worms – Texans Travel Life

Waking in the wee hours of a Saturday morning in mid-June 2018, the final four of our fam set out on a day trip to Fort Parker State Park in Mexia, Texas, with our family mascot, Rosie. The park promised a little something for everyone: hiking for The Man, fishing for The Manling, photo ops for Kinder Frau, frolicking for the Awesome Aussie, and history for The Mom.

Introducing our Awesome Aussie, Rosie. She loves swimming, running, barking, wallowing in dirt, peanut butter, and her family. She is up to an adventure anytime, anywhere.

We arrived about an hour after the HQ opened, one group out of a few checking in at that time. When our turn for some face time with the Park Staff came, we were made to feel surprisingly unhurried. No “treat ’em and street ’em” mindset at FPSP. Each guest is made to feel like a V.I.P. and that definitely deserves a shout out, in my opinion.

Once we were squared away with our registration, our Park Staffer helped us plan our day enjoying this new-to-us State Park. And that’s saying a lot because all four of us had different ideas of how that would be best accomplished. First off, he said, I would hike while it’s still cool. If you park by the Recreation Hall here on the map, you can easily get to the pontoon bridge here (circling it on our map) and then you’ll be on the Springfield Trail which will take you past the cemetery (a San Jacinto survivor is actually buried there!), Group Camping, Springfield Lake, the Dam – oh, and if you listen for the spring about here (pointing to the map), you can follow the sound to see the spring! – and then past the historical marker where…” All that to say, Mr. Park Staffer hooked us up with an excellent adventure that checked all of our boxes!

An example of some of the great trails at FPSP.

Following the Park Staff advice, we followed the Springfield Trail to all of those wonderful spots, which happen to contain signage along the way to educate adventuresome hikers like us on the unique history of FPSP. With our morning hike behind us, The Manling settled in for some fishing at one of the three spots that Mr. Park Staff highlighted on our map while The Man played fetch in the water with our Awesome Aussie (She’s quite ferrel when it comes to getting her country on.), Kinder Frau updated her online presence, and I got some reading done.

Shoreline fishing at “The Point,” which is just past the Recreation Hall. Nada. (A nearby fisherman told us he hadn’t caught either and was going to try the river near the boat launch.)

Rosie is a country dog at heart. She LOVES getting wet followed by a good wallow in the dirt and a nap.

Finding spot #1 a dud, we moved to spot #2, which looked to have a small Boy Scout troop getting ready for a canoe trip upriver. We cast in the full sun. We cast from a tree that had fallen into the water. We cast from the shade. We were using lures, corn and worms. Nothing. Because catching is more fun than fishing, I was about ready to throw in the towel and read while the guys continued their quest. I cast one last time in a shaded spot to the left of the boat launch and BAM! My bobber disappeared! I yanked and reeled her in only to find that my worm had disappeared, too! The Manling hooked me up with another worm and I dropped a line in the same spot. Within seconds, my bobber was underwater AGAIN. I yanked and reeled her in a second time to find my worm was MIA again. I asked The Manling what I was doing wrong. “Is my hook too large for this fish’s mouth, maybe?” No, it’s fine. You’ve just got to…(insert man-spanation here because – teenager). This song-and-dance continued for several more casts before I managed to hook something – the tree that was providing the shade over the water. While The Man helped me disengage my hook from the tree (via the snapped line method) and then repair my reel, The Manling thought he would drop his line in where I was getting the only action on the river. And BAM! The Manling quickly landed the thing that had been stealing my worms! Super happy for him, I offered him a heartfelt congratulations and asked him how he did it. Smaller hook, he replied sheepishly. Really, man? (In his defense, he truly felt guilty for catching “my” fish. I spent quite a while assuring him that I was just glad the little booger was caught and even more glad that he was the one that got to catch it. I think he was maybe feeling guilt about the mansplaining about how I was somehow fishing incorrectly when it ended up being the very thing I had asked him about, but I’m his Mama and I could exact my revenge when I wrote about it later. Patience is a virtue the old possess.)

This is another spot near the boat launch on the river that we fished.

I spy The Man, who found the shade of the trees to the right of the boat launch the best place to drop a line. (That tree in the foreground? That is all I caught that day.)

THE catch of the day was this little guy caught by The Manling in the shaded water under the tree I caught.

Why We Love Fort Parker State Park

Park Staff. Truly some of the finest people on the planet! Ours hooked us up! Our hike even did double-duty, checking off the physical with the historical!
Beautiful. One of the Boy Scout leaders that The Manling had early on in his scouting career said you should always take into consideration what you’re going to be looking at when you camp. Beauty is important. FPSP has beauty in spades and around every corner. It’s just gorgeous greenery against the backdrop of the water and the bluest skies. Every location is picture perfect.
Fishing. The Park Staff can direct you to where the fish have been biting lately, but we found the river to be our luckiest spot on our visit. FPSP also loans fishing gear for use during your visit. AND…they have worms you can buy at the HQ. They go out of their way to help turn your fishing into catching.
Rentals. You can rent canoes and kayaks at FPSP and really enjoy the water on hot summer days.
Hikes. Their trails are (mostly) wide with the shade of the tree canopy overhead. Plus hiking the Springfield Trail gives you a historical tour of the place at the same time. Win-win.
Trees. There are tall trees everywhere at FPSP and because of that, most of the picnic tables and camping spots are gloriously shaded.

