-
TT Hidden Cove in Arley, AL (Feb 28-Mar 19)
We arrived in Arley at the Thousand Trails Hidden Cove Campground on Feb 28. We got settled into the campground and got a good site. We got a site in the newer area C loop.
The campground is in a very rural area. The nearest town with a Walmart and any chain food places is Jasper, AL. There is a small town, Arley, that is close by. Arley has a small grocery that is very expensive and is ok for immediate needs. We went to Jasper on the 29th so that we could get the camper stocked for Ed while I am away in Dallas.
I flew out of Birmingham to Dallas on March 2. I visited with family/friends and took care of my usual medical appointments. I returned to Birmingham on March 9. I took a photo of the “window” at my window seat on the flight TO Dallas … so worth the extra money I paid for a window seat … I can’t actually complain to much, as I did get the row to myself which was nice!
I did get a window on the way back to Birmingham! YAY!
When I got back to the camper … Ed had filled the living area with balloons to welcome me home!!
Hidden Cove is a nice campground. There is lots of area to walk and it was quiet and clean. We really enjoyed hanging out here.
March 13–We went to Huntsville to the Army base and to the US Space & Rocket Center. We watched the kids that are attending Space Camp launch their rockets. This is a cool place!
We also went to the Lowe Mill Arts Center to visit their Art-O-Mat. We tried to go here last May 5, but when we arrived there were police cars and officers with police dogs all over the property and surrounding areas. We were told that we had to evacuate due to a bomb threat! Yikes! Fortunately, this time everything was great and we were able to walk all around the center. I got two more pieces of art for my collection.
March 14–We went to Birmingham to the VA ER, because Ed is having issues with his arm after falling off the ladder. We were worried that he may have broken it, but the xray came back showing no break, thank goodness. We decided to go to the Southern Museum of Flight while we were in town.
March 18-We went to the Ava Maria Grotto. This is an amazing place. It is in Cullman, Alabama at an abbey. I took a ton of photos, but I’m trying to reduce how photo heavy my posts are. LOL I’m sure that there are photos online. I recommend actually going there, as it is really impressive in person. I bought a few things at the gift shop… one being a loaf of cinnamon raisin monk bread that is made by the monks at the abbey. I even met one of the monks! I know it sounds silly, but I’ve never seen a monk in person. It is always one of those “duh” moments when you realize that “mysterious’ people are regular humans just like us. LOL!
I made friends with the abbey cat.
We also went to the Clarkson covered bridge down the road from the campground.
March 19–We went to Natural Bridge and did the small hike to see the area. There was only one other couple there! It was nice…like a private park just for us!
We also stopped at the historic Houston Jail.
We started packing up when we got home … as we move along tomorrow to the next location!
-
South Abutment Recreation Area in Coldwater, MS (Feb 23-27)
We drove to Coldwater, Mississippi and got settled at the South Abutment Recreation Area near the Akabutla Dam. We enjoyed the campground and the area. We didn’t do too much in the area other than a day in Memphis to see the Bass Pro Shop in the pyramid. Otherwise, we just hung out at the campground.
Now onto the next stop …
-
Lake Catherine State Park in Hot Springs, AR (Feb 9-22)
We arrived at the Lake Catherine State Park Campground in Hot Spring, AR on Feb 9th. The lake is very low, the lowest I have seen in all the years I have been coming here.
The park has beautiful walking trails and I loved exploring the park.
While in the area, we went to a Maxwell Blade Illusion Show. We have seen him perform before and enjoyed it. It was fun. We also went to Garvan Woodland Gardens. They have a sculpture garden in the children’s area. It is very cool.
The flowers are just starting to bloom.
The gardens are beautiful, even where there are not any flowers. I left my little gift at the Serenity Circle for Mama.
The chapel at the gardens is breathtaking and
As we were leaving, the peacock decided to do a show for his lady!
We went to the Crater of Diamonds State Park and the Ka-Do-Ha Indian Village.
