Good Reads: Elmer Kelton's Texas Ranger Series

I’ve just finished reading the entire Texas Ranger Series of books by Elmer Kelton. I had already read each of these books previously, and some of them more than once. But I had never read the entire series from start to finish in chronological order as I did this time. Doing so really puts everything into better perspective.

As I’ve said before in this blog, Elmer Kelton is my favorite Western author. And I would argue that at times his writing shows quality equal to some of our greater American writers. What makes Mr. Kelton such a good writer is his character development and his faithfulness to reality, especially historical accuracy. For information on Mr. Kelton, refer to his web site at http://www.elmerkelton.net/.

In his collection of work, several series emerge, such as the Buckalew Family Series and the Hewey Calloway Series. The stories of these characters spread over more than one novel. But the Texas Ranger Series is Mr. Kelton's most developed series, and he devoted 9 books to telling the Ranger story.

The Texas Ranger Series spans a time from roughly 1840 to the 1880s. Initially, the series revolves around Rusty Shannon, but with the passage of time, the emphasis gradually shifts to Andy Pickard. In addition to Rusty and Andy, a number of other characters recur throughout the series, such as the Monahans family, Preacher Webb, Tom Blessing, Len Tanner, Bethel Brackett, Farley Brackett, and Fowler Gaskins.

The series is a good study of history, and provides good detail for the daily living conditions of rangers. As the series begins, the Rangers are concerned mostly with the western frontier where the Comanches and Kiowas roam free. As Texas becomes more settled and the Indian threat is removed, the Rangers first focus on the border region and then finally on common outlaws.

During the course of the continuing saga, well known historical events are covered, some in more detail than others. There is, for example, the Comanche raid in the 1840s that swept all the way to the Texas Gulf Coast and resulted in the well-documented battle at Plum Creek. The period of Reconstruction is covered in fine detail as well, especially regarding how common folks were affected. Not all of Texas supported the Confederacy during the Civil War, and that piece of history is covered. When Reconstruction finally came to an end, Governor Davis did not give up his office willingly, and Mr. Kelton included that political drama in one of his novels.

But it is the day-to-day existence of a Ranger that is most interesting to me. These men worked for low wages, and during certain periods they often went unpaid. They supplied their own horse and gun. There was no common uniform, not even a badge in the early days. While on the trail, they usually ate meager rations and usually slept on the ground or in a stable. With the development of the telegraph and the railroad, the Rangers became more effective at tracking down criminals, and Mr. Kelton treats these improvements in his novels. It is these details that I find the most interesting.

In all honesty, I do not find the Ranger Series to be Mr. Kelton’s best work. At times, some of the characters are rather stock, for example. But the stories are always enjoyable.

The novels making up the Texas Ranger Series, in chronological order with publication date in parenthesis, are:

1. The Buckskin Line (1999)
2. Badger Boy (2001)
3. The Way of the Coyote (2001)
4. Ranger’s Trail (2002)
5. Texas Vendetta (2005)
6. Jericho’s Road (2004)
7. Hard Trail to Follow (2008)
8. Other Men’s Horses (2009)
9. Texas Standoff (2010)

Were I a Texas history teacher, I would include Mr. Kelton’s work in my course. While history books provide dates and details, they rarely give that glimpse into those parts of history that affect everyday people as they go about their everyday lives. Mr. Kelton fills that void for us.

Good Reads: Ron Rozelle

Donna and I are avid readers; we always have a book nearby, and we spend time reading every day. Donna normally reads novels, but she enjoys animal stories as well. I love novels as well, especially westerns, but I enjoy reading about the American West and hiking as well. I currently reading from start to finish all of the books in Elmer Kelton's Texas Ranger series.

While an undergraduate at Sam Houston State University, I met and became good friends with Ron Rozelle. Ron and I had a lot in common. We were both from small East Texas towns (Ron from Oakwood, I from Fairfield), our fathers were both school superintendents, and we both majored in English and minored in Political Science. In fact, we did our student teacher at Palestine High School at the same time, assigned to classrooms right across the hall from each other. Similarities continued as the years rolled by, and both of our fathers eventually suffered from Alzheimer's Disease.

Ron is still teaching English in a coastal Texas town, but he also teaches creative writing, and he's the perfect man for that job because he is an accomplished author in his own right. He's published numerous books, and his latest work, My Boys and Girls Are in There: The 1938 New London School Explosion, is due out on February 5th. I'm looking forward to it.

