Another Week at Fort Parker

Monday February 22: Another one of those Canadian fronts moving in so the weather is turning again. We borrowed a Kawasaki Mule and loaded all our gear and took it to the staff barrack building. It’s a bit smaller than the others, but is divided into four sleeping rooms and one staff room. It also has its own bath. Because this is one building we may paint on the inside, we decided to just concentrate on the inside. Besides, it was too chilly to be washing windows on the outside. Tried to get the ladies to slow down some and not work so hard and so fast. As far as Dan is concerned, if we get all the buildings cleaned before we leave we done enough!


After doing a thorough job on the inside we carted the supplies to the dining hall which we will tackle on Tuesday. Again just working on the inside as the temperature is to drop steadily throughout the day. After lunch and rest we piled in Bill’s Ford and took off for Corsicana, a town 30 miles north. On the way out of the park, Bill stopped to check for mail and the jewelry the ladies had ordered while at the "Rock House" had arrived. This brightened the day for them a bit. Anyway it was a nice drive and of course we had to find an ice cream shop and a couple of ‘junk stores’ to check out.

Tuesday February 23: Awoke this morning to some light rain, but by 7:30 it had changed to light snow. It snowed on and off all day and by the accumulation on the grill stand, we have about 4 inches on the ground. Needless to say that is not why we came to Texas! We certainly can’t do much work outside, so it was on to the group dining hall. It certainly needed a cleaning. We figure that the building is nearly 70 years old, and has the original windows though they do not fit, the lift ropes are broken and many of the stiles between the panes are rotting. We spent the bulk of the day on the dining room area and cooks room. Tomorrow there is a luncheon for staff and volunteers, so we won’t work too many hours. We have the kitchen to do and then if the weather breaks, move back to outside work. They have a huge 10 burner gas stove, large restaurant sized refrigerator and big chest freezer. The kitchen is in pretty good shape except for the heating/cooling vents.

Lilly enjoyed romping in the snow. Tom Fisher’s kids (he’s the park manager) fun making large snow balls and forts – and having snowball fights. This is what our site looked like this morning as we walked to work.

Wednesday February 24: The weather was not great so this morning we worked on the kitchen and knocked off in time to get ready for the luncheon. It was a nice affair with everyone bringing a dish and as usual everything was good and we all ate a little too much. Two of the host couples will be leaving on Sunday so it was a farewell for them and welcome of us. One couple from Missouri arrived here in January and will be here until after we leave at the end of March. She had been a volunteer coordinator at a state park in Missouri and seems to be assuming that role here. It will be interesting to see what Tom does about the ‘transportation’ situation once the other two couples leave. One has the use of a John Deere Gator and the other a Kawasaki Mule. She is laying claim to the Mule and the radio that goes with it. One of us will have the Cushman again.

Seated across from us are Virginia and Ken along with Donna and Evert and at the end, Shelly a park employee.

We met Virginia and Ken the first year we volunteered in Texas. They live full time in there RV and spend eight to ten months volunteering in state parks as they cover the west. In the fall of ’08 we stayed with them at the Missouri Head Waters State Park in Montana.


Thursday February 25: Another chilly night and morning. We did not get started until nearly 10 when the sun was up and bright. We first finished the exterior of the staff cabin and then after lunch went back to the dining hall. By the end of the day we had over half of the exterior windows done, but the going was slow because of the number of broken panes. About 3 we decided that we’d finished enough for the week. We put everything inside as the facility is not rented out for this weekend.

After dinner we took Lilly for her now becoming ritual evening walk. She certainly enjoys all the different smells and sights. She particularly enjoys it when she spooks a white tail.

I spent some time going through the park’s old Gamin GPS unit trying to find out what all they had on it and what the various abbreviations. I need to meet with Dan and then Tom to make some decisions on to make some standardized codes. Tom wants to get a number of things marked with the GPS coordinates.

Saturday February 27: Friday we decided to take some time and make a trip to Waco. We needed to replace a trailer taillight and the Rushes needed a couple of RV items too. The RV dealer left a lot to be desired, but the parts area was more than adequate. It was a 40 mile ride through wide open mostly cattle ranches until we got near the south end of Waco. We picked up some interesting items at several shops and the ladies were able to visit a couple of quilt shops.

Bill found a lock-smith and finally had some extra keys made for his camper. Camper keys are somewhat unique and you just can’t get one made at Lowe's or Ace Hardware. Somehow they have a propensity to misplace their camper key. The last two camping trips with them they have had to search out and have made a camper key.

