Huntsville State Park

The Man is a native Texan. He was born and raised in Houston. He relocated to Dallas in 1994. We have traveled I-45 between these two massive cities more times than I can count over the past twenty-five years, visiting and revisiting the people and places that shaped The Man’s past and forged his future. Embarrassingly, I don’t recall even once noticing that there was a State Park along the way, much less one as extraordinary as Huntsville State Park.

Being a native of Alabama the Beautiful, I adored the beautiful drive to and through the park’s colossal pine trees. That’s my happy place right there.

The Manling and I visited HSP in August 2018, unsure what to expect from a park that hadn’t managed to catch our attention over the course of two decades. What we discovered was an awesome park deep in the thick, towering pine trees of the Sam Houston National Forest. With a plethora of activities to choose and only six hours to spend, we quickly prioritized our line-up and began enjoying a leisurely summer afternoon around Lake Raven.

Knowing that The Manling’s primary love language is fishing, we headed for fishing spot numero uno – a pretty pier located between picturesque camping spots 154 and 157. While The Manling began reeling in fish after fish after fish, I spent some quality time with my iPhone attempting to capture the beauty of the place digitally.

Next, we explored the rest of the park from the inside of the Tiny Toyota Tardis (because the Yaris is bigger on the inside), surprised to see so many tent campers enjoying the park deep in the throes of the hottest month of the year. August in Texas, dear reader, is akin to swimming in the lava pools of Mordor in Mount Doom. It’s hot as Hades. Did I mention the humidity? South Texas is famous for its heat AND its unbearable humidity. My mother-in-law, a native Houstonian, once told me that you have to have gills to breathe in Houston. It’s a thing. Look it up. And yet, there were families who had chosen to forsake the blessed comfort of air conditioning in order to make memories tent camping at HSP. I could drop the mic right there because that, amigo, says A LOT about the awesomeness of Huntsville State Park.

While exploring HSP from our sweet {air conditioned} seats in the Tiny Toyota Tardis (because the Yaris is bigger on the inside), we discovered another fishing pier in the Coloneh Camping Area (between spots 78 and 82) and decided to pull over and drop a line in the water. Well, The Manling dropped a line. I grabbed my iPhone and continued my search for the perfect picture that would speak more than a thousand words to us both.

Here it is:

In the effort of full disclosure, I did not take that photo myself. Marsha did. Marsha was one of the many campers in the park that day, completely living la vida loca by camping in August with her hubs and three grandkiddos. Huntsville State Park, you see, is home to some of these bad boys and Marsha aimed to hook us with “front row seats” to see them up close, but not so up close that our own personal safety was at stake (a philosophy her dear husband did not share – story to follow, keep reading).

The Manling and I hunkered down on the pier, him with his rod and me with my iPhone, while we waited for one or more of the local ‘gators to make an appearance. Marsha gladly shared her experience (and the above photo) from the night before along with all the information she knew about alligators, including this little tidbit – the lines through the growth in the water hugging the shoreline and the pier were tracks made by the alligators as they entered and exited the water.

The Manling, Marsha’s husband, and two out of their three grandsons fished from the pier, catching hand-sized little fellas left and right. Marsha and I chatted. Time passed.

Marsha’s Man announced to the pier that he saw a ‘gator across the lake. Skeptical, The Manling and I shaded our eyes with our hands, squinted against the late afternoon glare off of the water, and slowly scanned the area that he indicated. We saw nothing. After surveying the area several times, I ventured to mention that I saw nothing, to which he responded, “That thing that looks like a log right there,” pointing exactly where I should look. Sure enough, we saw what looked like driftwood floating adjacent to the shoreline. Still somewhat skeptical that it was a bona fide alligator, The Manling and I took up “log watching” like it was an income-generating venture. And guess what. It WAS a bona fide alligator! (We were clued into this when a fish jumped out of the water and the “log” course-corrected to follow it. For about ten minutes.)

