My Birthday Weekend 2021

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🥳 My birthday was on Friday this year and I had plans to go dancing with friends on Saturday, so I threw in a quick trip to the lake. I ended up at the State Park because the COE parks and Big Creek have a 2-night minimum on weekends. This was a solo birthday campout and the maiden voyage of my new kayak. It was a quick overnight for the purpose of trying it out and how it would carry in my truck with the camper attached. 

Birch Creek Unit, Lake Somerville State Park

14222 PR 57, Somerville, Texas 77879
Burleson County
979-535-7763

Type of Park: State 
August 27-28, 2021 - 1 Night

Check In: 2p    Check Out: 12p

⛺ Site #42, Post Oak Loop - Back-In

💲20 per night + $4/person/day entry fee (Can use State Parks Pass to waive entry fee)
• Water
• 20/30 amp (had 50 amp outlet, but only 20 & 30 breakers)
• Grill
• Fire Ring with adjustable height grate
• Picnic Table
• Site Pad: asphalt. Site was just long enough for my camper and my truck and not much room between. 

👍🏻 Pros:

• Near the water with a trail to get there
• Green space between the site and neighbors

👎🏻 Cons:

• The spot is tight getting in. My 10' high camper had low hanging branches on it (but they were soft, not stiff)

📝 Park Notes: 

• Park does not have a gate 
• Dump Station for each camping loop
• Restrooms / Bath House
• Boat ramp
• Fishing jetty/pier is closed
• This campground is better for winter camping. Great buffer from wind and neighbors. Only a handful of sites have direct access to the water.
• Lots of trails
• There are Munzees and Geocaches here
• Group pavilion/kitchen available
• 2 group shelters available

🐦 Wildlife:

• Birds: Shore birds, egrets, herons, cardinals, mockingbirds
• Deer
• Raccoons (I saw their tracks, but not the critters)

🚘 51.6 miles round trip - 9.4 mph

Friday

Part One!

⛺ Happy birthday to me! Worked half a day and then loaded up. Got out to the site not long after check-in time. Of course, I went the wrong way on the loop and had to go out a bit and turn around. The site entrance was tight with brush so I couldn't back in from the opposite direction. I backed in pretty well with the help of a neighbor checking how far I could go back and still put the stabilizers down. Low hanging branches, but soft. Unloaded the kayak and got the camper set up. With a lot of kids back in school, the campground was VERY quiet. There were less than 10 RVs on this side of the park and quite a few tents (but none in the primitive area).

🛶 Put on my swimsuit and dragged the kayak down to the water for the maiden voyage. I loved it!!! She did well even with the patched hole. More adventures to come for sure! When I was done, I dragged Pinky back up to the campsite and made a sandwich for supper. Just for fun, I took the Christmas green/red laser lights and faced them out on the brush instead of on the side of the camper. It looked like a forest full of fireflies. It was mesmerizing. Checked some social media and watched a couple YouTube videos and hit the hay. 

Saturday

☕ Made my coffee on the stove this time and just had blueberry muffins that I made before leaving home. It was a short trip so I didn't want to have a big breakfast and lots of dishes. 

🛶 My brother came out and brought their kayak and his drone. We paddled around a while. In one of the videos, you can see a big gar come to the surface. Neither one of us saw it at the time. Packed everything up and went to the house to drop off the kayak, take a shower and get some lunch. Got back in the truck and headed to Navasota which is a polar opposite from the State Park.




Part Two!


Behind The Western Steakhouse & Dancehall
9524 Highway 6 Loop S
Navasota, TX 77868
936-306-3821
westernrv@yahoo.com
Type of Park: Private-owned

Aug 28-29, 2021 - 1 Night

⛺ Site #30 - Back-In

💲45 per night + 3% for using a credit card

• Water
• 20/30/50 amp
• Sewer
• Site Pad: Concrete

👍🏻 Pros:

• No mud
• On the end of the row, so I had extra room on one side
• Sites are wide enough to put tow vehicle next to the camper

👎🏻 Cons:

• No grass
• It's a bright parking lot. The lights are the reason I got room-darkening curtains after the last stay here.
• No picnic tables
• No grill
• No fire ring

📝 Park Notes: 

• There are Munzees and here
• Sewer hookups were closer to the front of the site. I had to pull up some and use both hoses. 


🚘 58.4 miles round trip - 10.2 mph

Saturday

⛺ Had to get gas on the way, so I went through College Station on 2818. Students are back! Got checked in and picked out site 30 on the end. Waylon Thibodeaux was staying there. He and his wife were escaping Hurricane Ida since the eye was headed right for their home. I was the first in our group to get there, but some of the Roadrunners were there already, Not long after that, it started to rain. No worries on all the concrete. After the rain, we hung around my site for a while and then got ready for the dance. 

👢 We ate at the table since the restaurant side had a long wait. Jody Nix was great! I loved the twin fiddles and steel guitar. He had a good mix of honky tonk music. Good music, good food, Good Friends and good dancing. Everybody was dancing with me and buying shots and beer for my birthday. It was great to have the RVs in the back of the parking lot.


Sunday

🥓 I was the first one up from our group. David was the only one up from the Roadrunners. I made coffee in the drip pot. After the others got up and had coffee, we started the big brunch. Good eats! We broke camp and went home. I went the back way through William Penn this time. I unhitched and crashed for a bit, then went to friends' in Snook. 

Part Three!



🎻 They brought Waylon home with them and he was playing fiddle in the backyard. They had made a big pot of gumbo. I got a taste of it. It was so good, but I had steaks on the agenda a little later. I got to play the rubboard with Waylon for a few songs. 

Part Four!

🥩 Went to Mama & Daddy's. He and my brother got the charcoal pit going. John was there and my son came just as we sat down to eat. I don't get to see him often, so that was treat in and of itself. The steaks were great off the charcoal. Visited for a while and then everyone went home. 

🎁 All in all, it was a GREAT birthday weekend! 🎂

💨 This was the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Ida came ashore on the same day. High winds over 90 mph at my aunt's in Jefferson. Her living room ceiling collapsed. No power for up to a month! Relatives north of Lake Ponchartrain had wind, rain and power knocked out. Lots of trees and limbs down in the roads. 



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