the grilled chicken and corn on the cob.  I tried out a recipe and baked blue berry muffins in orange peels that had been scooped out and wrapped in foil.  That was so good and so easy and was done by the time the coffee had perked and eggs and sausage were done.  There is nothing better than cooking on a fire outside.  That is probably my favorite part of the outdoor life.  One thing we did learn and that is Jiffy Pop popcorn in the little aluminum skillets do not do well on a campfire.  At least they didn't for us.

While we were all three taking some "relax" time and reading our books, Daisy, the wonder camp Shih Tzu, started alerting us to something moving around in the trees just behind our tent.  At first we figured it was a squirrel or a bird, then we saw the little scavenger.  It was a small armadillo.  Guess he was looking around for some scraps.  Raven walked toward him and he scampered down the bank toward the river.  Later, as the sun started to set, we caught a glimpse of a small bobcat a few feet into some brush on the other side of the tent watching us.  He took off when we made eye contact, but we kept Daisy close just in case mamma decided to come looking for easy prey on a leash.

We have learned that the people we meet while camping have so much in common, regardless of their backgrounds and where they are from.  We all share a love of nature, a longing to be one with the elements and a deep respect of the beauty that God has gifted us.  When everyone is packing up to leave at the end of the weekend, it is with sadness that we say goodbye and with a hope that we will meet again soon at another campsite on another day.

YEP, HE'S HOOKED

Mid July in Central Texas can be a scorcher.  This was no exception, but I had reserved a campsite at the state park just outside of our home town for the whole weekend.  We were up late the night before putting everything together, sometimes forgetting we were going to be about 4 miles from home.  Within thirty minutes of me getting home from work, we were packed and pulling out.  What a great adventure this was going to be.  

We arrived at the park, picked out our site and got registered in.  I had bought one of the awesome pop up tents, so once we figured out which direction the door was, we popped that baby up in less than two minutes.  This was when we discovered that it would not hold three air mattresses.  So, I had to make a quick trip home to bring more bedding and sleeping bag for Elisha's bed  on the ground between his mom and me

We made at least a hundred trips up the incline to unload our gear, plastic crates of cooking utensils and ice chests of food and drinks....in 110 degree heat.  That was the first clue that we just might have over packed.  

I got an awesome fire going in the fire ring just before sunset and Elisha got to roast hot dogs over the fire.  Building a good fire is one of the most important arts in camping.  It can mean the difference in being cozy warm or freezing, having a hot meal or eating cold from the can and coffee.  We'll get into some of the many ways to start and maintain a good fire in another blog.

Showers taken, we settled into our beds totally exhausted and feeling rather proud of our achievements of the evening.  Thank goodness, this site had electricity and I remembered to bring a fan.  

The next day we did some hiking before the temperature soared to triple digits.  We had to take turns carrying Daisy.  She hadn't got her hiking mode going yet.  The trail we took was pretty primitive and I started getting an uncomfortable feeling, so we only went around a half mile before turning back.  We were almost to our campsite when one of the park hosts stopped us to let us know that she had just seen a bobcat on the trail we were on.  That's when I decided that hanging out at the campsite would suite me just fine.  Daisy totally agreed.

Elisha had such a good time and was a great camper on his first adventure.  He couldn't stop talking about it for days, so I found another park and reserved another weekend.  We were all hooked on the smell of burning wood, the sound of crickets and coyotes at night and the great owl calling out through the trees before dawn.  Yep, there's no doubt.....girls can camp, too!

GETTING STARTED.....OR WHAT IN THE WORLD AM I DOING?

First of all, thank you for taking a peek at my blog.  I hope you will not only be entertained, but learn a few things as well.  So, sit back....grab a snack (healthy, of course) and let's get this going!

Many years ago camping was nearly an every weekend happening during the warm months.  We would load the truck down with firewood, tarps, tents and ice chests  and head out on Friday afternoon and live the primitive life until Sunday afternoon.  What a great time we had cooking over an open fire, fishing and just sitting and watching the stars.

Life has a way of spinning us in different directions and it can take awhile to figure out what paths our moccasins should be trodding down.  Quite often it is a path that leads to many surprises and blessings.  My journey happened to intersect with my youngest daughter and her infant son.  We are now a three generational family and my grandson is now nearly nine years old.

So, what does this have to do with camping?  It has everything to do with it.  Last spring my grandson, Elisha, developed an interest and curiosity in nature and camping.  I had been wanting to take it up again, but didn't want to invest in gear and have him hate it.  We talked about it together for awhile and he understood the basics of sleeping in a tent and co-existing with nature.  We were ready.

First, we did an inventory of what we had already and what we would need to buy.  Then off to Walmart we went to pick out a tent, tarps, a large water jug and other necessities.  Let me interject here concerning the tent.  A six man tent will in no way sleep six normal earthling men.  You can figure on maybe three, if they don't mind a little togetherness.  Our six man (or two gals and a little man) tent holds two twin air mattresses on each side and a sleeping bag and a lot of padding in the middle....and a Shih Tzu.

Always figure that you will probably only use one third of what you pack.  We did okay with clothes, but we always take too much food and other gear.  I'm working on that.  Maybe in six months I'll have that figured out.

Also, you will always forget things.  We have forgotten sandals to wear in camp or to showers, chairs, matches, coffee (gasp!) and last time we somehow left the air mattresses at home.  We managed, even when the temperature dropped to 45 degrees, to stay fairly warm.  I was out of there at the crack of daylight making a fire, though.  I swear it felt like I was sleeping on granite.

Now that you have an idea about prepping for camping, next time you will hear about Elisha's very first time sleeping in a tent.

Thanks for stopping by.  See ya later!