Got out early, out of the park by 8:15, picked up hay just up the road and headed out from there in less than half an hour. Headed straight north to Marta, where we stopped for breakfast at a little cafe (no fast food except Dairy Queen, so we decided we needed to take the time for a quick sit-down. Half an hour later we were on the road again, making excellent time. We stopped at Walmart for a few things, including gas for Hubby’s van (I had stopped earlier for diesel just south of town), and made it to the park headquarters by 3:30. Unfortunately, headquarters wasn’t where we needed to go, so we were re-directed to the South Entrance, where it took over 20 minutes just to register. Texas State Parks has the most confusing entrance fees I’ve ever seen. By the time you get done you think you’re being nickeled and dimed to death! An entrance fee (one waived for Hubby because we bought a Texas State Park Pass, but not for me because we were in separate vehicles), if we had been in the same vehicle we would have both got in free. Then we had to pay for two extra vehicle fees (one for the RV trailer, another for the van, but not for the horse trailer – go figure. Had we been a motor home instead of a truck pulling a trailer, we would have only been charged one extra vehicle fee). No senior discount until Hubby turns 80! And the list goes on. It was impossible to figure it out in the end. They also mentioned that we would get two nights free if we stayed for a week, which was a good possibility anyway. Finally, after we finished at the office, we were directed 8 miles up the road to the North Entrance, a locked gate that would get us to the horse camp. They marked the map wrong, so I missed the entrance and had to turn around. Finally we arrived at the campground, a nice little camp with 10 sites, all with water, electric and corrals for the horses. We picked out Site 7 because it was long enough for both vehicles (or should I say, all four), and a good sized pen (some were smaller), and it didn’t take long to get settled in. Hubby had no problem getting a satellite signal in between huge old pecan trees, and we got everything done before dark. Yeah!
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