Next Stop.....Caprock Canyon State Park

We headed out the next morning on our way to Caprock Canyon State Park near Quitaque Texas. We took the back roads with the scenic trail markings from Ballinger to Quitaque. Carolyn was a little worried about getting diesel along the way. No problem I said.......most of the ranchers have diesel trucks as well as the oil field workers. Ah, hmmmm. she has to fill her diesel truck twice to every fill Mary Jane and I do because her truck has a 25 gallon diesel tank versus the 55 gallon gas tanks in our Phoenix Cruisers. Even I began to worry a bit when we were about 3/4 of the way there. It wasn't so much that the gas stations didn't carry diesel as that a lot of the small towns didn't have a gas station at all. That was a real surprise. Now Carolyn is pretty smart and always prepared so she had 5 gallons of diesel in containers in the back of the truck. Fortunately, we never had to use that last ditch save.

We didn't have reservations so we checked for a private park in Quitaque but that was a no go. We headed into  Caprock Canyon thinking the office might already be closed in which case we would boondock in the parking lot. Due to two open sites and one cancellation, the office got us into spots without a problem.

Many of the sites at Caprock are kind of unique because they are a shaped a bit like a piece of pie with a narrow opening which opens into a wide spot. There are a lot of trees and bushes so you may hear a neighbor outside but not see them.  It is a nice setup.

There are lots of critters at Caprock including a large prairie dog community.

Caprock Canyon is at the other end of the more well known Palo Duro Canyon. Once we were set up, we headed out to see the rest of the park since Mary Jane and Carolyn had never been there.

It is a desert type area and the park has a lot of information about the area as well as the history.

Carolyn found wildflowers. There were quite a few of these.

The cacti have already bloomed but they are still colorful.

We were in the RV campground with water and electric but we checked out all of the other campgrounds for tenters as well.

A lot of historical and geological information is available all over the park.

Erosion plays a big part in the sculpturing of the area.

Of course, this is why we were really here. Caprock Canyon is the home of the Texas Bison herd.  The heard actually started back when hunting bison was huge. they interfered with ranchers cattle as well as being hunted for sport. Mary Ann Goodnight, wife of legendary Charles Goodnight, became concerned because the bison were being hunted to the point of extinction. She convinced her husband to help her save the orphaned baby bison. Soon they had a herd. Eventually that herd was deeded to the state of Texas.

Carolyn took all these photos from the safety of the car windows.

They were close to the car but we stopped and didn't move as they lumbered past us. They roam freely throughout the park so you never know when you might get the chance to see them. On a previous trip, my son and grandson waited out the bison moving through the area by staying near the safety of the restrooms.

The park has some very interesting  sculptures.

Interesting to know that people were camping in this same area 12,000 years ago.

That evening, we attended a presentation given by a park ranger and a professor from a nearby university about the moon and planets.

There was a slide show and then everyone got to check out Jupiter and other planets as well as the moon through some very large, very expensive telescopes theat the professor brought it. There was an event earlier in the day which we missed. It was to celebrate the Comanche Moon and there was dancing and storytelling by local Indians.

Home Sweet Home for the second night of our trip!

Finally On the Road

Getting ready for the upcoming trip around Texas and New Mexico has been challenging. I brought the RV home and DH checked the battery, cleaned the terminals, etc. He also fixed some latches that didn't work just right. The generator wouldn't start so we checked everything again. I even got on the Phoenix Cruiser forum to ask for some help. I got several suggestions and a picture of the correct battery hookup. Ours was right. All of a sudden I got no DC power at all....no lights, no water pump, etc., and yet the battery was charged. I called my RV guy and he walked me through several tests. One of them was to start the generator using the switch on the dash that pulls power from the engine battery. It started but as soon as I turned the engine button off and tried again, it wouldn't start. Terry thought it must be a solenoid or relay as we had already checked the fuses, etc. He got me in on Tuesday morning. His partner came right out and I told him exactly what Terry already had me try. He got underneath the battery compartment and checked and said it all looked good. Then he used their tester on the batteries and said they were definitely good. After a couple of other checks showing all the positive side of the DC power was working, he went back under the battery and found a cable that was just barely movable. It was a ground wire. He used some new star fasteners and a new bolt and voila....everything worked!.  What a relief.

I got everything loaded up. Then I got a call from my friend Carolyn who was on her way from Louisiana to join Mary Jane and I on this trip. We were all going to meet up at the Walmart parking lot in the morning and leave. She had a leak in the roof even though she had it checked last month....that is an RV for you. I gave her my RV guy's phone number and she called and left a message because they were already gone for the day. She left her overnight spot very early and arrived at the RV shop right after they opened. Terry wasn't there but one of his guys got up on the roof and found some hairline cracks on one seem and a small spot that looked a little indented and soft. He had her caulked and patched before Terry got there to get her message. We were on our way only a half hour later than planned.

We headed cross country towards Fredricksburg stopping at the rest area on 290 for a quick lunch.

Then we headed off to Ballinger TX where we planned to spend the night at the City park. We were parked right alongside the river with three other RVs....$15/night for full hookups but all we really needed was electric.

