Aransas Pass Excitement

Sinton, Texas
A little bit of adventure today. Aransas Pass (AP) received a nice bit of exploring and information gathering. One stop was Slowride Guide Services (http://www.slowrideguide.com/ ) and Jennifer provided me with all kinds of great information about the area. One kayaking map was purchased. They have about the best fishing guide service on the coast if you happen to come down to the town. My excitement with all the information caused me to forget to get a picture.

One yak launch spot is at the AP Aquatic Center. It is another set of impressive public parks in these smaller cities. The Aquatic Center is a large swimming pool with a huge slide and some other toys. The attendance was huge as was the temperature.

On around the corner is some type of boardwalk that will need to get details about on the next trip there. The other side of the Aquatic Center has a dedicated kayak launching spot and parking area that is really first class. Again too much excitement and a picture was forgotten.

Next in the park are the ball fields. On one side of the road it appeared to be soccer fields. On the other side were the baseball fields and small kids playground with restrooms. The restrooms are in the blue building on the left. Most structures are elevated above the expected water level from hurricane floods like this one.
About a quarter mile north of the Aquatic Center is three RV parks. One of them caught my attention on Google Maps because it has a long pier that goes right across the grass flats and to the edge of the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). The ICW runs from the tip of Florida to the tip of Texas to provide protected routing for boat and barge traffic. It also is one heck of a fish highway. These next two pictures are taken from the end of the fishing pier of the RV park looking across the ICW. They are of the large island directly across from the pier. The first is of the left half of the island and the second is of the right half.


Click on the picture and you can see the far side ICW channel marker. This island provide a wave barrier for the RV park and a relatively calm section of water to paddle across to get to the island. On the back side of the island is a huge saltwater flats area of several square miles that is known to be major producer of redfish (channel bass to some folks). This is perfect yak country. The paddling distance from the launch to the flats area is only about a half mile. The RV park has great launching facilities right in the park next to the pier. They are booked solid from Oct. 1 until next year for the winter Texans.

Here is a neat idea. This fellow was pulling the trailer with his electric get around scooter. That shows you to never give up, just work around and keep on moving.

This evening during an attempt to practice golf, the temperature outside got to me and it took a while for me to get cooled down when I came inside. The temperature must be carefully considered as I try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Slap, Swat, Slap

Sinton, Texas
MAN are the mosquitoes ferocious today. Another camper told me that the city sent a truck through this morning treating for mosquitoes. Additionally the city has mowed this morning. After an attempt at walking around the park this morning, my body is full of whelps from the mosquito bites. These are the heavy bodied mosquitoes that you can feel hit you when they land. They seem to land blood sucker first, because by the time you slap them they already have drawn blood. There is even a good wind outside and they are not bothered by it.

Another golf club was trimmed to fit me this morning. Trying it out was the purpose of the aborted walk. There was not a chance to try it out due to the proliferation of mosquitoes. This is probably the club set up that will be with me the rest of my golf life. Most likely the golf course will be too alive with mosquitoes for me to play this evening.

From what the weather reports are saying, it was a good decision to come to the coast for the less hot weather. Last night the weather report said that the area near Dallas where East Fork Park is had 100+ temperatures yesterday. We only got up to 91. And down right on the coast it was only 89. It is hibernation time in Texas. Others hunker down for the winter, we stay in the AC for the summer.

This evening a group of us spent some time just visiting and swatting mosquitoes. A few old stories were told and some new stories were pronounced the truth. We had a great time trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

An Idiot Lives Here

Sinton, Texas
There is an idiot in this trailer wearing my pants. A few weeks ago my address book got a work over and cleanup. In the process my son’s birthday was re-recorded as the 29 instead of the 27. Now I am two days late. Is senility a good excuse or maybe just plain old stupidity?

A trip down to the Corpus Christi area was the adventure. The area was not hard hit by Dolly but there was evidence of high water and some wind damage being repaired. A few roofs had new roofing or new roofing in progress. There was drift lines many places from the high water.
On Mustang Island at the State Park, the seaweed and trash was well under way to being all cleaned up. This first picture is looking left along the beach where lots of folks are playing. The nice water is a bit offshore.