When we left Friday morning the sun was out and it was pretty. As the day progressed the sky became gray and the wind came in with a bite. According to “Intellicast” the average high temperature should be 66, but we are hanging in the low 50’s for highs.

This was sort of a lazy day here, except for getting things prepared to change site locations tomorrow. It took some time to get the long sewer lines taken apart and stored. Also had to replace that taillight and store things away. Judy finished putting together the twelve full blocks for the oopsie daisy quilt and will now begin to assemble the half blocks. We took Lilly on another long walk, played some 80’s Trivial Pursuit and then decided to go to the Sale Barn Café for dinner.

Yes the restaurant is located in the live-stock sale barn. It was pretty good and really interesting to see the local folks. Of course there were lots of steak on the menu plus the usual ‘country fired’ version and shrimp. What we did not see was any pork.

Not sure if these ladies are sellers or for sale??

That’s about it for this week. We move on Sunday to a different location within the park (into the campground proper) and there should at least have better air card coverage, but still no real Sprint cell coverage.  May try to Skype, but that over the air card is a bit garbled

FORT PARKER

Sunday February 14: We left Lackland AFB and met up with Lois and Bill Rush along I-10 east of San Antonio

We then moved on to meet Rita and Bill Weidendorf at La Grange, TX. They are folks we met the first year in Texas and are currently volunteers at Monument Hill State Park. After a tour of their little park we had lunch at, what else but, a Mexican restaurant and then headed on to Fort Parker.

When we left Rita and Bill in La Grange it was sunny and near 65, however, as we moved north the skies became grey and the temperature began to drop. By the time we arrived at Fort Parker it was 40 and a cold, cold wind was blowing out of the north. Because they had their schedules a bit messed up, there are five volunteers for four sites. This means that the Rushes and the Samples have to ‘share’ one site location. Fortunately it’s at a spot near the maintenance area and we have about a half-acre to ourselves. We backed in and set up temporarily as it was getting dark and we were tired. The position of our units is a bit awkward as the Rushes have to watch how the walk out the door so they don’t walk right into the front of our unit. The power was not on, but Tom Fisher, the park manager, came over to meet us and took care of turning the power on to our location.

We had been set up for a short time when Laura and Becky, Tom’s daughters came over and gave us home-made valentines. We had a nice little visit with them. Becky is 13 and Laura is 18. Tom has two boys too, a 21 year old in grad school at Baylor and Jacob, a ten year old. All of the kids are home schooled.

Monday February 15: At 7:30, I walked over to the shop/maintenance area to meet Dan, the lead ranger. He had just started to work here when were here five years ago. Later that morning we walked to the office to meet with Tom and get his ‘briefing’ on what he expects and what jobs he has planned. The first thing he did was dig out volunteer hats for us. Bill had worn his Texas Longhorns hat and Tom is at Texas A&M grad. There is no love lost between the two schools. He told us his general plans for us, but said we would be ‘working for’ Dan (Lead Ranger) and we should talk to him. After the session with Tom, we took a tour of the park and we showed the Rushes around, then it was lunch and time to re-arrange our units. It took some time to make the move but we are situated much better now, though there is only one sewer connection. We looked at ways to make a “Y” to share, but think we will just alternate dumping days.

This is the “Cushman” that we’ve been assigned to haul our equipment around in. It has a 3 speed transmission and a motorcycle engine.

Wednesday February 17: Tuesday morning I walked over to meet with Dan to find out what he had planned for us to do. Just as Tom had listed first, he wanted us to give the group area buildings a thorough cleaning. These are nine buildings built by the CCC in the 1930’s. It consists of four sleeping buildings with 20 bunks; two restroom/shower buildings; an open ‘activity’ building; dining hall with full kitchen and a counselor cottage that sleeps six. We started to work on the first of the group barracks buildings. It took some time to gather all the materials we needed and we finally got started about 10:30. We finished everything but the lights and knocked off about 3:30. (We took 90 minutes for lunch and break) After dinner we walked Lilly to the campground area and really think that we will move to one of the host sites there at the end of the month. They overlook the campground and lake and even though it was chilly, the sun setting over the lake is quite a sight.

On Wednesday we finished up the light fixtures and moved on to a bathroom. As you can see we are busily working.

A number of the screens must be repaired (my job) and some of the glass panes need to be replaced (Bill’s job).

Thursday February 18: Another Chilly day in Texas, but the sun is out and feels warm. It was back to the group area and the next dorm barrack building. This was a bit dirtier than the first and required more work. There were more broken/cracked windows to replace and more screens to repair. In the afternoon we took Lilly with us so she would not be in the trailer. She was able to see some different sights and smells. As it was a pleasant afternoon we decided to have a campfire. It was nice to sit around a fire and cook. Judy made several nice big juicy s’mores.