I spent the last 9 years of my career in Kilgore, just a few miles from New London, so the story of the explosion is familiar to me. I had heard the story since my youth, as it was still talked about as I was growing up.

I'm guessing this work will be historical fiction, as Ron has already established himself in that genre when he wrote The Windows of Heaven: A Novel of Galveston's Great Storm of 1900. In that work, Ron built a solid story based upon an historically accurate setting; in doing so, he brought that frightening storm to life. I'm expecting the New London novel to be the same quality. I can't wait to get my hands on it.

Ron's best known work, and the book that established him with critics, is Into That Good Night, which was a national finalist for the P.E.N. Prize and the Texas Institute of Letters Carr P. Collins Award. That memoir was especially meaningful for me for several reasons. First, it recounted Ron's life from childhood into adulthood, so I enjoyed getting a look at what Ron was like as he was growing up. Since I know Ron and knew his father, the town of Oakwood, and had been in Ron's childhood home, I felt as if I was visiting an old friend. But most of all, the memoir recounted how Ron's father became a victim of Alzheimer's and the effects on the family. Since I experienced the same events with my father, the memoir holds special meaning for me.

Among Ron's other works are:

• A Place Apart
• Warden: Prison Life and Death from the Inside Out
• Touching Winter: A Novel in Four Parts

Ron has also written a book about creative writing.

For those interested in prison life, Warden (written with Jim Willett, a career employee of the Texas Department of Corrections) is a great read. Jim and Ron were roommates for a brief time during their early college careers. As many students at SHSU did in those days (and perhaps still do), Jim signed on for part-time work at the prison. Unlike most SHSU students, Jim stayed with the system and eventually became the warden of the Walls Unit near downtown Huntsville, where executions are carried out. If you stop at the prison museum in Huntsville just off I-45, you might see Jim, as he works some in that museum in his retirement.

Ron's done well, and all of his books are interesting. He has an easy-to-read and very personable style; it's almost as if you are sitting and listening to him, and that is what it reminds me of.

Once I've had a chance to read the book, I'll write a short review and provide more information about what to expect.

Tips on Retirement Planning

On Tuesday, January 31, Donna and I will have been retired for a full year. It has been a great year. I truly do love retirement. I've never felt more free in my life. I've learned a thing or two about retirement planning this year, and have a few tips for those of you who may soon be retiring.

First and foremost, determine as precisely as possible what your retirement income is going to be. Donna and I retired from TRS (Teacher Retirement System), and we were able to determine our retirement incomes to the cent. We knew what we would receive, and felt that we would be able to live on that for many years to come.

Next, prepare a budget based upon your retirement figures. I have a daily budget set up for us. This budget accounts for every penny we spend. If we purchase a cup of coffee at McDonald's, I enter it on our budget.

Once the budget is prepared, then about 6 months or so before you enter retirement, start living on that budget. You might find this difficult to do.

We retired at the end of January, 2011 but it was June before we were living within our budget. That means that the first 4 months of our retirement, we were in the red. Now, some of our expenses during this time are explainable. For example, we had to pay federal income taxes in March, and then we had moving expenses  in May. Both of these items put us over budget for those months. We also did a good bit of traveling in February. Still, we were over budget each of those first 4 months, and that concerned me.

Since June, we have been under budget every month -- and by a comfortable margin -- and we have taken several trips, including 2 trips to Laughlin, Nevada. It does take a while to get into a retirement rhythm, though, so I strongly encourage you to begin living within your new budget several months before you have to. If you are unable to live within that budget, perhaps you should reconsider whether now is a good time to retire.

You also need to consider that if you have difficulty living within that budget now, what will it be like in 5 or 10 years. Prices will continue to rise, but your retirement income will probably not increase. Since Donna and I expect to live another 20 years or more, it is important that we not only live within our budget but that we continue to put money back on a monthly basis.

I built 2 future expenses into our budget: property taxes and a future car. I put aside $300 each month for each of these (a total of $600 per month). Thus, when the time comes to pay taxes or buy a new car, we will already have the money.

And this leads me to another point. If you have debt, you probably shouldn't retire. You really need to be debt free and in a position where you pay cash for everything, whether it is a car, a house, a trip, or whatever. So, by putting money back each month for a future car, we will be able to pay cash when the time comes.

