Monday, March 19, 2018 - Happy Birthday to Granddaughter Emerson: Walk in the Park; Visiting Waco: Return to Park; Laundry & Catching Up; DQ

Monday, March 19, 2018 - Happy Birthday to Granddaughter Emerson: Walk in the Park; Visiting Waco: Return to Park; Laundry & Catching Up; DQ

Another birthday today - Happy 3rd Birthday to our Granddaughter Emerson.  Emerson and her parents are in Colorado taking a few days of vacation.  They are doing some sledding and snow skiing.  Emerson will be taking her first ski lesson on Wednesday I believe.  They are having a party for her this evening.  Our daughter-in-law Andrea has family in the area so it will be a fun evening for them all.  We will see her on the 29th or 30th of March so we will wait until then to give her the present and card we have for her.

We were looking forward to walking here in the State Park this morning.  We only walked about a mile on parts of three trails, but it was over terrain you had to watch where you were going, cacti scattered here and there as well as rocks and tree roots.   It required carefully watching the paths to keep from tripping.  It was a good workout after not having walked for awhile.  The path was pretty muddy as well since they had a heavy rain before we arrived yesterday.  

We first walked to the interactive playground.  There were lots of different things for kids to do.  We did not walk in to look at each one but I have a feeling the kids love the armadillo.

I did not notice these boots someone left on the rock until looking at the picture later.

Large armadillo to play on.

Here's a picture of Bentley from the road near the playground.

Bentley on the left.  We have no neighbors outside our door which is nice. 

We walked up the road and took the Washpond Foot Trail.  There was a lot of cacti alongside of this path.  

That's some pretty tall people there!!

Next we took the Bluff Loop Trail.

Just below the bluff loop trail was this small body of water.

As you can see we had to maneuver around many trees and limbs as well.  Several times it required ducking.

Back towards Bentley on the Washpond Trail.

Our site - #19

I'm not sure what type of gravel/rock this is but it seems to stay within the area it is laid.  Behind we have a nice table and firepit.  There are several large slabs of rock that have been cut and set around the seating area.  They could be used for additional seating or setting items on if needed.  It's a beautiful campground.  Most sites provide pretty good separation from neighbors.

After breakfast, we headed to Waco.  We have several things we are interested in doing but our first stop will be at their tourism center - which is located on the opposite side of town from where our park is located.  First things first - restrooms after that long drive.  We picked up a number of brochures, maps, etc. and then visited with the staff.   

Right next door is the Texas Rangers Museum.  We decided we would start our tour of Waco here.  It was a busy place and we had to stand in line to purchase our tickets.  

(Click on any picture to enlarge it)

There were numerous displays like this of various types of guns.

Information on Rangers.

Not too long after we entered the museum Dean told me he wasn't feeling well.  He set down for awhile.  I asked him if he wanted to leave but he thought he might be okay.  I hurried through the museum and took a few more pictures. 

There was a section about the Texas Rangers on the radio and TV.  Not being from Texas this is where we have heard the most about this group of lawmen.  

An interesting story about this young man and his artistry.  There was another picture , "Time in the Word" that I wanted a picture of, but the lighting caused such a reflection you could hardly even see the picture itself.  It was of a hand holding a well worn Bible.

Texas Ranger "Early Morning Coffee" by Joseph Mikeska - a very talented young man!

We are big fans of Walker: Texas Ranger, so I couldn't pass up this display from the show.

Dean told me he was going to the truck.  I stopped at the restroom then followed him out.  He didn't feel well enough to drive, so I drove us back to the park.  He napped most of the day and felt fine by evening.  Fortunately he never got sick - he just didn't feel good.

Once back at the rig, I decided this would be a great time to get some laundry done and did 3 loads.  Prior to leaving Mission, I ordered a standing clothes hangar that I can use to help dry clothes - either inside or out.  It folds down to store.  I had it delivered to the park in Katy, so I made good use of it today.  I partially dried each load and then used it to complete the drying process.  We had the windows and door open which provided a nice breeze.  I set the hangar where it would get a good flow.  By the time a load was washed, the ones hanging were dry, so it worked well to get quite a few loads done in the course of the afternoon and early evening.  

The stand has two levels where you can hang items.  The bottom section will raise higher.  It  stores inside the pantry alongside the washer/dryer.  It breaks down into two pieces for storage if needed.  I love it and really love the idea of hanging it outside for sheets.  While I can dry them if we are having a down day to relax, letting them air dry outside will be wonderful.

Dean felt well enough to grill some hamburgers for dinner.  They sure tasted good.  Not a Tower, Ranch House or Gonzales burger, but very good none the less.  There is just something about cooking your own food!!

I was way behind on reading blogs so I spent some time doing that in between taking care of the laundry, and a few other things around Bentley.  Actually, other than Dean not feeling well, I really was glad it turned out we spent the day here.  It was nice to have a day to catch up on things and just relax.  We need to be sure and include those in our travels.

In fact Dean felt so much better this evening, I heard him asking Google where the nearest Dairy Queen was.  Only 8 miles away, so guess where we ended up!  Just can't get away from that Texas Stop Sign!

We will give Waco another try tomorrow, so check back to see what all we found to do.