Assured by Marsha’s hubs that the thing would feed on the fish they were catching under the pier around 6pm, we not-so-patiently watched the clock, waiting for him to make his way across the lake to us so we could get a good look at him. By 6:30pm, he had disappeared altogether. Feeling slightly disappointed, we bid our new friends good-bye and headed to one last spot, a place that Marsha’s husband assured us he’d seen a 10-12 footer earlier in the day. After driving around for about fifteen minutes, unable to find the spot he had referenced, I unexpectedly got a text from Marsha that said the alligator had shown up! The Manling and I pointed the Tiny Toyota Tardis (because the Yaris is bigger on the inside) back toward the pier and were rewarded with these up-close encounters with a 5-6 footer –

After the excitement wore off (for the alligator, not us), Marsha’s Man hopped on a scooter and escorted us to the place he’d seen the 10-12 footer earlier in the day. Stopped on the side of the road, Marsha’s Man crossed the road and ventured into the dense brush under the towering pine trees. Alone. Wearing flip flops.

After searching a few minutes, he found what he had been looking for… sitting utterly motionless in the water looking at him, only his head visible. And it was a ginormous head. Can you see it?

After several failed attempts to lure The Manling into the brush to get a closer look (This came out of my mouth: “That’s going to be a hard ‘no’ because I love him. And your family loves you, too, so I think it would probably be best for you to come back out here with us.”), he finally joined us back on the road. In his excitement, he commenced trying to convince us that approaching the alligator’s home – for we assume it was indeed it’s home since there was a camera box in the brush pointing at it – wouldn’t be too unsafe. He eventually understood the meaning of our “no’s” in all of its varying forms, bid us farewell, and we parted ways – him back to the pier, us back to I-45…and the safety of our own home.

Why We Love Huntsville State Park

Fishing. In our experience, it should be called “catching” at HSP. Go old school with worms.
Camping. Like I said, there were tent campers. In August. In 100+ degree weather. That speaks volumes.
Alligators. This could easily become classified as an obsession. Until this year, I had only seen alligators in the zoo or on the screen. It is insane to know they are around and that they aren’t out to get me. You know, like the snakes. Or the alligator on Lake Placid.
Towering Pines. Being a native of Alabama the Beautiful, ya girl loves her towering pines. This places is tall tree heaven. Bonus: Lots of shade, which lowers the oppressive summer temps.

Must-Do’s

Alligator Watch. Seriously! Go to the fishing pier. Take binoculars. Be patient. Better yet, ask Park Staff on your way in where the best place to spot an alligator is and follow their advice. (NOTE: The alligators are not tame. They are 100% wild. Keep your distance. Don’t be stupid.)
Fish. The fishing piers were perfect for catching hand-sized fish. We didn’t drop a line anywhere else, but I’m sure the Park Staff could give you good tips. Just ask them when you check into the park.
Camp. Beautiful, roomy camping spots. RV spots. Not your jam? How about a shelter with a/c? HSP has you covered, whatever your preference for camping.
Hike. Because of the allure of the alligators, we ran out of time to be able to hike. I imagine the trails would be gorgeous winding through such beautiful trees. Let me know if you have first-hand experience. I’d love to hear from you.

We’d love to hear about your experiences at Huntsville State Park! Please share your thoughts on this no-longer-overlooked state park 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.

August 23, 2018August 12, 2018

Lake Brownwood State Park

Our trip to Lake Brownwood State Park could be considered a series of unfortunate events at first glance. The fact that we left our house at 5:30am would be the first of those unfortunate events to 3/4 of the population of Smiths living in our home in North Texas. Fortunately, The Reader is a morning person and once we picked her up at 6:15am, there was a second cheerful person on board the S.S.Suburban bound for Lake Brownwood State Park. We chatted. I read a humorous chapter from Of Mess and Moxie to her. She laughed at my observations. She showed me adorable pics of her furr babies. I coveted her new iPhone. Just a delightful passing of time as we headed west in the wee hours of the morn.