The second picture is back to the right along the no vehicle portion of the beach and on to the camping allowed portion of the beach. There are lots of folks out getting hot and sweaty.
Next was a hop over the highway to a channel area where the boat can be launched. This first shot is looking out toward the bay nearly straight down the slough. The water is not deep but is deep enough for a SOT yak.

If you turn around at that point, then you get this great view of the salt prairie that is down there. Where the truck is parked was under water last week. The elevation of the dirt is about eighteen inches. Some times a good high tide covers the area.
If the wind had not been blowing twenty plus mph, the mosquitoes would have eaten me alive.

A stop at the Academy sporting goods store got me the last nylon long sleeve fishing shirt in my size that they had. These are life savers when out in this salt environment for extended periods of time. They dry out quickly when wetted and help keep you cooler. This time of the year you get cooler not cool.

A stop at JerryB’s kayak shop netted me some good tips on where to launch and fish in the area. Sadly it also removed a large chunk of money from my bank account because of the much more comfortable yak seat that came home with me. At least it can me amortized over the rest of my life.

Tomorrow might be a great day for taking the yak down to Rockport and trying to have tooooo much fun on the water. TheOFM.

Blood Thirsty Insects

Sinton, Texas
Hot. Did I mention Hot and HUMID.
This mornings fishing trip went well. The water at Rockport is very clear and green like it is supposed to be. One fellow caught a sand trout and that was the end of the catching. About eleven am it was getting to hot and miserable for me. Not catching anything but seaweed means not having to clean any fish.

At the end of the pier, which is more like a rock groin, the rocks splay out a good bit. There were two sheepshead messing around the rocks feeding on little somethings. Nope they would not bite my offerings. While standing there watching the sheepshead, a porpoise came up from the deeper water and swam across the shallow rocks about ten feet from me. That is the closest that one has ever been to me. It was magnificent. Even though the moment was but a fleeting moment, it will be remembered for a long time. The water was full of bait fish like mullet and shad. No sign of any game fish ever showed on the surface. There is always a time to try again.

Back in Sinton, the mosquitoes have exploded this evening. A noon walk yielded three or four of the miserable critters. The walk this evening was bad. The route had to stay on the paving. Three attempts to walk off pavement was met by an army of blood suckers attacking with vigor. According to Luella, the city will be applying mosquito insecticide tonight if the wind dies down enough. The city probably wants to get right on the problem so no bad diseases will get passed to the folks.

Some good news. The poice caught the criminals that stole Luella's golf cart. They do not admit to stealing some yard art that is also missing.

A very productive event for today was getting the truck and trailer washed. The truck looks pretty good with all the dried salt spray gone from it. Sixteen more days until the National Parks Old Farts Pass is available to me. That will be a welcome pass for helping me to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Retirement Benefits

Sinton, Texas
A very low key day has been enjoyed today. Only one thing of excitement happened and that was last night. Luella, who runs the park and uses a golf cart to get around, was asleep in her house when criminals broke into her garage and stole her golf cart. They left it on the ditch a little ways out from the park and damaged it to where it needs repair to be drivable.

In the late afternoon a trip to Lake Corpus Christi was made for fishing, thinking that everyone had probably gone home from the weekend fun. WRONG AGAIN. The place was still packed with folks having fun instead of going home to get ready for work tomorrow. This picture of the pier that I was going to fish does not show the group of seven folks with chairs and wagons that are entering the pier. The white foam is from jet skis running around too close to the pier. Never mind and the trip home was initiated.

A benefit of retired life happened on the way over to the Lake. The road had been traveled many times from this campground to the Lake. When the route got to the Interstate to turn right, it did not happen. The road that went straight ahead had not had a visit from me. Taking the liberties given to a retired person like me, today the route went straight across into unknown territory. Oh Boy excitement.

As it worked out, the new road was nice but very rough. It went down a ways and turned right to the town of Mathis. It was a nice side trip, but not really special at all.