We also went to see the grave of Glen Campbell. It is quite interesting, as when you enter the graveyard, a sensor triggers that you are there and you hear Glen Campbell singing “Amazing Grace”! I tried to put the video here, but it is too long! UGH!
We had a great time here.
Onto our next adventure …
-
TT Lake Tawakoni in Emory, TX (Jan 22-Feb 8)
Jan 22-We arrived at Lake Tawakoni Thousand Trails. It has been so cold and rainy…all the sites have standing water and are muddy. We found a good site and got settled in. One of my dear friends and her family lives in Emory, so I am excited to get some time with her! We actually came into town a bit earlier than planned, because they are throwing her mama a surprise party … *shhhh*
The view is great … LOL!
We are in town to get some personal stuff taken care of and we also have some medical testing/appointments that ended up being scheduled during this stay. There won’t be a ton to post, but you know how I roll. I like to log all my stays.
The weather stayed cold, but we did get some clear day. This sunset was stunning. I think Ed might allllmost be smiling!
We were happy to be here at a time that allowed us to make it to Canton’s First Monday Trades Days. It was nice to go early on Thursday before the weekend crowds arrived. I loved this fairy house tower and I want this scooter truck someday! Ed bought this wooden state map for us to fill in the states we have camped in!
We really enjoyed our time here and will use the campground again when we are in the DFW area. It is a bit of a drive to get in to Dallas proper, but we love the area.
Now off to the next stop …
-
Union Grove in Salado, TX (Jan 21)
Nothing much to put here. We just stayed here overnight on our way north since we knew it was a good campground. Got the same site and enjoyed the peace and quiet.
Onward north tomorrow!
-
Thousand Trails Medina Lake in Lakehills, TX (Dec 30-Jan 20)
Dec 30–We arrived at Medina Lake and got a nice spot with full hookups…sewer, water and 50 amp electric. I had been concerned, as they do not have many 50 amp sewer sites, so it was a relief to get one!
We were greeted by the campground deer herd! I promptly went out and got deer corn for them. Later learned that protien pellets are better for them, so I got that too. Boy they are hardy eaters! The one pictured below earned the name “Dumb-Dumb” from us. He had been getting into my birdfeeder, so I took it down and when I was walking up the steps of the camper with it, I spilled a bit of the birdseed. Well, ol’ Dumb-Dumb here, decided he needed to eat said birdseed and promptly got those scraggly little horns stuck in our steps! Boy did it make for a fun time, poor Ed had to help him get loose. It was quite a scene. I wish I had thought quick enough to grab my camera to video it. Ed had some choice words for ol’ Dumb-Dumb.
We really enjoyed this campground. It is super quiet and it gets crazy dark at night. We had pretty good neighbors for the most part. We did end up moving sites due to some disrespectful folks who moved in that decided to tie their dogs out and let them bark at everything under the sun. It made the deer skittish and got on my nerves too! They were also heavy smokers. There were two campers with 4 adults and 2 dogs. They set up all their outdoor stuff really close to our camper, which meant we could smell their smoke and hear all their loud late night chatter. We talked to the ranger and he let us move to an even nicer site, so it worked out in the end.
We spent the majority of our time hanging out at the campground. We kinda needed some down-time after being in DFW for the holidays. While we love to go home, we also love to leave. LOL! I tend to get stressed and deal with too much ‘stuff’ (that I need to let go of) when we are there. So we really just tried to lay low and enjoy this beautiful life we are living together!
We did go to Bandera for lunch at an Italian place called Pap’s Italian Grill. The food was good, but the rolls were disappointing. I found some brand new roller skates at the thrift store right down from the grill!! Bandera is a cute little town…we didn’t spend much time exploring it, but plan to return here again.
We found a great little Mexican cafe called LaCabana in Lakehills. It is in an old home and the food was very good. We went there a couple of times and really enjoyed it.
We went to a cool place called The Points Park and Eats in San Antonio because they have an Art-O-Mat. It was a really cool place, being the ‘off season’, it wasn’t busy, but we will go back sometime and eat there for sure! The owner was really nice. I picked up two new pieces of art from the machine.
