KERRVILLE, TX.  This is a very pretty town with neat and clean streets and parks.  We are staying at the Kerrville-Schreiner Park along the Guadalupe River.  Nice park except that they put the sewer ports on the wrong side.  This required running the hose UNDER the motorhome and trying to keep the flow downhill at the same time.  Trust me on this: this is no way to design a park.

We shall be here two days to explore the Texas hill country.  We drove across the road to the other side of the park at dusk to see the deer that roam the parks.  Some of the deer are imported Axis Deer from India.  Sportsmen brought them in to a secluded area, but many escaped into the wild and roam freely in city parks.  Click on the link to see a gallery of Axis Deer.  The light was too low to get good photos of our own.

Red Circle Around Sewer Hose on Wrong Side

BELLVILLE, TX.  We continued west on I-10 today which involved VERY heavy gusting side winds from the Gulf of Mexico most of the day.  Then we passed through Houston.  Horrible!  We have vowed never to drive through Houston again.  Stop-and-go traffic, where there is no apparent reason for slowing down and/or stopping.  Over and over.  Every bridge involved slowing down to a stop, then a crawl, just to cross over a bridge.  Actually we hope never to drive on I-10 again after this year.

At least an hour of this getting through Houston

We are camped for the night north of I-10 by about 5-10 miles in a farming/ranching area.  The name of this RV park is Coushatte Recreation Ranch, "a lovely, green and rustic place to call home" according to their web site.  In actuality it is a run-down place that has seen its day.  It took a while to find someone to show us where to park, since the office was locked and deserted.  The facilities are functional, so all is well in that respect.  It is cheap at $24 (cash only).  300+ sites here, but most are taken by full-time residents.  Looks a lot like a really run-down trailer park.  But for one night, it will do fine.  We have a pull-through site with full hook-ups, so we have all we need and an easy pull out tomorrow.  Next stop, the Texas hill country.

CARENCRO, LA (near Lafayette).  We are staying at the Bayou Wilderness RV Resort.  It is nice enough, but no resort.  The pool is not clean, and the spa is in disrepair with stagnant water in it.  Yuk!  We walked down to the "lake" to see what it was like, and it is easy to see where the "bayou" in the park's name comes from.  Not really a lake.  Looks like a scene from an old movie where people are escaping through a long swamp. 

I-10 through this part of Louisiana is finally being repaired.  Two years ago it was in awful condition.  Much is being done, and in some cases being widened.  There are miles and miles of elevated highway over swamp land.  Hard to believe it is an interstate highway. 

Tomorrow we leave for Texas, a state that becomes increasingly dry as one continues west.  It will be quite a contrast to this area.

Nice Grassy Camp Site

Many Tall Majestic Trees

The Lake Here at Bayou Wilderness RV Resort

HATTIESBURG, MS (Day 2).   Attended church at the First Presbyterian Church (PCA), where Jim McCarthy is now Senior Pastor.  Check out their web site at http://www.fpcpca.net/about-fpc/staff/

Warmly welcomed even on a rainy day.  A large set of beautiful buildings on well manicured grounds.   It was built beginning in 1990 after the church relocated from downtown.  The further expansion of the buildings was done in recent years, giving the entire complex a very new appearance.  Very friendly people in a family-like environment, and a great and well-deserved promotion for Jim.  We appear to have taken the last parking place in the lot, after searching the area for visitors parking and finding only one space left.  A popular place.

The 11 am service was a tasteful focus on the worship of God, which may sound obvious, but years of experience and travel across the country have shown us that serious, tasteful focus on true worship is rare.  There were numerous anecdotes and some humorous illustrations in the sermon, but always to direct the worshipper toward the theme of the sermon, based upon Genesis 11:1-9, the Tower of Babel.  Sermon title:  "For Whom Are You Building?"  It was delivered with energy and passion.  After the service, when he saw Betty and me, he threw his arms around us with a great hug, then apologized for being "sweaty" from preaching.  Sounded like Spurgeon.

Seventeen family groups joined the church this morning, with 100 having joined the first year since Jim arrived.   After the receiving of new members, there was the Prayer of Intercession, recitation of the Lord's Prayer, and the congregational singing of "Blest Be the Tie That Binds."

There was a pipe organ embedded into the back wall of the chancel area, with the choir seated on either side.  This morning there were only 20 choir members, but the loft could accommodate many more.  The enthusiastic singing was an integral part of the service, which Betty and I enjoyed very much. 

  

The social gathering after the service was large and energetic.  Clearly an upscale church in an upscale part of town, yet the people who joined this morning were from a variety of backgrounds.  It was a joy to watch Jim work the crowds, a true extrovert in the best sense.  His mother was visiting today, so she joined us in photos along with Jim's family.