On return from the Lake, my daily walk was the next event. As the path wound around the park near the golf course, there were seven golf balls to be gathered up for my use. As it happened, in my conversation with Terry this evening it came up about the golf balls. One of them was the type he uses so it is now in his hands for care. My golf game is so good that I can play any old ball and not affect my score.

The planned big excitement for tomorrow is to wash the truck. It is all covered in smashed bugs from today’s trip. Doesn’t that sound like a great way to try to have tooooo much fun? TheOFM

Plastic Home

Sinton, Texas
Today’s adventure started last night. About nine pm a nice night of cool, gentle breeze was being enjoyed while sitting on the picnic table in the site next to me. As the daydreaming progressed along, a sudden movement next to me woke me up. It was one of the many skunks that roam this area after dark. Mr. Skunk just went along with his business like I was not there. Finally he wandered on off to chase bugs under a street light. They are very quick and it was a blast to watch him jump around to grab bugs on the ground and out of the air. In a bit my mind wandered off into important thoughts again and Mr. Skunk was forgotten.

Eventually my body indicated that it was time to head inside. So get off the bench and wander down the road to my site. As my route took me into the shadow of the truck something looked funny. On closer examination it was Mr. Skunk about three feet from me just looking at me. Of course he deserved more space than that which he immediately received. After he moved off to chase bugs near another street light, my quivering legs put me into the trailer RIGHT NOW! It seems that to always have a flashlight with you to warn the skunks away would be a good idea. A very odd thing is that these skunks do not have that skunk smell while they are out roaming. There has been dozens during the early evening that have passed close during my walks around the part. Not yet has one exhibited that special fragrance as it passed by. And Luella, your skunky, skunky, skunky audio effort does not always move them away.

This afternoon seam sealing my new plastic house was accomplished. It was a bit breezy, but the plastic house was very well behaved and did not blow into the next county. It took about twenty minutes to apply the seam sealer and then wait on the hot sun and wind to dry it.

The temperature is only 92 but the humidity from all the Dolly water evaporating is high enough that the heat index was 103. Without the breeze it would have been to high to measure.

A trip to Wal-Mart to order new golf glasses was a failure. The shop there where I had my trifocals made it April now wanted to charge me an extra $20 since I had my own frames. Competition is wonderful, so they got a nice NO and my departure sucked a few displays off the walls. This turnip may have recently fallen off the truck, but he is still rolling. The good part is that diesel was “only” $4.539 a gallon over there. The truck has a full tummy now.

Louisiana State Parks have a neat thing they do for us old fat men. If you are over 62 (19 more days) they waive the entry fees and give a fifty percent discount on camping fees. Looks like Louisiana might get a little of my money in the future, especially at the parks on Lake Toledo Bend. New Mexico is an even better deal. Out of state folks pay $225 for a year and get water campsites for no more cost. Other utilities like electricity and sewer are $4 a day each. One great thing about this trailer is the large holding tanks. The gray water fills first and if my habits do not make any attempt to conserve water it usually takes me about six days before needing to dump.
Since my stay here in Sinton lasts another three weeks, there is time to get some paddling in while trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Having Fun To The End

Sinton, Texas
Randy Pausch died today. His name was new to me when it showed up on my internet screen. He died from cancer at the early age of 47. Cancer has been a companion to many folks in my life, so the extreme down side is well known to me. Randy apparently had some good thoughts about life. They that will be coming my way as soon as I can find the publications. When he knew he had only a few months left, this is what he said about having fun
“I mean I don't know how to not have fun. I'm dying and I'm having fun. And I'm going to keep having fun every day I have left. Because there's no other way to play it,"

Most of this morning was spent cleaning up after the storm mess. Luella had her crew come through the campground and pick up the debris from the storm. It looks decent again.

