Happy Holidays from Buescher State Park!
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to All!
We left Goliad State Park almost three weeks ago and left with mixed emotions. Goliad SP became like home to us and the wonderful park staff became like family and we will really miss them all. Goliad SP is a MUST SEE, and yes, they are big-rig friendly with pull-thru FHU (50-amp) sites and the nicest staff you’ll ever meet. We will be returning to the park next fall, if all goes well. The park is just an AWESOME place, we loved it!
As I said, we left with mixed emotions as we were sad to leave Goliad SP, but excited to see what lay ahead over the horizon for our next adventure. Here we are at Buescher SP, which is just 30 miles southeast of Austin, Texas. The park is in the lost pines of loblolly pines with mixed hardwood forest. The landscape is so different from Goliad in that it is hilly and forested, where Goliad was mostly flat plains.
In some respects Buescher reminds us of the woods of Maine and lots of the same wildlife as Maine has. We have seen lots of White Tail Deer and many of the birds here are the same as New England. It is very peaceful here with lots of birds singing every morning. All the RV sites in this section of the park are back-in sites with water/electric (30-amp) and well spaced. We are park hosts at one part of the park and, being hosts, we have a FHU site that seems to be the only one it the park.
Our duties are varied with having responsibility for 35 campsites to maintain. We will also be giving hiking tours on the local flora and fauna, plus birding hikes. The bird life here is pretty amazing with lots of species that are local and many migrating birds as well. I also maintain the loner fishing rods to keep them in good working order and ready to go. The park here has a nice 25 acre manmade lake that has lots of fish for the campers and day visitors. There is no requirement for having a fishing license in the Texas SPs so it is a great opportunity. The lake has large mouth bass, sunfish, and is stocked in the winter with rainbow trout which all you anglers will love!
The Buescher SP is quite large in area with the lake, 7.7 miles of hiking trails, and an 11-mile park road that connects to Bastrop SP. The park road is a favorite for cyclist and is a nice peaceful and challenging ride. There are some pretty steep grades on the park road, so it is not so much for the slight at heart but is a good day’s ride to and from Buescher to Bastrop and back. You may have to walk your bike on a few hills but it is well worth the trip. Having Bastrop SP so close and easy to get to is an added plus to Buescher. Bastrop has lots of nice hiking trails and guided hikes as well. Bastrop SP is better known park with 25 FHU (50 amp) pull-through sites and 10 FHU back-in sites. It is also a much busier park as well and sometimes filled to capacity. Buescher SP is like a well-kept secret and is usually easy to get into and much quieter than Bastrop. Both parks are well-kept gems!
One great thing that both parks have in common is the excellent weather! Lots of RVers flock to Florida; Texas, however, is just as nice, if not nicer, and the prices on just about everything are much lower.
The weather has been warmer here than in Florida as well. We are having a drought here and it has hardly rained since we have arrived in Texas the 1st of October. The days here are mostly cloud free and occasionally we will have a foggy morning. Temperatures vary with the direction of the wind. When the winds are from the south to east daytime highs will be in the high 60s to 70s with nighttime lows in the 50s. If the wind is out of the north to west the daytime highs will be in the mid 50s to low 60s with some nighttime lows just below freezing.
There are days when we get up in the morning we turn in the heater to chase off the morning chill and by afternoon all the winds are open. It sure does beat the cold winds and snows of Maine this time of year. Do we miss the snow? NO WAY!! We have had enough snow in our lifetime to last us the rest of our lives! LOL!!
The closest town to Buescher SP is Smithville. Smithville is small and a nice, quaint town with a grocery store and a few other stores. The closest town/city with big stores like Wal-Mart, HEB grocery, Best Buy, Sears, etc. is Bastrop, which is only 13 miles away on highway 71. It only takes about 15 minutes to get to Bastrop, so it is really convenient.
We have yet to explore Austin but will be doing that soon. It is great to be in the country/forest and have a major metropolitan city so close by. We also have lots more to explore in Buescher and Bastrop SP as well. It is so great to be able to go out and hike through the forest everyday!
We are surely enjoying our retirement and full-time RVing lifestyle! It's really a low-stress lifestyle and very healthy as well. I hope all of you are having a Happy and Awesome Holiday Season and everyone is well and content. Peace and Good Will to All!
Jack, Peg, and the two goldies, Oliver & Anne
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