And then we stopped for gas and a bio break. No biggie, except this time while The Man was filling the behemoth tank of our land yacht, he noticed this, which could rightly be considered the second in our series of unfortunate events –

We just didn’t think the “wires” of our inner tire should be showing. And since we’d had the tires checked the day before at a reputable tire place, we were scratching our heads as to how this could have happened.

Sigh.

Not only was the Suburban filled with coolers (plural), sporting equipment, fishing gear, 5 humans, and Our Awesome Aussie, the spare tire was also in the back instead of in it’s rightful place under the vehicle thanks to a years ago off-roading adventure gone awry. Hence the sigh. We were going to have to offload three bikes so that we could unload the heavy coolers and finagle around our miscellaneous sporting equipment in order to get the good spare tire out and onto the truck. And by we, I mean The Man and The Manling because the rest of us are ladies (including our Awesome Aussie) and the ladies promptly took off for a photo shoot with the cool sculptures and such that make roadside gas stations more than just pit stops.

Thirty minutes saw us back on the road – which I count as a miracle because the jack that the giant Suburban had looked like it would have had trouble lifting the Tiny Toyota Tardis (because the Yaris is bigger on the inside), so kudos to the makers of that priceless piece of engineering! About an hour later, we reached our destination without further incident.

After taking our group selfie at the entrance –

In what the lady-folk would consider the third unfortunate event, Kinder Frau pointed out the leavings of a snake’s skin – right at our feet. {Just. Breathe.}

– we headed straight for the HQ to register our vehicle and get the lay of the land from the excellent Park Staff. Which is when I noticed the flyers stacked on the counter inviting everyone for a volleyball game at 10:30am and a kickball game at 1pm. You see, I had called earlier in the week to talk to the Park Staff about a couple of items I’d noticed on their website – volleyball courts and a softball field – that were free for use by park visitors. I asked if they could invite other visitors to join us for volleyball and kickball the day we would be there and they enthusiastically replied, “Absolutely! We are all about community.” That same day, I saw an announcement posted on their social media! Upon arrival at the park, we saw the flyers sitting right on the counter where everyone checked into the park! Major props to the LBSP Staff for living their motto!

Since it was about 10:15am, we headed straight for the volleyball court by the swim beach. We played a hilarious hybrid game of volleyball & nukem that attracted a fair amount of odd looks from the few people that walked by and maybe weren’t living their best lives like The Smiths clearly were. Not everyone can live our level of cool in the heat of summer.

And then things got real – someone joined us!!! The social media blitz combined with the old school flyers landed us an actual human being willing to join our crazy shenanigans! And he was in full length denim pants, people…owning the court! Let’s take a moment to give proper kudos to Caleb for going with the flow, laughing, and pretty much #winning at that carpe diem thing!

Our new bestie Caleb, The Man, and The Manling in about 1000 degree weather

This shot makes us look like we know what we’re doing. The Reader took video that proved that we were more of a spectacle than spectacular. But we had fun, so we’re cool with that.

Hot and tired. And also the self-proclaimed winners.

We told Caleb about our upcoming kickball game, invited him to join us at 1pm at the field for more fun, and then headed back to the truck for some lakeside eating in the comfort our air conditioned Suburban. Nothing spectacular to report except the lake views, which are gorgeous and complete the ambiance when you are eating in your air conditioned vehicle lakeside.

Once we were fed and cooled, some of us felt energized enough to tackle the Nopales Ridge Trail atop our bikes, so we reparked the Suburban at the trailhead (which is off the main park road on the right, just past the split). We left The Reader and Kinder Frau to read, relax, and chill in the Suburban with Our Awesome Aussie while The Man, The Manling, and I took to the trail.

