McKinney Falls State Park, Austin TX (Nov. 2024)

 McKinney Falls State Park is located in Austin, Texas, and became part of the State Park system in the 1970's. It sits on what was the land of Thomas McKinney a racehorse breeder and entrepreneur who bought the land in 1840. The park contains a part of the Camino Real (King's Highway) and wagon ruts can be seen from when Texas was owned by Spain in the early 1700's. McKinney also farmed/ranched the land and built a grist mill (which the some of the foundation can still be seen) along the creek. He built a large stone house, also of which the ruins still exist. The park also has several native American historical sites that date back to 5,000 years ago.

I've been to this park many times and it is a very popular spot due to its location in Austin, and it's only 10 miles from my house. Weekends and holidays means lots of day visitors and often the park has to turn people away. I've never been able to camp here because the park is always full/completely reserved. There is lots to do as far as hiking, swimming and mountain biking. There are also a couple of Geocaches hidden in the park although I didn't think to look for any, d'oh!

I was happy when a spot opened up at this park and snatched up the reservation quickly. Although, like most state parks, all of the spots will be reserved yet there always seem to be quite a few empty spaces that no one ever utilizes.

Anyway, I had the trailer loaded and hitched up on Thursday so I could duck out of work early Friday. It took me about 20 minutes to get the park and about an hour to get set up. Since it's getting dark now around 5:30 (and since I skipped lunch) I set about grilling some Bison burgers on the portable propane grill. I was really hoping for a wood fire, but the Central Texas area has been under some form of a burn ban or another since last spring. The temperature began dropping shortly after dark (from a high of 73) and the mosquitoes seemed to be enjoying the cooler weather (and enjoying me) so I retreated into the Aliner. It got down into the low 40's overnight, but radiator kept the Aliner comfortable.

Saturday it got up to around 76 degrees and was a picture perfect day. I almost brought my mountain bike but was glad I didn't. Trying to ride on the trails would have been impossible with all of the people out hiking. It wouldn't have been prudent.

My goal for this trip was to do some maintenance on the trailer, complete some chores and try out a few things I have never needed to use, but thought it'd be good to see if they worked before I actually need them. Also something in the vein of "use it or lose it". So, Saturday afternoon after a brief hike (and the required brief nap) I decided to see if the water heater actually worked. I've had the trailer for 2 years and have never used the water heater, or even turned it on. Now I can say that it does work. At first I was concerned because it would light and then turn off and then light again multiple times but eventually it sorted itself out. I let it run long enough to produce hot water and then turned it off.

My other goal was to set up and familiarize myself the camp stove. I've had it for years but have never needed to use it since the camper has a propane stove. I figured it'd be nice to be able to use if I had something I didn't want to cook indoors, like bacon. It works also. In fact I used it to make green chile mac & cheese while I had one of the thickest pork chops you've ever seen grilling away on the portable grill.

Saturday night was very pleasant (in the low 60's) and I didn't need the radiator at all. Sunday morning I packed up and headed home. The park was very busy, lots of people out and about, lots of tent campers taking advantage of the mild weather, lots of RV'ers too. I didn't see very many pop-ups, if any, as I recall. I did see quite a few van campers, more than I normally do.

As usual, random pics to follow...

Pedernales Falls State Park - Texas (Oct 2024)

This is the 3rd weekend of camping in a row. Last weekend was Bastrop SP and the weekend before that was Inks Lake SP.

On Tuesday I was contemplating "what if?" and a ton of campsites came up on Reserve America for Pedernales Falls SP. I was surprised since the park has had limited access all spring & summer due to construction on a water line or sewer line or something. I snagged a spot that was nestled in the trees immediately.

On the way to the park I kept getting a "kerklunk, kerklunk" action every time I slowed down while braking at low speeds. It seems that the trailer brakes were grabbing hard and then releasing as I came up to redlights (or in stop & go traffic). Of course, once I got to the park I only had one-bar of cell service which meant any kind of internet research on the possible causes/solutions was impossible. Naturally I obsessed over the issue all weekend long, but I didn't let it ruin my fun.

Got the park Friday evening just before 5pm and I was happy that the office was still open for check in. In contrast Bastrop SP closes at 4pm(!) which means when you arrive after work (even though you've registered and printed out the passes/receipts) you still have to get up and go the office the next morning and officially check in, which is inconvenient. What's more insulting is that someone comes by bright and early in the morning and leaves a "ticket" on your windshield telling you to come check in as soon as possible... and I'm like you can't check in until 2pm anyway so why not eliminate the morning person and just keep the office open later??

Anyway... got set up in a mostly empty park and grilled some dijon coated chicken breasts for sandwiches along with some black beans, paired with a nice Mexican clara beer (Pacifico).

