On Monday, September 28, it was again time to hit the road. With the west visiting over, we are lengthening our travel days to make it over to Florida for the upcoming nuptials. We hit the road about 7:30 AM, heading east out of Mesa on US-60 passing through the Pinal Mountains to Globe. There we turned southeast on US-70 passing through the San Carlos Apache reservation. Along the way we passed a LOT of what appeared to be cotton fields and a gin, and even ran into some actual grass! At Duncan we stopped for lunch at The Ranch House Restaurant. There our waitress had the coolest belt buckle. Apparently her high school gave them the option of a ring or a buckle, and she chose the latter. I wish I had taken a pic. It was silver and gold tone with the name of her school, the year she graduated, and a really pretty etched design. I think it is a great idea to have other options as most people don’t wear their high school ring for long after they graduate, and the things are darned expensive!

We made it back to Big Jake just before the rain started and were in drizzle off and on for the rest of the drive. US-70 east took us into New Mexico where we passed through Lordsburg and Deming. That must have been a serious sand storm area, because there were signs that said “Danger Sand Storms May Exist” (doesn’t everyone know that?), to stop and take a break during a sand storm, and “Zero Visibility Possible”. Hmmmm…glad that didn’t happen. For the last leg we zig-zagged down to Rockhound State Park. Thankfully, we were set up by about 4 PM and didn’t have any rain for the process. Our site was pretty nice with a terrific view out across the valley, too.

WHAAAATTTT? I recently read about Iron Eyes Cody. You may not recognize that name, but when Mr. Wonderful (MW) and I were young, there was a very successful Keep America Beautiful public service announcement about litter that featured a crying Indian. Well, we all THOUGHT he was an Indian. In fact, he was born Espera Oscar de Corti from Louisiana, a first generation American of Italian descent. What the heck??!! Corti started playing Indians in movies in 1927 and earned hundreds of movie and television credits during his lifetime, only a handful of which were non-Native American roles. Somewhere along the way, Espera started believing his own Indian myth. He claimed to be a member of several different tribes and wore Native American costumes in his everyday life. I’m not sure when he began using Iron Eyes as his name, but I suspect it was pulled from his role as Chief Iron Eyes in The Paleface with Bob Hope in 1948. In 1954’s Sitting Bull, when he played Crazy Horse, Conti was credited as “Famous T.V. Star” and technical advisor Iron Eyes Cody. In 1996 a New Orleans newspaper published his actual heritage, which he vehemently denied. The truth is, the closest Corti came to being an Indian was being married to Bertha Parker, who was of Abenaki and Seneca descent, and adopting two Dakota-Maricopa children. Interestingly, when looking for a pic online of Iron Eyes, I found out about another poser…Buffy Sainte-Marie, a folk singer who began her career in the 1960s. She also professed to be indigenous from the Cree First Nation in Canada and consistently dressed the part in her personal life. In 1975 her brother, in answering a question about their heritage from a producer on Sesame Street (where Sainte-Marie would end up appearing as an indigenous person), stated that they were of European descent. Within days he received a threatening, cease and desist letter from her attorney. His sister also purportedly threatened to accuse him of sexual abuse in their childhood if he made further comments about her ancestry. Holy smokes! Her situation was a slightly bigger deal, because her claim came along with Canadian citizenship. Apparently in 2023 the whole thing unraveled when the CBC (Canadian Broadcast Company), on its show The Fifth Estate, investigated and proved that it was all a lie. After that there was a pivot and, when returning her Order of Canada, Sainte-Marie said she had never lied about her identity. Wow!

