Dalhart City Park - Texas

Dalhart City Park was once a Texas State Park. The park surrounds Lake Rita Blanca. GPS can't find it, sends you to a dirt road on the opposite end of the lake. If you can get to the Rodeo Arena in town, you have arrived at the park. The RV sites are near the frisbee golf course.

Lake Rita Blanca - April 2017

I arrived early in the day and parked in the day use area.  I walked on the trails and waited to see if other RVs would be staying the night. 

There is a private RV park in town, but it was more expensive and probably crowded. I would go there if no other RVs showed up, I did not want to be the only RV staying overnight in the city park.

Although this is a large park, the camping area is small, 10 spaces on gravel with no camp host on duty.  $15 for a site with electric. RVParkReviews says full hookups, I only used the electric.

The surrounding park has several trails and a frisbee golf course. The rodeo arena is on the other end of the park. Curfew in the park is 10pm, it was a quiet night after the day traffic left.

View from RV site

There are a few trailheads and a path around the lake.

alltrails.com shows this as a 5.4 mile easy loop trail.

I would definitely stay here again, when traveling through Northern Texas. There are restaurants, a grocery store and gas stations nearby.


In May 2014, I stopped at the XIT Museum in Dalhart, check out that post on my blog here.

La Grange, Texas and Texas Quilt Museum

Many homes in the town of LaGrange, Texas were flooded during Hurricane Harvey. This storm slowed down and stalled over parts of Texas causing massive flooding in Houston and small towns. On August 28, 2017 the Colorado River, flowing through La Grange, reached 54.2 feet, the highest since 1913.

Whenever I visit a town, I will follow the town's facebook pages to become familiar with the area and to learn of special events while I am visiting. I will also follow the county sheriff and local police pages to be aware of my surrounding.

Through facebook, I was able to watch the events that unfolded during and after the storm, the town square did not flood. The residents pulled together and helped out everyone the best they could. I read amazing stories of people helping their neighbors

photo found on internet / by Bruce Spindler

When I visited La Grange in January 2017, there was a cold front passing through. For one day we had freezing rain hanging from the trees and picnic tables, the ice looking like leftover holiday decorations. 

I always try to plan extra travel days and was able to stay until the weather warmed up and everything melted.                                                                                                    
The Colorado Landing RV park is within walking distance of the town square. 
This beautiful park with walking paths and fishing piers was right along the Colorado River.

The Texas Quilt Museum is in LaGrange, TX

photo from website

On Saturday afternoon I walked to the town square, passing some beautiful houses and some trees that were almost in the middle of the street.  The roads were paved around these large trees.

Fayette County Courthouse on the Town Square

"The heart of the town’s square is the spectacular Fayette County Courthouse, one of the best examples of Romanesque Revival architecture in Texas. The courthouse, completed in 1891, is a beautifully constructed three-story building that features limestone walls accented with blue sandstone and red granite, arched doorways and windows, and an ornate clock tower."


The weather was just perfect for walking. I visited the local antiques and thrift stores and stopped at the local coffee shop before heading to the quilt museum.

The museum is housed in 2 historic 1890's buildings. The museum opened in November 2011.

Mural on the side of the building

I am amazed with the wonderful quilts and works of art produced by the quilters. I dream of someday making a quilt worthy enough to be displayed.

I was not allowed to take photos of the quilts in the main gallery. There was an exhibit of smaller quilts in another room and it was ok to photograph those.

I love the texture and patterns in quilts. I have made a few small quilts, mostly baby quilts and wallhangings. I have a few old quilts and quilt tops that I could not part with when I downsized.

These blocks are for a quilt I am making for my granddaughter

I am a bad Nana, as I have started it almost 5 years ago.

You are exactly where you need to be

Many times, I have pondered this phrase

"You are exactly where you need to be"

We often wonder - Where should I go? What should I do with my life?

Life has a way of changing your best thought out plans.

It's time once again to

 "go with the flow"

 " go where life leads you".