We have been able to do a number of things to reduce costs. One of the first things we did was to do away with our land phone line. We now use only our cell phones. That in itself gave us a savings of about $600 per year.

We also worked down to a single car, thereby eliminating auto insurance, maintenance and upkeep for a second car. The savings realized here is probably at least $1000 per year, if not more. Expenses here to consider are insurance, auto registration, annual inspections, and regularly scheduled maintenance at the very least.

We find that we eat out much less than we used to. I'm not sure exactly why this has happened. It may be that we simply don't have the need to eat out. When we worked, it was nice to go out for a meal to avoid cooking and cleaning up after a long day of work. Now, I find I'd rather eat at home; it's better food and it's just more comfortable to eat at home. When we do eat out, we normally go out at lunch and we usually look for specials. We're really quite happy with the places we do eat out and the quality we get.

For example, we recently ate lunch at a local "trendy" hotspot called The Cork and Pig. The place specializes in pizza and burgers/sandwiches. Even though it was lunch, the cheapest sandwich was a patty melt, which cost $9. I purchased the patty melt and Donna ordered the Cuban ($10). Both sandwiches came with fries. For this price, I expected real homemade french fries. I was disappointed. Basically, we got McDonald's fries with sandwiches that were, in my opinion, not very authentic. I've enjoyed patty melts for years, and what I got at the Cork and Pig was not a patty melt. Our total bill with drinks and tip was $26. We could have gone to Schlotzsky's and eaten for half that price and enjoyed much better food.

My point is that we are more selective about where we spend our money. We look for good value when we eat out, and there are plenty of places that offer good value. Trendy hotspots are selling decor and other things. I'm not interested in those items. We still have nice meals out. This past week we ate at a very nice local Mexican restaurant. Since we were able to order off the lunch menu, we had a much better meal than at the Cork and Pig and for about $10 less. On top of that, the service and decor was much better.

When we worked, we used to visit our local bookstores monthly and purchase books and magazines regularly. We no longer do that. We now visit our local library and check out books. We've also cancelled all magazine subscriptions. These actions have saved us hundreds of dollars.

Since we no longer have to dress professionally everyday, we are saving a considerable amount on clothing.

Overall, though, I strongly recommend that everyone prepare a budget and track expenses -- all expenses. Unless you do track expenses, you really don't know where your money is going. If you spend $3.00 a day for a cup of coffee from Starbuk's, that can easily result in an expenditure of several hundred dollars over the course of a year. Taking the time to track expenses is a small enough price to pay for the new freedom you are about to enjoy.

Good luck!

San Angelo SP: January 23, 2012

With rain and cooler weather forecast for our area for the next 2 days, we decided we had better take a hike before things got muddy. It may be a while before our next hike. As a side note, we did get almost 2 inches of rain the 2 days following this hike. That's great, but not nearly enough to replenish area lakes.

Up to this time, all of our hikes had originated from the southern section of the park. San Angelo State Park has two sides. The southern gate is just outside the western city limits of San Angelo. In fact, a housing subdivision known as Highland Range backs up to this section of the park. The northern gate is located just west of the community of Grape Creek, which lies north of San Angelo along US Highway 87, which goes to Big Spring, Lubbock, Amarillo, and points beyond.

We have just about covered all the trails in the southern section of the park, so this time we journeyed to the north section and started our hike at Bell's Trailhead. The northern section of the park has facilities for horses, including pens for holding them for overnight camping. As a result, this part of the park is used much more by horses, so it pays to watch your step.

Bell's Trailhead in the north part of San Angelo State Park

Our hike today consisted of numerous trails and a variety of scenery. We began at Bell's Trailhead, where we hopped on the Dinosaur Trail. This trail forms a large loop to the west. The trailhead is located very near the North Concho River, so numerous large trees, such as oaks and pecans, are in that area. The Dinosaur Trail quickly led us away from these trees, though, and we found ourselves in typical West Texas open country. About halfway along this trail, we crossed a creek, which had sporadic pools of water, probably from rains earlier in the month.Our first landmark was just beyond this creek at a small rest area.

Rest area on the Dinosaur Trail; note water trough for horses. Lots of prickly pear.