It started simply enough, lots of flat earth shaded by pretty trees and serenaded by the call of locusts and birds. Then we got to the portion that the Park Staff forewarned might be “challenging.” I’d like to say we kicked the trail’s butt, but honestly? We had to get off and walk portions of it because the rocks were so big and I was on my city hybrid bike with the teeny tires which I was morbidly afraid would go POP! rendering me a walker for the remainder of the trail while the midday sun slowly melted me. So we experienced about a fifth of the trail on foot, which inherently held it’s own challenges to me because of the cactus and the incredibly rocky, narrow path on the “challenging” portion of the trail and my recurrent fear of snakes, which I was assured lived in the park when we were registering our vehicle earlier in the day, but I had been less afraid of encountering on the trail when I was enjoying it atop my bike at a decent clip. Eventually we made it back to the wider, more earthy trail and we were riding the bikes once more, enjoying the wind in our faces as we blazed through the rest of the trail and back to the Suburban. We had so much fun overall, I suggested that The Man and The Manling do it again sans me and my sissy bike after our kickball game, an idea that held real appeal to my menfolk.

As we were storing gear, loading up the bikes, and downing H2O, The Reader kindly let us know that a rather alarming engine-related message appeared on the dashboard while we were gone. Long story short, without thinking we did a big no-no (our fourth unfortunate event of the day, for those that are counting) and this happened –

We quickly emptied water bottles into our coolant reservoir and headed slowly to the sports field for kickball at which exactly no one joined us, which was not a mystery because it was

but that didn’t stop The Smiths from playing the most ridiculous game of four-way kickball ever invented! The Reader served as our permanent pitcher while the rest of us constituted one-man teams and Our Awesome Aussie jogged around the field not sure who she was rooting for and far more preoccupied with the abundance of new olfactory sensations to care anyway.

We were all winners after our epic 23-minute, four-way, individual kickball game, but I might have had more of a reason to smile than the others when it ended. Just sayin’.

Game over, we re-focused our attention on the fourth in our series of unfortunate events. We oh-so-cautiously drove to the boat launch area with hopes that we could possibly find a boat owner with engine coolant to spare. While The Man and I searched and read manuals and refilled water bottles to add to the car’s reservoir, the kids treated Our Awesome Aussie to a much-appreciated swim because Our Awesome Aussie is practically ferrel when it comes to the likes of water and wallowing and she was about to melt from the heat trapped in her beautiful blue merle coat.

Once we found a generous boater with coolant to spare, the Suburban seemed right as rain again (Thank you, Jesus!). We headed back to the Nopales Ridge Trail to drop the guys off to re-do the loop on their manly bikes with their ginormous tires while the gals explored the rest of LBSP via Suburban.

I want to post the cry-laughing emogee, but that’s not an option.

The Manling might have petered out during their second take of the “challenging” mountain bike trail and left The Man outside to load the bikes back onto the Suburban.

The second, more testosterone-filled mountain bike ride, both The Man and The Manling crashed (fifth in our series of unfortunate events) at the very spot we previously commented seemed way too narrow for handle bars to fit through. Apparently, we were right. We hit the road shortly after the guys’ smashing second mountain bike ride and thusly brought our day-long series of unfortunate events to a surprisingly happy conclusion.

Why We Love Lake Brownwood State Park

Water. Summer + Texas + Water = Smiles
Mountain Biking. This. Was. Awesome. It’s the first time in years we’ve taken the bikes to a State Park for some off-roading and we were feelin’ every minute of it! Just make sure you have thick mountain bike tires. You’ll need ’em.
CCC. LBSP has the most CCC structures of any of the Texas State Parks. You have to take a moment to enjoy their historical beauty. The Trails Map points many out to you, along with a news bite of information. You can find out more info on the park’s History page.
Athletic. I love, love, LOVE that LBSP encourages you in outdoor pursuits. Bring your thick-tired mountain bike and ride the Posales Ridge Trail. Explore the beautiful Lakeside Trail on foot. Borrow a volleyball and get a game going at one of the two volleyball courts. Check out all the equipment you’ll need to enjoy America’s favorite past time at the HQ. Go for a swim in the refreshing waters of Lake Brownwood. Like Nike would say, Just Do It.

