Update Archive

Archive 3/23 - 4/8/2005:
3/23/2005 - (130 miles – 3 hours – L:42F - H:73F) We drove from Junction to New Braunfels. Camping World is in New Braunfels… and that’s where I’m headed. The camp ground in New Braunfels is one of those really big ones that I don’t like. It’s all good, I won’t be here for long.
3/24/2005 - (163 miles – 8 hours – L:60F - H:81F) My appointment at CW was at 8AM. Wow, I haven’t been up that early for a while. I left camp at 7:45AM and was there before they unlocked the door. They made some adjustments to my water heater and then told me to drop the trailer and take off, they’d call when they were done installing my new fan. We drove to the KOA in San Antonio so that I could check out the drive. What a mess. I-35 is under heavy construction… I don’t wanna pull my trailer through that. I figured we’d run across some other parks so we went exploring. We went to Gruene and walked through the oldest dance hall in Texas. Very cool. The town of Gruene is fantastic, very charming, and the Guadalupe River is gorgeous. Then we drove up to Canyon Lake. We went to the overlook at the dam… what a view! We found the River Valley Resort and Rio Raft Co - a great RV park. The people are super nice and the site is grassy and peaceful… I’m in another happy place :o)
3/25/2005 - (L:61F - H:82F) We rested up today, worked on the web site and just hung out. This is such a perfect camp. I could stay here for a long time…. But they don’t allow animals starting on 4/1/05, so we have to leave.
There was a bunch of heat lightning tonight. You’d never know there were even clouds out there until they lit up like Roman candles… almost constant strikes. Way cool!
3/26/2005 - (399 miles – 6.5 hours – L:60F - H:62F) We did some reconnaissance today. Drove out to Aransas Pass to see where the park we’re going to go to next is. I know it’s kind of silly, but I feel so much more comfortable pulling the trailer if I know where I’m going and how to get there… and where the gas stations are. The countryside is beautiful! Very green with lots of oak trees. IIIIII like it!
3/27/2005 - ( miles – hours – L:43F - H:64F) We went shopping today. Hail to WalMart.
3/28/2005 - (110 miles – 8 hours – L:33F - H:76F) We drove into San Antonio to see The Alamo. It was pretty chaotic. Lots of people milling around. Not much direction on the grounds as to what’s what, etc. The structure itself is amazing. The grounds are beautiful, very lush and well manicured. I strolled around for an hour or so and then went to the IMAX theatre and watched the movie re-enactment of the battle. Very moving. I was going to take a walk down the River Walk after the movie, but felt bad about leaving Max in the car all day… so we left for home. This is a really beautiful city… lots of trees.
3/29/2005 - (357 miles – 6 hours – L:50F - H:77F) We did some more reconnaissance today and found our next stop. It’s a nice one. The place where we’re staying now says we have to leave before 4/1 so I need to make sure of where we’re going. I wish we could stay here longer, but no dogs allowed after 4/1…. Darn it.
3/30/2005 - (164 miles – 6 hours – L:61F - H:86F) We tooled around Canyon Lake, checking out more of the Guadalupe River, property for sale, half hidden country roads. This is such beautiful country. I could be hooked.
3/31/2005 - (L:47F - H:86F) The management is letting me stay for another week!! I’m so stoked! We hung out at camp today. Aside from today’s very strong winds, it’s so peaceful.
4/1/2005 - (L:49F - H:69F) I’m being a total slug. We hung out at camp again today. It’s so nice out… all the windows are open and the breeze drifts through, brining the sound of the river and rustle of the leaves.
4/2/2005 - (L:31F - H:76F) The 1st Annual Rio Guadalupe Bluegrass Festival was tonight at the other end of camp. What a perfect setting. I went up to the office to ask where exactly it was being held and this older guy was standing there… “It’s in the back, they’re out there pickin an-a-grinnin already”. How cool is this!?! I went back and hung out for a few hours, had a couple of brews. Damn, it doesn’t get much better than this.
4/3/2005 - (243 miles – 5 hours – L:34F - H:76F) We drove to Enchanted Rock State Park. The annual pass for all Texas State Parks costs more than the Annual National Park Pass, so I passed… I don’t think I’ll be going to more than 10 of them. There are a bunch of places I’m going to go back to tomorrow. I can’t wait :o) - Oh, funny thing I saw today…. A police car with the following motto stenciled on its back bumper: Cops: Worlds Largest Street Gang. Huh.
