The last from Palo Duro Canyon State Park

Our last day started out cold and overcast and really stayed that way until around 4:30 when the sun finally came out.  It never got above 49 degrees the entire day but it did not stop us from meeting some very nice people while having lunch.  We meet Jim Hester and his wife, sorry we didn’t catch her name.  Jim is a photographer and takes wonderful pictures of the canyon during the 4 seasons. He is doing a calendar for the visitor’s center that will be out shortly. He showed us many photos of the canyon and has a terrific picture collection of Aoudads. He even gave us a photo of the Aoudads   on the rim of the canyon. Thanks again Jim. We braved the cold weather and made the CCC trail, a 3 mile round trip hike from the bottom of the canyon to the rim and back. It is a must hike when you visit the park. As we were eating dinner a group of turkeys came by and so did some deer. What a way to finish our stay at The Palo Duro Canyon State Park. It is a must if you visit Texas. You won’t be disappointed!

The Big Texan Steak House

Sunday 3/27 was overcast in the morning with some sun in the afternoon. We had a great day and went to Amarillo to shop for new hiking boots for Suzanne, she was afraid of sliding down the canyonJ. Mission accomplished as they had a nice Gander Mountain store. Our main goal though was to eat at The Big Texan Steakhouse, home of the free 72oz steak. You must eat the entire steak, salad, rolls and 2 sides in 60 minutes for it to be free, otherwise it is $72.00. The record holder ate the entire dinner in 8 minutes and 52 seconds in 2008. We have had better steaks, but the atmosphere of The Big Texan was great. To finish off the great night, I saw a shooting star go across the sky! If you are going to see one, this is the place.

Hi!! from Palo Duro Canyon State Park

We arrived here on Thursday, 3/24 and will leave here on 3/29. Palo Duro Canyon State Park is a great park. It is the second largest canyon in the USA. It is 120 miles long and 800 feet deep. This park is a must if you come to Texas. They have a steep grade but it is no problem at all, had me scared until I drove it. Nothing to it! We are in the Sagebrush area which is the closest to the entrance. The other areas for camping maybe better as you are closer to the canyon walls but are some distance from the entrance. We took a 6 mile hike to the Lighthouse Peak which is a National Natural Landmark. It is worth the hike and the last hundred yards are a little difficult but well worth it as you get to the Lighthouse. I know I keep saying every park is great but I have not been disappointed in any Texas park. They are so nice and people have been very friendly. We are going to Amarillo to eat at The Big Texan, home of the 72oz steak. It is free if you can eat it:)

Now at Lake Arrowhead in Wichita Falls, Texas for 3/21, 22 and 23. This is a different looking state park as most trees aren’t over 20 ft tall and without foliage. They are mesquite trees that look more like tall shrubs. There is a large lake for fishing but the wind has been blowing 10 to 15 miles per hour for 2 days.  There are only 4 or 5 campers in the area, it is like having our own State Park. We went into town and saw Wichita Falls which was manmade as the original falls ceased to exist long ago. Also found the Littlest Skyscraper built in 1919, which was a swindle as the designer showed town people plans, had them invest then built it to scale. Instead of the drawings being in feet it was in inchesJ. We found a neat diner that still had juke boxes on the tables, they were non-workingL.  The food was good and the place had plenty of people for lunch. Wichita Falls is also home of Sheppard Air Force. Please remember our son David in your prayers as he serves in Kuwait and Iraq.

I am having trouble adding pictures so please click on the link below

Click link below for pictures


http://s836.photobucket.com/albums/zz287/mga60tw/Lake%20Arrowhead/

More pictures from Tyler, Texas

While staying at Tyler State Park we meet the hosts, Joe and Lou. I helped Joe put up a new gazebo for his wifeJ. They were the nicest people and we enjoyed a nice catfish dinner with them. We so enjoyed our visit but it was time to move on.

 

Pictures from Kincaid Lake, LA

 

Tyler State Park in TEXAS!!

