Texas Spring 2023

First and foremost Texas is a huge state and we wanted to experience the parts of it that we'd not seen before.   This was central and northern Texas and those areas get quite warm in summer, so we accepted the trade off of seeing this part of our country prior to summers arrival.

Secondly, our travel to Texas was both a destination and a pass through state.  Our travel plans include Arizona and Utah in the springtime, which combined with and supplemented the need to arrive in and pass through Texas at the end of winter. 

We prefer locations that allow immersive exposure to nature, that coincides nices with staying in the state and national park systems.   What these parks may lack in services we feel they more than provide through the natural surroundings we prefer.   This means we need to plan for trips to laundromats and getting gas.

Our first park is Village Creek State Park in Lumberton, Texas.   This is just across the border in East Texas.   This is also near Big Thicket National Preserve, which we visit while here.   Village Creek is a wooded location and offers some nice hiking and fishing, although during our visit rain has flooded much of the areas trails.

Our second park takes us farther into Texas, and we pass by Houston to reach it.   Palmetto State Park is located outside of Gonzales, making this a somewhat remote park.   Each of the parks we visit are decidedly different and this park offers a tropic, rainforest sort of environment.   It also has a nice selection of wildlife to views and great trails to hike.   

Our East to West travel pushes us to Lake Brownwood State Park, outside of its namesake city.   This is a third topology and we land a premier spot right on the lake.   The original purpose for the lake was to control flooding, but it offers an excellent retreat to relax and enjoy being outdoors.   The sunrise and sunsets here are fantastic.

Our final State Park is Palo Duro Canyon State Park, residing in northwestern Texas; outside of the town of Canyon and about twenty miles south of Amarillo.   This park is a beautiful poor man's Grand Canyon and offers stunning visual topology in every direction.   It also happens to be in hurricane alley and we experience winds up to 65 mph!  

We haven't reached this yet but our final stop in Texas will be Guadalupe Mountains National Park.   I'll update you with those details when we travel there.