December 16-31, 2024 Texas and Oklahoma

So we bought our Texas State Park Pass which gets us into all the State Parks for free plus gets us half price camping on our second night. We will be taking full advantage of this card for the next two weeks! The State Parks in Texas are really well designed with lots of hiking and biking trails. Clean and modern bathrooms and spacious Campsites. And on top of that, with the pass, most sites are only $15 per night plus no hidden fees like they have in many of the other states. Our first stop was to Guadalupe River State Park. 

We settled in, had some lunch and then head out to hike the river trail. 

It was a great two days at a great park. Here is the link to Greg’s review of the campground on YouTube.

From there we headed to McKinney Falls State Park. On the way, we made a pit stop at the Worlds Largest Shovel.

We settled in at McKinney Falls and took a bike ride over to the Upper Falls which was pretty spectacular. 

The power of water cutting through this hard rock and creating waterfalls. It was amazing. That night we went sleep like any other night. The only difference was I didn’t check the weather. So my bed was made like it’s been all week with just a blanket and not my zero degree sleeping bag. Bad move on my part. Woke up at 3:30 am to freezing temperatures. 26°!!! It would have been too difficult at that point to get my sleeping bag but I did have an extra blanket that I threw in me plus a sweat shirt, my slippers and a winter hat. I attempted to go back to sleep but was unable to get warmed up. It was terrible. So I threw in the towel at 5 am and made some coffee to warm myself up. Then I put the Diesel heater on and warmed the van up. Greg, by the way, slept through all

If this. Apparently he must have checked the weather before he went to sleep cause he seemed cozy and warm. Tonight without a doubt, I will be using my winter zero degree bag. 

Once the temperature started rising, we got dressed and went for another bike ride to the Lower Falls. It wasn’t a pleasant bike ride as the rock was super bumpy because of all the holes that were carved in it from the water over the years. What was once a smooth bald granite rock bike trail was no longer. 

We biked back to the campsite, had some lunch and then headed out for a 2 mile hike on the Cactus Trail which was pretty cool.

Headed about an hour to the next state park in Blanco Texas. This park sits along a river and is in walking distance of a nice town with lots to do. We set up camp, had some lunch then took the bikes into town.

It’s nice when a town is so close to a campground. And this town was great because they had a huge market on the courthouse lawn. We actually bought a couple of things. Very rarely do we buy stuff but if we do, we try to buy something from the locals. So we got a cute homemade hummingbird swing and this amazing fire pit grill. Unfortunately Texas has been on a fire band so we have been unable to test it out. 

The market also had Kettle corn which is my absolute favorite and Greg got a Brisket sandwich from the local smokehouse. Blanco, Texas. We will be back. 

Next stop was back to Guadalupe River State Park. They have these hunting dates where they shut down the state parks for a few days. The park that we were intending on going to was having one of these hunts so we went back to Guadalupe River and stayed another two days there. 

It’s been chilly but tolerable enough to do a puzzle on the picnic table. 

We decided to head back to the Salesian Provincial House for their Christmas Eve mass. It was really nice. They started with some Christmas Caroling and ended with some sweets. Lots of cookies and pastries. We got to spend some time with Sister Voom which was the other sister that was on the pilgrimage with us last year when we went to Italy. 

We slept in their gated parking lot that night and headed out early on Christmas Morning to drive to Bastrop, Texas. Hands down, best time to drive is Christmas morning. The roads are empty!! 

We were lucky enough to get two nights at the Bastrop State Park. But after these two nights, there are no open campsites anywhere in any of the Texas State Parks. Apparently, Christmas week Camping is a very popular thing to do in Texas. We’ll most probably do some Stealth Camping at Cracker Barrel or a hospital. Don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. I’m sure it will all work out. 

So we wound up staying at a muffler shop overnight in Bastrop. We had a nice dinner overlooking the River at a place called Neighbors Kitchen and Yard. Then we walked around town, went to the library for a while, then the movies to see the remake of Nosfarato and then settled in for the night at the muffler shop. Woke up and moved the van back into town so as not to overstay our welcome. We had a nice breakfast at the local coffee shop.

That night we headed to the Comedy Show featuring Greg’s friend Scott from his Carnival Ship Days. It was a great show and great to see him and his wife Christine. 

They also have this awesome RiverWalk here I. Bastrop which goes along the Colorado River. They even decorate it at night with Christmas lights which was pretty cool. It’s about a mile long and totally worth it if you’re in the area. 

Next day we started heading north toward Oklahoma because New Years Eve is right around the corner and it’s nice to celebrate at midnight in the casino. We made a pitstop at the zoo in Waco.

Spent the night at the Cracker Barrel and then headed to Joanna and Chip Gaines Silo.

Notice the cost of gas and Diesel on the sign in the background. Another reason why we love Texas. We have been to the Magnilia Silo and to the Dr Peoper Museum I. Waco but we decided to go back because we loved it so much the first time. When we went last year the line for the Bakery was around the block but this time, walking upon it, there was no line so in we went. We ordered three things. My favorite was the Silo Cookie. It was an oatmeal cookie with walnuts, peanut butter chips and chocolate chips. It was amazing. 

We took a walk around town and headed over an old historic suspension bridge that the ranchers used to use.

Spent the night at a Cracker Barrel and then headed to Oklahoma to go to the Winstar. Casino which is the Worlds Largest Casino. I read that if you sign up for a new players card, you get a free night at the RV park there. So that’s exactly what I did and we got a free night. Showers and Laundry were first on our list of things to do and then a walk over to the casino. It was about a half a mile away so not too bad. Greg’s mom gave me some gambling cash for Christmas which I very quickly double on my third spin in there. That’s the best when that happens.

The Casino was HUGE. It was sort of like a mile month mall loaded with slot machines. We of course had the buffet for dinner. They gave out blinking 2025 glasses and other fun things to bring g in the new year. And I actually stayed awake till midnight!!

Good bye 2024 and Hello 2025. We are definitely heading to warmer weather starting January 1. Stay tuned.