SAD SIDE NOTE: The commercial I mentioned above was designed to give the impression that Native Americans have a stronger connection to and are more concerned about the Earth than the average Joe, an idea that is perpetuated often in movies, television shows, and other places. MW and I have travelled across Native American reservations in Utah, Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, Montana, and several other states. Although definitely not true for all that we’ve visited, it is insane how often the amount of trash on the roadsides increases exponentially as soon as you cross onto reservation property. We’ve seen the sides of the roads covered with what would amount to literal dumpsters full of empty bottles, cans, and all manner of debris. Why does anyone do that anywhere? Do tribal lands not have litter laws or are they just not enforced? To be sure, litter isn’t just on reservations, but sadly all across our country, some places worse than others. MW and I spend a considerable amount of time back in Sneedville picking up beer cans (and a LOT of them) along Brewers Chapel Road that are clearly discarded by the same person. (If it is you, please STOP!) However, the amount of disrespect shown on some of the reservations certainly doesn’t indicate a special concern for this Earth. No matter who you are or where on this beautiful planet you find yourself with a bit of trash, keep it in your ding-danged car. Take it in the house when you get home or put it in the trash can at a gas station, but don’t toss it out the window!! Don’t even get me started on people who use dirt roads as trash dumps, either!!!!

It started raining overnight and continued all day Tuesday. Up until now our desert rain experience had been on and off drizzling, except for Monument Valley, where it rained steadily all day, washing out sites and such. But here, it was serious…sheets of rain blowing sideways and rocking Priscilla, streams running off of the hillsides to form small lakes in the valley, and mud on the roads in the washes. We spent the day indoors watching from dry comfort. We did have a little leak coming in from the edge of the bedroom slide, but with the amount of wind and water, we weren’t too surprised.

Wednesday morning dawned clear and gorgeous. I was up and out in time for a 9 AM hair appointment in Deming, New Mexico, with Rosa Contreras. She did a great job on my hair a couple of years ago, and we just happened to be heading here when it was time again for a little body boost. Honestly, if you are ever near Deming and need hair help, check out HAIR We Are (575-544-3345). (My last visit to her was a funny day. You can read about that here.) She knocked out my body wave and cut in an hour, which is amazing, and did another terrific job. Afterwards I headed down to Blake’s Lotaburger for a sandwich and to write a bit. Before going back to Priscilla, there were a couple of errands to take care of, too. As I entered the park I stopped to chat with the Ranger. He said the rain was ABSOLUTELY NOT normal. “We pray for rain all the time, but we don’t want it all at the same time!!”. In desert areas the roadways all have dips or washes at regular intervals that are designed to let water cross the road. The rain doesn’t soak into the sun-baked sand as easily as other soil types, so in serious storms, you just have to pull over and wait for the running water to subside before continuing your trek. If you drive through the dip, it will quite possibly wash your car off of the road! He sent the other Ranger home early the previous day to keep him from getting stuck at the park with water in the washes. On his way out, he called back to say that he made it through, but a rush of water hit just after he passed. The Ranger I spoke to ended up waiting 90 minutes or so before he could drive home. Back at work today, they spent most of their time smoothing out the gravel roads and moving mud. They are certainly on top of it, because you could barely tell there had even been a storm when I drove in. The evening was spent with a bit of TV and more writing.

Rockhound State Park is about 10 miles outside of Deming, New Mexico, a nice-sized town, and is pretty awesome. It reminded me of the terrific state park we stayed in outside of Alamogordo, New Mexico, that is perched a little ways up a mountain overlooking the valley. In this case, the mountain is the western slope of the Little Floridas. It is one of the few state or national parks that encourages you to pick up rocks and even take them home if you like, hence the park name. You might find quartz, blue-gray agate, common opal, jasper, thundereggs, or geodes. Amenities include a visitor center with exhibits, gift shop, 3 miles of hiking and interpretive trails, a bathhouse, vault toilets, and an RV dump station. The day use area is separate over in the Spring Canyon unit. The campground includes 29 developed sites with covered picnic tables and fire rings, 23 of which have electricity and some have water. There is also a group campsite and pavilion. Despite the torrential rain, we really enjoyed this park. It was quiet, and the views of the mountain and valley, filled with cacti, were amazing. The sites are pretty well spaced around the hillside, well-graveled, and large. We would definitely stay again. For this visit in September 2026, we paid a little over $38 per night for 3 nights in a 30-amp electric site with water.

