We pulled out of Fort Stockton RV Park shortly before their 11am checkout time yesterday. We drove back east on I-10 five miles to the Flying J travel center and topped up our tank with 44 gallons of diesel fuel at the truck fueling pumps. Our route for the day took us westbound on I-10 to US67 through the towns of McCamey and Big Lake. It’s about 140 miles to San Angelo from Fort Stockton.
We stopped at a roadside picnic table west of Big Lake. Donna made a salad for herself and I had a 6″ Subway sandwich that Donna had bought for me at the Flying J travel center. The weather was nice with the temperature in the morning in the lower 70s and steadily climbing as we traveled. US67 is a two-lane highway without much traffic. We had a tailwind and it was an easy drive to San Angelo State Park.
There are more than 60 RV sites in the park. We’re in a long pull-through site with great separation between us and our neighbors. The site has 50 amp service and fresh water but no sewer hook-up.
San Angelo State Park site 2
Their website advertises the site for $20/night. That seems fair enough but you have add a $4 park entrance fee. When we got here, we were informed the $4 fee is per person, so make that $8 for a total cost of $28/night.
It was getting hot out when we arrived here – over 90 degrees. I connected to the 50 amp pedestal and we had both air conditioners running in no time. The sites are fairly level, so getting set up was quick and painless. I rewarded myself with a Left Coast Brewing VooDoo American Stout.
VooDoo American stout
This is a tasty beer. Dark roasted malt gives hints of coffee and chocolate at 8% alcohol by volume.
Donna was outside and told me she saw bison northeast of our site. I walked out through a field (being mindful of the prickly pear cactus) and shot a photo. Later, Donna went for a walk and got closer – close enough to see they were fake silhouettes. How disappointing. There are supposed to be real bison and longhorn cattle in the park. Hans Kohl (Metamorphosis Road) told me there are also javelina here.
Bison silhouettes in the center
I grilled a rack of lamb for dinner. Donna spiced the lamb with fresh herbs and garlic.
Rack of lamb on the grill
Donna served it with a spinach and sweet potato hash.
Lamb with sweet potato spinach hash
It was so good!
My friend, Dave Glynn offered to have us park on his vacation property at Buchanan Dam. I looked at the property on Google Earth and was confused about how to enter the property and park. I phoned Dave while I was looking at the image. After talking with him again, I have a clear idea of what to do now. We’ll move about 160 miles southeast and stay there for a couple of nights.
We kept an eye on the weather all day yesterday. I saw a few thunderheads around us, but we seemed to be in the right spot. There were reports of severe weather to the northeast of us. All was fine when we went to bed.
I woke up at 2am as rain was pelting the roof and the coach was shaking from the wind. The topper over the living room slide was flapping violently. I got up and pulled the living room slide in. Donna and I sat in the front seats and watched the storm. I don’t remember ever seeing lightning like that. It was continuous, flickering light for half an hour. I looked at my cell phone weather radar app and saw we were in the middle of a storm cell. Twenty-five minutes later, I could see that the storm was moving to the east. Here’s a screen shot of the radar I took at 2:25 a.m.
Screenshot from my weather radar app – we’re the blue dot
The heavy rain turned to hail when we went back to bed. The hail drummed on the roof for several minutes, then it was rain again. I finally dozed off around 3am and slept fitfully.
Our original plan was to hang around, do some hiking and get a good look at the park. They have a 2pm check out time. Looking at the forecast, we’ve changed our plan. More severe weather is supposed to move into the area this afternoon. I want to be hunkered down, not out on the road if that happens. So we’re packing up and moving to Dave’s property this morning.