rest – Texans Travel Life

Martin Dies Jr. State Park has not one, not two, but THREE different units! It is ginormous!!

By the time we visited our 37th Texas State Park, we kind of figured we knew what we’d signed up for, and what to expect. We knew the drill. After visiting 36 State Parks, we had developed a kind of rhythm to it.

And then we visited Martin Dies Jr. State Park.

Let me start by gushing over how utterly gasp-worthy the drive to the HQ was when we visited in 2018. We’re talking towering trees lining the road, creating the most inviting and sporadically shaded drive that was akin to that scene in Keira Knightley’s version of Pride & Prejudice when she was visiting the Lake District with her Aunt & Uncle, riding along the English landscape, face upturned to the canopied trees, eyes closed, enjoying the bright bursts of sunshine through her closed lids that was punctuated now and again by the overhanging limbs. It was exactly that kind of beautiful drive that greeted us upon entry into the park that late summer day in mid-August.

The epic nature of that first introduction to MDJSP doesn’t really translate onto the screen. You’ll have to just trust me.

Maps in hand, we decided to do a scenic drive through of the park, get our bearings, and figure out where The Manling wanted to drop his first line in the water. We drove through what looked like a community of Little Houses on the Prairie. We passed countless camp sites, every one looking like it would be the best. We crossed over the quaintest bridge where we noticed a pontoon-type pier near the rental canoes. We saw open lake. We saw little inlets that looked freshly plucked out of Jurassic World. We saw and heard birds. We looked for ‘gators. We hiked part of the Island Trail. We saw the Observation Pier. Pretty much, we explored all the nooks and crannies MDJSP has to offer and came away with this: East Texas takes state parking to a whole different level!

The Manling doing a little fishing on the pontoon-style pier.

I couldn’t help being reminded of Parent Trap when I saw these. Love!

An example of the stellar camp sites available at MDJSP.

Campsite view of the lake under the shade of the towering trees. Bliss.

Part of the beautiful Island Trail, a great example of the lazy paths through the tall trees, never out of view of the water.

Cue the theme to Little House on the Prairie, please.

The Manling feeling right at home. I think Lake Life is in his future.

Love, love, love when the waters are covered like that. I don’t know what it is, but I do know that you can spot “alligator tracks” in them. Thumbs up!

Seriously the best reflection pictures are available late afternoon just about anywhere in the park that the sun can shine through the trees.

The Manling’s Mom totally appreciates the “sea wall” from which he got to fish. She’s not over fond of him being in the water when alligators call it home.

I can feel the tension in my muscles relaxing just looking at photos like this. This is one of my happy places, I think.

I want to point out that we get a lot of comments on our adventures when some mishap occurred, or we underprepared and suffered the consequences, or my imagination got the best of me, or we pushed the limits of awesome to achieve greatness. This is such a recurrent theme that I almost want to apologize for not having such a tale to tell from our time at Martin Dies Jr. State Park. But just almost.

I’m not going to apologize or make excuses because, truth be told, I needed this park, in this way, at this time. I needed to relax. I needed to allow the beauty and calm of the sights and sounds of nature to press the RESET button on my life. I needed a hiatus from the habitual business of life, and just Be. And that is exactly what MDJSP offered me. Respite. Peace. Breathing space. An intermission. A good ol’ fashioned time out.

Thank you, Martin Dies Jr. State Park. You were exactly what I didn’t know I needed.

Why We Love Martin Dies Jr. State Park

Log Cabin Village. Big fans of the Little House series, we adored the little log cabins available to overnight guests. They even have them with a/c. Simply irresistible.
Fishing. So many miles of shoreline. So many piers. So many places to fish.
Exploring. The trails absolutely rock. They have soft ground trails with towering trees overhead and a wealth of wildlife living in them. Try your hand a geocaching! In our opinion, it’s the BEST way to explore! Or grab your mountain bike for an afternoon on the trails.
Water. Two rivers converge where MDJSP is situated. Take to the water, especially if your visit happens during the six months of summer we seem to have here in Texas.
Alligators. Never saw one on our visit, but I gotta tell you, it’s exciting to look. Just the possibility of seeing one is an attraction in our book.
Camp Sites. Truly, The Manling and I kept spotting “the best campsite” around every corner. They are all magnificent and spacious, especially the ones that back up to the water.
Loaners. You can rent canoes, kayaks, and bikes. They even have a volleyball if the mood strikes that you can borrow for free at the HQ. I love that you don’t have to haul all of your own equipment. They’ve got you covered.

Must Do’s

Fish. There are a number of fishing piers and various places along the vast shorelines to drop a line.
Hike. So many easy trails on soft surfaces. Your dogs shouldn’t be barkin’ after exploring these.
Relax. Seriously, I felt so much lighter while we were at MDJSP. So peaceful. So beautiful. Such respite.
Stay. Whether in a cabin, a shelter, or a camp site, I honestly don’t think you could go wrong planning an overnighter at MDJSP. Picture perfect paradise.

We’d love to hear about your experiences at Martin Dies Jr. State Park! Please leave your comments on this picture perfect, peaceful, life reset below.

*In all natural areas, you are a guest. Educate yourself on what lives in the areas before your visits, always talk to the Park Rangers upon arrival and take precautions so that your experiences end as positively as ours.