Got up Saturday morning and went mountain biking, which almost killed me. Egad, I'm out of shape! I was originally planning on riding, then going hiking down to the river to do some exploring. Lol, that would have been ambitious. Instead, after riding Wolf Mountain trail I went back to the camper and took a nap. The park was still pretty empty and I think Reserve America still has a park alert stating that the campsites are closed, yet they are open for reservation. Which is part of the reason I was glad the office was still open when I got there so I could get that added ensurance that I was there legitimately.

Saturday evening I grilled some adult-sized hotdogs (I have a rule that the only time I can eat junk food is when camping), before making use of the camper's outdoor shower, which is frowned upon by the SP, but sometimes you bend the rules.

The interesting thing this time is that there were only 3 RVs on my loop and the rest of the sites that were actually occupied were occupied by people tent-camping, which led to a moral dilemma. My neighbors on each side of me were in tents and with day time temps into the high 80's they had all the flaps open. It cooled down each night into the 60's, but being able to run the AC for the first part of the night was really convenient. So on Saturday with neighbors around should I run the AC, knowing they would be able to hear it droning on very clearly, or should I just open the windows, run an inside fan and be slightly uncomfortable for a couple of hours until the temps dropped? I chose to open the windows and run the inside fan. Next time I might not be so charitable, though. It's like Robert Redford said in the movie Spy Game, "If it comes down to you or them, send flowers."

Sunday morning I broke camp and drove home without using the brake controller. Since my trailer is only like 1,400 lbs dry and probably like 2,000 lbs loaded I think it'd be much of a risk. Wow, the trip home went much smoother. I'm going to research the controller issue, but I'm also leaning towards not using the trailer brakes at all. Thoughts?

Anyway here's some pics:

 

Inks Lake State Park - Burnet, TX (Oct 2024)

 Definitely my most favorite Central Texas State Park, and lots of "firsts" this time out...

First time towing with the new tow vehicle and first time towing where about half of the trip was on an urban freeway. The Frontier pulled the Aliner along without any problem. The speed limit on the toll road was 75 mph and I kept having to slow down to a respectable 70 mph. This was also the first time I got into some of the rolly hills west of Austin. I tried using the tow/haul mode on the frontier but didn't like the way it would downshift and such. Since the Aliner is less than 2,000 pounds, I turned it off. For reference there is a really good youtuber who explains what the tow mode does and when you should use it, etc, and even the Nissan owner's manual refers (vaguely) to it only being necessary when towing/hauling "heavy loads".

This was also the biggest park I've towed the camper to (approximately 200 campsites).

I got to the park around 2pm, got camp set up and rockin' by 3. I had lucked out earlier in the week and found a spot that came open at the last minute - and it was waterfront!

The spot I reserved was at the far end of the park so I expected it to be kind of quiet. I forgot that that end of the park is also where a popular swimming hole/destination (Devil's Watering Hole) is located. So much for quiet. I've always gone to the swimming hole via kayak so it didn't occur to me how much vehicular traffic there would be. It was a constant stream of cars circling around, dropping people off, picking people up, looking for places to park.

The park is well staffed and well patrolled, lots of restrooms & showers. I like that some of the bathhouses have individual "stand alone" shower rooms which are separate from toilets.

There was a burn ban in effect and I confirmed that I could indeed use my portable propane grill and was told it was no problem.

The park is located along a chain of lakes called the Highland Lakes, and the area that the park surrounds is a "no wake" zone which makes it appealing to swimmers, kayakers, and very slow moving boat traffic. There are also some granite boulders, ridges and outcroppings so you have to be very observant if navigating this part of the lake. It is not unusual to see people literally standing up in the middle of this section of the lake.

Friday evening was burgers, tots & beer (not necessarily in that order).

Saturday was breakfast tacos, reading, fishing, leftover burgers, hiking, replacing a water gauge, beer, listening to a podcast while grilling steak & taters, and more beer (literally in that order). The only "face palm" moment was after I got in the shower and then remembered I didn't bring a towel. Yep, I had to dry off with my dirty shirt - it was either that or the clean undies I brought. Maybe next time it should be "shower first, then beer?"

Sunday morning was coffee, pack up camp, and home by 11:30am.

The park was busy and full of life, in a good way. Just the way I remember state parks as a kid.

Anyway... if you've made it this far, or just skipped to the end, here's some random pics:

 

Bastrop State Park - Sept 2024

Another quick weekend getaway…
 

Booked the last remaining site, took a couple of “personal” breaks during the day as I hooked up the trailer, (working from home), and then snuck out of work at 3pm. Got there around 4pm and was surprised there’s a burn ban since it’s rained pretty much all week - and I really planned on grilling both nights for meals. 

