Wind Point Park – The Wandering RVer

Goodbye Wind Point Park

When we first arrived at Wind Point Park, we had no idea what to expect. We had a basic idea of our job descriptions but we were stepping into unknown territory. Our initial commitment was 3 months. We said, “Beyond that, we’ll stay as long as it is mutually beneficial.” Time passed quickly. We made new friends. People who truly impacted our lives. To be quite honest, we also met some people we weren’t terribly fond of, but, let’s face it that happens everywhere. Our overall experience was a happy one.

And we got to see some really cool things…

Grand Saline-3946 — The Salt Palace in Grand Saline

Grapevine-3969 — The wine festival in Grapevine

Texas State Fair-3305 — The Texas State Fair

Grapeland Safari-3460-Edit-1 — The Grapeland Safari

Marcus Lindsey Band-4222 — A night with the Marcus Linsdsey Band

WPP Turkey Drag -3890 — Turkey Drag 2017

When we set out on this new adventure, it was never our intent to find a happy place and call it home (at least not yet). Each place we stay is meant to be a visit. There are far too many places to see to put down new roots.

We decided to leave on Dec. 19th, a little over 5 months after we arrived. The week before we left, was filled with evenings with our new friends. Dinner with Ivan and Josie…Dinner with Jerry and Janelle…Dinner with Scott and Reja…Dinner with Nancy…Hugs and well wishes from so many people…and our final campfire…

Before we left, we walked over to see Meda. She is a long term lease holder who moved in a few months ago. She had just gotten her smoker and we wanted to see it…

Nancy gave us an early Christmas present…

In case you are wondering, the “dog butt” is a leash holder. The “Where’s Waldo” candy bar was perfect!

The morning of the 19th was rainy and miserable for packing up…

Despite the rain, lots of people stopped by for a final farewell…

My apologies to Jerry and Janelle, we didn’t get a picture with you, but your homemade road snacks were awesome!

I haven’t come close to mentioning everyone who made our time at Wind Point Park so memorable.

A part of us will stay in Lone Oak with all of you…

And I painted a reminder, in case you do start to forget us…

A special “Thank you” to the park owner, Ryan, for giving us our workamping start.

Next stop…Galveston!

Turkey Drag 2017

Once a year, Wind Point Park is transformed from a quiet haven on the lake into the travel destination for car/truck/hotrod enthusiasts. This year, the 13th Annual Turkey Drag took place from Dec. 1-3. Friday was a fairly quiet day. I rode around in the golf cart, getting a sneak peak at the early arrivals…(if you don’t really care about car show, at least scroll to the end for a good laugh!)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I worked in the office from 12-4 and had a front row seat as the parade of vehicles rolled in. The event staff did an amazing job keeping the line moving.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

All 8 cabins, 15 shelters, 24 waterfront RV sites and 10 interior RV sites where rented to someone participating in the show. But there were also quite a few people who tent camped for the weekend. And one in particular camped in style…

Since it is a car show, there is always last minute prepping to do before the vehicle is judged…

The sunset Friday evening provided the perfect backdrop for photographing some of the vehicles…

While some folks drove around checking out the competition, others enjoyed a campfire at their rigs…

Saturday morning brought an onslaught of activity. While things were quiet in the office, the park buzzed with excitement. Spectators had plenty to see…

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

While riding in the back of trucks was a popular way to see things, some people had more fun in their golf carts…

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Then again, some people just wanted to chill…

But, if you really wanted to chill in style, you took your picnic table with you…

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Yep, you saw that correctly! A VW powered picnic table, complete with a beer drinking turkey!

Of course with so many people, the park staff kept busy making sure everything was as clean as we could keep it…

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Saturday afternoon brought a first for me – vehicle limbo…How low can you go?

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Of course, as with all car shows, the devil is in the details…

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Lucky for you, I don’t have an audio track to really give you the sense of being there. Competing sound systems and questionable song lyrics made me wish for some earplugs!

Sunday morning brought a respite from the noise as people were a little slow in starting their day…

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Some people were a little slower than others…

Didn’t anyone ever warn them? What happens at the lake – ends up on the internet!

When the final count was done, there were 704 registered show vehicles, 2239 spectators and 14 vendors. It was a lot of fun, but I’m glad it only happens once a year!

