Wintering in Texas Vol. 1
Originally, I planned to go to Oklahoma for a month after the October RVillage Rally in Arkansas but my daughter, Michelle, informed me she would be traveling to Houston on business in late November so I changed my plans and went to Texas earlier than scheduled. As it turned out, Mark flew out to visit his sister in Northeast Texas the same week I was moving into the state so I stopped in Sherman, TX for a couple weeks at Lazy L RV Park. Miss Vicky, the owner of the RV Park, was a sweetheart and we were destined to become friendly in the coming months…I would wind up back here two more times before leaving Texas.
My spot at Lazy L RV Park in Sherman, TX.
This was my first time meeting Mark’s family—his sister, Faith, and mother, Ginny. Faith is a champion western horse rider and trainer so it was no surprise that we met for the first time at a Futurity horse show in Fort Worth. Faith wasn’t competing at this event so we all got to sit together to watch the competition.
Mark really rocks the cowboy look. I love cowboys almost as much as men in kilts.
Cow roping at the Futurity horse show in Fort Worth, TX.
Faith’s 20-acre ranch in Whitesboro in North Texas. She currently has two horses, two donkeys, and two dogs. She hopes to add a few head of cattle someday.
Looking across Faith’s property to the cattle ranch next door.
“Ladies Who Lunch.” Cows on the cattle ranch next door.
The sunsets in Texas can be pretty spectacular! This is the view from Faith’s front porch.
About 30 minutes south of Sherman is Plano, TX where you can see Southfork Ranch, the property used for all the exterior shots in the 80s TV show “Dallas.” It is now an event venue.
On November First, I moved south to Richmond, a suburb of Houston and stayed at Riverbend RV Park, a mostly long-term residential facility for workers in the oil industry. It was just an open flat field with no trees and nothing to break the constant winds. It was hot and sunny but I couldn’t put my awning out for fear of it being damaged by the winds. The park’s most redeeming quality was the price. At $420 per month plus electric, it was one of the least expensive places I’ve stayed. Of course, that’s because there wasn’t much to do here without driving into Houston.
My site at Riverbend RV Park in Richmond, TX.
This photo from their Web site shows how barren the place is.
I picked up Michelle at the airport and took her to a craft brewery I found in downtown Houston. She later attended her business function and then borrowed my Jeep for the weekend and drove to Austin for more breweries.
The only activity I found of interest near the RV park was the George Ranch. This is a living history working ranch, highlighting four generations of the family’s homes on the property. There are cow hands working cattle and doing daily demonstrations. I spent several hours here and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Four generations of houses that occupied the ranch. the earliest two are replicas but the later two are the actual homes occupied by the family.
A cowboy moves longhorn cattle into a pen.
A cowgirl oversees the loading of cattle into a trailer.
A demonstration of cattle work in the spectator arena.
A cowboy works cattle at the George Ranch.
For Thanksgiving, I flew back east and spent the weekend with my son, Matt, and his wife, Gwen, in Alexandria, Virginia. Then, after a month’s stay outside Houston, I was moving back to Sherman so I could spend the holidays with Mark and his family but first, I stopped for a week in New Caney, just north of Houston to visit with two friends—Pat and Jeff—I’d made at the RVillage Rally in Arkansas. I joined them at Legends RV Resort, which was very nice and even had free laundry. I wished that I had spent the previous month here instead of where I was but my payment was non-refundable so was forced to stay where I was. Pat, Jeff and I got together daily at one RV or another for coffee, tea or cocktails, depending on the time of day. Jeff and I took a couple of day trips to visit Johnson Space Center and The Houston Museum of Natural Science and we even tried our hand (or feet) at the Texas Two Step at Big Texas Dance Hall & Saloon in Spring, TX. It was a great week and ended too soon when each of us headed off to different locales.
My site at Legends RV Resort in New Caney, TX.
Pat, Jeff and I at a local bar.
Tillie loves it when I have company in the motorhome.
Jeff and I at Johnson Space Center, located between Houston and Galveston.
The space shuttle perched atop a 747. This is how NASA moved the space shuttle from one location to another.
Here I am standing next to an Apollo Saturn V rocket. At 363 feet in height, the rocket is displayed on it’s side so visitors can view all the sections.
The current project at NASA is Orion, for manned space travel to Mars.
Mission Control for the future Orion Program. Staffers will train here for many years, running through mock scenarios and and test flights.
T-Rex at The Houston Museum of Natural Science.
Here I am learning Texas Two Step at Big Texas Dance Hall & Saloon in Spring, TX. Mike, the instructor, turned out to be a cruise travel agent and I called him when Mark and I were planning a cruise to Mexico in the spring.
Pat and Jeff each headed west and I went north and spent the next five weeks back in Sherman. I was there a couple weeks before Mark arrived. He was spending three weeks over the holidays at the ranch to help his sister while she recovered from knee replacement surgery. We split our time between the ranch and the RV park so I could tend to my cats. Being thirty miles apart, it was a little inconvenient to keep going back and forth so we’re planning to install an RV electric outlet at the ranch for future visits.
Mark feeding the donkeys.
Johnny on the left and his mother, Gal on the right.
A few more Texas sunsets…
Even the sunrises can be pretty special here…
I’ve always heard advice to not leave your RV awning open when not home but the weather in Sherman had been rainy for weeks so on a rare dry day, I left it open to dry while I went shopping. I came back to find that all it takes is one good gust of wind to wreck your awning. The bracket that holds the frame to the roof had broken and the frame and fabric were dangling from the roof. I went to the Camping World (conveniently located right next to the RV park) to get the necessary part and Mark was able to get the hardware fixed. Unfortunately, the fabric was torn on both ends where it attaches to the roof so I would not be able to use it until it could be replaced.
Broken awning bracket appeared to have been cracked for some time so it didn’t take much for it to break .
Mark installing new awning bracket.
The awning fabric was torn on both ends where it attaches to the roof.
Mark returned to New Jersey in early January and a week later it was time for me to a move on, too. My next blog post will explore my travels, trials and tribulations in Austin, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Padre Island.
My stay in Texas lasted a total of five months and I logged nearly 1,800 miles on the motorhome. The first half of my travels took me from Sherman, north of Dallas, to Houston and back again.
Next post:
Wintering in Texas Vol. 2.
