Wintering in Texas-the Beginning

Site: G-31    High: 62  Low: 37 

We are settled in Lake Conroe Thousand Trails RV Park and campground for three weeks, FREE with our membership in the Thousand Trails program. This is a very nice park in the Thousand Trails system. There are 300 sites, a big lake (22,000 acres), fishing ponds and you are close to civilization. (Which, for Sparky, is Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann Fabrics) Hey, now, it's crafting season/holiday gift giving season, and Sparky has to be ready! 

There are many good sites to choose from, but many of the pull throughs are very close, side to opposite side. There are some shady sites but many are taken with the seasonal rentals. 

The amenities are closed for the most part due to Covid, so we can't take advantage of them, but they are doing some limited activities outdoors and with masks.

This particular park has updated amenities--a beautiful pool which is UNHEATED all year, so you take your chances if you want to swim in the cooler, make that COLDEST months of the winter. Sparky stuck her hand in the water, and it was FREEZING! No swimming for this gal! Phooey!

It's December, and we've had quite a few nights in the 30's, with daytime highs in the 50's to 60's. Tomorrow it's supposed to get into the low seventies. The pool is gorgeous, the bath house adjoining the pool is terrific, there are VERY nice basketball and tennis courts, nice playground, swings, a dog park, a boat launch, propane, paddleboat rentals when Covid is not prevalent, a fitness center, fishing (catch and release), mini golf, laundromats and a couple of pickle ball courts as well.

This park has lots of cabins of varying sizes, park models and a park model residential portion if you are interested in seasonal or annual living options. They have added a new section with VERY large concrete patio sections/sites with both back in and pull throughs. You would think a park this nice would have decent interior roads, but NOPE! They are terrible, and every time it rains, the roads wash out and become even worse. It's been raining quite a bit while we are here. They do try to grade the roads after storms, but the gravel and patch jobs aren't keeping up with the destruction of the roads. You can't ride bikes around the park without dodging severe potholes and washouts. 

Sparky's daughter and grandson live in the area, so they are here in a cabin for a week. We've made a gingerbread house outdoors (those kits are terrible-the frosting is so hard to work with and what a mess we made!) But we had fun.

Sparky attempted to make ginger molasses roll out cookies from an old family recipe, but that was ALMOST a fail, because she accidentally measured five HALF cups of flour instead of five full cups and wondered why the batter was so runny. She figured it out and on we persisted. Had some trouble with the propane oven maintaining accurate temperature and cooking evenly, but hey--they turned out decently. Plus, Sparky had a little help from her grandson.

We shot a few baskets.....Eldo used to coach sports teams and Sparky and grandson got some good tips today....

Sparky's grandson got to play a little golf with Eldy...He's wearing a Buc-ees tee shirt. Buc-ees is the largest convenience gas station in the US and they have locations all over Texas. He looks so festive! And cute. He made it through 9 holes and then got a tummy ache. We think he was tuckered out!

Everything is bigger in Texas, right? We saw this license plate on a cute VW.  "Texas Golf Cart"..haha... Cute!

Sparky does a LOT of walking around the park, she was hoping for a rails to trails or great hiking, but not when you are this close to Houston. No biking on city roads, thank you. Lots of places nearby for shopping and groceries and hobbies. (insert HUGE smiley emoji)

We hope your holiday was a peaceful and safe one. Blessings to you in the coming year. Thank you for following us along our journey.

Happy holidays, and Happy New Year! from Sparky and Eldo