Evans Escapades: Off to the Texas Hill Country

Originally posted on Saturday, April 14, 2012

Leaving Lake Conroe, we headed due west to Medina Lake

just out of San Antonio. ..which is still showing

the devastating effects of the Texas drought. . .

We took this pic exactly one year ago. ..at the beginning of April 2011

and exactly one year later, April 2012. . .

the previous pics were taken on the south end of the lake near the dam.

Six miles north, where the Thousand Trails RV Park is in Lakehills, TX

the lake bed is so dry. . .the cows are grazing on it. 

That’s the Medina River you see in the center of the pic. . .

last year,  Dave caught about a 3 lb catfish,

from the bluff where he is now standing to take this pic. . .

It’s gonna take a lot of rain north of here to fill all this back up. . .

The fabulous thing about this park is the wildlife. . .

Texas jack rabbit in motion. . .

a mama hummingbird on her nest. . .the nest was about the size of a ping pong ball. . .

this pic is taken with an 800 zoom lens. . .could never have gotten it without that lens.

the aerial acrobatics of the scissor tailed flycatchers were amazing. . .

and so was Mama flycatchers nest building abilities. . .

Both weekends that we were at San Antonio,

we attended services at Hope Center,

where Nathan Scoggins is doing an incredible job as the pastor. . .

on Easter Sunday, the artist rendered this painting

as Rev. Scoggins brought the message

“A Portrait of Love”

While we were at Lake Medina, we also managed

to get our RV washed and waxed. . .

which makes me a very happy camper!

Next we are off to visit Dave’s Aunt and Uncle in Granbury TX. . .

Full Time RV Travel–Glen Rose TX

Glen Rose TX is another one those county seats with a beautiful courthouse. . .

It is also home to the Dinosaur Valley State Park, 

and Fossil Rim Wildlife Preserve,

both would be fascinating for kids. . .

but I was here to see the last “wild” river in Texas, the Paluxy River,

which runs right through the heart of town. . .

and has the claim of being the only “undammed” river in the state.

We enjoyed the river from the very aptly named Big Rocks Park. . .

as you can imagine, kids of all ages would enjoy climbing over, under,

and through this natural jungle gym. . .

Seeing as how we are now in the Prairies & Lakes Region of Texas, I was fascinated when my brother in law told me there are no natural lakes in Texas.  I guess that explains why the Paluxy River is the only “wild” river in the state. . .all the rest of them have been dammed to form “reservoirs.”

after checking for rattlesnakes,

I just stood back and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the river. . .

While we enjoyed our stay at Cedar Ridge RV Park

on the outskirts of Glen Rose. . .

I might actually advise staying 30 minutes away,

in Granbury TX. . .and driving over to Glen Rose for a day trip.

 

More links and info for Glen Rose TX:

Downtown Glen Rose

Bird Sanctuary

Big Rocks Park on the Paluxy River  (the only undammed river in Texas.)

Full Time RV Travel–Glen Rose TX

Glen Rose TX is another one those county seats with a beautiful courthouse. . .

It is also home to the Dinosaur Valley State Park, 

and Fossil Rim Wildlife Preserve,

both would be fascinating for kids. . .

but I was here to see the last “wild” river in Texas, the Paluxy River,

which runs right through the heart of town. . .

and has the claim of being the only “undammed” river in the state.

We enjoyed the river from the very aptly named Big Rocks Park. . .

as you can imagine, kids of all ages would enjoy climbing over, under,

and through this natural jungle gym. . .

Seeing as how we are now in the Prairies & Lakes Region of Texas, I was fascinated when my brother in law told me there are no natural lakes in Texas.  I guess that explains why the Paluxy River is the only “wild” river in the state. . .all the rest of them have been dammed to form “reservoirs.”

after checking for rattlesnakes,

I just stood back and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the river. . .

While we enjoyed our stay at Cedar Ridge RV Park

on the outskirts of Glen Rose. . .

I might actually advise staying 30 minutes away,

in Granbury TX. . .and driving over to Glen Rose for a day trip.

 

More links and info for Glen Rose TX:

Downtown Glen Rose

Bird Sanctuary

Big Rocks Park on the Paluxy River  (the only undammed river in Texas.)

Full Time RV Cooking–Revamping Recipes to only Feed Two People

I have been working on all our favorite recipes,

and whittling them down to only

feed the two of us, with NO leftovers. . .

