Mississippi to Texas

Fixing the tire

After changing our tire in Gunter Hill, one of the first things we needed to do at our next stop was to get the tire repaired. On our way into Dewayne Hayes Campground, we passed a tire place so we set up an appointment for the following morning. Given the size of the object in the tire, there was some concern as to whether it could be repaired. One guy immediately said it was too big a puncture but he was overruled and we were told you can’t really tell until you see what it looks like inside. They took the tire away and we didn’t hear from them for almost an hour so we assumed it was getting fixed. They eventually wheeled the tire out and the whole thing only cost us $30. All in all, not as bad as it could have been when it comes to tire problems in the RVing world.

Dewayne Hayes Campground (COE)

Dewayne Hayes is a first come, first serve COE campground (at least it is during this time of year). We intended to get here early given that we were arriving on a Friday but those plans were disrupted with the tire issue. We still had no problem finding a nice site that was on the water with a gorgeous setting for our few days in Mississippi.

We enjoyed some morning runs while here along with a nice casual hike along a paved path through the woods. There was a nice board walk and wildlife viewing area along the path, but there was very little activity with the water fowl or other birds for that matter. Still, it was a very peaceful place to sit and enjoy nature.

When we left Dewayne Hayes headed for a promising national forest campground in Louisiana, we needed a stopover to break up the trip. We opted for a roadside campground in Arkansas called Pecan Grove RV Park. It served our purpose quite nicely and allowed us to add Arkansas to our map of states that we have stayed in with our RV. We will need to return to Arkansas for a more thorough visit, but for now, we can claim we’ve been there.

Beaver Dam Campground

Beaver Dam Campground is located just north of Minden, LA nestled in the Kisatchie National Forest in the Caney Lakes Recreation Area. It is fairly secluded and as a result there were not many neighbors for our four night stay. The site we had was gorgeous but the narrow curvy road getting to it was a bit nerve wracking. Experience is making us more comfortable in these situations and we handled it without incident.

We had a day of rain here that coincided with the need to travel into Minden to pick up our mail. We have gotten to the point now where we get our mail forwarded to us once a month. With everything possible setup for paperless interactions, our monthly envelope is usually less than 10 pieces of mail. This can be a problem if something is time sensitive and just misses the ship date but so far that hasn’t been too big of an issue. After picking up our mail we stopped at a local coffee shop for coffee and a pastry. While there, we learned that the place was staffed by students from the local chapter of Adult & Teen Challenge. It was clear from the conversations we had with a couple of the young women that they were proud of their accomplishments and thankful for the opportunity this program provided them.

The following day was much nicer and we took a hike around Upper Caney Lake. This was a beautiful hike, especially the section that covered the strip of land dividing Upper Caney Lake from Lower Caney Lake. While on this hike, we jumped a herd of deer that must have been using the lake as a watering hole. They bounded across the path in front of us from the shore of the lake into the woods. We estimated that the herd was close to a dozen deer. We are certainly enjoying the campgrounds we have chosen so far. The large, wooded sites near water with plenty of room between them has been very relaxing.

Our next wooded, lake side campsite was going to be in a Texas State Park but to get there we needed another one night stay too keep our travel times around 3 hours. No need to rush! We found a reasonable campground just south of Nacogdoches, TX called Fairway RV Resort. We only stayed one night but we made the most of it. Amy got the laundry done. We went to a local brewery for a couple of beers and dinner from the visiting food truck. Last, but not least, in the morning as we packed up to leave we were able to help out a young couple new to RV living. They had just bought a used travel trailer (hope they didn’t pay much for it) and needed help figuring out how to hook up their sewer lines. Turns out they didn’t have all the parts they needed and we had spares of what they were missing. We gave them our spares along with a few pointers on managing the tanks and wished them luck. We are all out here to help each other out whenever possible.

Huntsville State Park

We had tried to visit Huntsville State Park last December <Link to Post> while staying near Conroe, TX. We were not aware that the park was closed for the day as they thinned out the squirrel population with an open hunt. Had we been able to get in that day we may not have booked a site here. The sites in this park are extremely un-level. We managed with our site, which was, thankfully, not too bad. There were others, however, that were both too short for our rig and sloped so much I doubt anyone could get level. So be forewarned, if you want to stay in Huntsville State Park, make sure your site is as level as it can be. I would guess that around 1/3 of the sites are manageable and the rest would be very difficult.

One thing Huntsville State Park has going for it is a vast network of trails. We hiked one such trail that goes around the lake. We thought the hike would be just over 7 miles, which is a good distance for us these days. It turned out to be just over 9 and by the time we made it back to the campsite we were ready for some rest and relaxation. Signs in the park warn visitors not to feed the alligators. We couldn’t help but wonder, “are there really alligators here?” While looking for water fowl or other interesting wildlife to photograph, Dan noticed a suspicious looking “log” in the lake about 100 feet off shore. With his long birding lens on his camera it was clear that it was indeed an alligator. Glad we didn’t feel the need to get the kayak out at this campground.

Last time we were in Conroe, we visited B52 Brewery and thought it was pretty good. We needed to make a run to Costco, so we took a trip to the Costco in Conroe and then stopped by B52 for a couple of beers and dinner from the visiting food truck (there seems to be a pattern here). We picked up some cans for the road and made our way back to Huntsville to prepare for the next leg of our journey where we would meet up with friends we met last winter.

Jim Hogg Campground (COE)

Our path through Texas toward Arizona has many options. Last year we needed to be in Springbranch, TX for our solar install. This year, social media helped us hook up with friends we met last year and arrange for time together at Jim Hogg Campground outside of Georgetown, TX. We met Rob and Laura at Winter Blast in Lake Havasu City last February. They have a daughter that lives in the Georgetown area and they informed us they would be in this area for Thanksgiving. After exchanging a few messages, we arranged to spend several days together in this campground.

Rob appreciates a good craft brewery has much as we do, so after a shared meal of grilled steaks we headed to a local brewery for Thursday night trivia. The winner of each round is given a free beer ticket and we won one round so Dan and Rob split a beer with the winnings.

On Friday, Amy and Laura worked on some pillow covers that Laura has wanted to get done but has not had access to a sewing machine. Laura picked up some nice camping and national park themed material that has Amy jealous (she has since found it on Amazon). Once the pillow covers were complete, we sat down for some wonderful chili that Laura made. We took a short hike before dark and then ventured into downtown Georgetown for some nightlife.

When it rains it pours and this was the case with our socializing at Jim Hogg. RVing friends of ours from Rochester have a daughter in Texas that just happened to need a place to pitch a tent in the Austin area on Saturday night. We were more than willing to provide that plot of land behind our RV. Our guest arrived at about the same time we returned from a morning trip to downtown Austin with Rob and Laura. The 5 of us spent the afternoon outside watching college football and socializing before our guest headed off to her evening activities in Austin. We finished the night with cedar plank salmon and an evening campfire. Rob and Laura had family obligations for the remainder of our time in Georgetown but we certainly made the most of our 2+ days socializing and getting to know each other better.

Establishing new friendships while traveling full time is something we were told is the best part of this lifestyle. We have made a few new friends so far and this time with Rob and Laura reinforces that statement. We will see them again in early February, if not sooner and we have other old and new acquaintances we expect to see before then. Life is good.