Taking Things Easy

Not every day that you spend in an RV can be exciting. You don’t visit a casino every day (even though Donna would like to), and you don’t go on an interesting hike every day. And when you’re at a place like Lake Brownwood SP where we’ve been many times before, you’ve just about done everything there that you can do, and probably several times over. Sometimes you just have to kick back and relax a bit.

Today was one of those days.

Since we sat out enjoying the fire last night, it was late when we got to bed. As a result, we slept in a bit later this morning than we normally do. When we finally got dressed and ready to roll, it was mid-morning. We decided we’d drive over to Coleman to the Owl Drug Store and have one of their good hamburgers. We visited this place for the first time back in March of this year, and I wrote about it then. If you’re interested, you can look it up.

Since we had no real plans today, we decided to drive to Coleman on some back roads. We had a nice leisurely drive both going and coming and enjoyed seeing the ranches in the area. The region has been blessed with good rain all year long, and the countryside shows it. We saw several pastures that had recently cut hay, and the large bales were lying in the fields, waiting to be moved. Stock tanks were full to the brim, and grass was tall and thick in the pastures. It really is great to see this country looking healthy for a change.

As we entered Coleman, we stopped for gas, then headed to the drug store. We ordered 2 cheese burgers, a side of onion rings to split, and a couple of drinks. They brought the onion rings first, along with a dip that tasted basically like tartar sauce. The onion rings were cut into thick slices, and the batter held to the onions quite well for the most part. I tried the dip they brought, but personally, I’m old fashioned and soon reverted to ketchup. The burgers were great. I love a hand-formed patty that is a bit crustyou on the ourside, and that is exactly what I got. We looked the menu over while there, and decided that next time we’d try something different, but it may be hard to pass up those burgers.

We took a different set of back roads on our return trip to the park. It was nice driving down these rural farm/ranch to market roads. I grew up in a rural area, and I love the chance to get in the back country any time I can. I just enjoy seeing cattle, fields being tended, and homesteads being worked. We were able to drive along at a leisurely pace of 50 mph or so; I truly enjoyed the outing.

Once back in camp, I crawled in bed to sleep off that burger while Donna grabbed her fishing gear and headed to the pier. Later in the day, we began packing up, as we leave for home in the morning.

The Rain, the Park, and Other Things

We’re at Lake Brownwood State Park now. I’ve reported on this park before, so I’ll not do that again. If you are interested, you can simply search my blog for those previous entries.

We arrived yesterday and got everything set up. We then drove around the park and were delighted to see the lake way up from our last visit. It really looks good. And the grass is still green.

We turned in early last night. About 10:30, it began to rain. It was one of those nice, gentle rains that make you enjoy being in an RV. The drops pittered-pattered on the roof, lulling us to sleep. There was no thunder or lightning, just a nice easy rain. Now, as dawn approached, it was still raining, and there was some thunder then, but it was not loud or threatening. The rain finally stopped about 8 or 9. I looked out and saw that the slab our picnic table sits on was under water.

We are in site 72. By this time, most of the water had drained off the slab. With the natural slope, it seemed that all the water just settled in our site.

But the sun came out by 11 and the rest of the day was really nice. After lunch, Donna grabbed her fishing gear and headed to her favorite pier while I just took it easy at the trailer. I cleaned off the picnic table area, then read a book.

Since today is Friday, the weekend crowd soon began arriving. Our campground is now full, I believe. Donna and I built a small fire as the evening settled into darkness, then watched the full moon rise in the east.

The fire felt good as darkness fell and temps began to drop.

It was a good day at Lake Brownwood SP.

This centipede shot out from under my chair while I was reading.

This tree was about 20 feet away. From that distance, it looked like a growth on the tree. When I got closer, I saw that it was a lizard. It blends well, doesn't it.

This dillo turned and ran when he saw my ugly face.

On the Road: Fort Richardson SP to Lake Brownwood SP

We pulled out of Fort Richardson State Park about an hour after daylight this morning. I had several deer supervising as I got the trailer ready for travel. I don’t think they were too impressed with how I worked.