Our hike then began looping back to the Big Hill. The trail splits at the bottom, allowing you to bypass the hill if you do not want to undergo the climb, but since we like views, we decided to take the trail up the hill. One thing I've always appreciated about hiking is coming across things you don't expect. It might be a babbling brook you did not expect to find, or a stand of old growth trees that loggers never discovered. Sometimes the objects are man made. On this trip, we discovered a cross atop Big Hill.

Old Rugged Cross atop Big Hill

Stone marker at base of Old Rugged Cross

The marker for the cross indicated a connection with Loyd Bell. The Bell name occurs often in this area. We started our hike at Bell's Trailhead, for example, and there is a lookout on another trail in the park called Bell's Point, with a marker with similar contents. In San Angelo, there is Bell Street in the eastern part of town. I'd like to learn more about the Bell family, or at least Loyd Bell.

The next stretch of the trail was typical West Texas scenery, for the most part. We journeyed along the Badlands Trail for a while. There is a stretch through a dry creek area that looks like the badlands, so it is easy to see how the trail got its name. We then took the River Bend Trail, all the while hiking south.

Donna and I have hiked for several years. There are times when I begin a hike that I feel great, but after a couple of miles, I just don't seem to have the energy to hike very far. At other times, I start sluggish and dread the hike, but after a mile or two, I get my hiking legs and then really enjoy the hike. On this day, I started slow and never got better. After about 3 miles or so, I was ready to turn around and head home.

We soon reached a trail that turned east and headed towards a junction with other trails which would take us back to the trailhead. We came to an area called Ghost Camp. As with other areas of the park I've documented before, Ghost Camp is simply a collection of abandoned picnic tables and other facilities from the days when water actually backed up this far from O.C. Fisher Lake.

Abandoned boat ramp near Ghost Camp

At Ghost Camp, we turned back north to a site called River Bend Park. We decided this was a good place to stop. There are old picnic tables here, but they are still used from time to time by hikers, bikers, and equestrians. There is also a primitive toilet here. We snacked on cheese and crackers for a while and rested a bit. A couple of bikers came by heading north. They had probably started at Burkett Trailhead in the south part of the park and were heading to Bell's Trailhead. If so, they were making a round-trip journey of 17 miles, something I hope to do soon on my bike.

After leaving our rest area, we headed north along Slick Rock Trail, then took the Scenic Loop Trail. Just as we were entering the Scenic Loop Trail, our bike riders came by on their way back. They were making excellent time. Oh, to be young again!

The entire Scenic Loop area is dotted with native pecan trees. Along the trail, we spotted another unexpected site, a deer carcass.

Deer carcass on Scenic Loop Trail

We then took Shady Trail, which follows the North Concho River, back to the trailhead. Overall, our hike was probably about 6 or 7 miles.

This is a good trail for summer hikes because of the tree growth along the river. However, the river is really low these days, with no constant flow. Sometimes, there are only pools of water.

Pool of water in North Concho riverbed along Shady Trail

We need to do another 2 hikes or so in this section of the park, and then we will have covered just about the entire park.

San Angelo SP: January 20, 2012

The weather forecast for Friday was sunny and warm, with highs reaching the low 80s. Sounded like a good time for a winter hike.

Donna and I drove out to nearby San Angelo State Park, the location for most of our recent hikes. Our goal is to hike all the trails out there. I had recently stated that there were 50 miles of trails in the park, but a feature story in this morning's newspaper stated that there are actually over 70 miles. That's a lot of hiking.

Donna and I have almost hiked all the trails easily accessible from the southern part of the park. There are a few trails near the main gate we have yet to hike and then some north of our previous hikes. We decided to hike that area today.

We recently upgraded our hiking packs. We opted for packs with built-in hydration systems. Although we don't require as much water during winter hikes, now is a good time to test new equipment. We filled the packs with water and then set out. Today we would park in the day use area on Pulliam Ridge (noted on park maps as Highland Range Scenic Lookout), and set out from there. In order to get as much distance as possible, we used the available dirt roads to cover the areas we had already explored. Hiking these roads is much easier than the trail system, which normally follows ridge lines and has numerous ups and downs. The roads are usually straight and smooth, so we are able to hike at a speed of about 3 mph or more on them as compared to 2 mph or less on the trails.

We quickly hiked more than 2 miles to the rest area which was the turn around point on our last hike in the park (see "San Angelo SP: January 5, 2012"). This was our "jumping off" point into the section of the park we had not been before.

