Bastrop State Park (again)

[Camper_bob]

Sorry, no pics this time. There really wasn't much to see anyway.

Just got back from our 7 week old son's first camping trip, and I have to say he did great! We stayed at Bastrop State Park in Bastrop, TX. We stayed in the Piney Hill Camping Area (full 50A hookups). The park was pretty quiet for the most part. The loop we were in was at about 50% capacity. Can't speak to the rest of the park, we didn't get to wander around as much as we usually do.

As you may know, the park (as well as the surrounding community) suffered a catastrophic forest fire a couple years ago and is on the path to recovery. The devastation of the fire is evident throughout the park. Many of the burned trees are still standing and looked quite eery at moonrise (we had a full moon). There are saplings everywhere, some planted, some occurring naturally. The post-fire conditions are favorable for White Tailed Deer populations, so for the first time ever, the park will have a deer hunt this year to help manage the population. Unfortunately, I won't get to go; would love to have had that opportunity...

All in all, the park is VERY nice. They are building new facilities throughout the park. There is a new bathhouse on the Piney Hill loop, and it is quite nice. The only negative for the whole trip were the grass burrs. They were TERRIBLE and our wondermutt has long fur, so you can imagine how that went!!

As a side note, I met a nice lady and her two daughters while we were there. They were also in a Jayco, and it looked an awful lot like ours. They were in the middle of a year-long cross-country adventure. Her husband was able to work from their trailer, and they had spent the last few months traveling the Eastern US. They were home for the holidays before beginning their Western adventure. Really nice family, and I wish them the best on their journey!!

[RedHorse1]

God gave us the burrs so we could tell the difference between Heaven and Texas.

[Quahog]

Bob,

Thanks for the report on Bastrop. That was such a beautiful park before the fire. Last time I passed that way on my way up to Pedernales Falls, you could still see lots of evidence of the fire just along the road. Glad to hear it's coming back.

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by Quahog

Bob,

Thanks for the report on Bastrop. That was such a beautiful park before the fire. Last time I passed that way on my way up to Pedernales Falls, you could still see lots of evidence of the fire just along the road. Glad to hear it's coming back.

I camped there many times as a youth, and DW used to work in the MD Anderson lab located in Buescher. It was an absolutely beautiful park before the fire. I look forward to it being rebuilt, but it's a long road. I recall growing up in East Texas seeing all the pine forests harvested for lumber, and they seemed to be pretty ugly for many years after a harvest.