Thursday it was time to continue the trek to Florida, of course getting up and out earlier…UGH!!! We hit the road about 7:30 AM for what would be almost all interstate driving…DOUBLE UGH…starting on I-10 east of Deming and taking it through Las Cruces and into Texas. (Talked to a guy hauling new Texas Pride dump trailers at a gas station who was out of Madisonville, Texas, between Houston and Dallas, on his way to deliver to a customer in Phoenix!! That’s a crazy-long delivery route! He also let us know that, if we need a good trailer, they do have a plant in Selmer, Tennessee, to help us out. The company should probably give that guy a bonus for working two jobs…delivery driver and salesman.) We passed through El Paso traffic, which I’ll admit increased my pucker a bit. There was a LOT of construction, and the barriers on both sides seemed VERY close! For about 60 miles or so, I-10 follows the Mexican border. You can look off to the right and see the border wall, and when in El Paso, Ciudad Juarez sprawled out across the hills. As I was looking for a lunch place, I noticed a red line ahead on Apple Maps for our direction. It turned out to be a border station stop…in the middle of the east-bound lanes! The first signs said “All Trucks Use Right Lane”, but we noticed three semis just ignored that and went on down the left with all of the cars. (Did they have some kind of special dispensation, or do they have family working the stop?) Just a few hundred yards later it was evident that everyone was being stopped. While waiting in line, we watched an agent with a young-looking German shepherd working. At first I thought the dog was sniffing out drugs, people, etc., but what he triggered on was a little beige box. Turned out that a different agent had walked down the trucker line a ways and stuck it on the truck behind the tie-down strap. When the dog found it, both agents started whooping and praising him. We assumed that they have to give them something to find every once in a while to keep them focused on the right smells and also give them something to do in dry spells. That’s just speculation, though, and despite them standing right beside my window, I did not roll it down and ask. The last time we were dealing with border patrol on the southern border, they did not have a sense of humor or interest in speaking to us more than their jobs AT ALL. Another interesting thing we noted: there were a handful of agents working, but there were 10-12ish just standing back chatting and waiting for something to do. I’m guessing that this crossing sometimes gets a little hairy. Once we made it to the front, the Agent asked if we were both American citizens, then waved us on. Easy peasy. A few miles further down the road, we exited at Van Horn for lunch at Boots and Scoops. (It was a cute little cafe that served salads, sandwiches, a daily special, and Henry’s Homemade Ice Cream out of Plano, Texas. Y’all know I’m a Blue Bell girl through and through, but I’ve got to give props here…that pistachio scoop was probably the best I’ve ever had!! After a quick fuel refill, we were back on I-10 over to Saragosa, then turned south to Balmorhea and ended the day at the Balmorhea State Park.

Friday I headed into Balmorhea in the hope of finding a laundromat open. Unfortunately, the small one there was closed, so I had to drive to Pecos about 40 minutes north. After being around lots of mountains for weeks, it felt a little odd to suddenly find myself in the middle of nothing but flat. The area is filled with oil rigs and some cattle. It was a really grey morning, but didn’t rain on me until I completed the chore at the Fun Wash. NOTE: Naming your laundromat the “Fun Wash” does not make the chore better and is basically just lying. Just like calling something white chocolate that contains no chocolate. It was a large facility, though, with plenty of washers, dryers, and folding areas. I guess it was fun for one pair; a couple of young kids there with a mom who basically ignored them as they raced around, zipping between customers and around corners screaming. The girl even broke out in cartwheel chains down the aisles where older folks were working. Mom…stared at her phone, and later, visited with a friend that showed up. Wow! One grandmother there with her small granddaughter looked like she was sorely tempted to take discipline into her own hands when they came close to running into her. Twice they ran around the corner where I was folding clothes and nearly knocked me down. What is up with parents just letting their kids do anything they want??!! After lunch I headed over to The King Shark for lunch. They advertise themselves as a seafood and Mexican restaurant, and man, it was good! I ended up writing for a bit before going back to Balmorhea. When I headed to the truck, I was shocked to see a LOT of water on the road. It must have rained torrentially while I was indoors, but I sure didn’t hear it. On the way back I did see a roadrunner. He was running…on the road, of course. MW said that it had been grey and occasionally drizzly in Balmorhea all day, and that continued into the night.