Not sure what happens at your place,

but here. . .I carefully store the leftovers

with every intention of being sure

they get used. . .and then before I know it. . .

ewwww. . .

I’m cleaning containers out of the fridge. . .again. . .

thus my quest. . .

NO LEFTOVERS

Here’s a successful adaption. . .

homemade biscuits from an episode of the

Martha Stewart show. . .

her recipe made about two dozen. . .

This adaption makes four

1 cup self rising flour
1 teeny pinch baking SODA
1/2 stick unsalted butter cut into pieces

pulse this dry mix in the food processor until crumbly or do the same with a fork

mix in enough buttermilk to form a ball. . .

cut and bake in a greased baking dish

at 400* for about 15 - 20 min

Full Time RV Travel–Texas Hill Country and Medina Lake

Medina Lake last year March 2011

Medina Lake one year later in March 2012 after the worst drought in Texas history. . .

although the lake hasn’t recovered. . .the wildflowers are gorgeous with the recent rains. . .

and the Texas Hill Country vistas. . .though hazy with all the pollen. . .are beautiful.

I spent a couple of afternoons camped out with my camera, binoculars, and a gatorade

determined to get this shot. . .it’s amazing how many bees, bugs, and butterflies

drift across your field of vision while you’re waiting for one little Black Chinned Hummingbird

to show back up. . .but my perseverance won. . .and it was worth it. . .

Full Time RV Travel–Fuel Prices–How will they affect you?

Lots of discussions these days on all the RV forums. . .and on the FaceBook RV Groups about fuel prices. . .

 

How will prices affect your RV travel?

 

Here’s how we calculate it. . .

 

First off. . .we budget a specific amount for fuel each month. . .in our case $600. . .most months we use less, so we bank the difference. . .that helps out in those times we are traveling more.  Now this is the exact same amount we budgeted when we were still working full time, and driving two vehicles back and forth. . .and around. . .

 

then we calculate cost per mile. . .right now it works out like this:

Diesel = $4 per gallon

Mileage towing  = 8 mpg (average)

Cost per mile = 50 cents per mile

Thus, our summer trip to Colorado and back will cost roughly $1500. . .but, once we get there, the rig will stay parked for 5 months. . .so our fuel costs will go down considerably during that time, as the truck gets about 12 mpg not towing. . .or 25 cents per mile.

 

If fuel goes up to $5 per gallon as predicted. . .our costs will change about 12 cents per mile. . .or there abouts. . .

 

I’ve stated it several times. . .when folks say how much cheaper it is to live in an RV. . .I must somewhat disagree. . .it’s just living life. . .and living life costs money. . .

 

For example:

Sticks and Bricks    vs   RV Living Full Time  (assuming you no longer have a home to maintain)

Mortgage pymt      =      RV payment and maintenance

Utility Bills               =      RV Parking Space

Fuel Costs                 =     Fuel Costs

Medical

Auto Insurance

Food

Phone

Misc Living Expenses

 

You get the picture. . .living is living whether you are doing it in a house or an RV on the road. . .

 

Now, where things can change drastically is how many day trips you are doing. . . how much sight seeing. . .how much eating out vs cooking at home. . .paying for tours. . .etc. 

All these things can only be calculated on an individual basis. . .we quickly discovered that while we enjoy sightseeing very much. . .playing tourist gets old in a hurry. . .and having somewhere to go, and something to see every single day, just wears me out.

 

So when we are going to be in an area with just tons, and tons to see and do. . .we plan a longer stay, and spread out the excitement. . .

 

I’d love to hear about your experiences with traveling, budgeting, and sightseeing. . .

My Incredible Luck–I Gotta Share

 

Since yesterday was our last day at Lake Conroe for a few months,

I wanted to make one more pass with the camera. . .I was really trying

to get a shot of a water moccasin that I had spotted at one of the ponds. . .

alas. . .no luck!  but. . .I did get this incredible shot

of this momma Mallard. . .she’s set her nest up right at the edge of the hot tub. . .

and then. . .the most incredible thing happened.

I had walked around to the “Bass Pond” and sat down at a picnic table. . .

because I could hear birds all in the edge of the brush, I had turned on the camera,

and was scanning with the high power lens to see if I could get a shot of one of them. . .

Lo and behold. . .this is what flew right into my view finder. . .

I just held down the button and started clicking. . .

I was thrilled. . .