Rusk State Park - Texas State Railroad

Rusk State Park - Texas State Railroad
Rusk, TX
December 29, 2010

On the way back from Nachadoches we stopped by this Ex-State Park

located in Rusk Texas. This park was transferred to American

Heritage Railways and operates as the Texas State Railroad Rusk park in 1997. The sister park is located in Palestine Texas and the railroad goes

back and forth between the two parks.

We didn't camp at this park but did appreciate the camping grounds.

The park reminded me a little of Bastrop SP with all of the tall pines

and wonderful shade. The railroad tracks go right through the

middle of the camping area.

The train station is a large complex located at the west end of the park.

We were interested in taking the train to Palestine, but it would of taken

over 4.5 hours and cost $275.

PROS

- ver y pretty park

- train

CONS

- close to highway - we could hear the roadway from the camping area.

Caddo Indian Burial Mounds

Caddo Indian Burial Mounds
Alto, Texas
December 27, 2010


This historical site was located just minutes down the highway
from Mission State Park. The site includes a visitors center with
displays, exhibits and a small gift shop. There is usually an
admission charge but the attendant was out to lunch. We waited a bit
and then went and explored the site.

A walking trail guides visitors around the earthern mounds

There are three burial mounds and are just a short walk away
from each other on a nice path with interactive panels.

My kids really liked this site. There wasn't much too it, but they
found the idea that hundreds of Indians and their posessions were
buried under the mounds was facinating.

Well worth the stop.

Mission Tejas State Park

Mission Tejas State Park
Weches, TX
December 28-29, 2010


This park is located in the Davy Crockett National Forest. It is pretty small compared to other state parks (only 15 RV sites). There were a lot ofhunters using this park. I think we were the only family there. The park is heavily wooded and has several pull through sites. However, the sites were not very level and the asphalt pads were in bad shape. We did have difficulty pulling in to a couple of the spots.

The park has a commerative representation of Mission San Francisco de los Tejas. The first Spanish mission in Texas. There is also an old log cabin. The Rice family log cabin was built in 1828 and is one of the oldest structures in the area. It was a stopover for travelers going across Texas on the old San Antonio road.

The park had some hiking trails that were well marked and a small pond. It also has a small playground.

Pros

- On the way to Nacogdoches.
- Close to other attractions. (Caddo Burial Grounds, Texas Railroad).
- Interesting mission and log cabin.

- Lots of shade.


Cons

- Small park with small pull thru sites that needed repair.
- Out in the middle of nowhere. Closest store was 22 miles away.

- Lots of hunters.

Fairfield Lake State Park

Fairfield Lake State Park
December 27, 2010

We were really looking forward to visiting this State Park.

I wasn't able to reserve a camping spot so we thought we

would plan a day visit to check it out. We stayed at

nearby Fort Parker State Park and did the easy one hour

drive. Unfortunately, the park was closed due to a public

deer hunt. We had some trouble turning around, we couldn't

even enter the park to turn around.

The lake is small with a power plant on it. I've heard

that fishing is really good and we thought inititally the park

was closed/booked full due to a fishing tournament. I do wish

they would of posted the park being closed on the SP web page.

Fort Parker State Park & Old Fort Parker

Fort Parker State Park

Mexia, Texas
December 26, 2010

This is a nice small State Park. It reminded me of a mini Huntsville State Park (without the gators). It has twenty five RV spots and ten cabins. It has a boat ramp with a canoe shop with three fishing piers. It has a rec hall with some really cool group cabins (great for a family reunion).

The lake isn't very big (800 acres) and only 8' deep. We did see one small john boat out fishing. I think it is restricted to 25 HP motors. So it's not a good lake for water sports. It does have a very nice swimming area with a sandy beach.

There were not many people at this park when we visited, but I

can see this park being popular during the summer. The pads

are paved and level and the sites are decent sized with adequate

shade.

The trails are well marked and we had a good time biking the

Springfield trail and exploring the Springfield Cemetary.

There were some really old headstones and the cemetary has several historical markers the kids enjoyed reading. Some of the graves were from the Commache attack on Fort Park in 1836.

PROS

- RV spots close to the water

- nice swim area

- nice fishing piers and boat/canoe house
- good trails

- great playground and mini fort

- nice area for my daughters to learn how to ride their new
"big girl" bikes.

CONS

- small lake - good for fishing - no water sports

- no park store

- Old Fort Parker not part of State Park

OLD FORT PARKER

Kind of wierd but Old Fort Park is actually not part of the State Park. It's located down the highway about two miles away. There is an admission charge. The fort is a recontruction of the 1830's fort that the Parker family built. The fort is known for the abduction of Cynthia Ann Parkerin 1836 by Commanche Indians. Really cool state history. My kids loved it.

Red River Rivalry - Texas vs. OU - Texas State Fair 2010

Texas State Fair
UT vs. OU
Cotton Bowl
Dallas, TX
October 2, 2010


This was our second year of RVing the State Fair during Texas -OU
weekend and it has the potential to become a tradition. We really had
a good time. Even though UT lost the game, partaking in the fair and
hanging out with good friends was a blast! I think we actually irrated
some OU fans because we had such a good time and wouldn't let the loss
impact our weekend.


We had six families in five RVs attend this year's outing....,,,yes we
doubled our size from last year. In addition, we had two new
RVs this year including a bus (which we named the "G6"....song of the weekend).

We spent a couple of weekends going through our household and
setting up for the neighborhood garage sale. All of our proceeds
were going to the purchase of food/drink and fair ride tickets.
The kids did a great job of disposing some of their outdated toys and we managed to completely fund our weekend plus some.

We'll beat them next year!

Cedar Hill State Park - Revisted

Cedar Hill State Park
Dallas, TX
September 30, 2010

We visited this park last year but we're unable to take any note or pictures. We arrived after sunset and left before sunrise to get to the state fair. Hard to review in the dark. I'm glad we made a return visit. This park has a lot to offer and it only got better!

We immediately noticed the new concrete pads. This is a big park with over 300 camping sites and every site had a nice new level concrete pad. I do remember the paved pads from last year and they weren't horrible, but this is a nice improvement.

We stayed in the Eagle Ford camping area and had a nice view of the lake. We had a fire ring and a nice covered picnic table.

This park sits on the shore of Joe Pool lake. The lake is a 7,500 acre reservoir. So, it's a nice size lake. The water looked very clean and was blue-green.

This park has lots to offer and I can image is very busy during the summer. The park has a full service marina that rents boat slips and jet skis. My son really liked the fishin

g shed on the marina and in addition, there are several lighted fishing piers. There is also has a really nice dedicated swim area and beach in one of the coves. As well as a playground.

The park is just of a highway and you can see and hear some occasion

al tra

ffic. It is very close to fuel and supplies. A Walmart is maybe two miles away.

Hard to find many faults with this park. We look forward to another return visit during the summer so we could enjoy the lake.

Pros
- close to supplies (WalMart close by)

- marina (fishing supplies, propane and ice....however, no souvenirs)
- swimming area & beach
- nice sites (some very close to water and some with excellent views of the lake)
- awesome new level concrete pads
- lots of sites

- pretty lake

Cons

- close to roadway (some noise )
- no state park store (no souvenirs-one of the largest SP's we've visited that didn't have souvenirs)

RATING 9.5 out of 10