Adventurenet.net

Saturday February 24

This Saturday started early with election clerk training for Williamson County, Texas.

Tuesday March 5th aka “Super Tuesday” is primary voting in Texas and I will be an election clerk on this day and so I must take the three hour training again.

Before leaving I must gather up the last items and ensure that I didn’t miss anything in my Friday night packing.

First, let’s get some oats into a container that I can make overnight oats with so that I will have breakfast tomorrow.

I need to make sure that I have all of my food items ready to rock.

I found the tripod!

Haven’t used this in some time, it was difficult to find.

I am hoping to visit a Texas state park that is a sand dune to get some photos, this is why I need the tripod.

I should have a selfie stick somewhere, too. I think.

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Everything gathered.

Toss it into the car.

I will be arriving to election clerk training a bit early and since I’ll be driving past a H-E-B grocery store, I’ll grab a few donuts for people

There is a break in the middle of the training and everyone raids the vending machine, so I figure this will be a nice thing for the group.

It goes over well. Not a whole lot of takers at the beginning, but at that halfway break, they donuts get raided.

The speaker thanks me after the break and I get a round of applause.

This is nice.

Training ends fifteen minutes early and so it’s off to Abilene State Park.

There is an abandoned zoo that was turned into a nature trail in the area, but I want to check in at the park before the rangers close the HQ at 4:30.

The manual check-in process is a pain.

On my drive to the park I realize that I forgot to bring kindling.

I have fire wood and I collected sticks from around my apartment complex as this would be against the rules to do at the park, but the free newspapers that I keep around for mailing things, painting and kindling are at home.

After looking for free newspapers at two gas stations I finally hit the jackpot at a rural super market.

Even with the extra stops I still arrive ten minutes earlier than I had planned thanks to leaving training early and also because of a little bit of speeding.

Not too much, though.

Speed traps were in place on this Saturday.

I counted four and I marked all of them on the map app.

After a quick check-in I drive to the campsite and I come to realize that I am not as close to the bathroom as the map made it look like I would be.

This is a bit of a disappointment, but it’s not so far from the toilet to be an issue.

Probably.

Ahh, time to set up the tent and then figure out what to do with the rest of the afternoon.

While putting up the tent I see that I have lost one of the pole segments.

To get the tent erected without this missing piece, I use the smaller pole that is meant to hold the flap over the entrance up. One segment is close enough to fill in the gap of the missing space.

I am writing this post on March 7, 2024 and yesterday I ordered a replacement pole which is surprisingly difficult to find.

Problem Solved!

Back to setting up camp!

I also remembered to bring a rubber mallet to make staking the tent easier.

I also revisited the rigged up pole and wrapped it in the cord used for the tent covering in hopes that this will keep the pole from snapping.

Three hours of training, three hours of driving, forgotten kindling and a broken tent.

I need to relax and so I sit down at the park bench and write a nice postcard to my pal Tony.

Oh, something I forgot to mention.

The ranger couldn’t find my reservation and so I pulled up the email and it turns out I had the wrong date.

Luckily this was not a popular day to go camping and so I was able to reserve the same spot that I had intended to stay at.

Hiking time at Elm Creek Nature Trail!

The last time I used my trekking poles at Old Tunnel State Park I get them a little bit muddy and put the rubber caps on while they were still wet.

I have trouble removing the caps on the trekking poles, but luckily inside of my adventure bag I keep a dollar store multi-tool which saves the day.

We also own a $200 multitool from REI, but I forgot this at home.

Besides, I don’t mind getting the dollar store tool dirty.

I love these trekking poles a little bit more every time that I use them.

One of the highlights of Abilene State Park is the CCC built water tower which I visited next.

This thing is HUGE!

I was able to peek inside using my phone camera.

This wouldn’t have been visible without it.

Right next to the water tower is a pool which is currently closed.

One outdoor activity that I try to do every year is to fly a kite.

The last kite that I kept in the car for a good wind day broke, likely due to Texas heat weaking the glue.

I did purchase the next kite I found and tossed it into the car and today is the day to fly it!

This kite took a little bit more work than I’m used to.