Getting to Work

Friday and Saturday nights, you will find Steve “patrolling” Wind Point Park in his golf cart. He escorts new arrivals to their site, sprays around their rig for ants (more about them later), picks up trash, cleans the public restrooms and enforces the rules. Overall, it is a pretty easy gig. One night, he came across a couple guys with an axe. They were trying to chop down a tree for firewood. Um, NO! Other than that, it’s pretty quiet here. Peaceful.

Spraying for ants could be a full time job by itself. Argentine ants are a huge problem here. Just look at Diesel’s food container…

It was in the storage compartment under Waldo (with the lid on!) The ants are everywhere. I took this short video clip along the water’s edge…

The only up side about these ants is they have displaced the fire ants. Other than that, they are a real pest!

I’ve been getting my training in the office, learning campground management software and all the specifics of this park. The park is in the middle of a management shift. The current manager has been here 2 years and will be leaving in November. I love the fact several of the workampers have been here long term. I think it really speaks to the overall happiness of the work environment. Here I am, hard at work manning the desk…

The second week we were here, the owner (Ryan), threw a hello/goodbye barbecue for all the park employees. Most of us had already met, but it was a fun way of formally being introduced. One of the lawn maintenance guys brought his smoker and all I can say is mmmmmmmmm…

There was enough food to feed a small army…

Nobody went hungry, that’s for sure…

After the meal, we all went out and played corn hole…

We are enjoying our new lifestyle! Meeting great people, learning new skills and getting to explore our new “home for now”.

Thanks for coming by. My next post will be about our recent return visit to Sulphur Springs.

Settling In – Part 2

We were given a couple days to settle in before we had to report to work. We spent most of the first day getting Waldo rearranged. I’m sure we’ll be rearranging again and again until we find “just the place” for everything. What seems like the perfect place for something frequently becomes “Why the hell did I put that there!” We’ll figure it out…

The weather has been mostly sunny and hot – just the way I like it, so naturally we stripped Trouble of all those unnecessary things like doors and the soft top. We did put the bikini top on to keep a little shade over the seats. I wouldn’t want Steve’s head to get sunburned! We needed a few things at the store and I was anxious to get out and explore the area. The GPS told us the nearest Walmart was about 30 minutes away. Off we go. With the shopping out of the way, we headed to Sulphur Springs. There was something I had read about and had to see for myself. In the old town square, there is a lovely park with public restrooms and it was the restrooms I wanted to see. Yes, you read that right…I wanted to see restrooms. These aren’t your run of the mill relief stations…they are made with one way mirrors – no, I’m not kidding…

Sulfur Springs-2356 — From the outside, it looks like a mirrored box

Sulfur Springs-2358 — This is the view from the inside

Sulfur Springs-2357 — You feel a little conspicuous while you are relieving yourself. Note the guy in the background taking a picture…

Once I was done giggling about the restroom (Steve wouldn’t use it), we walked around the park taking in the sights…

We decided to stop for lunch at the Corner Grub House…

We both had burgers and they were pretty good. With full bellies, we decided it was time to head back “home”.

The next day, we grabbed our cameras and set out to explore. We stopped at a farm stand and I was so excited to see fresh figs…

We splurged on some figs, plums, tomatoes and summer squash. A little expensive but oh so tasty! I got to see my first Texas longhorns…

And an oil pump…

I couldn’t resist getting a picture with my MOV bottle to send back to the store with a tag line about “Big Oil”.

We made one more stop before heading back…

How’s that for a hay field?!?

Diesel says “Life is good here!”

Thanks for coming by!

Settling In

We left my dad’s around noon on Monday, July 3rd. According to the GPS, it would take us about 15 hours to reach our destination in Lone Oak, Texas. We were hoping for an uneventful trip, after all, Waldo had a nice new roof and Steve had replaced the surge tank and both thermostats. We thought our overheating problems were behind us. We didn’t even make it out of Florida before Waldo’s engine temp began to climb…ugh! My aunt and granny live about 40 minutes north of the route we were taking, so we spent our first night “on the road” at their house. It should have only taken us about 5 1/2 hours to get there, but, thanks to Waldo’s overheating, it took us nearly 7 hours. My aunt had a wonderful dinner waiting for us, fall off the bone ribs, fried corn bread cakes, peas & beans, roasted potatoes and fresh tomatoes. After stuffing ourselves and catching up a bit, we called it a night. The next morning, breakfast was waiting for us! Bacon, sausage, fresh eggs (she has her own chickens), straight out of the oven biscuits and homemade preserves. Thank you Aunt Frances! My cousin came over to see us before we continued on our way. And he came bearing gifts…probably one of the biggest watermelons I had ever seen. We gathered on the back porch, while he cut it into mouth watering chunks. Between the 5 of us, we managed to eat almost 1/2 of it. Then he cut a huge chunk to take with us. Bonus!

