Caprock Canyon State Park!

Hey Down Home Friends,

We recently had the chance to get away to Caprock Canyon State Park in Texas. I had never been and I did not know really what to expect except for a few internet searches and pictures. I was excited to see a part of Texas that I have never seen before.

As we approached the campgrounds, I could see that this was a going to be a great experience. For miles all you could see was beautiful scenery. I didn't know if I should look to the left or to the right. All I knew was that beautiful scenery was beginning to surround us completely. It sure seemed like a great place to spend a long relaxing weekend after a stressful week.

I do not spend too much time looking at the reviews of the places that we travel to because usually we are looking for something different so the ratings do not work for us. I have my own way of rating a campground. It all boils down to this.

Is there good cell service?

Can I get a satellite signal?

Is the scenery interesting?

Is there something to do?

Is there a body of water?

Is the campsite semi private?

You can laugh but those are the important things to me. And Caprock Canyon has all that and more.

One of my favorite things in the campgrounds was the prairie dog town. There were plenty of prairie dogs to see and photograph and listen to. If you stick around for a few minutes you can capture quite a few pictures. I knew I had to get a few to show my class.

We had a chance to have some hearty early morning breakfasts before the sun came up and while we were waiting for the temperature to rise. Even in the middle of March in Texas it can be cold.

There are plenty of trails to hike and plenty of places to stop and get those breathtaking views. Lots of places to take pictures even if you are just driving through.

A small lake is located within the park and it looks like a perfect place to fish or kayak. There were quite a few picnic areas with nice views. And there is plenty of easy access to the water.

If you are lucky you can get that up close shot of one of the bison freely roaming in the park. The state park is the official home to the 80 descendants of the great southern plains bison. It is the perfect place to view a magnificent animal in a natural habitat.

I have been to many Texas state parks and this is on the list of the top five. It was beautiful, interesting and had a lot to offer. You can take a shuttle car and tour the park, visit the nature center, take amazing photography, see animals up close, hike, bike, kayak or enjoy peaceful quiet time at the many spacious campsites. The cell service was great so you can get that perfect shot and post it right away. The satellite signal was good too but we didn't want to watch a late night movie when we had clear skies to view the stars.

Caprock Canyon State Park provided the perfect backdrop for a peaceful weekend to recharge and energize for a busy week ahead!

Inks Lake State Park



Welcome Down Home Friends,

It is finally summertime which gives us a chance to get out and about. I was so excited to be able to return to one of my favorite places in Texas. Inks Lake State Park is one of those places where I long to go to kick back and enjoy the outdoors. It was the first place I considered when deciding on a location for a Father's Day fishing themed celebration. With so much to see and do I knew it would be the perfect spot for this celebration.

And when I say perfect spot I mean just that! A place where you can drag your kayaks out from your campsite is the ultimate spot for me. I swear we got the best site in the entire park although there were several good ones that we saw along the way.

Knowing that I had little time to prepare for this celebration, I hunted around the house and grabbed what I could for a little inspiration. After my initial hunt for anything fish related, I realized I did have other things on hand I could use for props to go along with what you see here. I realized I had camping dishes and lanterns that would work well too. As I was packing for the trip, I just added what I could to the travel bag if I thought it fit the theme. Knowing that time would be short the week leading up to the trip, I started to worry about the cake. I had grand visions of creating something on my own but I realized that with working all week and not having ever really decorated a cake before, I might need to consider plan B.

I was able to get a local grocery store to make the cake and create the water and land. Unfortunately they did not have the cake kit so I had to find it on my own. I was able to find it on Amazon and had it delivered in a flash. I have to say it was the easiest cake to put together and I would do it again. I was worried that the cake would not make the three hour drive but they packed it in the box very well and it made it through a bumpy, warm ride just fine.  

I knew I didn't have to worry too much about the food because we always plan that out before we go on any camping trip. I am lucky my husband likes to grill and he had planned on grilling.

My job is simply the...decorations, drinks and dessert!

That plan works for us and I am just fine with that. We usually cook what we would cook at home so getting ready for a trip and planning the meals is no big deal.

With the decorations, drinks, dinner and dessert taken care of we were able to get out and about and take a good look around. Inks Lake has lots of trails and a lot of natural beauty to see. It is hard not to stop and take a picture!

With so much to do and see we never left the park once. We walked, took pictures, rode bikes, kayaked, went on some boat rides, fished and sat by the campfire under the stars. All in all, the fish themed party was a huge success and a memorable celebration that I am sure we will try to recreate next year.

All the party supplies were purchased from Amazon. The basic cake was made by Albertson's Grocery Store and Bakery.

 

A Wimberly Texas Getaway!



Hey Down Home Friends,

We finally made it to the cabin in the woods in Wimberly, Texas. It was long overdue but so worth the wait. As you can see we stayed in a quaint cabin and it was surrounded by the cypress trees. It was just the setting we were looking for. A little off the beaten path but just so peaceful to get away from it all. I just can't say enough about this little cabin. I swear it had everything. All you need are your clothes if you are going here. The best part of this get away is that we had no expectations or plans we just knew we were going. We didn't have a hard time figuring out what to do...

We just had to check out our surroundings before we decided to do anything else. And we even got in our first walk on the leash.

And once we finally got inside we discovered that our cabin wasn't too shabby! In fact, it was pretty cozy in there!

The cabin was charming and comfortable. And it had everything we needed for a weekend getaway. Wimberly has a quaint little town that you can see in a morning or afternoon trip. This was perfect for us to get out of the woods and do a little shopping.

I was able to pick up some vintage camping pans while we were out. Now when I use them I always remember the time were at the cabin in the woods. And it reminds me that we all need to take a break from the normal day to day and live a little bit of life!

When we returned we had a basket of snacks waiting for us.

And we were able to take a little break on the tiny front porch and get a better look at our surroundings.

 

And we had a chance to talk about a little bit of...nothing and then plan dinner. We were able to pick up steaks and vegetables in town and our cabin in the woods had a little grill so we were ready to go.

And I guess you can see we were not roughing it a bit! We had everything in that cabin provided for us even the tablecloth!

 I am not quite sure about what it is about being in the woods that makes you sleep so good or maybe it is the fact that we finally took some time to ourselves and took a break from the day to day routine. Needless to say that after a deep sleep I was actually up and awake before the roosters began to crow. It gave me a little time to sneak a peek at my computer and download some pictures from our getaway before starting breakfast.

The cabin had everything you could need for a breakfast in the woods. What is not to love here?

Even my helper had a good breakfast!

We had a lot of time for rest and relaxation in Wimberly. We were able to take in all the cabin and the little town had to offer in a long weekend but most important we were able to get away from the everyday routine of our day to day life. And on our way out we were able to make one last stop at a local antique shop.

And look who we found on our way out of town! He is all dressed up and ready for the holidays!