SW Trip 2014 - Village Creek State Park, Lumberton, TX

Village Creek State Park – Lumberton, TX

April 3 – 6

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This Texas State Park is just a few miles north of Beaumont. When we arrived at this park, we instantly liked it! The rangers were very friendly and helpful. We were provided all the maps, general info on the park without even having to ask! They allowed us to drive around and pick the site we wanted. Rick & Debbie had arrived prior to us, and the ranger suggested two sites they called “buddy sites”. These worked out perfectly, we were close to each other and basically shared a common outdoor space.

The first afternoon, Debbie and I ran into town to look for firewood, gas and a few grocery items. Later in the evening the guys made a large campfire, as we had bought a large bundle of wood at the market. We hung out by the fire for awhile, but the wind was blowing smoke all around. We called it a night and headed inside.

In the morning, after coffee and breakfast, we geared up for mountain biking. This park has excellent mountain biking trails, which we really enjoyed during our four days there. The trails were designated as easy to advanced. Debbie and I both rode most of the trails, even part of the advanced one! We both feel we are getting much better and stronger as we ride more. We rode the trails for the remaining three days.

The next day, we had arranged an outfitter for a shuttle. Rick, Debbie, Kurt and I had a relaxing, beautiful day on Village Creek. The Creek is more like a river, has good current and was pretty much an easy downstream float. Kurt decided to bring Kody, since he’d been cooped up so much on this trip.  There were many nice sandbars along the winding river. We stopped at some, to rest, eat lunch and let Kody run. At one point, Kurt decided to let Kody off his kayak at the beginning of large sandbars and then pick him back up at the end of each sandbar. Boy, was this a great idea, Kody loved it and it was his best river kayak ever! I’m sure he will get to do this again when there are nice sandbars.

The last night, we had a really, nice campfire and we hung out into the evening. It was a lot of fun to relax around the warm fire as it had been pretty chilly at night.

We would highly recommend this park for its great outdoor activities and excellent campground (really clean, nice bathhouses). The friendly rangers were also a very positive attribute. It was one of those parks where we immediately felt at home. We reluctantly departed to head to Austin, Texas.

SW Trip 2014 - Lake Fausse Pointe State Park, Louisiana

Lake Fausse Pointe State Park, Louisiana

March 31 – April 2

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This state park is really out in the boonies (aka bayou). Our RV sites were right on the water with a dock. We shared the dock between our two sites with Rick & Debbie. It was really nice sitting out there for happy hour in the evenings and coffee in the mornings. The dogs really enjoyed it also. The weather was very nice while there. After setting up, it was later in the afternoon, so we started happy hour early. Kurt also took Kody for a short evening paddle to get some idea of the paddling.

The next day, we all went riding on the mountain bike trails. The trails were excellent and there were three levels of difficulty. Debbie and I were able to ride them all; except for a short, muddy area of the difficult trail. It felt good to get out and get some exercise. After lunch Rick, Kurt and I went kayaking around the paddling trail which was all swamp area. The weather was sunny and beautiful. We saw very little wildlife on this water trail, just a small gator and some birds. We discovered that even within this park, there were oil wells and production activity. However, it seemed to have very little impact on the natural beauty of the park. This was a beautiful bayou for paddling!

The last day, we again went out mountain biking. It was so much fun, challenging and great exercise! In the afternoon, Kurt and I went out for a short paddle around a different part of the bayou. Here we saw a couple of huge gators! Kurt fished awhile and caught a channel catfish and a small green bass. 

This area of Louisiana is very remote with beautiful bayous. Our three days in this park were very enjoyable and relaxing.

SW Trip 2014 - Houma, LA

Houma, Louisiana
March 28 – 30

After leaving Blackwater River S.P., we headed to Louisiana to visit Kurt’s family. Houma is a town southwest of New Orleans. The primary occupation in this area is within the oil, gas and shipping industries. Kurt’s nieces and nephews all live here and are a very close knit family.

We stayed at a mobile home/RV park in town which was just a 5 minute drive from the main family home. We arrived there and setup in the rain (ugh). The family was having a simple get together at Helen’s house (the mother) and we were able to see most of the group that evening. It was nice to see the latest addition to the family, a beautiful little baby girl, Olivia. She is the granddaughter of Kurt’s nephew Kurt Wolfertz.  Nicole, Kurt’s niece, was there with her boyfriend Larry. It was nice to meet him.  What a nice guy he is and they are very happy. We had a wonderful evening talking and laughing with the family. We were very tired from the long drive and headed back to the RV.