For the first hour or so, we stayed on US 281. For the first few miles out of Jacksboro, the shared highway is 4-lane, but once Texas 199 splits east towards Ft. Worth, the highway narrows to 2 lanes. As we drove through Mineral Wells, we were impressed by the downtown area and made a mental note to investigate this community as a future destination on one of our trips. After all, Lake Mineral Wells State Park is just east of the city, and that would be a good place to park the trailer. As a side note, I was surprised to find that US 281 through Mineral Wells is only 2-lane, so traffic piled up behind us unable to pass.

About 15 or so miles south of Mineral Wells, we hopped on Interstate 20 and headed west. Traffic on the interstate was light, so it was a pleasant drive. Just before we reached Ranger Hill, we took Texas 16 and headed south. The first 45 or so miles of this highway was a very pleasant stretch with very little traffic. The region has seen good rain this year, and it was nice to see stock tanks full and the grass in the pastures tall and thick. It has been a long time since it has looked so good at this time of the year.

At DeLeon, we intersected with Texas 6 for about a mile or so. We’ve passed through DeLeon several times over the years, but always on Texas 6. There are a couple of gas stations and a few other businesses along this stretch, but not a great deal. However, once we turned south on Texas 16, we passed through the downtown area, and it was rather nice.

The next town was Comanche. Donna and I looked at some small acreage here several years ago just before we retired. We really liked the land and the town, and have often wondered if we made the right decision by not buying that acreage. If we had, I’d probably be mowing several acres of grass, harvesting the last of the summer garden, and Donna would be canning and putting up. That’s a lot of work. We probably made the right choice. But Comanche is a nice little town with some beautiful land around it, and we always enjoy passing through.

At Comanche, we took US 67 south to Brownwood. This is a 4-lane stretch of highway and a very easy drive. At Brownwood, we stopped at Walmart and picked up some groceries before heading out to Lake Brownwood State Park, our home for the next 4 nights.

Fort Richardson State Park and Historic Site, October 2016

We arrived at Ft. Richardson State Park and Historic Site yesterday, and we’ll leave in the morning. We’ve been pretty busy since we’ve been here. This is a nice little park, and I hope we can make it back one day as there is quite a bit to do.

One of the more unusual designs I've seen for a park headquarters.

Low water crossing over Lost Creek.

First and foremost for me, the park is a historic site, the home of Fort Richardson. The northernmost of a line of frontier forts from the Red River in the north to the Rio Grande in the south, Fort Richardson was established in the fall of 1867 on the banks of Lost Creek. The post played a major role in the activities which led to the Indians of the region, mostly Comanches and Kiowas, to be forced onto reservations in Oklahoma Territory, thus opening the frontier to settlement. Probably the most notable of all post commanders at Fort Richardson was Ranald S. Mackenzie, who was stationed there from April 1871 to December 1872. He played perhaps the single most important role in subduing the Native Americans.

Today, only a few buildings remain on the post grounds. The most prominent of these is the post hospital. The post was abandoned in 1878, but it roared back to life briefly in 1940, just prior to World War II, when it served as the mobilization area for the group that later came to be known as the “Lost Battalion.” The story of these brave soldiers is another story, and I leave you to Google this on your own. The marker below will help get you started.

Historic marker about the Lost Battalion. Theirs is a great story.

Post hospital

Officer's quarters

Activities at the park include camping, hiking, fishing, and swimming, among others. For RVers, there are only 4 full-hookup sites (sites 1 - 4); however, cabins C1-C8 have full hookups for those who want this type of camping experience. All other RV sites have electric and water only. The sites on the east side of Lost Creek tend, in general, to have shade on the west side, while the sites on the west side of Lost Creek tend to have shade on the east side. The exception to this would be sites 13 – 23 which tend to have full shade.

Quarry Lake near the entrance to the park. That is the HQ at right center in background.

This is site 22, which has full shade. Note the solid rock behind the site. We were assigned site 3, which is basically behind this site, but 15 or so feet above it.

This is one of the cabins. Click to enlarge the picture, and you will see the sewer connection as well as other utilities so that RVS can connect.

We stayed in site 3. Most sites are long enough to accommodate both trailer and tow vehicle.

The table and fire ring were a bit away from the site, but that really did not bother us.

