Martin Dies became our first camping location in Texas. This trip is giving us a sense of just how big and diverse Texas is. This state park in located in the east corner of the state in a region called the Prairies and Lakes. Two rivers meet here on the eastern edge of Texas, creating wild and diverse habitats. The park focus is to explore the lake, sloughs and forest trails of this very special place at the edge of the Big Thicket.
The state park had received some of the same rains and flood as Tickfaw had. We were worried that the park might close and we would be scampering for new reservations. The park posted that most campsites were open, but all trail would be closed for our entire stay.
An advantage to staying in a Texas park is that they allow free fishing from the shore of any body of water in the park. I have been interested in trying a little fishing during retirement, so with our campsite right on the lake this was the perfect chance.
Hitting the road for one of our camping trips with trailer tow requires a pretty extensive phase of pre-planning stating with picking a general route; then researching and selecting camping locations. Some of this is driven by my personality, but out there is also the reality of booking well in-advance so you can stay across a weekend. We also do a lot of internet searches for things to do in the area.
However, planned activities get modifies once you arrive at a locations. For this stop, we had planned to hike and bike on the trail, but that was not an option. So, we drove to the small town of Kountze to try their DISC golf location in their city park. The DISC golf was a bit of a disaster as they park had flooding issues with crayfish or mud bug mounds all over the course, these mounds were a first for me.
We talked with a couple from the area for a restaurant recommended. They suggested going to Mama Jack's where I ate my first boudin balls, pretty good.
On the return trip from Kountze, we stopped at the Big Thicket National Preserve visitor center for ideas of an un-flooded trail to hike. We ended up hiking Kirby Nature Trail. Our planned hike got cut short as we had to start wading deeper-and-deeper water.
Next Stop about a 250-mile drive to McKinney Falls State Park near Austin in the Texas Hill Country.
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