What a Difference a Couple of Months Make

When we arrived at Stephen F Austin in January. . .

this was how our campsite looked

and only three short months later. . .

completely green. . .all the tree canopies filled out. . .just beautiful

For the most part, we have enjoyed being Park Hosts at

Stephen F Austin State Park in San Felipe TX,

and wanted to share just a few of the projects we have taken part in. . .

cement work. . .I’ve never been that close to a cement truck in my life. . .

finished project looks great. . .I also painted the barbecue pit. . .

assisted with painting the eaves around the perimeter. . .

and putting a second coat of stain on the cedar. . .fun!

helped with staining the furniture. . .that was some potent stain. . .let me tell you!  Wow. . .

this itty, bitty little woman, Donna, built all that massive furniture you saw in the previous pics. . .

I don’t even know how she managed it. . .but she did a great job!

here’s the extent of my building ability. . .

Dave and I put together these bird feeding platforms for the Wildlife Area. . .

gave intern Brittany a ride to the river to release a catfish

that had outgrown the aquarium in the Nature Center. . .

took 100 kindergartners on a hike. . .25 at a time. . .

Ranger Lisa took the other 100. . .so 200 kindergartners total. . .

it was quite a day! 

Mulched the Nature Garden

more mulching

and created Nature Garden signs. . .

 

Add to all this our regular duties of bathroom maintenance,

mowing, and fire pit clean out. . .

it has been a very busy few months indeed!

 

We leave here a week from tomorrow to meet up with our buyers

who are driving down from Pennsylvania to pick up

Beauty and the Beast. . .we are looking forward to meeting them. . .

and introducing them to their new ride. . .

 

Until next time

Janice

A Little Nature - Red Shouldered Hawk Babies

Red Shouldered Hawk’s Nest with two (almost) fledglings. . .awesome!

looking around for Mom and Dad

there they are!

Escape Is Getting Closer

Oh goodness. . .

now that we are only 10 days away from the end of our Park Hosting duties. . .

hitch itch is really, really setting in

so I decided escaping with Dave when he left to teach at College Station

this week would be a really great idea. . .

the bluebonnets are beginning to be at the end of their peak season,

but we found these beauties. . .so lovely!

as a wonderful fabulous bonus. . .

since Dave is a “priority club” member Holiday Inn

upgraded his room to a King Suite with a whirlpool. . .

escaping has turned into a fabulous, wonderful decision. . .

tomorrow. . .back to real life!

A New Ride–or at Least–A Different Ride

Not sure how anyone could have missed it. . .

but just in case you did. . .

we SOLD Beauty and the Beast on EBay. . .yaaaa!

and chose yesterday of all days. . .with those crazy winds. . .

to move it to storage, until the new owners. . .

a couple from Pennsylvania. . .can get here to pick it up!

Of course, selling the rig necessitated purchasing a tow vehicle. . .

or a TOAD in RV terms. . .

 

Dave did all the research. . .yada, yada, yada. . .

my only request. . .that it match the motor home!

I’d say he picked a winner. . .

 

Anyone who knows us, knows we don’t buy new. . .

so it’s a 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee. . .4 wheel drive,

so we can tow it four down. . .important.

 

Just gotta get the tow bar and set up done on the rig. . .

and we will be ready to roll towards Maine! 

Lord willing. . .

March Was A Long Month - We Were Just Pooped

The entire month of March was  grueling. . .just flat wore us out . 

We were told the month of March/April would be the busiest in the park,

and they were correct. . .Spring Break Week. . .ai yai yai. . .

but we survived, and in an effort to recuperate drove over to Brazos Bend State Park

to visit Park Host friends Judy and Dick Mott. 

We originally met them in Estes Park last summer, where we all park hosted for Larimer County. . .

then later, when Fort Parker had an opening, they called us,

and we park hosted with them for a few weeks there. 

 

I almost wish we had followed them over to Brazos Bend. . .

so many fascinating, fabulous things to see.

Note the young alligator at the bottom of the pic. . .

and all the different varieties of birds. . .just amazing

Anhinga drying it’s wings

After a five mile bike ride around two lakes. . .

getting off multiple times to take pics. . .

and an hour drive home. . .

I lay down across the bed and went into a coma. . .

a seriously relaxing day. . .

thanks Judy and Dick for playing hosts. . .we loved it!