We set off down Flintstone Trail. All along the trail, we pondered why the trail was named that, so we were anxious to arrive at the point on the trail called Flintstone Village.

Donna beside a sign indicating the trail. The covered structure atop the hill in the background is our destination, Cougar Outlook.

Unusual cactus along trail near Flintstone Village. I don't know much about cactus, but I believe this is some type of barrel cactus cluster.

Source of name for the trail; table and seats like you might find Fred, Wilma, Betty, and Barney using.

Our destination for the day was a place designated on our map as Cougar Outlook. It is located on a bluff just beyond Flintstone Village. Facilities provided there include 2 covered picnic tables, trail map, bike rack, and 2 hitching racks for horses.

Cougar Lookout

We stopped here for lunch and enjoyed cheese, sausage, and crackers. The view from this bluff was interesting. Obviously, at one time the lake backed up this far, but that was long, long ago. There are all sorts of "skeletons" in this area of a time when there was much more water here.

Abandoned boat ramp near Flintstone Village

In better times, this stairway would have led to water; now it leads only to prickly pear.

Sign of the times

These roofless picnic tables dot the area like ghosts.

Once upon a time, all of this to the horizon was covered with water.

North Concho River, the main waterway feeding Lake O. C. Fisher. There is actually some water in the river, and it  curves right. The dry bed below the water is a creek feeding into the river.

San Angelo State Park is built around O. C. Fisher Lake. If you look at a state road map, the lake looks quite large; in reality, it remains very low, currently at less than 1% capacity.

After lunch, Donna and I took the most direct route back to our vehicle we could. Among the numerous trails in the park, the one designated as a multi-use trail is the most direct route connecting the two sections of the park. We hiked this route back from Couger Outlook. Actually, most of the trail is a dirt road. It is 8.5 miles from the trailheads at the north and south sections. Since that is a 17 mile round trip, it is too far to walk; however, we hope to take our bikes out soon to make the round trip. I wanted to hike part of the trail to see what condition it is in as we are not good bikers, and it looks good for a bike trip.

I really enjoy hiking this park. Now, once it gets hot and there is little shade, I may feel differently, but during the winter when temps are mild and snakes are not prevalent, this is a good place to spend several hours.

Eagle Mountain Park: January 14, 2012

Donna and I spent last weekend with my brother Larry, who lives in north Ft. Worth.We had a great time and great food, but the highlight of the trip was the day we spent hiking at nearby Eagle Mountain Lake Park.

Eagle Mountain Lake Park is a 400-acre park on the east side of Eagle Mountain Lake. Within the park, a system of trails weave up and down the small hills and along the shoreline of Eagle Mountain Lake. Many scenic overlooks of the lake are available on the trail. A map of the trail system is available at http://www.trwd.com/docs/eaglemountainlake/EM-Trail-Map.pdf. Maps are also located throughout the park.

Although the early morning was chilly, by the time Donna, Larry, Nancy, and I hit the trail at 11:00 AM the day was beginning to warm. It would eventually rise to the mid-60s. At the trail head, there is a covered pavilion with picnic tables, restrooms, and various informational signs.

Some of the facilities at the trail head

Posted rules for the trail indicate the trail is for hiking only -- no bikes and no dogs. Throughout our hike, though, we would see several people escorted by their 4-legged companions.

The initial section of the trail is composed of crushed stone and is lined by rocks to make a very attractive trail. However, this soon gives way to a dirt trail.

Initial section of trail near trail head

Just past the trail head, a short loop trail leads hikers to a scenic overlook of Eagle Mountain Lake. Like most lakes in Texas, Eagle Mountain currently suffers from the drought, and the lake level is down.

View of Eagle Mountain Lake from scenic overlook on Overlook Trail (see map)

After returning to the Main Park Trail from the Overlook Trail (see map), our nice level trail of crushed stone gave way to a dirt trail, often a dual track but sometimes a single track. The area had recently enjoyed a rain, and there were several soggy sections of the trail. Although the trail is what I would consider overall as an easy trail, there are still some steep ups and downs which left my shins a bit sore a day or two afterwards. Most of all, I get winded climbing hills, but the more I hike the better I feel.

Maps like this are located at all major trail junctions. This is a nice park, and the trails are well done.