Must Do’s

Play. Listen up. The HQ has loaner equipment so that you can play til your heart’s content, my friend! For FREE. Take them up on it and hae some old school fun playing with some peeps – old, and new!
Explore. There are around 6 miles of trails you can hike, run, or bike. Explore them! (Note: If you explore by bike, bring some thick tires. These trails aren’t made with sissy city tires in mind.)
Fish. There is a super cool bridge around the boat launches that has a pier behind it where we saw three generations of fisher people catching crappie while we were there in the heat of the day. Give it a try.
Swim. We saw people enjoying the water the whole time we were there. LBSP has a GREAT beach area, which is exactly what the doctor orders when it’s 103 out there.
Grand Stairway. Short, sweet climb to a precious little shaded sitting area with scenic views of the lake. The Man and I enjoyed some alone time up there on our visit, but it would be the perfect spot for a small family picnic.

We’d love to hear about your experiences at Lake Brownwood State Park! Please share your thoughts on this eventful park 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.

June 14, 2018August 30, 2018

Colorado Bend State Park

The Manling has been looking forward to visiting Colorado Bend State Park for years! We finally made this trip a reality when we visited in early June 2018. I must confess that I was taken aback when we arrived and were greeted by the friendly park ranger at the self-pay entrance. When I inquired of said ranger if snakes really were in the park, I was told in no uncertain terms that they were. (I credit him for his sobering honesty in the face of my fearful, well…face.)

With the park trail map in hand (complete with a huge rattlesnake as clip art), we set out on the sarcastically long, slow drive from the entrance to the HQ, which is located at the river end of the park. During that long drive, my blood pressure rose, my breathing became more labored and I had all but talked myself out of getting out of the car, much less hiking to see the famed Gorman Falls, a 2.5-3 hour hike that is suppose to be well worth it. I prayed for the courage not to disappoint The Manling as we entered the HQ (which could accurately be described as a tiny house, if it were larger). As we headed back to the car, I saw a Honda Pilot full of what looked to be adventuresome 20-somethings getting their water and applying sunscreen. “Excuse me,” I ventured. As they turned to look at me, I continued, “Are you by any chance going to hike to Gorman Falls right now?” When they replied that they were, I quickly asked, “Would you mind if my son and I tagged along with your group?” Relieved that they accepted us as add-ons to their adventure, we headed to the trailhead to Gorman Falls, unfortunately located back at the entrance to the park. As we set out on the unbelievably long, slow drive back to the entrance, I was relieved we had a bona-fide group with which to hike. Again, I prayed for courage – and I had time to because the drive was so long – and when we finally arrived at the trailhead, I found that I had the courage to get out of the car. And then to make small talk with our “new friends.” And then to make our way toward the other end of the parking lot, where we met a couple that was returning from their own adventure.

“How was it?” I asked. It was fantastic, they said. Cool. I think I may have even smiled.

“Did you see any wildlife?” I ventured. “Any snakes?”

Oh yeah! they answered enthusiastically. We saw a rattlesnake and a skunk on the trail.

My new friends, eager for the fun to begin, gave nods of approval and headed onto the trail with a wave. I saw my opportunity to face my biggest fear (and impress The Manling with my stout courage) literally walking away and before I knew it, I had caught up and was officially on one of the scariest hikes of my life.

I say one of the scariest hikes of my life because I just knew it was infested with rattlesnakes. That is the park’s chosen clip art for their trails map, after all! I was certain the rattlesnakes were scheming some kind of elaborate assault at some point during the 2.5 hours we were in that feral wilderness. And it would be one of my two calves (out of the 16 available in our hiking party) that would be targeted.

When we made it to Gorman Falls unmolested by the rattlers, I was very happily surprised. And diverted. It is breathtaking! It honestly looks like a tropical rainforest plopped into the rocky dirt that is the predominant geological feature of the Hill Country as far as I can tell. We explored a little, took photos, got our feet wet in the Colorado River (see photo) and cooled off in the shade for probably half an hour.