Beautiful Grounds and Buildings of First Presbyterian Church

Frontal View

Interior View

Steven, Jim, Betty, Barbara (mother), Jordan (wife), Locke, Ellie, Julia

HATTIESBURG, MS.  We arrived at the beautiful and huge Paul B. Johnson State Park early this afternoon.  Like many state parks, the staffing is sparse, so we found the entry booth unmanned.  It was at an intersection of roads that left no direction for motorhomes.  There was a lake in the background, a very narrow passageway to the right of the booth, and a very sharp right turn to go around the lake on the right side.  The latter was impossible for a motorhome to negotiate, so we squeezed by the booth and headed down the left side of the lake.  It wound around a bit, then came to what looked like a dam with water running across it.  There was nowhere else to go.  We stopped and looked a while, then cars went around us and drove through the water to continue on the road.  After a large SUV passed us and crossed over, we proceeded across with motorhome and Jeep in tow.  All went smoothly, though this was one more strange event to add to our travel experiences.

Dam Spillway

Lake Level Is Controlled By Adding 2X12 Boards Between Posts

After winding through more roads, with no signs to direct traffic to where the campsites were, we saw a sign to where the office was located.  We parked in the road opposite the office and walked inside.  There we were checked in by a lady at a long counter, much like a reception desk in a motel.  We were given maps and direction to where we could find our parking site for the next two days.

A very nice campground, with a huge lake that wraps around the roads.  There are cottages and cabins, the latter being brick buildings that look like they belong in Williamsburg rather than a state park.  Pretty upscale "cabins."  There is a water park for small children where they can run through various stations spraying water.  In this heat, getting wet is a welcome event.  It is clearly a very popular park.

Our Site for the Weekend

The Hard Clay Ground Would Not Let Us Place
the Sign Any Closer to Our Home on Wheels

The state of Mississippi has provided lavishly for family fun in this park, likely one of the best in the country.  Shows that there are still places left in this country for wholesome fun.

MOBILE, AL.  It was a relatively uneventful drive along I-10 today.  Very sunny, hot, and humid.

We are staying at a shady and quiet RV/mobile home park.  We stayed here two years ago as we headed west to join an RV tour of the Southwest national parks.  I am looking forward to less humidity as we continue west.

The gentleman who checked us in to this park recommended a nature walk at the end of the road leading through the park.  It leads to the Dog River, known for catching large fish and alligators.  There are photos on the wall in the park office.  In the early nineteenth century riverboats sailed down the state carrying bales of cotton headed for England, bringing back woven cloth from the English mills.  All that traffic ended with the Civil War.

We walked down to the river to have a look.  Rather quiet now, with only an occasional pelican flying overhead.  There was a half-sunken riverboat on the opposite shore, deserted now.  Upon our return to the office, we inquired about it.  Seems an old couple sailed up in it and docked a few years ago making it their home for about three years.  A bad storm, perhaps a hurricane, nearly sank it, and the couple lacked the means to restore it, so abandoned it and left town.

Abandoned Riverboat on the Dog River

Cropped View of Riverboat

Tomorrow we leave for the Paul B. Johnson State Park in Hattiesburg, MS, a relatively short drive from here.  There we shall spend the weekend, attending church on Sunday at the First Presbyterian Church, where a friend is the new pastor.

QUINCY, FL.  Our printed itinerary says that we are in Tallahassee tonight, but that is incorrect.  We are in the same park west of there that we stayed at in March as our last stop before driving home on April 1st.  No fooling.

We are at Pat Thomas Park in Gadsden County, a favorite among local boaters for its very nice lake, Lake Talquin.  See photos below.

Lake Talquin

Our Site Among the Trees

Our trip today began with the usual drama, rushing to pack things forgotten up until then, trying to stuff too much food from our house freezer into our motorhome freezer (which is smaller), etc.  We did not pull out of the driveway until 1:45 pm, much later than planned. 

Then something happened that has never happened before in two years of cross-country motorhome travel.  Several miles west of Penny Farms on SR 16, due to an odd combination of events, the Jeep was coming loose from the tow bar on one side, setting off a safety mechanism that made the Jeep slam on brakes.  This is not supposed to happen unless the Jeep has come completely loose from the motorhome.  By the time we noticed the awkward behavior of the Jeep in our rear view camera, the Jeep's brakes were very overheated.  Everything has turned out OK.  The Jeep's tires look fine, the brakes cooled off pretty fast, and we fixed the glitch that caused the whole thing.  God's providence once again was evident in there being a place to pull the motorhome off the road when we needed it, a rare find when driving a motorhome.  Yet our nerves were put to the test.