We are ahead of schedule so we plan to stay in Texas longer. We are now in the Tyler State Park in Tyler, Texas and will be staying 5 nights (3/16 -3/20). This is another wonderful place with lots to see. The weekend is going to be busy as Spring Break is happening. We have been reserving state parks by using the Texas reservation system. It has worked well and found it to be user friendly. A couple of things about the Texas parks: even though you are camping they still charge you a daily entrance fee (anywhere from 3 to 5 dollars per person/day) on top of the camping fee. These can add up if you stay in several parks in Texas, so the thing to do is buy the Texas State Park Pass for $60, good for 1 year which waves the entrance fees and gets you 50% off one night of camping. So if you stay in several different parks you will more than save the cost. The wife and I took a nice hike in the woods and saw several mountain bikes, boy does that take some strength!! The trip is going great and we are getting used to hooking and unhooking the camper. The Wildcat has been doing very well on the first leg of the trip. We did unhook and connected everything and then found a pole was in the way of opening our slides. We won’t do that againJ May try some of the famous Bodacious BBQ this weekend.

Kincaid Lake Campground in the Kisatchie National Forest



The dogs on Lake Pontchartrain



We arrived at Kincaid Lake campground in the Kisatchie National Forest on Monday 3/14/2011 and stayed 2 nights. The campground is out in the forest about 12 miles from Alexandria, Louisiana. It is isolated but there were other campers and a host and we found the stay to be very relaxing. We took a nice 4 mile hike around the lake.. Stopped at the McDonalds in town that still has the Golden Arches to do some interneting, we do have some bills to payJ.  This was a very nice 2 day stay and we recommend the place. Sites are $15 or $20 depending on the size, some of the sites are not for 5^th wheels (steep etc..)

having trouble posting pictures. more to come

Bourbon Street, New Orleans

Pictures of our trip to Bourbon Street. It was a fun place to visit and a must if you come to the New Orleans area.

Our stay in New Orleans

Our stay at the Fountainebleau State Park was a nice choice. The park was very clean and sites were nice in size. We took a nice 5 mile hike in to the bayou, not much to see but very peaceful. We took a day trip over to Mandeville and Madisonville to view the towns. Both were nice and we found and area in Madisonville that had an old lighthouse. Our other side trip was to New Orleans to visit Bourbon Street. We went on Saturday and the French Quarter was very busy, reminded me of bike week in March. They had a Saint Patrick Day parade on St. Charles street near the Garden district, lots of people and activity. We took a bus and trolly ride down St. Charles (lots of beads in the trees) and really enjoyed the scenery of beautiful homes.. Of course we dined on Bourbon Street and had some great gumbo. Had a nice drive back to the camper over the 24 mile bridge.  Time to move on to Kincaid Lake in Pineville, La.





Our trip to Fontainebleau State Park

Off we go for our visit to New Orleans. We were in four states today, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. We are staying in the Fontainebleau State Park on Lake Pontchartrain. This is a very big state park with great bike riding and trails for hiking. We will be here 4 nights and visit New Orleans via the
24 mile bridge across the lake.

Lake Pontchartrain

Our stay in Pensacola

We stayed for 2 nights at the Pensacola RV Park. Very nice owners, nice size spaces and a place we would recommend. Went to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner and then cooked out for the second night. Wednesday was exciting as tornadoes were in the area and we spent 3 hours in the clubhouse waiting out the storms. It rained till about 5 and we weren't able to do any site seeing. We may have to see the Navy Museum and beaches on our return trip. Our neighbors said the museum and beaches are worth seeing.

Forgot to post a picture of the bathroom named for ME!!

The trip started Friday, 3/4

The old homestead

Well we got off around 10 am for our trip to Alaska. We were heading to see our grandchildren in Crawfordville, Fl. We stayed at the Holiday Campground on US 98 at the Panacea Bridge. Our site was great and we looked out on to the Ochlockonee Bay at Gulf of Mexico. What a wonderful view and place for our grandchildren to play. We had a great time with our grandchildren and daughter. We took a drive over to St. George Island with our grandson Tristan. He got to go with his Nanna and Papa as the other children were in school. Suzanne's parent had a house on St George Island about 10 years ago. The house has changed some but still looks great. There is a new bridge going to the island and they rebuilt the lighthouse that was on Little St. George Island  on St. George Island, when it fell over. We had a great final day and will move out tomorrow Tuesday, 3/8 for Pensacola.











our backyard



Sunset from our camper