This afternoon/evening the golf course twilight price parted me from some more money. The course is still very wet and sloppy. By the time the front nine was finished, my desire to play golf was over. The trudge back home seemed to take forever since my tummy was gnawing on my spine. A nice Healthy Choice dinner with a large bagel fixed the tummy right up. Later tonight a small bag of popcorn is in order. This pretty well sums up a relaxing day of being a lazy bum.
Tomorrow is Saturday and a day normally not spent out running around in the masses. So where will TheOfm go to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Golf Course Whitecaps

Sinton, Texas
The wind and rain started about one am this morning. By seven this morning we had received about three inches. The wind was not very bad and just blew dead parts of the trees down on everything. This was the scene out my door about six thirty this morning.

After breakfast and when the rain had slacked off for a while, the golf course had little white caps on it where the wind was blowing the tops off the wavelets. Later when wading was no longer necessary, this was what the golf course looked like.

By noon and the finish of lunch, the radar showed that most of the bad weather was over. Rockport did not get hit hard but maybe there would be something interesting to see anyway. The tides were still about two feet high and the wind still fairly strong. The very nice concrete pier where a lot of fish were caught last winter was having a tough time of it. For some reason no fishermen were out on it trying their luck. Can you see any reason???? According to the hard bodies that kayak, my lil boat can handle that type of wave action without a problem. The boat might but TheOFM will not.

As the adventure wandered on down the coast, a boat ramp new to me appeared and had to be checked out. What an excellent ramp in an excellent spot! There was one of the typical old timers there with his three dogs. He was using a cast net. Now cast nets are a lot of fun, but they do take some practice to get them to perform properly. In my teens I used on that was 9 feet in diameter very well. It would be a comedy to see me try to be that athletic in my ancient fat body now.

The old fellow was catching minnows of some type and shad or menhaden. The white bucket to the back left is what he was keeping them in. That boat ramp looks like it would be a very good one for launching a yak into the fishing waters.

Speaking of fishing waters, the channel led out to the bay behind that red building. There are a couple of cuts through the grasses for a yak to short cut to the fishing grounds. Several yakkers from the Texas Kayak Fishing forum do a lot of catching out in this area. The line of breakers in the background is the start of the main bay. It is still about ten miles of paddling to get out into the Gulf Of Mexico. But the fish are here around the grasses.


The yak is now un-hurricane proofed and ready for a bath so fish can be caught from it.
Tomorrow is supposed to be sunshine and very hot and muggy. The mystery is what will The OFM do to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Making Lemonade

Sinton, Texas
Dolly went south which was great for us and not so good for the tip of Texas and Mexico. The cotton farmers around here are probably not really happy about the rain since the cotton had been defoliated and was awaiting harvest in the dry fields.
We got very little wind and about 1.5 inches of rain.

The wind knocked some of the small rotted stuff in the trees out. One small branch fell on the hood of the truck and shattered to little pieces. There was not a scratch on the hood though. There are still plenty of widow makers up in the trees waiting for the right moment to make a dramatic exit.

A downside of hurricanes is the mosquitoes hatching out in about two weeks. The affected areas will likely need to start a mosquito spraying program about next week. Those heavy mosquito days are firmly etched into my hide from the OLD days.

This view of the campground is during a gentle moment of rain between squalls.

After the mail was retrieved this morning, a trip to put some checks into the mail was needed. Every penny counts when you are without a pension you know. It is nice to get a dividend check once in a while, even if it is not enough to fill the fuel tank on the truck. Not much happens when the weather keeps you penned inside a 21 foot camper all day.

Hurricanes are not necessarily all bad. Sometimes they make you some lemonade. Folks over at http://www.bigbendchat.com/ are hoping that Dolly gets on up there to Bibe to water the cacti and other plants. It would make the fall hiking a lot more beautiful for taking pictures.

The folks at http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/ are hoping that the flushing of the bays and the high tides will create bountiful fall of fish catching. How is unknown, but my plans include taking advantage of both scenarios. After all it is only 650 miles ($300) one way between the two places. Not everything is bigger in Texas but the distances between things certainly is large.
The good part is that there is a lot of neat places in Texas to run around in as you try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Hilda The Wonder Pup

Sinton, Texas
Which way is it going to go????? Hurricane Dolly has been bouncing back and forth and now looks like it will go into the Rio Grande River mouth. This morning was spent getting things ready to weather the storm here. The yak was moored to the posts that are holding the electrical distribution panels up. This is the “bad” weather picture of this morning,

To keep the yak from acting like a kite, it was turned on to the flat side of the bottom. Then a few inches of water was added to the interior. Since the hull is on the ground it can handle only about three inches of water or risk splitting the seams. Hopefully if we get the sixty mile per hour winds like are possible, this amount of water will help control the flapping in the breeze.