Have you ever been to a bona-fide birding center? Neither had we before Resaca de la Palma State Park. Over an extended weekend mid-June 2018, we headed to the border of Mexico to visit the three Texas State Parks nestled in the Lower Rio Grande Valley that are part of the World Birding Center network.

We were greeted by beautiful bird sounds at the gate. Well, that and…locusts?

From the moment we entered the park, we were greeted by bird song, a sound that became our soundtrack throughout our entire visit at RDLPSP along with what I think may have been locusts?

At the HQ, Ranger Kelly helped us plan the best hike for our visit, one that included her favorite spot in the park. We were excited to get started on the “main path” – which is actually a road for the park’s tram. You see, RDLPSP is fancy – they offer tram rides to drop your party off at the various trailheads stemming from the main road. Since we enjoy hiking and fancy ourselves sturdy people able to look the Texas summer heat in the face, we set out on foot with a plan to be picked up by the tram if the heat (or mosquitos) overwhelmed us on our visit. That was another way Ranger Kelly did us a solid. She forewarned us that the mosquitos were out in force that day and we should make sure that we not only sprayed ourselves before heading out, but that we took the spray with us “just in case we needed it” (along with more water than we thought we’d drink). Those of us with lady bits took her at her word and I’ll just say we weren’t itching for the next week like the other half of us.

The main path was actually a somewhat shaded road, which was an encouraging start to us on the hot day we visited. It made a loop around the park that was a little under 3 miles total.

For the most part, our walk through the park was uneventful. We saw some pretty scenery, heard some pretty birds, and enjoyed organic conversation about nothing in particular while the mosquitos feasted on the {unsprayed} menfolk and left us {sprayed} ladies alone. We passed trail after well-marked trail, mostly on the left side of the tram road, until we came to a big turn in the road where the Hunter’s Lane trail began. It was a short walk around a half mile until we came across this:

Soaking it all in (and enjoying blessed shade on this 100+ degree day) at Ranger Kelly’s favorite spot in the park.

The view behind you while you enjoy the respite from the heat in the shade on Ranger Kelly’s bench.

So, so beautiful. Quiet except for the serenade of the birds…and locusts.

By this time, it was early afternoon, super hot and we were enjoying the shade, the view, our waters, and that bench all in equal proportions. And it was also about this time that we decided a tram ride would rock our heat exhausted worlds, so we headed back to the tram road to call for a ride. And when I say we headed back, I mean we walked kind of slowly, trying to conserve our energy because we were beat down by the heat. Defeated. In need of a hero.

Like a modern-day knight on his trusty steed, James rolled to a quiet stop in his electric tram not ten minutes later, smiled at us, and inquired in what I may have interpreted in my heat exhausted state as something akin to the Lone Ranger’s voice, “Did someone call for a ride?” Oh, James! I think we all developed a mild crush on James that hot summer day when he rode into our lives in his electric white tram.

James gave us the best darn half-tour of the park as he drove us the rest of the loop to the HQ one could have ever imagined. He was dreamy! James was enthusiastic about his job, and his contagious love of his park permeated the blessed tram. James, we’ll always have Resaca, man.

Why We Love Resaca de la Palma State Park

Main Loop. I’m a sucker for a good loop and prefer it much more than a “there and back again” trail. The fact that all of the trailheads are off of a loop is magnificent to me. Just walking the Main Loop provides marvelous opportunity for some great encounters with some beautiful birds. Everything else is icing on the cake.
Hunter’s Lane. This is the only icing on the cake we had on our visit, but we recommend it as enthusiastically as Ranger Kelly. It’s peaceful, quiet (except for the birds and locusts), beautiful, somewhat shaded, wide, and completely pleasant.
Park Staff. I know we’ve said this before, but we sincerely didn’t come across even one person that seemed half-hearted at their job at RDLPSP. And they helped us devise a perfect plan for the amount of time we had for our visit. And it’s free with admission!
That Tram. First of all, hello, it’s a free service! Take them up on it. They will drop you off at trailheads or pick you up. Either way, plan to join James for a ride on his Tram. It’s cool in more ways than one on a hot summer day.

Must Do’s

Hunter’s Lane Bench. Go back and look at the photos. You can easily see why that is Ranger Kelly’s favorite spot in the park. And now it’s ours, too. Thanks, Ranger Kelly, for the heads up. We loved it.
Tram Ride. If you’re a beast, go ahead and walk on the Tram Road and all the trails. Prove whatever you’ve got to prove, if you must, but having already gone that route, we recommend the Tram. Save your energy for the trails. Don’t waste it on the Tram Road. Let James chauffeur you to your adventure at RDLPSP in style.
Explore. There are a whopping 13 self-guided trails within the park. In addition, the park lists 4 suggested hikes ranging from 2 hours (2 mi.) to all day (11+ mi.) on their Trails Map. Or you can do what we did and ask Ranger Kelly to help you plan your own adventure. Make sure to take a trail map with you – just in case you decide a Tram Ride is for you, after all. You know, because of the heat. James’ number is listed on the Trail Map.

We’d love to hear about your experiences at Resaca de la Palma State Park! Please share your thoughts on this border birding haven in the comments.

*In all natural areas, you are a guest. Educate yourself on what lives in the areas before your visits, always talk to the Park Rangers upon arrival and take precautions so that your experiences end as positively as ours.