A couple of weeks ago Mom and I were talking about the murals that we’ve seen all over America. She wondered how an artist got the perspective right when he/she was drawing something so large. I met a mural artist years ago in Le Mars, Iowa, but didn’t think to ask that question. As I was driving through Pecos, I passed someone up on a lift working on a mural and made a note to stop and ask on my way back out of town. I didn’t have to, though, because when I parked at the restaurant, there was another guy working on one right next door. They are part of a Keep Pecos Beautiful campaign in conjunction with the Tumble West Art Fest. The young man seemed happy to talk about the process, which he said is much easier with newer equipment. He first draws out his design in the same proportions as the wall, then overlays it with a grid. That is uploaded into some kind of eyeglasses, which show him where the outlines go in the corresponding grids on the wall. Oh, and I was surprised to see that he was mostly painting with spray cans. Not what I expected, and the whole process is too cool! Mom was tickled that I got an answer to her question, too.

I keep a running list of possible places to visit on our travels, and Saturday we headed down to one of those…Marfa, Texas. This little town was on a list of the most charming towns in each state, so we figured it deserved a look-see. Unlike the drive from Balmorhea to Pecos, the road south goes through some fairly decent mountains. Despite the low clouds and mist still hanging around, the scenery was beautiful. Marfa’s claim to fame is that the outdoor ranch scenes from the movie Giant, with Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, and James Dean, were filmed there. The town, however, wasn’t what we expected. It had a nice courthouse area, a historic hotel, and a couple of shops, but was a bit more empty and run down than you’d think “most charming” should be. (I mean, Texas also has Fredericksburg!) We found the Visitor Center, which is located in the still active 1942 USO Hall, then stopped at The Sentinel for lunch (steak quesadilla for me and enchiladas for MW, both of which were very good). Afterwards we checked out a book shop, then took a look at The Hotel Paisano. Built in 1930, the Spanish baroque structure was considered the finest hotel between San Antonio and El Paso when built and served as the headquarters for the film crew for Giant. It is currently under renovation, though, so we were unable to go inside. Saw a mama and baby pair of mule deer on the way up, then saw what looked like the same pair on the way back. We also saw a couple of kingfishers. By the time we headed back, the clouds were breaking up and blue sky was peeking through.

While at the Visitor Center, I saw a sheet on the Marfa Lights that was intriguing, so I did some checking. Apparently, if you drive about 9 miles east of town on any clear night and look towards the Chinati Mountains, you can see something spectacular…strange lights zipping around, disappearing, reappearing, coming together, and splitting apart. No joke. First noted by a cowboy in 1883 who assumed it was Apache campfires, but then found no evidence, the mysterious show was seen by numerous settlers and cowboys. Later, the military brass worried that they were some type of guidance system for an invasion, but pilots from the nearby training base couldn’t find a source either. People who live in the area and have watched the lights for their whole lives attribute human characteristics, calling them friendly, curious observers. One man even said the lights saved him by leading him to a cave in a blizzard. No one has a real answer, but the most plausible explanation is that they are similar to a mirage “caused by an atmospheric condition produced by the interaction of cold and warm layers of air that bend light so that it is seen from a distance, but not up close.” I think I’m going to stick with alien visitors investigating rural Texas. It just sounds cooler! The skies didn’t cooperate on our visit, but I’m putting it on the list for the next time we’re in SW Texas.

While we were in Ajo, Arizona, in September, we traded out some books and movies in their clubhouse. One of the books I picked up was Theo of Golden by Allen Levi. It’s been a while since I’ve read such a good, well-written story that was uplifting and left me wanting more. I recommend it if you are a reader, and it would make a terrific story for a book club. We are going to use it in Sneedville when I get back.

Sunday we headed over to First Baptist Church of Balmorhea for Sunday School and services. Arriving about 10 minutes early, we first thought their website was incorrect and they weren’t open. I pointed out a neighbor working on his truck, and MW went and asked him. Yes, the church was open, and the guy’s son had cancer, and he was given just a short time to live, and Dad cured him against doctor’s orders with some mineral he got from the local mines, and the hospital wanted to press charges…and…and. MW came back to the truck and said the man was one of the people that usually finds me. LOL. He was very nice, though. We attended Sunday School taught by Mrs. Cook, and services by Brother Gary Lamar, who was from the Big Bend Baptist Association and filling in during their pastor search. Afterwards we headed over to The Bear Cave Restaurant in town, which was okay Mexican fare. That was about it for the day except for a walk around the park to check it all out.