One of the nice things about this park is that it sits on the southern edge of Jacksboro. It is easy to venture into town for groceries, sight-seeing, or dining. We enjoyed a good lunch during our stay at Casa Grande on the east side of the square. It’s not the best Mexican food we’ve ever had, but quality was quite good, service very good, and the prices were reasonable. We'd certainly go back.

Tomorrow (Thursday) is another travel day. I have at least two other entries for this park, though. It may be several days before I am able to post these, so hang in there and I'll see you down the road.

On the Road: Winstar Casino RV Park to Ft. Richardson State Park

Today was moving day for us. We moved from Winstar Casino RV Park in Thackerville, Oklahoma, to Fort Richardson State Park in Jacksboro, Texas. I don’t have a map for the trip as I normally do, but the route we followed is I-35 from Thackerville to Denton, Texas, then west on US 380 to Jacksboro. Total distance for this trip is right at 100 miles. Now, there are a couple of shorter routes, but we had a stop along this route to make.

We left Winstar about 10:30 this morning. We pulled onto Interstate 35, crossed the Red River into Texas, then promptly exited almost immediately at the Texas Travel Center. We spent a while browsing the brochures, booklets, maps, and other literature planning future Texas adventures. We made a pretty good haul, so we’ll pore over all of these items the next several nights, or weeks, and plan future treks. There’s always a new adventure waiting just around the bend.

After that short break, we hopped back on I-35, passed through Gainesville, then gladly hopped off about half an hour later at exit 471 so that we could stop in at Camping World. I really don’t care much for I-35; I’ve said that before. Traffic is always heavy, the trucks drive way too fast, and the cars drive even faster. In fact, just before our exit, a fifth wheel flew by us. I was driving 65, my limit when towing, but this guy made me feel like I was standing still. Wouldn’t you know it, he pulled into Camping World just ahead of us. And as he circled around to park his big rig, he clipped a pickup, doing damage to both his trailer as well as the innocent pickup. Some folks just don’t take driving these big rigs seriously enough.
Anyway, we had a shopping list of parts to pick up at Camping World, and we always enjoy browsing the aisles of these places. We were able to find what we needed, then ambled back to our rig. We noticed the crazed fifth wheel driver and the pickup owner were inspecting the damage done.


We stayed on the service road for the short distance to US 380, which was the next intersection. We turned west. This is a 4-lane highway, and there was some construction under way for the first few miles. There were a lot of trucks on this stretch hauling dirt, gravel, sand or something. They were going in both directions, and continued all the way until Bridgeport.

At Bridgeport, the road narrows to 2 lanes. Just west of Bridgeport, we crossed an arm of Lake Bridgeport, which is a rather pretty lake. Traffic began to die out here. As we neared Jacksboro, we enjoyed a couple of passing lanes, but the traffic wasn’t too bad along this stretch.

Once in Jacksboro, we pulled into the park, our home for the next 2 nights.

Winstar RV Park

While visiting Winstar Casino, we spent 4 nights at the adjacent RV park.

This is a fairly new RV park. When you enter the property, you are greeted by an overall neat picture. Interior roads are paved, all spots are paved, the office is modern and efficient in appearance, the pavilion and adjacent swimming pool are nice, and the grass is green and neatly trimmed. From this appearance, you would think you were really staying in a great park; and you really are, for it does receive some very good ratings.

Entrance street to the park. The office is the rwo-story building on right. Winstar Hotel is the tall building in the distance.

Pavillion

Swimming pool

Now, I can’t complain about a park that is this seemingly nice. But I was disappointed by the lack of attention to certain things. For example, the sewer is not threaded. Well, you know what is going to happen if that thing isn’t threaded or weighted down; get ready for blast off. Officially, the park does list “Wireless Internet” as one of its amenities; however, upon asking I was told that it didn’t work very well. How many times have you heard this at an RV park? Well, it didn’t work at all for me, and I had a site very close to the office. If you list an amenity, then ensure that it works! And there also is no cable TV connection at the park, and OTA reception is not good at all. I was also surprised that my site was not level. You can walk around the park and visually see that some sites are, indeed, very uneven.