Bill is busy cutting Plexiglas to replace the broken/cracked windows.

Judy and Lois are off on the Ohio Crew’s Cushman.

Friday February 19: Because the group area is rented for the weekend, we decided not to clean and let Judy and Lois rest. Bill and I joined another volunteer (Everet) to look for wood duck boxes. These are wooden nesting boxes placed around the lake for the wood ducks that migrate and hopefully some will remain through the winter. These boxes had not been checked for over two years. Our job was to locate them and pin-point them with a GPS unit. We went out on a flat bottom boat in overcast skies with the air temperature in the 40’s. It was even colder on the water. We located 20 of the 30 boxes Tom said were out there. We were on the water for nearly two hours cruising along the shore line and checking the reeds. The lake was formed in the 30’s by a dam placed in the Navasota River by the CCC. It’s a 700 acre lake.

Tom also would like to GPS all of the water and electric lines as well as the hose bibs and shut off valves. Looks like that will be another job we attack – after the group area is completed.

As an aside, here is a link to an article that appeared in the NY Times about volunteers working in State Parks. For us it’s not that we have to do it or need to do it. We do it to be out and be active during those months when, if back home would be hold up and snug at 2020 Tricaso Drive. Even Lilly enjoys the change of scenery and new smells. What other Ohio dog has gotten to see Axis deer and follow their tracks?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/18/us/18campers.html?emc=eta1
Saturday February 20: Big day here and it looks like most of the park staff knows who has a birthday today. We slept in some and just took it easy most of the morning. We took a nice long hike with Lilly down by the Navasota River and then by a spring and then back into the campground. We are having trouble with the cell phone and the air card making any connections. Yesterday had a nice solid roaming signal on the cell, but today nothing. The phone tells us we have four messages, but we can’t retrieve them. Maybe we can get something when we go into Mexia for church and shopping on Sunday.

In the late afternoon we went into the big town of Groesbeck and checked out a couple of shops. The one big antique shop had started out as a grocery, later it was a plumbing and electrical shop and for the past 20 years it’s been an antique shop. We then went to ‘Stevens Steak House’ for birthday dinner. It was a unique little place right next to Stevens Grocery. Judy had a sirloin and baked potato and the rest of us had chicken fried steak. Everything was very good and when we were done, the lady doing the cooking came out and asked how we liked it, and then she bused the table. It’s a return place for sure!

Ah well, time to end this week and see what next week will bring.

Last Week at Garner

Sunday February 7: Did our usual Sunday thing, into town for shopping and such. Judy wanted a haircut so we spent some time at Wal-Mart for that and managed to get her old old sunglasses repaired (the lens had popped out). Wal-Mart is pretty good about fixing glasses regardless of where you got them. The lens in her new ones also came out and last week they took care of that too – and all at no charge. In the evening we reacquainted ourselves with Canasta. We had the Rushes over and played a game. Took a little getting used to things but we had all played before.


Monday February 8: Awoke to chilly temps and heavy dew today. We have to wait for the sun before we can paint. Weather prediction for the end of the week is not good, for here or back home. We see that the east coast is getting another blast and DC has turned white! There is another storm moving in to us from the west which is supposed to bring sleet and freezing rain beginning Wednesday and stay through all of Thursday. With the threat of the bad weather we hope to get in our hours. In the afternoon we moved on to the last bath house for us to do. We worked longer than normal, but did not have that much to do before finishing up and we did complete the job. All the park rangers have to do now is the trim on the new windows they have yet to install. As we are out of painting jobs (no materials for the old workshop) talked to Greg the lead ranger about doing some chipping on Tuesday. There’s a lot of brush in the four other loops from trimming the park folks have done. So it looks like we will have to do some chipping before Chicken Earls on Tuesday.

Tuesday February 9-Chicken Earl Day: At a little after nine, hooked up the Bandit Chipper and headed to through Persimmon Hill and Live Oak loops. When we started, the piles were pretty small and we all thought it would not take long at all. As we rounded the curve larger and larger piles and lines of brush/cuttings came into view. We had planned on knocking off about noon to make it to Chicken Earls, but the brush just kept coming. We finally finished in Live Oak at it was nearly 2 by the time we returned the chipper. Chicken Earl was waiting!!

As promised here are some pictures for your pleasure. When we arrived the wind was cold out of the northwest (though the sun was bright) so we opted to sit in the truck and eat.

Earl went to great expense to have this sign constructed and approved by the local zoning authority.

But that expense was nothing compared to the lavish seating arrangement.