The structure was a bit odd and the way the string ties to the kite is meant to be customized which is not something that I have ever had to do.

After about ten attempts of piecing the kite together in slightly different configurations I made the vessel air worthy.

Here is a slideshow of pictures of the pool area.

The sun will set soon, so time to head back to camp and set up the fire and dinner.

Fire started with the second match (the first one blew out).

Potatoes Shredded.

Then washed.

Oil added to the cast iron skillet.

Time to hash some browns.

But does the oil sizzle?

Yes.

Yes it does.

Note to self: Bring something to use as an oven mitt next time.

Hashbrowns are nearly complete, time to toss in a few eggs.

Oh good, I only broke 66% of the yolks.

Oh good, I was in the mood for scrambled eggs and not over easy eggs tonight.

Now for those oats. Mix one part water to one part oats and let rest overnight to absorb the water.

Camping man with his fancy tupperware.

I mean “rugged!”

Food is a success.

No one likes runny yolks anyways.

Oh yeah, I packed salt that looks like a drug bag and so I labeled it, just in case.

Delicious.

Did I take as many pictures of my food as I did of my hike?

Being a human is weird.

As I look over my written notes of this adventure I see a reminder to cancel my accidental campsite rental on March 3rd.

Today is March 7th. I did not remember to cancel that rental. I donated $12 to Abilene State park.

I overcooked this food just a bit, but thanks to the salt it was perfectly edible.

I see another note to buy working gloves, but Lauri found some hidden under the kitchen sink today. I just need to move a pair to my adventure bag.

I’ll stop typing for a moment to complete this.

Here’s a picture of the campsite.

Gloves found, but they’re a bit grimy and so I gave them a quick wash and they’re now hanging to dry. Back to blogging.

Oof, it’s now 6:22 and getting dark and I am getting sleepy, but if I fall asleep now I will wake up around 2 or 3 in the morning.

Must. Soldier. On.

To keep moving and to stay awake I tidied everything up after eating.

Clean the pots, pans & dishware. Put everything, especially food back into the car. Place sleeping and entertainment items into the tent. Set up the blankets and pillow.

Oh! I remembered a pillow this time! That never happens!

The only item left out is the big pot as I will need it to gather water to put out the fire later.

I’m looking forward to making coffee in the morning.

I wish I had brought creamer, though.

I grabbed sugar to help make up for this, though.

It should be fine.

(Spoiler: It was not fine.)

I never made coffee in the morning. I didn’t have a fire and I wasn’t in the mood to cold brew the coffee.

I really should bring creamer, next time.

I wonder if there is an easier way to get hot water for coffee in the morning?

This requires more research.

Ranger Bear approves of the tent setup.

There’s not a lot of wood left. I’ll watch this for a bit longer before putting it out.

Sunset time.

Why are my eyes burning?

Smoke from the fire?

No, it’s probably the sun screen I slather over my head and face.

This happens every time.

I need to wash up before bed.

I love the old bathrooms/showers at the Texas state parks.

Next time I’ll bring soap, a washcloth and towel.

I added “Take a shower at a Texas State Park” to my adventure list.

It’s officially time to put out the fire and retire to the tent.

I wonder how well my phone’s night mode works when pointed at a light?

Not bad.

Ugly fake yawn pic.

Y’know? I wonder what the sky looks like with the night mode on the camera?

Well that’s neat.

Pretty sure that’s Orion, there.

There is a sound of wolves howling and I almost cracked up when the kids at a neighboring campsite began to howl with them.

I again broke out my ultraviolet flashlight to look for bugs.

I did not find any bugs, but I did find a lot of “growing stuff” that glowed, so here are a few pics.

Haha, funny story. So I fell asleep fast this evening and I also brought along my sleep headphones (which I absolutely love).

At one point I woke up to someone stepping on twigs next to my tent, so I shot up and said “Hey!”

…

And then I heard the rest of the YouTube video playing on my headphones.

Pro tip: Don’t listen to camping videos when falling asleep at a campsite.

It was a good night and I look forward to visiting more parks tomorrow.

Keanu says “Nyeh!”