We were assigned one of the 80 foot pull-through sites. Now, these look nice, and they truly are, but I was a bit frustrated by the arrangement of utilities and the picnic table/slab. As I said, all sites are concrete, and a picnic table is secured on an adjoining slab. Ideally, you would like your door to open onto the slab with easy access to the table. I could not make mine work without using extensions for water, power, and/or sewer. It just isn’t arranged to work well for my rig. Others may find it perfect, though. Most travel trailers have their doors near the rear, while fifth wheels and motor homes tend to have doors farther towards the center or front of their respective rigs. These sites should work better for them. Oh well, you can’t please everyone. And the space between sites is truly generous for a commercial RV park.

One of the many 80 foot pull through sites. There are back-in sites located around the perimeter of the property and a few other places.

Our site. We have 2 picnic tables: the one at near left and the one at right. Utilities are available on both sides, so you can pull through in either direction.

There are 2 laundry centers/showers in the park. The laundry rooms are clean and bright. The restrooms, though clean, kind of remind me of the restrooms/showers at Texas state parks, but much cleaner. There is even a “primitive camping” area in the park. These sites are also paved and are close to the facilities, so they aren’t really primitive at all. There is also a paved walking path that borders the park on the north and west sides. Trees have been planted throughout the park, but since the park is so new, they are still rather small and do not yet provide much shade. Your AC will get a workout here in the summer.

I was amazed at how peaceful the park is. It is only half a mile from Interstate 35 and the casino, yet it was a sea of calm and peace. Noise from the interstate is constant, but the park is far enough away that it is just a distant hum. It didn’t keep either of us awake at night.
The casino does provide 24-hour shuttle service between the casino and RV park as well as a few other places along the route. We found it to be reliable.

Laundry center with showers in western part of the park.

Interior of laundry center. There are additional machines behind where I took this picture.

Primitive camping area

Walking trail that borders the north and west sides of the park.

But most people are here for the casino and don’t care about the setup. And the rates for such a place are pretty reasonable, so it is hard to complain.

Winstar Casino, Thackerville, Oklahoma

We’ve spent the past few days doing a bit of playing at Winstar Casino, just north of the Red River in Oklahoma. This is a huge casino, and quite a bit has built up around it. A lot of money goes through this place. Although I did not measure it, I would say that it is about half a mile from one end to the other, so you can really get your exercise wandering through this place.

Donna and I have visited a number of casinos over the years. We really prefer casinos in Nevada as we feel they provide the best bang for your buck. I can even tolerate the casinos in Shreveport, which no longer have any good games for the serious gambler. But Winstar takes greed to the next level. There are no good games at this casino, and even those venturing above 95% or so return have reduced points. I did find some quarter and above 9/5 Jacks or Better, but as I indicated, points accumulate dreadfully slow on these machines. On one machine I played, I calculated that it took $30 coin-in to get a single point.

But the casino itself is nice and well maintained. There are some really lovely architectural features throughout the place, such as statues, ceiling reliefs, and so on. There are plenty of eateries, some offering a good deal here or there, but most with inflated prices. We did find a good happy hour at Toby Keith’s, so we spent quite a bit of time there drinking 25-ounce draft beer.

The entire casino seems to be well maintained. I found the restrooms, for example, to be pretty clean. Hand sanitizers are located throughout the building. Interactive displays, including maps, are also available at strategic locations throughout the property. One of the things I really like about this place is the self-service beverage stations located roughly in each city section, where you can serve yourself soft drinks, tea, and coffee (including decaf).

The casino is divided into city sections. For example, you have Madrid, New York, Paris, London, Rome, Beijing, and perhaps one or two others. The place seems to be a popular stop on the entertainment circuit, and a number of big name acts were set to appear about the time we were there, such as Willie Nelson, ZZ Top, Bob Dylan, Tom Jones, Toni Braxton, and the Temptations. Crowds from the Metroplex are certainly drawn to this place.

Start of the Madrid section of the cadino.

I doubt I’ll return. This is not my kind of casino. Besides, I’m a desert rat, and there’s just too many trees and too much grass here for me. I’ll continue to wend my way west to Nevada whenever I can. A gambler can still get an even break out there if he knows where to look. 

Below are some of the ceiling reliefs I found quite attractive.

Rome

Close up of Rome

Beijing

Madrid