4/4/2005 - (153 miles – 6 hours – L:56F - H:76F) Today we drove into San Antonio to see the Missions. We stopped at Mission San Jose, Mission San Juan and Mission Espada. There are about 33 missions in Texas, five of them inside San Antonio. We’ve already been to the Alamo and we didn’t go see Mission Concepcion.
The visitor center is located next to Mission San Jose and they show a short film on the history of the missions. It’s really sad the way the native people were forced to change their entire lifestyle, belief system and culture… Mission San Jose was founded in 1720. Mission San Juan was moved from East Texas in 1731. Founded in 1690 (the oldest of the East Texas Missions), Mission Espada was also moved to the San Antonio River in 1731. The architecture is amazing. They put a lot of effort into building these Missions to be not only sturdy, but aesthetically pleasing as well. Knowing that they didn’t have our tools and machinery to help them, it’s really awe-inspiring to see what they were able to accomplish.
4/5/2005 - (311 miles – 6 hours – L:64F - H:83F) We tried to find McKinney Falls State Park today. It’s near Austin, but I couldn’t find it. That was disappointing. After driving around lost we headed over to Pedernales Falls State Park. I took back country roads and you wouldn’t believe some of the ranch houses out here. WOW. A huge, usually ornate gate, then perfect fences leading to a huge ranch house/mansion. Sometimes all you can see is the gate and a road that heads off into the countryside. These are the real deal.
Pedernales Falls is beautiful. There are warning signs all over telling you that if the water starts to rise, get away from the river. The pictures show the falls at normal flow and at flash flood flow. Scary. I wish I could have seen it happen :o).
Next we drove over to Blanco State Park to take a look. It’s right on the edge of the town of Blanco, so it’s not really wild, but the dam that was built makes for some nice pictures.
Next we drove to Luckenbach, made famous by a Willy, Waylon and the boy’s song. If you blink, you miss it. It’s a small little place, nestled in the oak trees next to a small river, with a posted population of 3. I parked and went into the gift shop, which used to be the post office back in the day. At the back of the shop is a small bar serving ice-cold beer. A couple of guys were playing guitar and singing while the audience clapped and sang along. The parking lot was full of Harley’s and a few big trucks. I saw more out-of-state licenses there than I have all week. Evidently Willie comes out here every July 4th and throws a big party. I bet that is a hoot.
There was a totally fantastic thunderstorm this evening. You could watch the clouds grow and see them knock into each other as the lightning flared and the thunder roared. It was spectacular. It rained and hailed before the clouds passed overhead. Then, with starry skies above, you could see the lightning illuminate the clouds that you wouldn’t have known were there without it. It was magnificent. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it. I tried to get some pictures, but my camera just doesn’t do so well in the dark.
4/6/2005 - (124 miles – 4 hours – L:46F - H:79F) This morning we drove over to the Guadalupe State Park to see what it was like. Beautiful. I took some pictures (of course) of a tree that is standing on the banks of the river, but it has other trees stuck in its uppermost branches. This water has been up high… I can’t imagine what a flood that must have been. The water is a little chilly, but not numbingly cold. Beautiful day.
4/7/2005 - (L:56F - H:80F) We didn’t do much of anything today, just getting ready to leave tomorrow. I’m really going to miss this place. I like it a lot.
4/8/2005 - (L:40F - H:80F) What a fantastic day! I thought I was supposed to leave today, but had actually paid up through today and leave tomorrow. While I was up at the office the folks were shocked that I hadn’t rafted down the Guadalupe River yet… so they gave me a free rafting trip and one of the guys took the afternoon off so he could be my guide. We spend about 4 hours floating down a beautiful stretch of the Guadalupe. It’s only running at about 400 so it was pretty slow and shallow in some spots, but so relaxing and peaceful. Some of the homes on the riverbank are really something. Lots of rentals, a few mansion types, and a 7-story house that looks like something right out of Dr. Seuss. After rafting I went over to their (Pat manages the camp where I’m staying and Mark works in the office) house on Canyon Lake. After dinner the three of us sat out on their deck, had a couple of beers and laughed it up into the wee hours. They didn’t mind that I brought Max and he thoroughly enjoyed running around free for a while. It was so nice to hang out and talk to people! I had a fantastic time.


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