Balmorhea State Park is relatively small, but very interesting. Built around San Solomon Springs, a natural feature that brings water underground from a large aquifer that begins about 400 miles away, supplemented by rain in the Davis Mountains, then brings it to the surface. Originally the water fed into a large cienega or marsh. In this desert environment, Native Americans, Mexicans, and settlers as far back as the 1500s realized the value of consistent water and dug irrigation ditches to their crops. Readily available water also meant that ranching was an option. Today the spring pumps out about 15 million gallons per day, which is carried to various locations in canals. When not in demand, Balmorhea Lake acts as a holding tank of sorts. As part of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) projects in the 1930s, Balmorhea State Park came to life. It was no easy task, because the CCC had to make the adobe bricks necessary to the project too…12,290 of them in 40 days! Then they built the roads, bathhouses, caretaker’s residence, a motel, pergolas, and pavilions. They also built the 1.3 acre pool, which holds about 3.5 million gallons of water and measures 25′ at the deepest spot. (For comparison, our pool in Florida held 25,000 gallons, and it was considered a large residential pool.) It is popular with swimmers, scuba divers, fish, and turtles and provides a refreshing respite during the hot desert summers with temps that stay in the 72-76 degree range. In addition to the above, you can also view the wildlife in the reconstructed desert wetland areas and do a bit of geocaching. The park is within driving distance of Fort Davis National Historic Site, McDonald Observatory, Pecos, and the Big Bend area. Other amenities are a state parks store, office, group hall, picnic area, playground, basketball court, bathhouse, and a dump station. Lodging options include the 18-unit motel and the campground. The latter has a group campsite, 18 back-in sites with 30-amp electric and water, and 15 sites with 20/30/50-amp electric and water. All have fire rings, grills, and shaded picnic tables. We really enjoyed this park. The facilities were spotless, and although it is right on TX-17, traffic noise was minimal. The pull-through campsites were a little short to accommodate some of the larger rigs, so pay attention when you reserve. Both AT&T and Verizon signals were strong, but there was no over-the-air TV. For this stay in October 2026, we paid $44 per night for 4 nights in a 50-amp, pull-thru site.

On Monday, October 5, we headed out about 7:30 AM, pushing further east on I-10. We passed through Fort Stockton, then took exit 307 onto US-190 east through Iraan. At Eldorado, we stopped for lunch at The Wagon Wheel Cafe, which had okay food, but a disgusting bathroom! Back on US-190, we passed through Menard and Brady to San Saba, where we finally stopped at the San Saba River Golf Course and RV Park. After getting settled, I was happy to find that the first of two Amazon packages to be delivered to the pro shop had arrived.

Tuesday was another lazy, stay in day until late in the afternoon. Early in the day MW went to the bathroom, which is co-located with a clubhouse. The place was full of people, and he chatted for a few minutes. When I walked over a little bit later, there were a bunch of ladies playing a game. We ended up chatting, and they invited us to supper. I picked up the last Amazon delivery at the pro shop, then about 5:30 PM, we walked over and joined the crowd for supper…hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. Turns out it was about 8 couples (and is sometimes more) from towns a couple of hours away. They were all part of the same church for years, but now some have moved to a different town. Every year they meet at this park for a week or so to catch up, play golf, eat lots of good food, play games, laugh a lot, and fellowship. It was pretty cool. They were all very nice, and who knows, we may run into them down the path! If any of you folks are reading, thanks again for the hospitality! We really enjoyed meeting you all. Give us a heads-up if you plan a Tennessee trip!