You walk up to the window and order your dinner and drink (you have your choice of sweat tea, sweat tea or sweat tea) and its help you self from the big orange jug on the counter.

This is Chicken Earl talking to Bill Rush.

Earl told us that this is the 3rd location for his place. He sold out twice and each time bought the business back because people complained that the chicken was not the same. He fries in a large deep cast iron skillet. He fries two batches, strains the oil then cooks one more. The oil is then saved and he takes it to his place. There he converts it and burns 50% diesel and 50% oil in his ’96 Ford.

So that’s Chicken Earl’s place and story. Oh, almost forgot, Earl will be closed on the 16th. He’s going in for surgery so they can “take out” three vertebrae out of his neck….his words.

Later we found a lumber yard that deals in only cedar. Picked up two nice cedar poles to be made into hiking sticks.

Thursday February 11: Yesterday started out pretty dreary and we did not believe we could get in any real work, so we went into the Hill Country BBQ for breakfast with the Rushes. They must use extra large eggs for their omelets, because they are huge! We were so full but decided to walk Lilly and maybe do some litter pickup to get in a few more hours. We left about noon and did not get back until after 2:30. It was overcast and a little chilly, but we picked up 5 bags of trash from around campsites. Judy was also taking the opportunity to search for antlers. When we were here five years ago she found a complete set in the woods.

Wednesday night was our last dinner and game night. Only three couples are staying on so we exchanged email addresses and took lots of pictures. This is the entire group with the exception of Ruby Hersh (she’s a volunteer who actually lives here in an old old trailer – long story have to go into it some time).

It was overcast, drizzling and cold so most everyone is taking the day off. We have more than enough hours in and after the long walk yesterday decided to just enjoy the day. In the morning took care of laundry and did a few things to get ready for pulling out in the morning. We want to be on the road by 9 so the satellite dish was relocated for the night and the bikes were loaded. This means much less to do in the early morning and it is supposed to be COLD. We came to Texas for warm weather – where is it?

Friday February 12 – Lackland: We did get on the road at 9 after stopping by the office to bid the folks there farewell and leave copies of the pictures with Rick, the manager. The FamCamp at Lackland had some space so we set up camp for a couple of days. Lilly’s check-up went fine and she received all her shots and checks. They even verified that her ‘chip’ was still active. The vet clinic is only a few blocks from the campground, so we walked. After the vet trip we paid a short visit to the BX and picked up a few needed items, like a new kickstand for my bike and a cheese cutter. We saw a number of young recruits with family members. There must have been a class graduating this weekend.

Lilly is enjoying the warm sun at our temporary home at Lackland AFB for two nights

On arrival C5’s were doing ‘touch and go’ landings on the Kelly Field runway. These belong to the Air Force Reserve unit assigned here. There is also a large contingent of F-16’s assigned to the Texas Air National Guard. So we hear lots of airplanes.

The C5’s look like they will fall out of the sky the look so big and appear to be moving so slow.

For dinner we decided to try a Bill Miller’s BBQ and found it very good. The brisket was really tender and they don’t skimp on the side dishes.

Saturday February 13: After a leisurely morning we headed to downtown San Antonio to visit the Market Place and the River Walk. The Market Place has changed over the years. The first time we were there, the year I retired from the Air Force, it was all in one older building and it had a number of real small shops full of Mexican items. Over the years it has expanded into what was the old farmers market and many of the shops are run by the same group. Think we may have visited 90% of them in our walking. A little after noon we began to look for some place to eat. We had planned on hiking the half plus mile to the River Walk, but were a might tired and hungry. We found a Mexican place (well in reality that’s all there is to eat there) that had just opened. We were the only ones there for a while then some others found their way up the stairs to Senor Teque’s Grill. Had a nice lunch then made the jaunt to walk some along the River Walk, and it’s a good thing we ate, because most of these places have only outdoor seating, and it is still cool in the shade.



Tomorrow begins a new week and a new park. We are to meet up with Rushes about 9 on the road.

Rain Rain Go Away

Wednesday February 3: Must go back to Saturday morning. Took the laundry up just before daybreak and on the way down the hill and into our camping area spooked two Axis deer. They across the road and then up into the hill. Latter we were walking Lilly with us up to the laundry to move the clothes into the dryer when she spotted something in a pile of brush beside a camp site. She pulled and tugged toward it and we thought at first it was a bird in the brush. As we got nearer we could see it was an Axis fawn. It was smaller than Lilly and looked as if it had been dropped not to long before. It could not hold its head steady and was all curled up. We left it and went up to the laundry and on the way back checked and it appeared to be in some distress. Its head was now way back and it did not appear to move much. Knowing nature takes care of things we left it alone. Later in the morning when we brought the laundry back, I pulled in to the spot and I could see that it was still there. Sunday morning on our way out to church we checked again and it was gone. Looking closer at the spot it did not appear that another animal had gotten to it so perhaps the mother returned.

