2024-9-27 TRR Rally at Lake Buchanan RV Resort

I made the long trek from Inks Lake State Park to Lake Buchanan RV Resort about noon on Monday. It was about an 8 mile trip, lol. We had several Texas Ramblin' Roses annual meetings here when this resort used to be called Big Chief RV Resort.

It was really nice to find that they have been able to eradicate for the most part the horrible goathead burs that were like hard sharp spiky horrors that made you want to leave your poor pets home. The sites are mostly pull throughs and pretty level but the one I was in should have been reserved for someone without a drivers side slide as the oleander bushes made me park over to the passenger side of the site and made stepping off my step an uphill inconvenience especially for Harley..

The hill country scenery was beautiful.

They have a small but very nice pool and hot tub.

The sunsets were spectacular.

There were 3 other Phoenix Cruisers there for the rally along with other motorhomes, trailers, 5th wheels, and truck campers.

Another beautiful sunset over Lake Buchanan.

Our rallies have lots of different things to do. These ladies were enjoying a Tex Mex meal

The Left, Right, Center game was in play here.

Five of our group toured the Texas Longhorn Cavern State Park nearby. 52 steps down and 52 steps up are a challenge.

Quite a few of us did the Vanishing Texas River Cruise. The lake is down 16 feet due to drought but that is up from 30 feet down a few weeks ago. It made for a steep decent to the boat dock.

The water was beautiful, sunny with a slight breeze.

The scenery is beautiful but with the lake so far down we were unable to go up the river. My first trip years ago, we went up the rive and saw eagles.

The boat had an enclosed lower deck.

And an open deck where most of us opted to ride.

Mexican Train is another popular game at rallies.

This was an interesting game somewhat like Simon Says but you had to touch body parts or grab the cup between you and your partner.

It was lively!

There were 4 winners who each got a trophy cup with a candy bar.

It was a fun rally but I missed you Elaine. No more cruises when rallies are scheduled!

 

Burnet Rally and TRR Annual Meeting

In early December, I was off to the Big Chief RV Resort on Lake Buchanan near Burnet, Texas for our Texas Ramblin' Roses (TRR) Annual Meeting. TRR is the Texas Chapter of RVing Women.

We arrived several days early to enjoy the park and get ready for the rally which was sponsored by the chapter officers (I'm the secretary).

They have a nice pool and hot tub. Only problem is that you have to ask them to turn the hot tub on and it takes about 4 hours to heat up.  Of course, by the time it is ready, I was busy doing something else so I only got to use it once.

It's a nice park and they take good care of those visiting whether they are at a rally or just staying there. I have to give them credit for doing a great job vastly reducing the goat head burs that were everywhere when I first visited there about three years ago.  For those who don't know, goat heads are really hard to get rid of and they are very hard on dogs feet or RV carpet.

The scenery is pretty nice too.

And the sunsets can be spectacular.

We had dinner at Mama's Home Cooking on Thursday night.

Every morning, Joyce Wallace leads whoever is interested in some fun group exercises.

You will probably be surprised to hear that Joyce (arms up on the right) is 88 years old. I wish I had half her energy and flexibility. Oh, and Joyce is waiting on delivery of a brand new Phoenix Cruiser like mine. I think she will be RVing for a quite a while.

Friday night, the chapter provided fried chicken and all the sides for dinner. Later on, there were lots of women still in the rally room playing games or working on puzzles or just visiting.

We had our meeting and election Saturday morning. Then women were off kayaking, visiting a local winery, relaxing, hiking over at Inks Lake State Park, etc. We had a delicious Cajun dinner catered by two of our members. Then came the entertainment.

We always take a group photo at every rally. We had well over 70 people women attend this rally. Most stayed in their RVs at Big Chief, a few were camping at Inks Lake State Park, and a few more stayed at hotels in Burnet.

We have a great chapter and lots of fun members.

 Hmmm, here is a part of the group back at Mama's.

Sunday night a number of us went into Burnet to see "Bethlehem" sponsored for many years by a local church but that is the subject for another post.

Vanishing Texas River Cruise

The Vanishing Texas River Cruise on Lake Buchanan near Burnet TX has been around since 1982. My first experience with it was as an event connected to a motorcycle rally my husband and I attended in Burnet many years ago. We actually did the eagle tour but that is only offered during fall and winter. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law saw a sign for the cruise and were interested in going on it. When we went online the morning of the tour, it said there were no more online reservations but we decided to drive out there just in case they had openings and, if not, so we could find it the next day. The road you turn off on is only 2 miles from downtown Burnet but it is a long but pretty drive along Lake Buchanan to get there. We arrived and they had plenty of room for us. I suspect they turn off online tickets early so people won't make reservations and then not have time to arrive at the landing.

We were on the far side of the dock. You can sit on the lower enclosed deck with A/C or on the upper deck with a roof for shade.

 

We opted for the upper deck.

It was a beautiful day with a nice breeze and we were very comfortable the whole trip even though the temp was pretty high.

Lake Buchanan is huge but it has it's ups and downs with water level. Texas is often in drought conditions and a few years ago, the lake was really low for a number of years. That led to bushes and small trees growing in what would normally be water which concerned the residents. There are lots of homes and cabins all around the lake. Now they have actually found that those bushes and trees in parts of the lake have really improved the fishing.....a silver lining.

This is the hill country so this is part of the scenery.

We made our way across part of the lake and headed up the Colorado River. This lovely waterfall was a nice surprise.

The tour narrator was really good about giving us all the history of the lake and area, pointing out all the wildlife, and telling us in advance of good photo opportunities.

The area along the river is almost all ranch land so you will see some cattle and deer along the way. See them to the right side?

Okay, now you can see them.

The bluebonnets are long past their time but we did see lots of other wildflowers both along the river and along the roads in the area.

It was a great cruise that we all enjoyed and would recommend.