Has anyone else ever heard a dog referred to as a bark cannon? That one about laid me out on the pavement today.

The Sinton Little League has at least three ball fields here in the park. They are very nice fields, but not fancy. This area is one of the lower priced areas to live in the USA. When my travels brought me here earlier this year the ball fields had heavy use and it was good to hear the activities going on.

My adventures lately are very small adventures, unless you count dodging hurricanes big adventure. On one of my daily walks, this squirrel was very accommodating and allowed me to get about ten feet from it. It has caught my attention that a lot of them in this area plop themselves belly down on the cooler concrete benches and tables during this HOT weather. Usually they do not get to excited to move until you get pretty close to them.
And now for the MAIN EVENT. Luella and her pup, Hilda, make the rounds a few times a day. They are our caretakers and check up to keep things in good order here in the campground. Hilda is a golf dog. Every chance she gets, she takes a golf ball from someone and puts it into the golf cart. She does keep a close eye on them too. In this picture, Hilda has her eye on a cat or squirrel. She can be very fixated on her target.

Since the storm is likely going in far enough south that we may not get any significant bad weather, tomorrow may be a day of setting things out again. We will see. If it stays far south, TOFM will not be getting any storm pictures and that is a good thing. With luck the golf course will be open tomorrow and golf will be attempted in the twilight times.

A few medium dark clouds showed up this afternoon but no rain fell here. As you can see from the first picture, we are still watering heavily to save the grass and trees. It will be a surprise to me tomorrow to find out what gets done to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

The Big Split

Sinton, Texas
A trip toward Corpus Christi for some stuff from Home Depot this morning yielded some information but not the insulation wanted for the trailer. A stop at the Wal-Mart resulted in finding out that the local HEB is not a premium priced as was thought. On a $29 purchase at HEB, the Wal-Mart was only a couple of cents over $1 cheaper. So it is not worth the $11.20 to drive to Wal-Mart to try to save some money on groceries. But always carry the list with me so if a Wal-Mart happens by a few things can be purchased to bring home.
While sitting at my computer desk today, my simple brain finally realized the neighbors tire on the motor home has a BIG crack in it. They will have an ugly surprise when they come back for the winter.


The folks in the campground are discussing what to do about the probable hurricane coming into the area. In fact some folks have been moving into the park to get away from the coast. Tomorrow morning is when TOFM will decide where he will ride the storm out. If it comes any more this way, the rig will be rolling east. Today was hot and beautiful. My round of golf went well and my moneys worth was easy to get. Does this look like a storm waiting to pounce on us?


Tomorrow should be interesting and lead me to someplace to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Walk The Course

Sinton, Texas
Out of bed at seven am this morning. What an exciting day planned!! First is grocery shopping. The local grocery is an HEB that is on the small side. The selection goes more like beans rather than what kind of beans. But they do stock at least one type of everything I needed at premium prices. To my surprise they had a big supply of edamame beans for me. There was only one pack left when all that could be reached had been placed into my basket. Between the soy milk and edamame beans my cholesterol has dropped under 200. None of the drugs that the quack doctor in Richland kept putting me on did anything but make me sick. The doctor I finally tried at the last few months in Richland was sharper. The first thing he suggested is the soy products instead of kickback drugs. It worked well.

After putting things away, the grass called for me to irrigate it. A new fellow has taken over the RV park “lawn maintenance” and he has been working hard to get all the grass watered. The big tree near my truck got a lot of water put down for it today. Grass comes back easy, but trees must be cared for properly to keep them healthy. Trees are my second favorite plant after fragrant roses. A plant with fancy flowers that look like roses but have no special fragrance is just a weed in progress to me.