Wednesday we went into San Saba to do a bit of exploring. We did some shopping at Millican Pecan Company and several places downtown, then stopped in for lunch at Napoli’s Italian Grill, a recommendation from our RV park group…YUM! Afterwards we rode out to take a look at the Regency Suspension Bridge, built in 1939 and the last suspension bridge open to vehicular traffic in Texas. We also checked out The Wedding Oak, a live oak which, according to legend, has been used for weddings for generations, first by Native Americans, then settlers. (Sadly, a large portion of the beautiful oak was lost to a storm in 2017.) Along the way we passed a farm with high fencing and quite a few deer that I later found out were actually blackbuck antelope.

San Saba River Golf Course and RV Park was exactly what the name says…a golf course with a small RV park attached. Other campers informed us that the former is actually a pretty good course with low fees. The only real amenity at the campground was the clubhouse, which had a kitchen, meeting area, bathrooms, showers, and a laundry. The 31 camp sites are all full-hookup with 30- and 50-amp electric. There are both back-in and pull-thru versions and most will accommodate rigs of any size. This wasn’t a bad campground at all, and the facilities were spotless. It was mostly quiet, although there was a train that blew a whistle not too far away, but I only noticed it the first night. I also heard and felt some kind of percussion with a degree of regularity, but only when I was already awake. (It did keep me wondering about the source for the entire visit, to no avail. MW suggested it was possibly one of those chimneys at an oil pump that burns off the gas. He said the noise might be from ignition., but I’m dubious.) All that said, we would definitely stay again. For this stay in October 2026, we paid just under $38 per night for 3 nights in a pull-thru, full-hookup site.

Thursday we hit the road about 7:30 AM with me at the wheel taking TX-16 north to Goldthwaite, then hitting US-84 east. We passed through Gatesville, then well south of Waco before stopping for lunch at Brandin’ Iron Cafe in Marquez. There was only one girl working, and she seemed to be taking orders, cooking, and cashing out, but amazingly, wasn’t too behind. For the last couple of hours, we switched seats and continued east on US-287 through Concord, Crockett, and down to Woodville. There we turned left on US-190 and zig-zagged up to Martin Dies State Park on the B. A. Steinhagen Reservoir. We were set up by 4 PM after what felt like a ridiculously long day. I’ll be glad when these distance driving days and 7:30 AM departures are done. Just a couple of more to get to Florida.

Friday the laundry was calling, so I headed into Jasper to the only laundromat that showed up on my map. IT. WAS. AWFUL! More than half of the machines were broken and every one of those that weren’t, was in use. The place was filthy, and although there was seating, one entire bench was taken up by a man just sacked out. Before I left MW, he noted that the next closest option was going to be about 30 minutes further. Before heading that way, I asked a woman if there happened to be another laundromat in Jasper. There was, so I went to check that out. It was connected to a gas station, so parking was a little tight. Inside, however, almost all of the machines worked and, although the floors and walls weren’t all that clean, the machines and folding tables were. Plus, I was alone for most of the time. I did have a mishap when I sat down in one of their chairs and the leg broke off. If that had happened before my new hip, it would have been bad, but that titanium held strong. Thankfully no witnesses to laugh their tails off, after making sure the old lady was okay, of course. Afterwards I went for a sandwich and a little writing at Raising Dough. (They make everything fresh including the bread, and my chicken salad sandwich was the size of two and absolutely delicious. Don’t get the tea, though…$6.50 for a 16 oz!! Didn’t know that up front, or I would have done without!)

Saturday morning started with a 2-1/2 mile hike on the Slough trail in the park, which was wide and relatively flat. We beat the bulk of the heat, so that was very nice. Next we headed into Jasper to give Big Jake a much-needed bath. (The last time was in Idaho, and he was dirty enough to appear slightly beige. I was tired of getting dirt across my chest every time I had to stand on tip-toe and lean in to guide MW to the hitch location.) Afterwards we had a rare treat…kolaches and donuts from Best Donuts. YUM!! Before heading back to the campground we stopped in at Walgreens for some supplies, too. When we got back the internet was exasperatingly slow, so I drove back up to McDonald’s and parked in the corner with a drink to write for a couple of hours.