It is a real nice little park. I stayed there many years ago but they have really cleaned it up.

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Sunday at a rally usually means a "hitch-up" breakfast. but, at this rally, it meant a full on breakfast provided by the park. You can't beat eggs, sausage, pancakes, coffee, and orange juice.

JR and Diane, the manager, are busy serving up the pancakes and sausage. We all really enjoyed it.

Some of the group headed home, some went fishing...…

And some did a little sightseeing in downtown Rockport...…

And down by the waterfront.

All in all, I think everyone enjoyed the rally and no one melted because of the heat. I spent Monday relaxing before heading back home on Tuesday.

Saturday Surprises

Saturday was a busy day at the rally. We started by having christening ceremonies for a number of new or new to us RVs.  Think ship christening but we don't use a bottle. It gives members a chance to show off their RVs and tell us about them as well as providing best wishes and blessings for future travels. There were a number of presentations during the day on how to care for your RV and how to operate various systems.  We watched great videos on towing and toads as well as driving a Class A and even the best way to set up your mirrors for maximum visibility.

Later in the day, we all posed for our group photo.

Some members were busy working on travel plans for an upcoming rolling rally.

We welcomed three new members into the chapter.

After announcements, we all headed to the kitchen for pizza and salad. We usually have a potluck on Saturday nights but, as part of the beat the heat, we made big bowls of garden style salad and ordered pizza. We also had a big pail of ice cream but some of the members surprised us by bringing fruit and desserts to share. By this time our numbers swelled to 37 including 3 guests and three new members. Several including one of the hosts stayed in motels and several drove in for one or more days.

Next up was entertainment. One of the park workcampers has a whole karaoke set-up and she offered to set it up for our group. Several of the park staff showed up for support to get the singing going but this group isn't shy.

Fun was had by all

Friday had 21 RVs of various sizes and types set up in the park for a total of about 26.

Some of the group went fishing.

Others attended the first of several training videos. Air conditioned rigs plus air conditioned rally hall plus pool pretty much takes care of the "It's too hot complaint".

Friday night found us heading across town to Paradise Key Dockside Bar and Grill for dinner.

Even with a reservation, there was a bit of a wait which is to be expected for a party of 28.

 It is a very large restaurant with inside and outside seating.

And a great view out the windows.

 Choices were difficult as there were so many good things to choose from.

The original plan was to come back to the park and watch the movies "RV" but the evening at Paradise ran pretty long so we settled with just visiting in the rally room.

Gearing Up for the TRR Rally

Wednesday passed by in a blur but those who arrived early went to Moon Dog for dinner, right on the bay in Fulton. We sat under a roof but with walls wide open......no bugs so it was really nice.

Thursday morning after the line dancing class sponsored by the park, I checked out the rally room and found this wonderful surprise from the park. Check out the dolphin bananas. The crate was full of bananas, apples, oranges, crackers, candy, etc.

By Thursday night, we had quite a crowd...….a crowd that loves seafood and here we are in Rockport. We all loaded up and drove to Old Fulton Seafood Café. The restaurant is very unpretentious from the outside as it is located in a strip mall but it is nice inside and the food is great. It used to be on the bay in Fulton but the building was lost in the last hurricane.

We had a good sized group......more than I told the restaurant since some ladies went directly to the restaurant instead of meeting up at the park. The staff handled it all quickly and we all had our food in a short time.

Invite and They Will Come

Wednesday morning found us headed toward Rockport Texas to the Wilderness Oaks RV Resort. Maybe I need to go back just a little further. One of the goals for the Texas Ramblin' Roses, the Texas Chapter of RVing Women, is to have a rally for our members every month. At the end of June, we still didn't have a rally scheduled for July, August, or September. I heard lots of "it's too hot for a rally". Hey, we live in Texas and we are tough. I got on the phone with Diane at Wilderness Oaks RV Resort and asked if she had room for a rally in July, August, or September.....August and September were best for her so I said I would host a rally in August. She put 30 sites on hold for us and we were set.

This is not the first rally I have hosted at Wilderness Oaks but the other two were for a small group. How can you help but feel welcome when you pull in and see this sign right out front. The rally was scheduled for Friday through Sunday but I headed down on Wednesday to take advantage of a little R&R in advance.

I checked in at the office and got settled into my site without a problem. I had already told everyone that unless they had a monster rig, they did not need a pull-through. The workcampers at this park can make anyone look like a pro even if they have never backed an RV before. They have a real talent for giving just the right directions to slip you into the sites. My friend Mary Jane always wants a pull-through but she was thrilled with how easy it was to back in with the directions from the guys.

You might have thought we would be the only ones at the park two days early but no. There were several others that arrived on Wednesday. We got a great rally rate and everyone wanted to take advantage of it. Just some of the cute décor at the park.

They have a great salt water swimming pool that leaves your skin feeling great. It was warm as a bathtub from the sun and felt absolutely great.

There is also a small jacuzzi, an exercise room, great family style bathrooms, a laundry, dog park, etc.

The Clubhouse or rally room for us has a great kitchen and a huge room. It was ours for the duration right after the line dancing class on Thursday morning.

So now on to the rally!