The bath tub was needing to have the legalize stickers removed after the last two years. The were stubborn little devils but no match for TOFM. Now all that is needed is careful care for a lifetime or two. That was a chore on my knees and back.

For a break for my back, the golf course got a visit to find out the cost of playing there. For me the deal will be the twilight during the week. After five pm it is all you can play for $6. Now that is almost cheap enough for me. By then the temperature is letting off a little. Usually my clubs ride in a bag on my back while I walk the course. Good exercise and enjoyable for me too.

A very considerate person just came by. Louella, the wagonmaster of the campground, stopped by to let me in on all the news about the rain storm headed for south Texas and where to take shelter if things got too bad. Now let me ask is she super special or extremely special? She is special for certain. This is the first time a manager in a campground bothered to let me know what is happening that could cause me concern. She is impressive and another good reason why it is so good to stay here.

It has been a moderately busy day and my migraine leftovers are easing off a good bit. This gives me hope that tomorrow can be a day to trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Another Blood Letting

Sinton, Texas
The major upgrade on the park swimming pool that was in progress when the traveling time hit me last April has been completed and used well. In this picture is the new slide and table and chairs and some other improvements. Yesterday there was a huge birthday party going on inside the pool area. Lots of folks laughing and kids whooping. Another great family scene that this town is famous for having.

The campsite is not a wilderness experience at all, even though sometimes there is some wildlife around here. The sites are well spaced and supplied with water, electric and sewer. The parking pad is concrete and gently sloped for runoff. The folks are friendly and the area very pleasant. Sinton does not have a lot of shopping in town, but anything you might normally need for day to day life is readily available.
The main objective today was to give blood down in Rockport at the Wal-mart. The blood loss was painless and pleasant. As a reward several small items are given to you like a coupon for a hamburger at WHATABURGER, the best burgers in the world. Two tickets for a baseball game in Corpus Christi were also part of the package. The big item is my new T-shirt. These blood shirts are great. Here is the newest model of the donor shirt that everyone able to give blood should be getting.
This area is harvesting the second or third crop of the year. On a good year they get in five crops for harvest. Along the highway to Rockport is large fields of various crops. On the west side of the road were cotton fields getting ready for supplying the material for my next blood donor shirt.

As usual in hot weather when blood is donated, my body cannot handle much heat until the next day. Therefore the rest of the day will be spent in lazy bumming along in the A/C in my home or the clubhouse. Therefore it is up to my readers today to take over trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Home For A Month

Sinton, Texas
For at least a month the blog will be from Sinton. More specifically Rob & Bessie Welder Park site 16.

Immediately after breakfast the badly overdue laundry was started. There is only two washers and dryers but there was three loads to wash and dry. Usually it only takes two loads, but being a lazy bum for a few days extra added to my chore this morning. The laundry facilities here are in the clubhouse and are very convenient to use.

Tomorrow will be a trip to Rockport to give blood. This trip will be combined with grocery shopping and whatever else jumps up in front of me. There is no Wal-Mart in Sinton and the local grocery store is a little pricey for my taste. However it is cheaper to shop locally than to drive the twenty plus miles to a Wal-mart for cheaper groceries. The cost of diesel has me thinking in terms of $$ per trip rather than miles. Like most of us, my trips are planned more carefully to minimize the diesel cost of shopping.

Here are a couple of pictures of some of the pretty flowers in the area. This yellow flowering bush was beautiful in person with a nice fragrance.

This Crepe Myrtle was the purple flower type and blooming profusely. All my life crepes have been a favorite of mine.


A little after lunch another migraine headache hit hard. A snooze on the couch was in order while the headache progressed to the point my vision had returned and all that was left was the screaming headache. A walk around the park was attempted, but the heat was 93 and more than was comfortable for me. On the way back to the trailer an errant golf ball bounced on the ground about a foot from me. Where it went I do not know, but it startled me. They hurt real bad when they hit you.

This evening will be spent kicking back and letting the headache subside some. Watering the grass ought to be a good way to be a bum and relax. Actually being a lazy bum ( listen up Ken YU) sounds like a good way to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Last Nights Walk

Kerrville, Texas
Morning Edition
Before the rig rolls this morning.