With hugs and a promise to visit longer next time, we headed west. Waldo only overheated a little, so we made pretty good time. Aound 4 pm, Steve asked me to start looking for a place to spend the night. Armed with my Allstays phone app, I chose a park in Monroe, LA called Ouachita RV Park. I was worried we wouldn’t be able to find a spot because of the holiday. Even though the office was closed, they answered the phone. Yes, they had sites available. We were told which ones to pick from and to just come into the office in the morning to pay. Despite being so close to I-20, the park was quiet and peaceful. I took Diesel for a nice long walk after his day riding and came across a strange sight. Dozens of what I’m going to call mud chimneys. They ranged in size from 2-3 inches tall to over 10 inches tall. Thanks to Google, I learned they were crawfish mounds. Who knew…

I awoke Wednesday morning happy in the knowledge, we would reach our destination by early afternoon. I was excited and ready to be there! It was a little after 1 pm when we pulled into Wind Point Park, our new “home for now”. We were warmly welcomed and shown to site B2, a beautiful shady spot to call home.

As we were setting up, one of the park’s herd of deer came through as though welcoming us…

The park manager and her husband stopped by later that evening and offered us a tour of the park. We climbed onto the back of their golf cart and off we went. What a slice of heaven!! Beautiful scenery, friendly faces and lots of wildlife.

We’re gonna love it here~

Doing It Florida Style

So here we are in Florida. After the “adventure” of our trip down here, I was definitely ready for some down time. I knew we had to get Waldo over to the repair shop for an estimate on the roof, but first we had to unload the belongings staying in Florida. I’m sure Waldo was quite happy to shed a few pounds!

On Thursday, we brought Waldo to Nature Coast RV, handed over the keys and hoped for the best. It would be a few days before we got the estimate so we set our sights on some relaxation time.

It had been quite a long time since Steve had enough spare time to get out in the kayak. While water sports aren’t his favorite activity, he does enjoy kayaking on calm waters. My first thought was to head down to the Gulf of Mexico (only about 10 minutes from my dad’s house). We made a quick stop at the store to pick up some sunscreen. Steve has two colors of summer – Casper white or lobster red. Not wanting him to spend his first week in sunburned pain, we opted for spf50! I thought better of the gulf because the waters can be choppy and there is no shade. I decide a trip on the Rainbow River would be better. The Rainbow River is a busy river with boaters, tubers, kayakers and paddle boarders. Since it was father’s day weekend, the river was crowded, but not so much to make it unenjoyable. Steve seemed to have a good time…

We promised my dad a trip to his favorite restaurant for father’s day. I dislike eating out on holidays due to the crowds, so we waited until later in the week. Peck’s Old Port Cove serves steamed blue crabs. Daddy and I split 1 1/2 dozen crabs while Steve had their fried fisherman’s platter…

A great meal – as always!

Before we left New Hampshire, I had been looking for a place to workamp. Work Camping is when you work at a campground in exchange for your RV site. Sometimes there is an opportunity for extra hours for pay, but not always. We had committed to a park in Texas, but didn’t leave NH in time to make it when they needed us. I was very happy when the manager of Wind Point Park in Lone Oak, Texas emailed me and said we were still welcome to come work for the summer! Their website shows a beautiful park and conjures visions of lovely sunsets and quiet evenings by the campfire. I can’t wait to get there and settle into our new life as workampers!

We had received the estimate for Waldo’s roof…gasp! Between $7000 and $9000! Double what it cost to put a roof on the stick and brick house in NH! But, it has to be done! Steve checked in on their progress this week and it’s getting there…

They are hoping to have it done by the 30th so we can be on our way.

While Steve was checking on the roof, I decided to take my kayak out to the gulf. I drove to the end of Ozella Trail. There is a great park there with a boat launch. A few other kayakers were out. I parked next to them, unloaded and hit the waters. As I suspected, the water was choppy, but it was a gorgeous summer day and I made my way around the mangrove islands and headed back. I hadn’t checked the tide report before I went out and I won’t do that again! When I got back to Trouble, the tide had come in enough I could paddle right up to it…

It was still over an hour before high tide, so I’m glad I headed in when I did.

Hoping my next post is about an uneventful 14 hour trip to Texas and our arrival at Wind Point Park!!!!