Must Do’s

Springfield Trail. Did I mention how much The Man loves hiking and I love exploring the history of the area? This trail combines the two and throws in beauty, shade and water features. It might just be the perfect hike, so don’t rush. Linger. Explore. Enjoy.
Fish. Start at the river. Drop a line in the shade on the right side of the boat launch using worms that you just bought at the HQ. Trust me.
Camp. They have some EXCELLENT spots! We recommend #43 and #49 in the primitive area because they are really big; spots #13-16 at the end of the camping loop are equally spacious sites and provide privacy and shade in spades.

FPSP has some of the most beautiful views. They were literally everywhere, like this view of the lake from the Springfield Trail.

Pier fishing mid-afternoon proved hot and fruitless this trip. But a group of three buzzards came hopping around the fish cleaning station and then went under the pier for some shade. They reminded us of the buzzards in The Jungle Book – remember them?

We’d love to hear about your experiences at Fort Parker State Park! Please share your thoughts on this precious piece of paradise 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.

We revisited Blanco State Park in early June 2018. The first time we went, we spent a third of the day tubing down the Blanco River on tubes we had rented from the park’s store for a nominal fee (see photo of our Tiny Toyota Tardis – because the Yaris is bigger on the inside – hauling our 4 tubes like a boss!), a third of our time swimming in the Blanco pool next to Falls Dam, and a third of our time fishing at the last dam on the northeast end of the park. That was such an excellent adventure we were excited to see how well BSP held up to our memories (queue the nostalgic photos, Louis Armstrong’s What A Wonderful World, and my ginormous Mama tears for yesteryear).

Not much has changed; the little fishies like us at BSP and The Manling still likes catching them. (He’s so adorable as younger him!)

We all caught something our first trip to Blanco, even the Kinder Frau when she was much younger.

We entered the park after the HQ closed. After we checked ourselves in at the self-pay station, we immediately headed left along the Blanco River to the same dam we enjoyed fishing from years ago. There was a family fishing and swimming from the dam, so we began shoreline fishing the lower side of the dam – me with worms (made possible only because The Manling gentlemanly offers to place them on the hook for me because I don’t want to touch them – ewwwww!); him with lures. To make things interesting, I asked who he thought would catch something first – him with his fancy lures, or me with good old fashioned worms? We agreed it would likely be me (because, life) and we were both right! I caught a wee little thing not big enough to be away from it’s mother between some rocks off the little island near the dam. I dropped another in the same spot and bam! I caught another. And another. And another! About this time, I began to feel Mama-type feelings about showing my angler up, so I threw in the proverbial towel and prayed begging prayers that he would be able to catch something – ANYTHING! – before we left. And they worked! The Manling caught a cute little guy like the ones I had caught and then he finally – nay, gloriously! – hooked the very fish he had been hoping to catch the past few hours (photos below; cue the magnificent Hallelujah chorus as you feast your eyes on the two catches that redeemed the trip for The Manling because catching is more fun than fishing).

I think his little guy was bigger than all of my little guys.

The Manling kept his eyes on the prize and with hours of patience finally landed what he’d come to catch.

What We Love About Blanco State Park

Water. The Blanco River is the bell of the ball at BSP and for good reason. Tubing. Fishing. Swimming. Kayaking. The Texas heat doesn’t have to beat you down at BSP because there are a wealth of ways to enjoy long & lazy summer days on the Blanco River.
Fishing. I know I included it above, but fishing is The Manling’s love language so it gets it’s own category. Both times we have visited Blanco State Park, everyone has caught something. ‘Nuff said.

Must Do’s

Fish. Drop a line anywhere on the shoreline. Perch yourself across a dam. Walk across to the tiny island*. Grab a kayak or conoe. Our experience at BSP is that if you drop a line, they will bite it – which makes for an excellent experience for first time anglers and more experienced fishermen alike.
Tube. The all-day rental rate for a tube at BSP’s store is insanely affordable! Grab some friends/family, slather on the sunscreen and enjoy a lazy day floating down to the Falls Dam from the westernmost part of the park.
Swim. After tubing to Falls Dam, enjoy the swimming pool set into the side of the river/dam. Or swim in the Blanco River proper. Both are excellent ways to cool off.

We’d love to hear about your experiences at Blanco State Park! Please share your thoughts on this tubing/fishing/swimming family favorite Texas 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.