When we headed back up the steep ascent to the trail, we actually ran into that same ranger from the entrance. Remembering us, he asked if we’d seen any rattlesnakes. “No, thankfully,” I answered. Our group chatted a short while with him before finishing the last leg of a gloriously uneventful hiking experience (read that as we neither saw nor heard a single rattler).

Why We Love Colorado Bend State Park

Gorman Falls. I don’t know if it was the sense of accomplishment or relief in finally making it to the falls, but this was by far the very best part of our time at CBSP. It is beautiful. It is a blessed respite from the summer heat in Texas. It is a refreshing oasis in the desert. And while all my talk of rattlesnakes may give you pause to reconsider, I encourage you to allow yourself this amazing adventure. After all, my imagination was the only thing that actually scared me.*
Water. The park is located on the Colorado River, contains a beautiful lush waterfall, and boasts natural springs, all of which serve to help cool off in the heat of the day. Perfection.

Must Do’s

Spicewood Springs. Waterholes in Texas in the summer heat. Priceless. (Full disclosure, by the time we were ready for this part of our park adventure, we were suffering from the over 100* heat and decided we would save it for next time. BUT…I think every person we met highly recommended them, so hydrate and make the hike to Spicewood Springs. I’m told it’s way easier than other hikes in the park.)
Gorman Falls. I am so glad I didn’t let my fear make me miss experiencing Gorman Falls. Do what you’ve gotta do (buy snake boots, tag-along with a group, suck it up, whatever), but don’t leave CBSP without seeing Gorman Falls in person.

We’d love to hear about your experiences at Colorado Bend State Park! Please share your thoughts on this untamed and untainted park 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.

June 11, 2018June 19, 2018

Fort Richardson State Park, Historic Site & Lost Creek Reservoir State Trailway

Fort Richardson State Park, Historic Site & Lost Creek Reservoir State Trailway is an easy drive from DFW, situated northwest of Fort Worth in North Texas. We first visited Fort Richardson on a school field trip years ago during a living history weekend and have looked forward to returning ever since. It wasn’t until this second visit that we became aware of the Lost Creek Reservoir portion of the park and now we look forward to returning for overnight camping and to ride the trailway on our bikes.

Why We Love Fort Richardson:

History. There’s lots of it at this site! They offer guided tours during business hours or you can grab a brochure for a self-guided walking tour in the building closest to the parking lot at the historic site. We’ve done both! I highly recommend checking their Events page when planning your visit because the living history weekends are fantastic!
Fishing. The fishing is great at Quarry Lake (located just behind the park HQ), especially at the end farthest from the park road. In addition, the Lost Creek Reservoir offers opportunity for fishing off the pier (which was closed when we visited in May 2018) as well as that part of the park’s shoreline.
Camping. The Historic Site’s camping isn’t appealing to our family, as it doesn’t seem private enough for our liking, but the Lost Creek Reservoir side has excellent campsites – super spacious & very private. We recommend sites #7-10 for the most privacy, and sites #1, 3, 6 for great water access. NOTE: There is some road noise from nearby Bowie Street.
Biking. We cannot give first hand experience because we didn’t have the time on our day trip to explore, fish, AND bike, but we plan to take them when we camp so that we can take the trailway from the Reservoir side to Fort Richardson and back. The park’s website boasts wide trails with smooth terrain, beautiful views and even some shade along the way.

Must Do’s:

History Tour – whether self-guided or ranger-led, the historicity of the place is a huge draw. Don’t miss out on some Texas History!
Fish – we caught from the shoreline, which is a huge plus in our book (see photo).
Explore – The trails are multi-use for foot, bike and even equestrian use. Get up close to nature while exploring FRSPHSLCRT (Whew! That’s a long one!)

We’d love to hear about your experiences at Fort Richardson State Park, Historic Site & Lost Creek Reservoir State Trailway! Please share your thoughts on this sweet little park packed with big adventures 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.