Luckily I brought the portable propane grill “just in case” as I always do. Once I got set up the wind started gusting up to 30 mph and then I understood the fire ban.
Temps during Friday & Saturday were in the low 90’s but the wind, as annoying as it can be, really made it bearable when sitting in the shade. Overnight into Sunday morning it got down into the mid 60’s. And then quickly right back up into the 90’s by the afternoon. But it was still the first teasing of fall in central Texas. It will be exactly one month before it really starts to feel like fall though.

 

Buescher State Park, Smithville TX (May 2024) (Part Deux)

 This was my second trip to Buescher State Park in Smithville, Texas. My first trip to Buescher SP was cut short due to impending thunderstorms (which of course never materialized).

I honestly didn't realize last weekend was Memorial Day weekend until I was checking site availability. I saw a spot come up for Buescher, double checked with boss to confirm that we were indeed off on Monday, and then I reserved Saturday and Sunday nights. I would like to have done three nights but this was the least hassle way of doing it since I still had to pack, run errands and even mow the yard before I could leave.

I left the house around 1pm, got on the freeway, and traffic immediately screeched to a halt. I was concerned about how heavy the holiday traffic was going to be, but this turned out to be an accident instead. It took about 30 minutes to travel a mile or so. If I wasn't towing a trailer I would have exited the freeway and tried an alternate route. Instead I choose to inch along, along with everyone else, until traffic opened up.

Even with the traffic delay I still managed to get the park in pretty good time and had camp set up by about 3:30pm. The park was mostly full when I got there as it seemed everyone else had arrived on Friday, the day before. Interesting enough, when I was checking in at the HQ there was a group of dune buggy enthusiast (like old-school 70's dune buggies) lining up to enter the park. There must have 15 or 20 of queued up. I didn't think to take a picture of them at the time.

It was HOT and HUMID. I was soaking wet all weekend, but I've found that once you accept you are going to sweat it's really not that bad. The high temps were around 98 degrees both days.

On Saturday after setting up camp (this was also my 3rd time backing into a camp site!), I just hung around, did some reading and got the grill going. I don't like the fire pit/grill situation at Buescher since they don't have stand alone grills. The problem with their setup is that the grate on the grill that's part of the fire pit doesn't go low enough to be just above the coals. It's too high, which means you have to put a TON of charcoal in the fire pit, or build a proper fire, just to roast some weenies. Seems like a waste. Fortunately, I happened to have some foil pans and a random grill grate that fit perfectly on one of the pans. I poked some holes in the pan, but a single layer of charcoal down and it made a perfect portable grill.

While the burgers were grilling I made some Velveeta Mac & Cheese (you know, the kind with the liquid cheese packet) and tossed in some diced jalapenos and red onion. I don't normally eat like this, but I've decided that the rules don't apply when camping. After dinner I retreated into the camper (and the AC). Cell reception was much better this time around and I was able to stream some youtube videos before bed.

Sunday morning breakfast was potato, egg & cheese tacos and coffee. BTW, if you like a dark, strong coffee I highly recommend a brand called Mauds and their espresso roast for the Kuerig. Anyway, around mid morning I found my way over to the 25 acre lake and spent a couple of hours fishing. Nothing was happening though. I tried my old faithful tiny torpedo but it was too windy and too weedy for the top water lure, so I switched to a weed-proof plastic worm for less headache but still no luck. My idea of fishing isn't so much about catching stuff as it is just standing by the water, getting bit by bugs and sunburned. Ahh...

After lunch, I decided to break out the mountain bike and go tool around the park. Got in some road miles and some nice woodsy single track miles as well. At one point the single track pops out onto one of the nearby roads and the dialogue in my head goes something like this:
"What a nice landscaped drive, I've never heard of this park before, I wonder what's up here..."
"Oh, wait, is that the theme music from Stranger Things I'm hearing?"
"Run away! Run away!"

So I rode around a bit more, before heading back to camp. This time I used the portable propane grill to heat up the left over Mac & Cheese and grill some hot dogs. I got the really big "man sized" hot dogs that are like $12 a pack and I can honestly say they were worth it. I used hoagie rolls for buns, recommend that as well. The grill can get really hot, but did an awful job on heating up the Mac & Cheese, which was in a skillet. I was trying to use the grill as a grill and as a stove but I just don't think it was made for that as far as the heat distribution goes.

Now that it was getting dark and I certain I was going to be staying inside (and in the AC) I went over to the bath house and used one of the showers there. It was pretty awful. The bath house isn't air conditioned, or even ventilated. The water came out of a pipe in the wall (no shower head) and I stood on a t-shirt the whole time because I didn't want my bare feet touching the floor. It was like something from the movie Midnight Express. Next time, I'm just going to use my camper's outside shower.

