The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Friday, December 22, 2017

What we go through to get to a nice boondocking spot

We left the Livingston Municipal Airport at about 10:00am and drove the short distance to Lake Livingston State Park. We're only about 65 miles north of the big city of Houston, Texas so I'm sure this park is a zoo during the summer.

I went into the office to get our day use pass, using the $70 USD annual pass we bought the other day. Each Texas State Park sets it's own day use fees, and so we save $5 each at this particular State Park.

Here was our view when we woke up yesterday morning...

View at Livingston Municipal Airport.

It was only a 10 minute drive to get to the park. The lady in the office gave us a map of the park, and told us where a good place was to park Sherman. 

They have a big viewing tower.

 Ruth, at the top of the tower.

The boardwalk trail.

Not the most exciting trails at this park. We did about 2.5 miles (4 kms) walking on poorly marked trails. The boardwalk trail above takes you through the sewer and septic facilities. Not the best route for a walking trail!

We went back to Sherman and had some lunch.

We're already liking the benefits of this annual pass. I was able to get out the Weber grill and cooked us up some burgers for lunch.

We pretty much have full use of the park from 7:00am until 10:00pm. We can just hop on our bikes and use the campground showers if we wish. We can use the dump station, and fill with water. Get rid of our trash. Pretty much the same as if we were camping there except that we can't actually stay overnight without paying the site price.

After lunch, we hopped on the bikes and did some more exploring.

Out for a bike ride.

One of the camping loops.

This loop looked recently improved. Very nice level sites with concrete pads and well groomed. Almost "resort" quality, and well spaced.

Other loops were not so nice. Varied pricing as well. The most expensive were the lake view sites at $28 USD per night. Other loops had full hookups at $24 and $21 per night, and still another loop was $18 with water and electric. (Plus the day use fee of $5 per person if you do not have an annual pass!)

Empty campground loop.

Me!

We enjoyed our day, but it's not a park we saw any value in staying overnight at. So I had read about a possible boondocking spot in nearby Sam Houston National Forest.

We had to drive by the dam to get there.
Lots of big construction going on.

We got to the turn off road, and it was a narrow gravel road. No problem. There were showers in the overnight forecast, but the road in was pretty solid gravel so I wasn't worried.

But we got to a point where the road narrowed even more. I pulled Sherman over at some kind of oil well thing, and got out and walked to check it out.

It was about another half mile to a nice flat meadow where Sherman would be perfect for the night. All we had to do was get there. The brush at the side of the road was getting a bit overgrown. But Sherman was up to the challenge.

Ruth took a video for you... turn up the volume...


What we put him through to get to a nice boondocking spot!

Sherman, happily parked for the night!

A few scuff marks, but nothing that won't come out next time I give him a bath!

We're inside relaxing with a couple of happy hour beverages and we hear a voice. 

"Anybody home?"

This old fellow comes over to the window to say hi.

He's out walking his dog... and his guinea fowl!

Too funny. These three hens follow him around everywhere. When he stops, they stand there pecking at the ground, and when he starts moving, they run to catch up. Hilarious.

Taking the dog and hens for a walk.

Yesterday's drive, only 24 miles (39 kms).

Today, we're headed for College Station, Texas.... where blog readers have invited us for dinner! How cool is that!?

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And in Canada...





26 comments:

  1. Haha those narrow roads often lead to the best sites!

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  2. Nice that you got to use your Weber and some nice interesting places that you find to park.
    Enjoy dinner in College Station a nice area to explore.

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    1. We have used our Weber several times over the past month and yes it is nice to get a chance to use it.

      We won't actually be out exploring College Station, at least not on this trip. We don't really have time because we are meeting up with some friends by the beach for Christmas.

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  3. My but that road is narrow. Love the hens, too cute. I didn't realize you could use the dump station/water/shower if you have a day pass.

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    1. It was very narrow! We laughed when we saw the guinea fowl out for a walk with this man and his dog. They are definitely attached to him. :-)

      Most of the parks have day use showers and nowhere in the park or on the paperwork do they say that the dump station is for camper's only. We have paid to use the park during daylight hours, the only thing they ask that you don't "picnic" in a camping site.

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  4. Nice to see Ruth in short sleeves and shorts.

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    1. It was nice to be able to wear them again. Even if only for a short time.

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  5. I have heard the American Full Timers use Livingston, TX as an address to avoid paying taxes in their home State. I don't think it would be that easy in Canada.

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    1. That is most likely the Escapees RV group with HQ in Livingston. I have been with them for 21 years.

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    2. I guess Barney just answered the question for you Tommy. I don't think Canada has anything like the Escapees group that let you use their address but we do have family members and also UPS. We used that for a few years when we were still "residents" of Ontario.

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  6. We lived on Lake Livingston for a number of years before moving back to Houston last year. We know the area very well! The island in the background of one of your photos is Pine Island. It has a great swimming spot on one side where the beach is very shallow and sandy. Legend has it that when the lake was made many wild animals made their way to the island and high ground. Most were eventually rescued and moved. There was one lone ornery bull who wouldn't leave so people ferried feed to him for months before he was finally captured and removed! Enjoy College Station!

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    1. I guess even living in the Houston area now it won't take you long to get out to Lake Livingston. It is a big lake! Love the story about the animals going to the island as they started flooding the area to create the lake and how people captured them and released them back on proper land.

      Unfortunately we won't be seeing much of College Station because we really only dropped by to meet up with these blog readers. We have made arrangements to meet up with some friends down on the beach for Christmas so we need to starting making our way there today if we want to be the by tomorrow evening. Hopefully we will have time to stop by and check the city out on another visit. :-)

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  7. We are currently at the Escapees park in Livingston....heading west tomorrow, making our way to I-10 well west of Austin. Maybe we will cross paths.

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    1. I think that have probably already passed by each other. Hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

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    1. It was! I am sure we would have spent more time talking with him but he got a phone call and started heading back home with guinea fowl and dog in tow. :-)

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  9. Oh how funny about the hens.
    We have never stayed at that state park. We really like the TX state park pass. If you get a chance, you should stay at Llano SP. You will see so much wildlife. Really nice park.

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    1. It was, I think they thought they were dogs too! ;-)

      I have South Llano State Park already on our list. We won't be making it there on this trip but it is possible they we make get there next December and our pass will still be good.

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  10. Again I’m inspired by your post to be a little more adventurous. We get nervous camping in remote areas and worried about security. But you all find some treasures!

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    1. We generally think you are much more secure in remote areas because hardly anyone goes there! If we see a ton of garbage, broken bottles and beer cans, than it usually isn't a good spot especially on a weekend so we would just move on and find somewhere else. We seem to have a pretty good feel of a place, as to if we think it feels safe or not. Boondocking like this is certainly not everyone's cup of tea.

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  11. Great fun to follow you along to your boondock site. We haven't been on the road much lately, but it is fun to read about how things might be when we get rolling again. I actually am having a blog catch up moment as well. Merry Christmas!! The hens really made me laugh.

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    1. Well I hope you are able to get back out on the road soon and are able to find some great boondocking spots for yourselves. There are certainly lots of them out there. The hens made us laugh too!

      Merry Christmas to you both.

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