My blog has been dormant for awhile.

I have been traveling and working from my RV, but I lost my desire to blog.

I have not been using my laptop, I got hooked on using my iPhone for everything.

Now my iPhone is not working correctly. 2 years ago, it was a bargain to purchase with a loyalty program with Sprint ($279). I was hoping to keep this phone for many years. I refuse to pay an enormous amount of money for a new phone.

This is a blessing in disguise, I will start using my laptop more. 

Seems that the older iPhone stops working when a new one comes out.
Whats up with that???

I am hoping to improve my writing skills and write the blog on a regular schedule. Practice makes perfect, right. 

My posts will not be in chronological order. I am too far behind for that. 

I will write about things as they come to mind and as I get my photos in order.

Mileage Log

If you have ever owned a small business, your tax preparer has probably asked you about keeping a mileage log.

I do not to keep a log for tax purposes, but I do keep track of my RV mileage.

In 2011, I purchased a mileage log book and have used it continuously.

Adams Automobile Log Book

Now that I am getting caught up and writing blog posts again, the information in my log book has helped me to reconstruct where I have been.

I am glad that I started and continue with this habit, I did notice a few missing entries, but I record everything close to 100%.

Everytime I stop (every rest stop, gas station, campground, park, etc) I record the odometer reading, where I am at, why I stopped, etc.

The book has pockets for gas and maintenance receipts. I also record oil changes, RV maintenance, etc.





It's a handy item for any RVer to have.

Another good organizer is the

Adams Tax Record Organizer

This also has pockets to keep receipts handy

Texas State Parks - Dinosaur Valley

January 3, 2017

Abilene State Park to Dinosaur Valley State Park - 143 miles

"Long ago, dinosaurs left footprints in the mud at the edge of an ancient ocean. Today, you can walk in their tracks in the bed of the Paluxy River."

This was not a good time of year to visit the park, too much cold water in the river for dinosaur hunting.

"Dinosaur tracks are in the riverbed and are not always visible.  Trails may be closed due to wet conditions or weather"

With the wind and cold weather, I didn't want to stay outside, but I managed a few short hikes along the river and through the prairie. A few of the trails went down to the river - across the river - and continued on the other side.  I was not able to continue across due to the fast moving cold water.



I think this would be a great park, for a family visit, during the summer. The kids can splash around in the river and search for dinosaur tracks. At the entrance to the state park highway, you can stop at Dinosaur World with life size dinosaurs and fossil dig sites.

 

The campsites were large and I had a nice view of the river at the back of my site. 

If you will be spending more than a week in the Texas State parks, in a one year period, the State Parks Pass is a good deal.  I paid $70 for a pass, good for one year from date of purchase.  The pass gives you admission to all of the parks for day use and you will receive 4 discounts on a 2nd night in a campground.  Most parks average $20 a night and some parks have weekly rates.


Texas charges the daily admission on top of the campsite fee, so that is what makes the park pass a good deal.  I sometimes stop at the parks, without camping overnight.  The day pass rates can be up to $7.00 per car, per day. I use the pass on weekends when I am working at the tax office, there are 5 parks within 1 1/2 hours of where I am working.

Thanks for shopping with my Amazon link.

Texas State Parks - Abilene State Park

January 2nd, 2017


After leaving Copper Breaks State Park, I headed toward Abilene, TX to stock up on groceries and to look for a place to get my Texas Vehicle Inspection.

I forgot that some places would be closed on Monday for the New Year holiday, so I didn't get the inspection done. On shopping days I do not like to drive far between campsites, the drive was around 150 miles between parks. 

Since 2011, I have burned through 2 Garmin GPS units.  So now I plan my route online, ahead of time, and keep a paper map on the passenger seat, just in case I need to stop and check things out.

I will use google maps on my iphone. I do not keep the iphone app on for the entire drive, usually just at the end, when I need turn by turn directions.  I may occasionally miss a turn, but usually realize it right after going through the intersection and need to turn around and get on the correct road.