Last evenings walk yielded some nice pictures and thoughts. The first thing that came to mind with this next picture of an oversize grill in the day use area was family get togethers with folks laughing and kids running amuck having tooooo much fun. This grill is about six times the size of a normal park grill so I expect the local grocery store would like to see it filled every night.

Since we are on a food trail, a little farther down the road was the wild grape vines. Small grapes are starting to plump out and ripen for the harvest. These should be the muscadine variety and make wonderful dark red wine and jelly.
Not quite food, but still vegetation is the old cypress stumps in the river. Many of them are host to a new crop of one type or another. Some have trees rooted in the rotted tops of the stumps. This one has a nice collection of grasses on it. This grass looks a lot healthier than the grasses drying up on the land where they get no water.
Now we switch to happiness land. This large pile of water toys is what is available to rent for playing in the river. There is yaks, canoes, plastic floats and a couple of paddle boats. Today there was a lot of them on the water since the weather was more reasonable.
Across from the boat ramp and toys this evening was a couple trying their luck at catching some fish. The conversation was soft and pleasant sounding from what I could hear. However no fish were caught while they were in view.
My path took me through the woods along the river for a soothing walk towards my home. Next to the river this park has cabins for rent. Inside is an electrical outlet, a/c and electric heat. A table and chairs sit to one side and double bunk beds occupy the back half. These are a considerable step up from the old style of half screen/half louvered walls shelters that they used to have here.


A comfortable walk and pleasant viewing brought to a close a day of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Late Evening Edition
The trip to Sinton went very well. Traffic was moderate to light the whole way. By the time my set up was complete it was 3pm. A "dogbone" was needed for the site that was chosen. My trailer is a 30 amp connection and the site has a 50 amp connection. A quick trip to the RV supply near town and a "dogbone" was put into service. A "dogbone" is a wired adapter with a 50 amp male plug on one end and a 30 amp female plug on the other end. The overall length is about eighteen inches. Now the rig is set up and coled very well.

Several folks were still here from last May and we spent a while getting reacquainted. It was very nice to visit with Luella, Walter, Dan, Zona, Terry and Karen again. Several things have changed in the interim but mostly for the good. Today the truck got nearly filled with diesel, but the pump shut off at $100. My financial picture is needing a very careful going over and much more careful planning.

A Whataburger grilled chicken sandwich was supper. The shrubbery around here is blooming like crazy. The sagebush blooms are beautiful as well as the crepe myrtles and several more unknown but very nice blooms fill in the area well. Maybe pictures tomorrow.

Tomorrow will be very busy with laundry, grocery shopping, a library trip and who knows exactly what else. No matter what the main goal it to try to have tooooo much fun.TheOFM

Interruptions While Fishing

Kerrville, Texas

Tomorrow is head for Sinton day. It is time for some golf a couple of times a week and the course is next to the RV campground. On top of that the neatest lady to visit with, Luella, rides herd on the place. It should be a great place to not spend as much money as has been spent lately and visit with friends from my stay there before. This should be a five hour tow and will be tiresome during the first part where the route goes along back roads.

Sinton will put me within easy day trips of salt and fresh water fishing and yakking spots. Hopefully some surf fishing is in the near future also. Other golf courses are within an hour of driving as well. Additionally biking has a few good spots down in that area that have not had my wheels roll over them.

True to my word, The Lakehouse got some money from me for lunch today. The hushpuppies were a little overcooked, but the rest of the meal was perfect.

The weather today was less hot than yesterday so some fishing in the river was in order. Naturally a shady spot with a breeze was selected for my intense fishing effort. The three hours spent watching this scene just about wore me out.


Two small bream were caught that had the audacity to interrupt my fishing. They went back into the river. THERE, that will teach them to interrupt my fishing. Fishing was the plan not catching. Dadgum it.

As if that was not enough, there were folks out in the sun kayaking. Even the OFM knows to wear his PFD when out in a small boat. This lady was part of a group of giggly girls out messing around in the yaks. They were trying to have tooooo much from the sound of things.