I also found that there was a F.L.A.G. in Boerne, so of course I had to pop in and check it out. It was pretty bare, so I left a litle quilted heart I made.
We went to Fredricksburg and really enjoyed exploring the town. I bought a nice bell charm made by a local artist. I also bought a really cute jumper.
We found a really cute tourist trap kinda place called Toonstone. It is super cute and fun!
An interesting tidbit about Medina Lake…the lake here is completely dried up. Apparently San Antonio drained it of water and the locals are fighting to get things changed so that SA can’t use their lake anymore. It was just interesting to pull up and see an entirely dry lake bed with cattle roaming and Jeep and walking trails with foliage that is at least 8 ft tall! LOL! This is a shot of part of the ‘lake’.
We went to San Antonio a couple of times as it really isn’t too far. This is going to be a great place to come back to. We really enjoyed it here and will certainly add it to our regular list of places to go!
Tomorrow we head back north again…
-
Union Grove Campground in Salado, TX (Dec 27-30)
Dec 27–We left the DFW area and headed to our next stop, Union Grove in Killeen, Texas. We got a great site that had a seperate parking pad for the truck, which is really a nice perk! The lake is low, as they all seem to be lately. The campground isn’t busy, which made for nice dark evenings for looking at the moon and stars!
Dec 28–the sunrise was glorious!
There are many deer at the lake and surrounding park.
The moon was full and looked so cool coming out!
We spent our few days here just hanging out. We did go to Fort Hood. We had an issue with the camper that had to be repaired. The release valves for the tanks were not opening, fortunately, a mobile tech came out and was able to replace them with upgraded valves that are supposed to be much better quality. It took a full day for the repair.
We enjoyed the campground and will likely return.
-
Prairie Lakes Ranch Farmersville, TX (Nov 27-Dec 27)
While I really did like the Lake Texoma TT, being at the ranch makes it feel like we are home. Alisha offered us the choice of being at their new campground, The Farmstead, which is just east of the ranch, but we chose to stay at the ranch. We know a few of the long term residents and love the view here.
I won’t have a whole lot to update on, as this is our month to catch up on doctor appointments, do whatever Texas things we need to do and visiting with friends and family.
We did have our family Christmas gathering on Dec 9. We all met at Mama’s house and then went to the Farmersville Christmas Parade. Having grown up here, it is one of my favorite traditions. It is a simple, but festive parade. We had a good time.
We went to the Light Park in Frisco with Mom and Angela on Dec 14. It was fun and quite interesting in the Ram. They didn’t think about big Texas trucks when they put the turns in…I did alot of backing up and three point turns! I cannot find my photos from that day, but will update with them if I find them.
We also went to the Holiday Lights at Loy Park in Denison. It was a really great time and we really enjoyed it!
We are heading south in Texas next …
-
Thousand Trails Lake Texoma Gordonville, TX (Nov 25-27)
We arrived at Thousand Trails Lake Texoma in Gordonville, Texas. It is a beautiful campground and we got an awesome site! There are new sites being put in right now, they should be open very soon. They are up front and very similar to the new sites at TTO, in an area where all the trees have been removed and they all have concrete pads. They are nice, but I prefer being closer to foliage. Those sites will be HOT in the summer here!
Nov 26–We spent the day getting settled in and went to Taco Bueno for supper! We really missed it!
Nov 27–We got up this morning, had breakfast at another Texas staple…Whataburger and headed over to Mama’s house. Ed was not happy with how long it took us to drive to her house from the campground. He didn’t realize how far north and west we were. It took an hour and a half to travel one way. SO…..I texted Alisha and asked her if she had any open sites at the ranch and she did! So we went back to the campground, packed up and moved to our home away from home…
-
KOA Shreveport, LA (Nov 24)
We drove to Shreveport and again were just at the KOA overnight. We did go to Barksdale Airforce Base to eat and explored their static displays.
Tomorrow, Texas …