NOT EVEN TRYING: When I walked in to Micky D’s, there were a couple of people standing up front waiting for orders. That “waiting” crowd kept getting larger for the next 40 minutes or so. When someone complained loudly that they had been waiting for 30 minutes at the drive through for the meal they had already ordered, I started to pay attention. So…the manager (or at least the one who appeared to be the big dog) was sitting towards the back of the store with full view of the front counter area. During my entire stay, she sat right there talking with a rotation of people, possibly performance reviews or maybe interviews. As the crowd gathered, tempers began to flare. Some orders were taking 30-40 minutes to fill. LOTS of folks who got their food, returned to say it was wrong. The Door Dash driver came in multiple times, and the orders were not correct. One lady, who waited 40 minutes for her order, received drinks with the ice almost completely melted. (This McDonald’s has removed their self-serve drink station, so every drink has to be filled in the back. I overheard someone say that was a recent change and things had been backed up since.) Another guy waited 30 minutes for his food, and kept grousing loudly that he only had 40 minutes for lunch. One of the workers was taking phone calls (rather loudly, I might add) about orders that were picked up that were wrong. It’s just a guess, but it appeared that about 60-75% of the orders that went out in a 45-60 minute window were incorrect. It took about 1-1/2 hours for the chaos to calm down, but I was just floored by the manager’s lack of action. She just SAT and occasionally yelled an instruction across the restaurant. So, I do not recommend the McDonald’s in Jasper, Texas. Honestly, if I lived there or was one of those customers, I would contact the owner and corporate about the situation. They probably need some kind of crisis management team in there, but at the very least, the manager needs to be fired. I thought it was also interesting that, about 25% of the dining area was taken up by a partitioned off area that said it was the corporate training area for The Kades Corporation. So apparently they own more than one franchise and bring people to the Jasper restaurant for training. Wow!

Sunday morning we headed to Beech Grove Baptist Church for Sunday school and services. One lady came up to us right away and said “I don’t want y’all to think we wear camo to church every Sunday. This is Chili Cookoff and the start of deer season, so it is an annual tradition. Just don’t want rumors flying.” LOL. I assured her we understood. This is probably the most packed church we have been to in our travels. Sunday school was in a large fellowship hall, and the sanctuary had so many people for the message that we actually had to look for a seat. Both were very good, and it felt like nearly everyone in the church welcomed us. We were also invited to the cookoff. Lot’s of chili options, plus corn bread and plenty of homemade desserts. Yum! Met some really nice people and thoroughly enjoyed the visit. We made it back to Priscilla to get in the nap that the food overload required, too.

This is our second stay at Martin Dies, Jr. State Park, which sits on the B. A. Steinhagen Reservoir just a few miles west of Jasper, Texas, for shopping and dining options. Park amenities include an office with store, amphitheater, discovery center, swimming area, boat ramp, canoe/kayak launch, fishing pier, fish cleaning station, playground, wildlife viewing area, pavilions, picnic areas, bathhouses, and a dump station. Activities include paddling/canoeing on almost 14 miles of paddling trails and hiking on 7.5 miles of multi-use trails. The facilities here are fairly old and worn out, but they are in the process of rebuilding. The campground is divided into two units, Hen House Ridge and Walnut Ridge. We stayed in the Hen House Ridge Unit on both of our visits, but the first time we were in the other half across Gum Slough, which we really enjoyed. That section was closed for this visit while they are rebuilding the bathhouse. For this stay we were in the pull-thru section, and we would definitely not stay there again. Although they call the sites pull-thru, most are basically long half-moon shaped drives with a perpendicular piece in the center connecting to the road. Each of these counted as TWO sites, and the layout made it impossible to pull through if anyone was in the other site. In our case, no one was there when we arrived, but the length of our half of the circle was not long enough to accommodate our truck despite that information being given when the reservation was made. We had to park in the perpendicular portion of the site, which made it impossible for someone else to pull in behind us. (Someone did show up, but they were in a small vehicle with a tent.) So, if we came back, we would stay in the original section we stayed in or give the Walnut Ridge Unit a go. The park does get a significant amount of road noise from US-190, and for those who may be concerned, they do suggest being on the lookout for alligators (not a problem for us). Cell signals for both Verizon and AT&T were fine, but there were no over-the-air TV stations. For this stay in October 2026, we paid $24 per night for 4 nights in a 30-amp, pull-thru site with water.