After hiking 1.395 miles (not counting the .24 mile of the Overlook Trail - see map), we left the Main Park Trail and began the South Overlook Trail. At the end of this .52 mile section of the trail, we reached another scenic overlook, which allowed one of the better views of the lake. A bench and a picnic table are conveniently located here.

Island in lake. Island is there even when lake is full.

Once past the scenic overlook, the trail becomes the Shoreline Trail. Initially, it twists its way down from the hill we were on until we were near the shoreline. Most of the park is tree-covered, so hiking in summer will allow numerous shaded stretches of trail. But since much of the trail is dual track, much of the trail is exposed to the sun.

Donna near open area along Shoreline Trail. Mileage stone does not accurately reflect our distance at that point.

Shoreline of Eagle Mountain Lake, taken from Shoreline Trail

After hiking more than 3 miles, we found a bench located just up from a point on the shoreline and had lunch and enjoyed the peace and quiet. A couple of boats raced by on the lake and a few birds worked the shoreline. Otherwise, it was nice and quiet. However, in the shade it soon grew just a bit cool, so 20 minutes later, we were up and walking again.

We finished the Shoreline Trail and found ourselves back on the Main Park Trail as we returned to the trail head.

An "up and down" section of the trail. Notice that Donna is not visible in the picture; she is hidden at the bottom of the slope. These "ups and downs" are the most challenging sections of the trail; thankfully, they are moderate and few.

Back at the trail head, we took a breather. At this point, we had done a distance of 4.832 miles according to the map of the trail system. However, my brother's GPS indicated we had done 5.82. We had ventured off the trail in a few areas, such as along the shore line, so our actual estimate was probably somewhere in between these two figures.

Larry wanted to do more hiking, so he led our angry mob along the Northwest Trail. This is a 2.72 section of trail (round trip) that covers the northwestern part of the park.

Bridge on Northwest Trail

This section of the trail had a nice rest area, complete with covered picnic table and restrooms. Again, this is a nice park, and it is well maintained.

Covered picnic table at rest area on Northwest Trail

Rest room facilities at rest area on Northwest Trail

On the Ridge Loop Trail, we climbed a steep ascent. Once atop, we were rewarded with probably our best views of the day.

Larry and Donna on rock outcropping overlooking Eagle Mountain Lake. Directly above Donna's head and across the water is the point where we stopped for lunch earlier in the day.

I have to admit, I was glad to finish this hike. On both sections of the trail, some of the steepest inclines are near the end. Altogether, we hiked a total of 7.552 miles according to the map of the trail system; however, Larry's GPS put us at 8.2 miles, so we were probably somewhere in between.

There were lots and lots of people on the trail today. When a beautiful warm and sunny day comes around in January, people get out and take advantage of it. We saw many families, including one father diligently pushing a baby stroller along the dirt trails. I would conservatively estimate we encountered at least 35 or more people out on the trails, but most were within a mile or so of the trail head. Once we got deeper into the system, such as the Shoreline Trail and the South Overlook Trail, we were virtually alone.

Larry and Nancy are good trail companions. This is the second hike we've enjoyed with them; the first was almost a year ago at Cleburne State Park just outside of nearby Cleburne, Texas.

Were I to hike this trail again, I would probably pick a weekday to avoid the crowds. Regardless, it is a good hike.

San Angelo SP: January 5, 2012

Temps were expected to reach upper 60s today, and that is good hiking weather. Donna and I headed back to the state park for another hike. We've really come to appreciate the hiking trails in this park. Not only are there lots of them (50 miles or more), but they are very well defined and maintained. I don't like trails that are overgrown because snakes can be hidden in the grass and brush, but SASP has very clear trails.

Each time we go out, we try to extend our hike and we try to walk trails we've not been on before. We are still trying to regain our hiking legs. We used to hike good distances, but we fell out of hiking when I became the caretaker to my father prior to his death. We've simply not gotten back into the "hiking rhythm" since then. Sure, we've been on many hikes since then, but we often allow lots of time to elapse between hikes. So, we still aren't able to hike the distances we once did -- and we are a bit older, too -- so we are taking it slow and easy as we regain our hiking legs.

This time we parked atop Pulliam Ridge (the Highland Range Scenic Overlook on the park map) to get us farther north. From there, we traveled over a bit of the Potts Creek Trail we hiked a few days earlier and used a dual-track road to connect to the Armadillo Ridge Trail. At this point, we took the Playground Trail, which wove along a ridge to Bell's Point.