The next day Kurt’s niece, Wendy and her husband Todd, had everyone over at their home for a crawfish boil. As usual, the food was great and it was a treat to eat crawfish, it had been a few years since we had any. Also, the whole family was there, including Kurt Wolfertz’ son, KC, who is now a police officer with the Houma police department. What a great young man he is and the family is very proud of him.

Later in the evening, we headed out to Kurt and Angel’s home to visit with them. We enjoyed a couple of hours there with them and their daughter Karleigh. They are big dog lovers and Angel is a trainer/groomer. We took our dogs with us to so they could run free in their back yard. All the dogs got along fine and also had a good time. After a long day, we headed back to the RV for some sleep.

The next morning, Nicole and Larry picked us up at the RV. We went with them in Larry’s Jeep and joined their Jeep club for a Sunday ride. It was a gorgeous, sunny day. We headed out to the country on back roads to visit some historical areas. Laurel Valley is an area with farms and old plantations. We drove through an old plantation to find the decrepit wooden cottages that had been slave quarters. The farms there produce sugar cane. Next, we went to a swamp tour/restaurant business on the bayou and had a lunch of alligator and shrimp po-boys. Then we went on a swamp tour, narrated by a young seventeen year old who was quite entertaining and used comedy as part of his spiel. This made the boat tour so much more fun, as we were already used to paddling swamps with alligators! The remaining Jeep ride consisted of the drive back to town, but along the way we stopped at a favorite bar that serves “Frank's world famous bloody Mary’s”, so we all had to partake of that beverage! The day ended back at our RV. We had such a fun time with the Jeep group, what a nice bunch of people who like to get outside and have a great time.

We really enjoyed our time in Houma, and Kurt’s family made it special for us. Getting to see them all again and spend time as a family is important to Kurt and me.

Next, we are heading to Lake Fausse Point State Park in Louisiana to paddle the swamp and go mountain biking.

Southwestern Trip 2014 - Florida Blackwater River State Park

On our way!
After months of planning, preparation and loading the RV, we finally left our house on Monday, March 24^th.  Our plans are to travel and camp in Florida, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado. After that we will make our way home with unplanned stops. We will travel in whatever direction we feel like at the time.

Our first night was spent at a Walmart in Lake City, Florida. We were just making our way to our first camping location. The next morning we headed toward Blackwater River State Park.

Blackwater River State Park

Monday, March 25 – Wednesday, March 27

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The park is north of Pensacola Florida and is one of our favorite state parks. We were there the previous year on our north Florida tour and really love the campground and the river for paddling. We met our friends, Rick & Debbie, at the park to begin the official start of our Southwest states tour.

We setup camp and prepared for dinner. Later, in the evening, Kurt built a great campfire and we all sat around with adult beverages and enjoyed the evening. The next morning Kurt woke up with some kind of stomach problem and was out of commission for the entire day. Poor thing, he slept most of the day and later in the afternoon began to feel much better. Rick, Debbie and I rode our bikes on the forest roads and trails around the park. It was great exercise to get outside and enjoy the natural surroundings. We all went to bed early as we were tired and wanted to rest up for the next day, when we would get on the river.

The next morning we shuttled our kayaks to the put-in and paddled the Blackwater River downstream for 8 miles. The winding river has numerous, beautiful sand bars along the way. The day was cool, but sunny; perfect for a paddle down the river. The paddle was very relaxing and fun. Kurt was fishing along the way and caught 4 bass, with one being about 9 pounds. He was so excited he started screaming like a girl! The fish was so large it began to pull his kayak around. He finally landed the big bass and released it, after we got pictures. This made his day on the river even better!

The last evening we had another great campfire and enjoyed our time there. We also prepared what we could to get ready for our departure. The next morning, we awoke to rain and storms. On this rare occasion, we were ready to leave at 9 am, but due to high winds, lightning and storms we had to wait in the trailer until about 11am.

Our next stop is in Houma, Louisiana to spend some time with Kurt’s family. His brother passed away a few years ago, but the nieces and nephews are still there, along with their mother. It will be great to see them all again.