The Buc-ees Experience!

Huntsville, TX.    High: 70.  Low: 56.   Sunny Ridge RV Park.   Site: 9

5G AT&T very fast. T-Mobile: 50 download, upload 4.8 

Today was a travel day. We usually have planned out in the day or two before leaving about how many miles we are going to travel, and Eldo has done his usual heavy researching into campgrounds along the way. How do we find them? Eldo loves to use the RV Parky app. It's great. You put in a city about where you'd like to spot the campgrounds and they pop up on the map. Then you click the little campground icon, and a whole bunch of quick info comes up--amenities, type of sites, rate, reviews, etc. The website link for the campground is also there.

We also use Trip Wizard, which is a whole lot more complicated and not very user friendly, in our opinion. Some RVers love it. It has a ton more features for the RVer, and if you are patient and don't mind a steep learning curve, again, in our opinion, it's an excellent resource as well. We just have a lot of trouble navigating and using the maps and tech involved with that program. For example, pinching and expanding the map portion. It jumps all over the place! It's not an app but a program you pay for and install on your computer. So RV Parky is our first go to for campground location and info.

But this time we were a little more loosey goosey. Eldo decided that there were two possible travel/distance scenarios and that we would just start out and drive, and depending on how he was feeling today (fatigue, traffic congestion, and any other surprise factors) we would pick a destination between the two, and Sparky would call ahead on the road to the campground to confirm they had spots available. So off we went. 

Our route was on highway 377 out of Gordonville, TX, and GPS rerouted the normal route (82) because a portion of 75 was closed. We had to drive through Dallas no matter what. We were impressed with the beautiful infrastructure of the city's bridges and underpasses. They must be pretty new! Beautiful colors in the concrete, salmon and sage green, and Texas stars as well.

While we were driving, Sparky called the first campground destination and they did not have sites for a big rig our size for tonight. We called the second campground, Sunny Ridge RV Park near Huntsville, TX. Room to spare, he says! So we drove 268 miles today total to the park which is a nice driving distance instead of the usual 350+ we do often and it will give us another short drive tomorrow to our destination Thousand Trails Park in Columbus, TX, called Colorado River.

Sunny Ridge RV site #9

Sunny Ridge RV Park is a beautiful little park outside of Huntsville, TX between Huntsville and Madisonville. They have about 30 sites, and pull thrus are available. Sites are finely crushed limestone (?) gravel and some slope more than others so leveling could be a little tricky depending on the site you get. The owner is super friendly and super helpful. We had a little troubling leveling as the middle stabilizer jacks would not come down. But the main ones did, so we are level and stable as we can be on this site.

The bathroom and laundry facilities are new and beautiful, rivaling the amenities of much higher priced RV resorts. Those are the nicest shower doors Sparky has EVER seen in a campground. (see photo at right).We are only here one night on our way to Columbus, TX, or we'd definitely think about staying longer. 35.00 a night is a VERY reasonable price. Very close to I-45 so easy to get to. We highly recommend this park.

Since we got to our park at a great hour in the middle of the afternoon, we wanted to go check out Buc-ees--THE biggest travel station/rest stop/fueling station chain in Texas. It has a reputation for the cleanest bathrooms (Sparky did not check that out, we'll take their word for it), 

and the world's largest convenience store, the Buc-ees in New Braunfels, TX, is 66,355 square feet! BUT--They are going to open an even bigger one in Sevierville, TN, which will be 74,000 square feet, have 120 fueling stations, electric car charging, and a 250 ft. car wash. HA! Not everything is bigger in Texas!

That's all jerky!

They are famous for their HUGE numbers of gas pumps, the biggest jerky bar in the US, (well, it sure looked like it!) the unique gifts, home decor, and unique foods at each of their stores. Buc-ees is an experience that you have to check out. 

Want to brand your own steak when you cook on the grill? Buc-ees has got you covered. With your own branding iron.

Sparky saw jammies she wanted, tee shirts, snacks and all kinds of things. There were really nice gift ideas there from cookware to clothing. They even sold Columbia sportswear there. But because it was so crowded, she just looked and checked it out and didn't buy a thing! (WHOA! THAT is unheard of! laughs Eldo.) What a store! Don't you just love these Beaver nuggets? There were a bazillion flavors to choose from. So appetizing! Ugh. That's all we have to say....

Are we having fun yet?

And we are back out on the road tomorrow to Columbus, Texas...See you on the road!