Rusk SP - 1 Down, 112 To Go

This weekend Angie, Cassie and I went camping for the first time with the camper. We went to Rusk State Park in East Texas (about 130 miles South East of Dallas). Texas has 113 state parks and we're going to try to do as many as we can.

The ride was pleasant, with rolling hills, green pastures and ultimately tall, mature pine trees (the region is called, cleverly enough, Piney Hills).

The park was pleasant, but had we had Marissa and Dylan with us, they would have been bored. The lake is small and difficult to fish from the banks. The boat rental that was listed has since been closed, and the swimming area is a disaster. Had Cassie wanted to swim, I wouldn't have let her in. Other than some friends that she made, and the playground, she wouldn't have been too happy with the weekend.

We went to look at some land available for sale. Since our trip to Goliad, Angie has acquiesced to my desire to purchase land for hunting, camping, and perhaps retirement. We drove around Palestine for the most part, and found a couple of the areas that she had listing for. All of it was pretty, and my understanding is that the deer and hog hunting is excellent, but we probably won't purchase there. We've decided that we are going to look in all regions.

The camper worked well - electrical, water, propane, A/C all checked out - and it was an excellent opportunity to shake down the camper and learn more about the things we need to bring when we camp. We slept reasonably comfortably, but will be crowded when all 5 of us go. Now that we've used it in a real camping environment, we are real pleased with the purchase, and are already looking forward to a larger 5th wheel or rigid camper.

SL