Sunday, October 23, 2016

Oct 23 2016 - Salmon Lake Park to home

Yesterday at the Casita Rally we had the chance to look inside many Casitas and ask lots of questions
The largest Casita (17')  comes in four different styles - the same basic units but depending on where they fit them different layouts are possible.
For us either the Liberty or Freedom layouts seem to work best.
Clare had lots of fun discovering all the hidden storage places for our stuff.
Later we got the chance to see  Bigfoot and were immediately impressed with roomier feeling. They are slightly wider, and because one end isn't closed off with a bathroom, you can see right through front to back.  Much more storage, a real fridge and even an oven.  All in a molded fiberglass trailer.
Who knows......


On the drive home we stopped off in Palestine to check it out.
Its a bit of a dis-jointed town.  The old courthouse and square are some distance from the "main-street" that grew up around the railroad.  But we found it after walking around for a while.




There is also a tourist train in the summer that runs from a few miles out of town, towards the town of Rusk.  There was a prison in Rusk that needed charcoal to run an iron smelter.  The wood was in Palestine - so they built a railroad to go get it.  All of that is gone now   The Palestine depot was deserted when we were there.







Last stop on the way home was in Athens.  Supposedly this is where the hamburger was invented in the 1880s.  They don't make much of this piece of history.  We were hoping for a nice array of eateries celebrating this. There were none. The town was asleep....





Friday, October 21, 2016

Oct 21 2016 - Fairfield lake to Salmon Lake

Our campsite is on the East side of the lake.  While we are still in the morning cool, the other side of the lake is bathed in early morning sunshine.  The birds arrive from all directions and all join in one big lazy thermal and soar slowly up to a few thousand feet.  It is always a magical sight.

the cool side of the lake

After breaking camp, we drive to the farthest point and take the 2 mile nature trail.



Its a great way to start the day.  Many lake views and some dense forest parts.  We always seem to be the first out on these trails so end up being the ones that break the cobwebs that form overnight.

The town of Fairfield has a nice courthouse and an old jail, but is otherwise rather sleepy.




Its time to head to Salmon Lake park for the Pineknot Casita Rally.

Jim used to work at a place that made accessories for Casita Travel Trailers
These travel trailer are made in Rice, Texas.  Being molded fiberglass they suffer less from leakage, and hold their value very well over time, as they still look good many years down the road.
The rally at Salmon lake park  will bring together about 100 Casitas and a few other makes.  We are going to catch up with old friends, and to check out all 4 models of Casita to try to make a decision as to which one to get for our full time travels.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Oct 20 2016 - Corsicana to Fairfield Lake State Park

This trip we are winding our way slowly towards the Casita Rally at salmon lake park
We start our trip off in Corsicana  This is just South  of the Casita factory and also is the town that started the Texas oil rush.  (by accident - they were drilling for waterof couse)
We like towns that have a courthouse, a visitor center you can find and is open,and a walking tour.
Corsicana has all 3.






Then after getting supplies at the Collin Street Bakery we went on a wild goose chase trying to find the Confederate Reunion Grounds   The guide book we were using had it on the wrong read, in the wrong town. I wonder if they had ever been there?  Anyway after speaking with a local policeman (useless)and the folks running the gas station (better) we finally found it.
The buildings are mostly ruins now, with the exception of the dance pavillion.  A wonderful structure.








Then on to Old Fort Parker, a wonderful wooden fort.  
To quote from their website..
"..On May 19th 1836, a band of Indians came to Parker's Fort asking for beef, water and a place to camp. When greeted by the Parkers the Indians attacked, taking five captives! The most famous these was 9 year old Cynthia Ann Parker.  She was adopted by a Comanche family, grew up to marry Chief Peta Nocona and later gave birth to the last great Warrior Chief of the Comanches, Quanah Parker..."

See I told you there would be more info on how Lake Quanah Parker in the Wichita Mountains got its name.



 There is a nearby state park that was to be our resting place for the night - but it was full (Friday night) - so we zoomed over to Fairfield Lake State Park arriving at dusk.
This park was pleasantly empty and we had the pick of almost any spot.

We set up in the last of the dying daylight, then realized that the chilli we were going to reheat for supper was still frozen.  This happens on Day 1 of a trip if you have good coolers.  So we used a redneck method to defrost it - rest it on the warm engine, replace the lid and drop the hood.  After a short evening stroll it was thawed enough to get it into a saucepan to be be heated on the camp stove.



Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Oct 18 2018 - The Clam arrives

This is a screen room that will be used to keep out the bugs, a shady and/or dry place to sit or cook. This significantly expands our living space when we are camping.

It went up very easily - though Clare cant reach the roof when up!
Putting it back into the bag is more of a struggle but it gets faster every time...

Tall enough for Jim!

Too tall for Clare!

After adding the 'wind panels'
Now of course in real use you need to stake it down - or it will happily tumble away.

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Oct 16 2016 - A short hike then home

Last day at Wichita Mountains - so on the way out we take a short hike up the 'narrows'
Driving there we finally get to see why one of the mountains is called Mt Lincoln.


The narrows trail has no marked trail-head, but we found it anyway - at the far end of the group picnic area.   Its and easy stroll to the river crossing,  then a gentle uphill to viewpoint.










On the way out of the preserve we stopped off at the one place we hadn't seen - Quanah Parker Lake. There is a lot of history behind that name - we'll save that for another day.


Baldy peak is also visible from the campsite

Downstream from the dam - more than a dozen turtles in there

The dam that is holding the lake


Outside of the preserve, our last stop was at "Holy City"   it is guarded by a field of black-tailed prairie dogs....


Holy city is the location of an Easter pageant.  It must be great when that is happening.  Most of the year its just a collection of various facades that are used to act out the various religious scenes.  Apart from the chapel there are no complete structures - just some hidden platforms for the actors to pop out from.  Truly bizarre...

The Chapel (on the right)is the only complete building






And that was the end of the fun.  3+ hours later we were home.

Saturday, October 15, 2016

Oct 15 2016 - Elk Bugling

Early start today - at the visitor center by 5-30AM to get on the waitlist for the Elk Bugling tour.
We got on!
This tour is by bus and was supposed to go into the closed off "special use" area, but due to the earlier rain we had to stay on the public roads.






Saw plenty of Elk in the far distance. Heard plenty 'bugling' too.  Great fun.
Got to revisit many of the place that Joe had taken us earlier.  Joe knows where to go!
After another Joe+Donna breakfast we head back towards Mt Scott.  This time its open.  Sunny but windy.  Stunning 360 degree views from the top.   This is favorite place for the locals to walk or cycle up.  They are mad.




Dan with his student Clare

Then back to base.  We took a stroll down to the lake at the campground




Then we go off looking for more wildlife as the sun sets.
This is our favorite spot.  Treasure lake at sunset.



On the way back a full moon rises....




One last deer caught in the headlights

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