Folks who know me in person know that I am somewhat of an anti smoking person. Smoking killed both of my parents and I do not want to be breathing even second hand smoke. Kerrville has taken it a step to far in my opinion.
My policy is if the smoker is not causing me a problem, then they can smoke as they choose. When outside I can always move upwind or leave to get away from the smoke. Too excessively restrictive in my worthless opinion.

This evening the high temperature for this location has been 92 with a nice breeze. That is very tolerable in the shade. Look for me in the shade as I try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

103 In The Shade

Kerrville, Texas
Seven hours of towing today over some of the most roly-poly roads I have ever driven. By the time Kerrville cam into view, it was time to be shutting down. There was no relaxing while driving today. If there were eggs in the refrigerator they would be scrambled in the shell eggs.

Oil drilling is still going big time here. There were at least five oversize drilling rigs being transported southward today. Going north was three blades for wind generators. One blade had a big hole knocked in the blade. That repair will be an engineering event. This is the tail end of the last set of rigs that were encountered on the road.

For years in my previous life, the Kerrville-schreiner park was a great campground. A couple of years ago the state handed it off to the city of Kerrville. And now it is not first class. In this picture of the campsite you can see a white strip through the trees. That is highway 173 with a lot of traffic and noise fifty feet away from the trailer.
The reason for the southward route choice is a bet that the real temperatures in the plains will be a lot hotter than the 91-92 the weather man was predicting. While riding around today the temperature in Kerrville was up to 103. The high plains get very hot in the sun so a choice was made to run for the coast and less hot temperatures.

These folks are paddling yaks on the river at this park during the 100+ heat. Not me. The A/C is working well and my noggin is using it to all its ability.

A nice playground has been added in the last 7 years since I was last here. A basketball half court, volley ball pit and kid playground equipment. It you touch that metal today you would have a lifetime brand on your body.


Tomorrow will be very little driving, laundry and a visit to my favorite catfish restaurant…The Lakehouse. The fun is about to overload me already. It is 7:30 pm and down to 95 degrees now. It is time to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Fort Richardson

Jacksboro, Texas
Afternoon edition
After getting away late this morning, the traffic on highway 380 north of Dallas was heavy and slow. The terrain is rolling trees and grassland and pleasant to the eyes in general. As the rig was pulling into the Jacksboro area some large rain drops hit the windshield. There is a State Park here so I ducked in to avoid any bad weather traveling. It is called Fort Richardson and that is all that is known at the moment. The sky has clouded over so when the picture taking and walking starts in a few minutes, an umbrella will be part of the equipment along for the adventure.

Evening Edition

It was hot at the start of the adventure and did not get any better at any time during the adventure. There are nine photos tonight so there will not be a lot of talking.
For my readers that like to see the campsite, this is one of the best ones ever for quiet and private.

The location is site 5, Ft. Richardson State Park, Jacksboro, Texas. The park map is here for your examination. It is an exceptionally clean and pleasant park.
As usual for a Texas state park, there are the deer all over the place including some newer models that are on display.

Now on to the Fort part. By now you have seen a few forts in my blogs. They are not searched for in general, they just happen to pop up and get in the way. Here is the official marker commemorating the fort.

As you approach the historical site the hospital is the dominate building right in front of you.

Out past the hospital in front to back order is the bakery, the guard house and then the magazine for storage of explosives.

This is pretty much like most of the other temporary frontier supply forts in Texas. They were built for use for a short time and then abandoned. From what has been visited so far, see Ft. McKavett last. It is the best restored of all of them so far.

Out back of the historic site is a spare railroad bridge sitting around. So if you are looking for a railroad bridge here it is.

And last but best is the quarry used for construction of the fort. It is located directly behind the park entrance building and is very pretty.

There you have a tour of the fort and the park without the sweat and fatigue that accompanied me during the three hours to get these pictures and walk the park. Pooped was my status when my home came into sight again. The heat is making me consider carefully about next directions of travel. Tune in tomorrow to see where the ofm decides to try to have tooooo much. TheOFM.