A Day with Marilyn and Jude.. :): October 2011

Huntsville State park is located just about 1 1/2 hours away from downtown Houston. This year, I put my son(Jude) into cub-scouts and his troop is headed to Huntsville for a camp-out. This was the first time I actually camped someplace close to Houston for a change. I thought it would be fun to check out some of the state-parks closer to Houston. Another thing that excites me about this particular camping experience is that Jude and I will finally be camping with other families. Hopefully this will lead to friends in my situation as a parent and a single mom. Camping solo with a kid can get pretty scary and having another family to join in on our adventures would be great. Like Jude, I have been waiting for this day to come in hopes to meet some neighboring families to make living in inner-loop Houston feel more like home. I also just purchased a tent from REI called the Taj 3 and I'm super excited about testing it out. I will start by talking a little about Huntsville State park for those of you who have never been there. This park is HUGE and it's located adjacent to Sam Houston National Forest. I think it's even a part of the Forest. Included in the amenities of this park are both tent and RV campsites. This park also has a lake that surrounds the camping grounds. There is a swim area and many fishing areas. You can even go boating. The lake itself is full of water lillie and vegetation life. It didn't look like something I would want to swim in due to the murky water and the vegetation life apparent in the water. We even saw an alligator. I definitely have no desires to be eaten by an alligator so I will definitely stay clear of any swimming activities here. There are tons of large trees here. It was definitely nice to see such ancient trees and lots of it. My favorite part about the park was having the trees outline the lake and waking up to the sun just behind all the tall trees to illuminate the beautiful shades of greens, browns, red and yellows of the trees. I hope to paint my interpretation of the image one day.

We arrived to Huntsville State Park Saturday morning and were instantly greeted by screaming kids yelling out my son's name. I am delighted that Jude has made some new friends that are excited to have him join them. Since I can be shy around new people, I do feel a sense of anxiety inside. I arrived to some very friendly people. The team leader is Justin. The cub-scouts are split by grade level. Jude is in third grade so he is consider a Bear. Justin is the team-leader for the Bears. He introduced me to everyone in the group and I get this feeling that everyone seem to be close. I learn that everyone have known each other for about three years since their son has been in cub-scout since the first grade. Shortly after meeting everyone, I immediately set up camp. I was impressed by the offer of help I get in setting up site. My Taj 3, which I practice setting-up at home, was very easy to set up. It looked a lot smaller out in such a wide open space then it did at home, but it's perfect to fit Jude and I. After we set up site, Jude ran off with his friends leaving me all alone to converse with all the parents. I meet Evalyn, she is the first to approach me with questions and seem very friendly and easy to talk to. I make some small talk with the rest of the crew but still feel pretty uncomfortable being the new addition to the scout. I find them all very friendly and actually look forward to getting to know all of them. I sense this will be a nice change for Jude and I in getting to know parents with the same age group of kids. I am excited about my first attempt to make some friends that are in my situation who's dedication is in raising their kid/s. FINALLY, I can meet people who can share my views and priority. I am definitely feeling excited about our future ahead. :)

This weekend Jude learned to to hook a rubbery warm, cast his fishing rod, and wheel it in(he still needs lots of practice with this). I think the next thing I will do is buy us a fishing rod so that we can go fishing. Once again, I've been guilted by the fact that Jude does not have a dad so I will have to take him fishing to make up for his dadlessness (I like that word I just made up). He also learned to use a compass and to play kickball. He earned two belt-loops and a pin for what he has learned this weekend. He was also initiated as an official bob-cat as well. It's so cute to see how excited he is about the cub-scouts. He wears his shirt with pride and took special care to put his cloth in a place where he will not loose it. Seeing Jude happy makes me a happy mom so I'm excited to share this adventure with him. I look forward to our next adventure with the scouts.

We had a pretty uneventful night of camping. I slept well except it got cold during the night making it hard for me to stay asleep. But all in all, I had a peaceful night sleep. I enjoyed this park and hope to return to get some hiking and exploring done. There were many trails I didn't get to explore. They even have horse-back riding but I didn't par-take in it due to the cost. $30 dollars a person was just too much to pay. Maybe next time we will go horse back riding. Jude said he had the best time ever camping here. I think it was because of all the friends he had there and not actually the place it-self. We both have a nice time. Bottom line, I do recommend this place.

This is our first time at Pace bend park and we really had a great time. For those of you who don't know about Pace Bend Park, it's a HUGE park along Lake Travis about 1 hour away from Austin. We are geared up to camp here. We arrived at 5:30 p.m. A little too late to really get to enjoy this huge park but we managed to check out two of the MANY different areas of this park. To camp here, it's $15 a vehicle a night and this does not include electric hook-up or water nor any showers or bathroom facilities. There is electronic hook up and water for those who desires this but it's a little more $. For day use to the park it's $10 a car.

We arrived to the gate greeted by a very friendly guy who collected our cash. We are handed a map and trash-bag and off we went. Like I said earlier, this park is HUGE, there are several areas to camp, swim, and hike. Our first stop is a place called Levi Cove. Water level here is 32 feet below normal due to the horrible drought we are facing here in Texas, so unfortunately there is no cliff diving, which is completely fine with me since I don't cliff dive but a bummer for my son and Brad (He and his dog(Callie) joined us on our camp adventure). We hung out at Levi Cove while Callie swam in the water. The water is not as clear as other parts of Lake Travis so my desires to swim went out the window. We hung out at Levy cove for about one hour before we decided we needed to set up our camp site, so we left and stumbled upon Gracy Cove. This area was private and there was no one around but us (We love the privacy). There is a cliff I climbed down to get to the lake. The view down the cliff was beautiful with a scenic view of Lake Travis, canyons, and distance hills, but unfortunately I don't have my camera with me to capture this beauty. The camp site supplies a picnic table and a BBQ pit. There is a burn band this year so no open flames allowed. The only thing allowed is a propane burner. We spend a peaceful night here amongst the stars. All the stars were so bright since there was only a crescent moon out.

I will definitely return to Pace Bend Park. Next time, we will make sure to arrive early to allow us plenty of water and exploration time. The park itself is several miles and loops around in one big circle. There are beaches and swim only areas that allows for no boats. There are several miles of hiking, unpaved roads, and paved roads to explore, swim, hike, and camp in. For those who decide to go, you'll need time for exploring the many areas of this park. I look forward to a return to this park when water levels are better. I just can't believe I have not discovered this park sooner.