I use a sticky note on the steering wheel, with a list of the major roads that I will need to look for.

I also have an index card listing my route and the towns I will be going through.  It's easy to memorize a short list of town names and match them up, on road signs, while driving.

The cold weather, snow and ice were chasing me, so I would only spend one night at Abilene State Park, before moving south and east to get away from the winter weather.

"Abilene State Park is nestled around a beautiful grove of oak, elm and pecan trees along Elm Creek.
The thick canopies of trees are unusual for this part of Texas and provide a wooded oasis throughout the park. long before pioneers arrived, native americans, such as the Tonkawa and Comanche, camped along Elm Creek while hunting buffalo as the herds migrated through nearby Buffalo Gap. In the early 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps built the original stone structures. the masonry arches and intricate stonework of locally quarried red sandstone and native limestone are an enduring legacy"

"Eagle Trail, constructed by local Boy Scouts, wanders down to Buffalo Wallow Pond, a one-acre pond developed with children in mind."

 I arrived early enough in the afternoon to go for a long walk around the park and also went out for a walk the next morning before moving on to my next destination.


Posts for the next few months will be randomly posted, not by date, as I get pictures and info together, I will post what I remember.  I have a mileage log book that I update every time I stop in the RV, even if it is just a rest stop - this will help me to remember locations.

Texas State Parks - Copper Breaks State Park

I have yearly tabs at the top of my page, I will update these pages soon.  The yearly pages give a snapshot view of where I have traveled in my RV.

I planned to stop at several Texas State Parks after leaving Colorado. I purchased a Texas State Parks Pass last summer and wanted to make sure I used my camping discounts before they expire.

I prefer state parks anyway, so much nicer than a typical "RV Resort" and the price is right, most Texas state parks average around $20 a night.

For a few weeks, or maybe longer, my posts will not be in chronological order. I have a lot of time to cover and lots of thoughts and ramblings about "where I am and what am I going to do with my life".

While traveling, I was posting some pictures on Facebook.  I have joined many Facebook groups - camping groups, widow groups, healthy eating and fitness groups. It got to be too much, so I took the FB app off of my phone.  I still belong to the groups and I still can check in when I am using my laptop.

I was concerned about the weather in Colorado and northern Texas. It may not have been a smart thing to drive to Colorado for the holidays. I was in Denver from October 27th  to December 27th.
I love visiting my family, I have 2 granddaughters now, but RVing in Colorado in the winter can get tricky.
After Thanksgiving, Denver had colder than usual weather and I ended up winterizing the RV and spending nights at my daughter's house. There was some snow but it melted before I left, they did get more snow a week or so after I left.

Anyway... 
I was very fortunate and had good traveling days, no rain or snow and not too much wind, considering the high plains area I was traveling through. 

The high plains is a very scenic area, I feel "at home" when I travel through these areas. The wind can sometimes be a problem, but I love the open spaces and the feeling that I am driving up in the clouds.

Copper Breaks State Park near Quanah,  TX
Northern Texas not too far south of the Red River

Happy New Year to me, camping at Copper Breaks State Park. Copper Breaks is in a remote location with 10 miles of hiking trails. It is designated an International Dark Sky Park.

In the early morning hours of January 2nd, I opened the curtain next to my bed to wait for the sunrise and was treated to a spectacular starry sky.  The stars were huge and looked close enough to touch, I had never seen anything like it before.  And there were a few "shooting stars". No pictures, I was just taking it all in.  Not sure I could have taken a decent pic of this anyway.

 Copper Breaks takes its name from the gray green streaks of raw copper that band its rust colored mini canyons and arroyos. An ancient inland sea helped form the land into a broken badlands of gullies, mesas and juniper "breaks".

”The Big Pond, the camp host told me where to find the "stairs" to walk down to this pond, with a small sandy beach area.

                                                 Campsites overlooking the canyon

Bordered by the seasonal Pease River, this land was once rich in buffalo and other wildlife and offered protection and bounty to generations of native americans.