On Monday, October 12, we were once again on the road by 7:30 AM, heading…you guessed it…east. We took US-190 passing through Jasper and Newton and into Louisiana. At DeRidder, we took LA-26 to a left on LA-377, then joined LA-10 southeast at Elizabeth. That took us through Oakdale and Ville Platte and down to Opelousas, where we hit US-190 east again. A few miles further east, we stopped for lunch at Kings Truck Stop (okay) in Port Barre. After that, US-190 took us over to just past Livingston, where we turned south on the final leg and ended up at Tickfaw State Park at about 4 PM. Only one more long drive after this one, and we’ll be back to our normal schedule. Yay!

SIGN OF THE TIMES: East of Baton Rouge we were passing through a relatively high traffic area when I saw something zip across the road in the sky. At first I thought it was some type of plane, but then realized it was too low. That meant it must be a fast-moving drone. We continued a couple of lights down the road and then saw the Amazon distribution center where there were several drones landing and departing from the parking lot. I knew they were using them, but this is the first time we’ve seen them in action.

Tuesday and Wednesday were mostly spent on last minute stuff to prepare for the upcoming wedding; you know plucked, polished, and fluffed for a formal doo! LOL. MW also got a chip in the windshield fixed at Safelite in Hammond so we wouldn’t have an issue come winter. We had lunch at Chick-fil-A, which I’d been missing, on Tuesday while running errands. Then Wednesday I was in town on my own and stopped in at Don’s Seafood, a Cajun place, for a bite and seat to write. It was awesome! The waitress Sophia helped me figure out lunch and even ordered me a couple of samples to try…both variations on broiled oysters. I ended up ordering a combo of crawfish bisque and a half shrimp poboy, which also came with corn. A few minutes after I ordered, the chef came out and said “I heard you aren’t from around here, so I made a whole order of broiled oysters, half spicy and half regular. Enjoy!” OMGosh! I ended up eating my soup, one of each oyster, and the shrimp off of the poboy. Then I ordered a pint of Crawfish Étouffée to take home to MW. He had a little feast with that and the oysters, and I had an ear of corn for supper. Seriously, check this place out if you are in Hammond. Here’s a pic to help you decide:

As I was driving around the park to take pics I saw a couple of cool things: 1) They had a neat little soldier statue near the entrance that I almost missed; and 2) The swampy areas really are beautiful and, if you look closely, you really might find an alligator.

Tickfaw State Park is just west of Springfield, Louisiana, and an easy drive to Hammond, Ponchatoula, and the Baton Rouge area. Located on the Tickfaw River, the park encompasses some hardwood and pine forest areas and a cypress/tupelo swamp. Amenities include pavilions, a playground, a splash pad, a water playground, a canoe launch, river overlook, Nature Center, bathhouse, restrooms, laundry room, and dump station. Activities include birding; biking on a multi-use trail; hiking in a variety of locations including the Gum Cypress Swamp Boardwalk, the River Bottomland/Hardwood Boardwalk, the Pine/Hardwood Trail, and the Nature Center Boardwalk; canoeing (rental available) in Gum Bayou and on the river; and fishing in the pond. Overnight options include 14 cabins, 7 glamping tents, a group camp, and the regular campground, which is divided into a tent loop with 20 water-only sites and an RV loop with 30 full-hookup, 30-amp, fairly level sites in lengths that would accommodate even larger rigs. Cell signals for both Verizon and AT&T were okay, but over-the-air TV was spotty with just a few channels. Facilities were clean and well-maintained, and this park is pretty nice and very quiet. As with the previous park, there definitely are alligators, so you don’t want to walk your little doggie friends along the edge of any water areas. (That’s called bait.) We would definitely stay again. For this visit in October 2026, we paid just under $33 per night for three nights.

Okay, that is more than enough!! Next up…A Wedding Weekend, Mommy, and Barn Sweet Barn. See you on the path!

Talisa

SOURCES: The Handbook of Texas Online; attraction and campground websites, displays, and documents; Wikipedia.

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