Random Pics:

Buescher State Park - 2 trips (May 2024)

Buescher State Park in Smithville, Texas, is only about 10-15 miles away from Bastrop State Park in Bastrop, Texas, yet it is a totally different zone. Bastrop is hilly, sandy terrain with pine forest. Smithville is still hilly, but more gentle hills and in an oak forest. It is more densely wooded. I noted post oaks, live oaks, bois d'arcs, mimosas, and many other tree species around my campsite, including several dead cedar trees (ashe junipers) and the odd hackberry as well.

This was my first time camping overnight at Buescher SP, although I've been fishing/kayaking and biking here many times. The lake at Buescher is downstream from the creek that feeds the lake at Bastrop SP (not to be confused with Lake Bastrop). Both SP's had the dams on their lakes severely damaged during a flood several years ago. The dams have been rebuilt, which took a few years to complete construction and now the lake at Smithville is open to the public once again, which means I am now interested in Buescher SP once again.

I was watching the state park system reservations page and the weather for the past several weeks, if not months, to get a weekend with stable weather and where my schedule cooperated. An opening came up for Smithville this weekend, so I booked it. The forecast had been for an occasional shower at the most, and the rain chances for Friday and Saturday were basically none, with Sunday at a 20% chance of rain. In the few days since I booked the spot, I watched the rain chances for Sunday go from 20% to 40% to 60% and then finally 90%. WTF!?

At first I thought about canceling because the forecast called for storms developing Sunday morning starting around 3am, and I did not want to be packing up in the pouring rain, and just on Wednesday some in our area (central Texas) received softball-sized hail. Then I decided to keep the reservation, keep an eye on the hourly forecast for Saturday and Sunday, and remember that I can pack up and leave the SP any time I want. Just because I paid for Saturday night ($18) didn't mean I had to stay. So I went for it...

I left Austin around 1pm on Friday (traffic wasn't as heavy as it was last time I went camping) and got to Buescher SP right at 2pm. I had camp set up in 45 minutes and was practically the only one in park. It was eerily quite. I was proud of myself since this was the second time I've had to back the camper in and the first time the spot was at a 90 degree angle to the road.

After getting everything squared away I grabbed the Zebco 404 (you know the one) and a couple of lures and walked around to the lake. I spent a couple of hours fishing, although not really trying - just more like enjoying being outside and not at work. Then I headed back to the campsite as other campers started tricking into the park.

I debated on setting up the gas grill or busting out the charcoal. There was no charcoal grill per se, instead there was a combo firepit/grill. I didn't really like the location of the firepit since it was behind the campsite, in the brush and looked like a mosquito haven. However, I had been at the park for about 3 hours and had only seen one mesquite, so I decided to "man up", spray on some Off, and go the charcoal route. Once I got the coals going I threw on a hobo pack of potatoes, onions & peppers. I left the pack on grill long enough to drink a beer (and eat an entire can of Pringles) before tossing on some brats. I found the secluded grilling area agreeable enough that after gnoshing on some brats, I piled some split wood on the coals and got a fire going. It was hot & humid but there's something about sitting around poking at a fire that is entertaining.

The fire died down right at dark so I retired the camper and watched some youtube videos until time to go to bed.

Saturday morning was a lazy morning in that I slept until 8am, before finally putting my feet on the floor around 9am. I made breakfast tacos (bacon, potato, egg & cheese) and coffee, of course. I had a weird 12 volt power issue (I made a separate post for that) and tried to track it down. I also got out the square-bit driver and went around the camper tightening loose screws and doing general maintenance. I finally decided to slowly starting packing up and getting ready to leave, albeit a day early.

Anyway, here are some of my observations about Buescher SP:
The lake is finally open again! It's small, but sparsely used, calm and great for learning to canoe or kayak without motorized boat traffic. They also rent canoes and provide "loaner" fishing gear.
The park is smaller and therefore less crowded, which means a bit quieter. The downside is there is a rural airstrip nearby so during the day there are small planes and helicopters passing overhead.
The camper spots vary, all are level concrete pads, but some are longer (easily accommodating a bus) some are much shorter (barely accommodating a popup) which means everyone has a chance of finding a reservation that suits them.
The location of the picnic tables and firepits also vary in relation to the camping spots. Some are tucked away, some are right next to the pads, etc.
Cell signal is "iffy" going anywhere from 3 bars to none, and not particularly reliable.
The bathhouse (in my loop) was clean and stocked, but needs some TLC or refurbishing.
The staff is super friendly and courteous.
There is hiking & mountain biking trails, as well as road cycling opportunities.
They also have guided hikes and tours every so often.

So, although I spent a little less than 24 hours camping, would I do such a short trip again? Yes, absolutely! As I get older I am trying to pay more attention to the old adage "life is what happens while we are busy making plans". I'd rather go camping for day than sit around waiting for the "perfect" camping week to come about.

And in that vein, what is your "bare minimum" for camping? One day, two days, etc.? What makes you say "thanks, but no thanks" when it comes to scheduling?