Looking along our back trail from a slope up Armadillo Ridge. Our Tundra is parked on the high point in upper-left portion of picture. We are about 1 mile from the truck.

Animal blinds such as this are located throughout the SASP trail system.

Our first destination is a place called Bell's Point. It is simply a point on a ridge that affords a good view of the surrounding countryside. There are a few facilities at this location, such as a table and benches, and there are 2 water spigots. I do not know if the water is potable, but it can certainly be used for watering horses as these trails are used by equestrians.

Rest area at Bell's Point. Notice bike racks. This is a multi-use trail.

Marker at Bell's Point.

Star at Bell's Point.

If you use Google Earth, you can enter the following location and you should be able to see the star.

• 31°29'10.13" N 100°32'21.65" W

In fact, if you zoom in close enough, you can see most of the single track trails Donna and I have been hiking the past week or so; you can certainly see the roads within the park.

From Bell's Point, we continued traveling north, still on the Playground Trail. The first part of this trail wound down through a wet-weather creek bottom, and for a while it looked as if we were returning in the same direction we had just come. But once we got below the Bell's Point overlook, the trail then turned back north. It was about this time that we looked behind us and noticed a female jogger quickly catching up. We stepped off the trail to allow her to pass. What a jog! We were at least 2, maybe 3 miles from where we parked, and most people who use the trails in this area park at Burkett Trail Head, which was an additional half mile farther away.  We would not see this lady again, so she was really putting away some miles. I wish I could do that.

We soon crossed another park road. There are lots of these roads in this park from the days when it was a Corps of Engineers park. We have not hiked any of them yet as we prefer the single track trails, which give us more of a sense of true hiking. But as we extend our hikes farther out, we will probably use some of these tracks as they are straighter and smoother, thus allowing us more mileage while requiring less energy. Once we crossed this road, we were officially on the Flintstone Trail.

Soon we were at a major trail junction. On some maps, it is marked simply as "Rest Area." Several trails merge at this location. It also has a water spigot, water trough for horses, and a map of the trail system.

Rest Area. Note bike racks; behind them, water spigot and trough. Map of trail system is directly above Donna's head.

This trail area is roughly the northernmost area of the south side of the park (that is not to say it is the halfway point between the 2 sides, though). There is a dirt surfaced road running north and south, and several trails meet here: both Turkey Creek Trails, Flintstone Trail, and another lesser dual track. SASP has an interesting trail system, and it became apparent to us here. As we prepared to turn back south, we wanted to take the Turkey Creek Trail, a long trail that parallels FM 2288 for about 2 miles or more. However, there are 2 Turkey Creek Trails -- one for bikers and hikers, and the second for horses and hikers. I like this.

Trail etiquette "suggests" that hikers yield to horses, and bikers yield to both hikers and horses. In reality, I've found this not to be the practice, though. I've done some mountain biking myself, so I don't mean to disparage bikers, but I find 90% or more of them to be dangerous on the trail. Most of them are on the trails for the thrill of zooming down hills and over rises. We've had some come close to hitting us without so much as an apology. They can be a terror as they suddenly fly over a hill heading straight for you. With this in mind, we decided to take the trail intended for horses and hikers.

Trail sign indicating the 2 Turkey Trails. This picture was taken at the southern terminus of the Turkey Trail, not at the northern terminus where we picked up the trail.

The trail back was rather uneventful. There was a dip through Turkey Creek that provided some tree cover; otherwise, the scenery was much like everything else we've seen in the park.

Turkey Creek Trail: not much out there.

At the southern end of the Turkey Trail, we crossed a crumbling paved road. As we were about to get back on the trail, a bike rider came bounding around the curve. He was not going fast and did not pose a danger, but he also did not yield to us; instead, we moved off the trail. Every once in a while, I consider sticking my hiking pole in their spokes, but that is just a thought that pleasures me; it is not something I would seriously consider doing.

At this point, we were back on the trail system we hiked on January 1. From here, it was a short 30 or 40 minute hike to the car along Armadillo Ridge and down through a mesquite flat. The worst part of the hike was the final quarter mile, which climbed up Pulliam Ridge to our truck.

I'm just about to post this item on a Monday morning. The rain has been falling since about midnight, and so far we've had about .6 inches of rain. This is our first rainfall of 2012, and we need so much more. It will be a few days before we get out for more hiking.