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| A "piney woods" gem |
Deep in the "piney woods" on the edge of Davy Crockett National Forest (Way out of cell service) we found ourselves in a very pleasant place. We drove without incident to Mission Tejas State Park, which is thirty miles from Crockett, Texas. and about one hundred forty miles from Beaumont. The park is small (Thirteen RV sites) and it was the location of the Mission San Francisco de Tejas. The Spanish built the mission to place a stake in its claim on the territory and as a message to the French that Spain was in the neighborhood. There is a wooden building that is a replica of the original mission and a classic dog run style Texan home that was moved to the park some time back. The park itself was built by the CCC workers in the thirties and the story goes the work provided jobs for an area in great need. We walked all of the trails in the park (About six miles). The terrain is rugged, and we were a little early to see the full blown blooms of the Texas spring. There is a pond (A giant mud puddle) that supposedly has fish (Catch and release), and the place is thick with pines, dogwood trees, wisteria, redbud,and the usual assortment of poisonous snakes, spiders, lizards, and other Texan locals. We saw none of these, although we broke through several spider webs. One highlight of the park are the CCC Baths, where workers cleansed themselves after a long day of toil. There is a series of three pools. The first is the source spring, which is now stagnant. The next is the wash tub and the third is the rinse tub. I can imagine that these baths felt really good back in the day. I can also imagine that it was best to be first into these tubs because really they're just shallow pools bordered with rocks. We slept well, serenaded by whistling cardinals and chirping insects. I'm sure there were a few nocturnal animals scurrying about, but I didn't see or hear them. We woke up early to gray skies and had a normal morning. I studied a little Spanish, lost the deciding game for all of the inequalities in Texas, readied the trailer, and headed out to the big city. We again drove without incident to south Houston in big city traffic through five or six highway interchanges, a toll gate, a couple of construction zones, and (At last) a street level avenue to Lake View RV Resort. Once again, we're thankful for traveling mercies. We'll be here right next to the lake (A man made pond, really) for the next four days. Unfortunately, the Ulmen's had to cancel so now we have to try and sell two tickets for tomorrow night's game (Not my forte). Regardless, we'll travel the short distance to the stadium for tomorrow night's game. Go Zags. And even if they don't win, we'll watch the games on Sunday. Go Zags. I can tell you this. I have a little tightness in my shoulders from the tension of driving with all these scurrying Texans, and if I was still drinking, I'd have quaffed two or three colds by now. Instead, I'm just glad to be the luckiest guy on the planet, and of course, I realize that life is good, especially today.
We drove most of the day through scenery like this (All along the Big Thicket).
The last little stretch to Mission Tejas.
Our fire ring.
The trail up to the home of the Rices (The moved dog run home).
As their family grew, they added on (Nine children in all).
Our evening was warm, sunny and fresh. Imagine sitting the porch on days like that.
There are three fireplaces in the home.
Art shot of the day.
Had to check the baths out.
Stumpy climbed this trail like an agile goat.
Far pool is wash; near pool is rinse.
The pond.
The mission.
The soft evening shadows.
Fric and Frac nestled in site #14.
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