Monday was somewhat of a lost day, at least in the morning…..more fog and drizzle. We did manage to go over to that bath house and do some work and then moved on to a short job. Several of the bath houses had the metal roofs replaced and needed trim repainted. We finished that up so now all the painting is in two bath houses close together.

Tuesday was the BIG day. The weather cooperated and we got started about 9, planning on just the four of us, to work on the one bath house. Our plan was to work until about 1 and then head for……Chicken Earl’s! We were moving along fine until another couple arrived and that put 6 of us working on one bath house. We did finish all we could do and headed back about noon. After shedding our painting duds we hopped in the Ram and headed for town. Words can not describe this place, or the food. It was threatening rain again, but we set on the old booth seats and devoured the best fried chicken ever. Next week we will take our camera and get some pictures. Chicken dinner comes with real mashed potatoes and gravy and choice of green or pinto beans. We talked to “Chicken Earl” for a few minutes. He’s originally from “LA” as in Lower Alabama and the lady, assume it’s his wife, is from Illinois. He said he fries all the chicken in cast iron pots and showed us one of the big deep skillet type pots he uses. Dinners are served in divided Styrofoam containers and you get your usual plastic fort/knife pack with salt and pepper and one napkin. But if you are ‘eating in’ she pulls off four or five paper towels for you too. Pictures to follow next week.

During the night Tuesday it started to rain and it is supposed to rain right through until late Thursday or early Friday. This is the southern edge of the storm bringing lots of snow to the mid west. So much for painting! Later today we will drive into town and check some things out. There is a bank building that is supposed to have some nice paintings and we can check out some of the shops, other than Wal-Mart and H.E.B.

Trip to town was very interesting. The bank is really something. It was built in the early 70’s long before direct deposit and on-line banking. Dolph Briscoe was a founder of the bank and went on to be Governor of Texas in the 70’s. There must have been room for 25 tellers. Every wall has beautiful western art work including several Rembrandt sketches, all of which are part of the personal collection of the Briscoe’s. Also because the John Nance Garner Museum building is closed for remodeling, the lobby area and other open areas in the back had displays from the museum. The folks were very friendly and accepting of our wondering and looking. We ended Wednesday with the usual pot-luck and game night in the Group Shelter.

Thursday was another damp day around Garner. We did a little caulking and helped 88 year old Burton change out a spot light. That was about all that we could do. On our after dinner walk, Lilly and I found a dead Axis fawn. It was several sites away from where we had seen a fawn last week. It was very near the electrical pedestal and out in the open.

The “Rock House” is the afternoon destination for the ladies Friday. One of the female staff is having a jewelry party at a large rock house her husband’s family owns. In the morning the ladies did a little painting and Bill and I worked on caulking the next bath house.

This is a view of the Rock House from a distance.

Below are several more pictures of the party place. It was started in the late ‘30’s and added to over the years. It grew from a small ranch to a “U” shaped stone house with six bedrooms.

This deer was taken in Texas! In the early 50’s rancher’s imported deer from all over the world for hunting ranches and they did not count on the deer being able to leap normal fences. Now there are “exotic” deer all over the hill country.

Below is Tracy, who hosted the party. She is a full blood Cherokee from Kansas.

The Rock House Ranch started out as 20,000 acres but it is now down to only 13,000. To get to the ranch you must drive through a section of the Frio River and if the water is too deep, it’s not accessible. Tracy said that her husband used to like the high water as it meant he could not get to school.

We spent four hours painting today, even though it is Saturday. We did not get in a “full” week because of the weather and it looks like we may have a few wet days this coming week. After painting we were set to go looking for a Geo Cache or two in the park when a couple we had worked with here five years ago were visiting Jo and Burton next door. We spent the next several hours visiting and sharing stories and getting re-acquainted. We did finally make it to look for the three Geo-Caches. Guess I will have to explain what that is all about some time. Anyway after hiking and climbing we found three here in the park, then had a fire and sat out in the cool air and had a good long visit with Jo and Burton. He’s 88 and Jo is 87 and he is the park volunteer electrician. They had plenty of stories about their life in early Texas and all of the things they’ve done and places they have been. He is a World War II veteran, having enlisted in the Navy on December 8, 1941.

The fire is dying down and it’s time to prepare for tomorrow and our last week here at Garner.