Happily married 55 years, retired baby boomer, mother of 2, grandmother of 4, traveler, Georgia Bulldog fan, Air Force Brat, avid reader, amateur photographer, gardener, ovarian cancer survivor, blogger. Every day is a gift!
As American college football fans, we see many team logos using letters of the alphabet.
We have spent many fall Saturdays in Sanford Stadium watching the Georgia Bulldogs. We see the Georgia G everywhere we look.
G is for Georgia BulldogsG is for Georgia BulldogsG is for Georgia Bulldogs
We love our Georgia Bulldogs so much we added the team logo to the front of our fifth wheel.
Georgia G on the front of our Fifth Wheel
We’ve made several RV trips to other college stadiums to watch the Bulldogs play. Here are a few more college football logos on display.
University of Kentucky UK logo at Commonwealth StadiumOklahoma State University Cowboy with OSU FlagUniversity of Missouri Logo in the grass at the Mizzou StadiumThe Auburn University logo at Jordan Hare Stadium
A new Toyota mini van + 2 tents + 2 parents + 2 kids = 2 weeks of fun!
We’ve had some wonderful adventures since we began traveling in our fifth wheel nine years ago but our first cross country journey when our kids were 14 and 10 will always be one of my favorites.
Way back in 1985, over twenty years before we bought our fifth wheel, we packed up our new mini van and and set out on a trip from Georgia to the Grand Canyon South Rim, about 2600 miles each way. We had been taking our kids camping around Georgia and Florida many times but this was the first time we ventured west.
Our plan was to drive as far as we could each day and stay in motels until we got to the Grand Canyon. Loaded down with two tents, coolers, and all the camping gear we owned, we were ready for anything.
Our longest driving day of the trip was on our way to the Grand Canyon when we drove 694 miles across Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. Once we reached Arizona we slowed down to take the scenic drive through the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Parks.
Our Campsite at the Grand Canyon South Rim in 1985
Of course the highlight of the trip was at the Grand Canyon South Rim. After setting up camp we went exploring and planned a hike on the Bright Angel Trail for the next morning. Keep in mind we were there the first week of July and it was HOT! With backpacks filled with water, trail mix and other snacks we set off down the trail early in the day. Going down into the canyon was fairly easy. The temperature kept rising as we got deeper into the canyon and my daughter and I decided to return to the rim while Henry and our son continued on to Plateau Point (about 5 miles from the rim) where there is an overlook into the canyon and a view of the Colorado River.
Going up was hard. There were few places to sit and rest and almost no shade. When my daughter and I got back to camp we went in the tents and collapsed on the cots hoping to cool off. After a short rest we were no cooler so we went to the snack bar for air conditioning and ice cream. We were well rested when the guys got back.
On our return trip to Georgia we stopped at Carlsbad Caverns before driving all across Texas, this time on I-10 instead of I-40. We spent a night in New Orleans and visited the Tabasco Factory before stopping at a beach front hotel in Ft. Walton Beach. We all enjoyed the huge swimming pool and finally felt cool!
I recently came across a log I kept of our trip. We drove a total of about 5200 miles and spent a whopping $321 on gas!
We travel much differently these days. We have the luxury of being able to take our time and rarely travel more than 300 miles in a day. We set up our fifth wheel and usually stay 2 or 3 nights in each location. And we can turn on the air conditioner and go inside to cool off without leaving our campsite!
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.
Many thanks to all of you who stopped by my blog last year! I enjoy hearing from you so please keep those comments coming!
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 13,000 times in 2015. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 5 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Our 2015 wandering took us on a long a spring trip from Georgia to Texas and a short fall trip to South Carolina, Virginia, and North Carolina.
During our 2015 travels we camped in 7 states and stayed in a total of 21 different parks: 11 state parks, 6 private RV parks, 3 COE parks, and 1 county park. While we enjoyed them all, a few stand out.
So here it is, the second annual “Wandering Dawgs best campgrounds of the year” list.
Number 3: Lake Bistineau State Park, Doyline, Louisiana
Waterfront Camping at Lake Bistineau State Park, Doyline, LouisianaCypress Trees dripping with Spanish Moss at Lake Bistineau
We first discovered this beautiful state park when we were traveling west in 2011. The park ranger was one of the nicest and most helpful rangers I have ever met. I have such fond memories of sitting on our own private deck watching the lake that I had been trying to figure out when we would have an opportunity to return.
It was a no-brainer to stop here as we headed home toward Georgia on our return trip from Texas. The same great ranger was there and he is still one of the most friendly and most helpful rangers of any place we have been.
Lake Bistineau State Park is located a short drive south of I-20 near Doyline, Louisiana. The sites have paved parking pads with water and electric hook ups, a picnic table, and fire pit. We had a premium site with a wooden deck overlooking the lake.There are several fishing docks located in the campground and one was right in front of our site. The bath house was spotless and there is a small free laundry. The park also has a boat launch. WiFi is available at the office.
Relaxing behind our campsite at Inks Lake State Park, Burnet, Texas
We traveled through Texas in the spring when the Texas Bluebonnets were blooming. After researching where the best place to see them would be, the area in the Texas Hill Country around Inks Lake sounded perfect. When my friend Tim from Arlingon recommended it we knew we had to stay there.
We made reservations just a few days before our arrival and were fortunate to get a waterfront site the week before Easter. We had plenty of space behind our back in site to set up our chairs an enjoy the lake. We would have stayed longer but the park was full for Easter weekend and we had to leave on Good Friday.
Our site was a waterfront, back-in site with a beautiful view of the lake behind the campsite. We enjoyed beautiful sunsets every day.
Sunset at Ink’s Lake
There are hiking trails, a fishing pier, boat launch, marina, and gift shop. Longhorn Caverns State Park is just down the road and there are many scenic drives through the Texas Hill Country.
Our own private picnic area behind our campsiteOur campsite in Palo Duro Canyon
When we made a day trip to Palo Duro Canyon from Amarillo several years ago we talked about returning one day to camp in the canyon. Camping there was high on our must do list when we traveled around Texas in the spring.
There are several campgrounds in Palo Duro Canyon State Park with backpacking, equestrian sites, tent sites, and RV sites with water and electricity. Our site in the Sagebrush Campground had large private sitting area with a covered shelter over the picnic table and a fire ring. There are hiking, biking and equestrian trails. There are also several day use picnic areas, cabins, stables with guided horseback rides, an interpretive center, and the Trading Post Restaurant and Park store.
Leigh over at Campendium asked me to submit a post for my favorite State Park Campground for their May, 2015 Campendium Blog post featuring Best State Park Campgrounds. To read my contribution to the post click here.
Wandering Dawgs 