Texas has nearly 100 state parks. Diane had heard that the state parks in Texas were pretty exceptional and that is one of the reasons we decided to go to Texas to start our Vision Quest. The other reasons are because it is cold in Missouri in February and warm in Texas at that time of year. It’s closer than Arizona or California, and not as crowded as Florida where RV sites are booked up months in advance.
After our few days in Petit Jean we stopped in at DeGray Lake State Park, AR. This would be our last stop in Arkansas for the time being. We craved warmer climes. This is another little gem in the Natural State located just outside the Ouachita Mountains in southern AR. DeGray lake is formed by the Caddo River, named after the Indian tribe that once inhabited a large portion of the territory. I floated the Caddo once by myself when I was working in Hot Springs and it was a very nice floating stream with some Class II rapids. DeGray Lake State Park was very nice with great amenities and we had a very lonesome campsite. We nearly had the entire park to ourselves! At night the wind would whisper through the pines creating a feeling deep in your soul of solitude and reflection. We found enough firewood to make a small campfire and through my mind the words of that great Mitch Jayne of the Dillards song, ”The Whole World Round”, or as we used to call it in the Road Apples, “Fiddle and a Bow” echoed…
“I heard my neighbors rooster crow, early in the day. I heard his axe beyond the hill and now I’m bound away.
Some folks like the city life. Others crave the town. I’ll be bound for the lonesome woods that’s where I’ll settle down’.
Fiddle and a bow and the firelights glow you can hear that lonesome sound.
I’ll leave behind my troublin’ mind go the whole world round.”
After two days of rain and cold weather at DeGray, we moved on. We packed up the ol’ Conestoga, Nell, and pushed into Texas. Where and when does it start getting warmer? When will this infernal mist and rain stop? I saw that St Louis was having ice storms and floods and all manner of wicked weather, but still...how far south do we have to go to warm our winter bones? Lake Fork loomed. Lake Fork Texas is the greatest big bass lake I know of. Folks routinely catch monster largemouth there. One fellow I met told me he found a bass floating dead in the water there that had it been alive would have broken the Texas record that species. Twenty some odd pounds it was.
We pulled into a fish camp/ RV site that we had made reservations for. It was disgusting. There was some misfortunate’s underwear laying in the mud at our site. All manner of crap and detritus laying about everywhere. I swear, the refuse of every fisherman/woman who was ever skunked lay in the mud at that God Forsaken park. No sir, we were were not staying there. I actually thought ol’ Bess would get axle-deep stuck in the mud if I pulled in there. So, we went down the road and stayed at a much nicer park with very warm and inviting folks running the place. Dreams of catching a nice 10 pound bass were dashed pretty quickly, though, as the spitting rain that felt like pellets from a shotgun drove us indoors. The wind had to be 30 MPH consistently and the rain kept up off and on for two days. The place was tuna can-packed with anxious fishermen just sitting there with their bass boats idle, bounding around in the dock or saddled in the parking lot on trailers. The sense of disappointment from these trophy hunters hung low like the fast moving clouds. We continued south…
Texas’ first state park is called, Mother Neff State Park. It’s not very large, rather small actually, but very nice. It’s located just a little south of Waco in an area surrounding by unending plains. The park itself has nice features and hiking trails and is very wooded, consisting of Juniper and Mesquite. There is water in the park and so there is wildlife...principally birds. We took the hike in the park and came across a really cool dry cave/shelter that has been used by pre-Columbian people for centuries due to its protective overhang ceiling. As in most Texas state parks, the CC was instrumental in building trails, water retention facilities, artesian wells, and buildings of all kinds. These folks did some heavy lifting let me tell you! We stayed here one night and enjoyed ourselves quite a bit.
We moved on to Palmetto State Park in Gonzalez. This park is a real gem. Located on the San Marcos River, the park is a natural wetlands that features dwarf Palmettos and a number of other swamp type plants. Hiking trails meander all through the wetlands. Birds are everywhere, and of course, with the river running through the park there are all kinds of critters. We met our first “friends” of the road there, Audrey and Bob from Minnesota. As it turned out, they were from an area very close to where a dear friend of ours lives, Mora. Bob and Audrey are about as affable a couple as you’ll ever find. They’ve been on the road for ten plus years and each of them lost their spouse earlier in life, but now travel the country together as happy as can be. Palmetto, as I mentioned, is about 12 miles from Gonzales, Texas. That is a significant and historical place in Texas.
The first shots in Texas fight for independence occurred in Gonzalez. The town had inherited a cannon for protection and the Mexican army decided they wanted it back. The citizens of the town created a flag and flew it in the face of the soldiers when they showed up...”Come and Take It”. The townspeople fired it once and the soldiers, under orders not to fight, left town. Today, as you drive through this rather small town, flags with that slogan fly everywhere. Months later, during the siege of the Alamo, 30 some odd volunteers from Gonzales rode 50 miles to San Antonio to help bolster the defense, knowing fully that it was basically a suicide mission.
If you’ve never been to the Alamo, I say you should go. I don’t think anyone short of a sociopath could not be moved and stirred by the place. Located dead center downtown about a block from Riverwalk, it is in the midst of the 21st century city life and all the crazy noise and confusion of the streets. The thing is, when you enter the grounds, it’s as if all that bustle evaporates and a sense of calm overtakes you. I can’t really describe it but the best I can say is, it’s holy ground. Having been to other battlefields where immense numbers of people died tragically and painfully, there is still something very different about the Alamo. This was my third visit there and it was my most moving. We took the guided tour and it is the only way to go. The tour guides are very, very knowledgeable, not just about the battle, but about the full history of the Alamo and the area’s history. These days the Alamo has become a full-fledged museum, and a good one at that.
There have been literally hundreds of books written about the Alamo and early Texas history, but when you see it for yourself, first hand, there is no substitute. Go there, see it, experience it for yourself. San Antonio is a great city to boot.