Author: roadsmoretravelled

2024

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January 1 ,2024, and 2023 already seems like a distant memory. The year went by so slow, and so fast, both at the same time. There were ups and downs, highs and lows, good and bad. But they all seem so far gone.

2023 did not start out wonderfully with a baby in the hospital and myself with a major strep throat, then the resulting breakout as a result of medications, and then a long 5 months to recover from that. Only to develop shingles in one eye and have the other eye suffer a cornea scratch. So, a summer of healing from that. 

Two months into 2023, our whole division found out we would be losing our jobs over the course of the year and, in October, after almost 23 years at my company, my time there ended. Fortunately I was able to find a new opportunity and move directly into that position with another company.

It was a bad year for vehicles, all around, but I’ll be starting the New Year with a new vehicle, hopefully to be doing some more of the travelling that was the purpose for this blog.

The first vacation of this year will be my upcoming cruise on the Carnival Jubilee, can’t wait to take pictures and video and share with everyone. Then will be a trip to Florida, with stops on the way back, which i will be chronicling.

One of my goals this year is a new state park every month, so that will be coming up. I’ll probably start local since this month is filled up already, but ready to start car camping, now that I’ll have an SUV, so i’ll be able to have somewhere to sleep that’s not a tent.

As my job allows me to work anywhere i have internet, I hope to travel and stay with friends and family and work from various places and get some sites in.

So, big plans coming up, hoping to share with everyone. Stay tuned.

Back to Blogging

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I had such good intentions when i started blogging, was going to do it every week. Of course, as we know, life happens, and I didn’t keep up with it. But, so many things have happened in the past year that i feel the need to start documenting again, so i need to go back to my last post and pick up where i left off. But, I’m back 🙂

Galveston Island State Park, Part One

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As warm as October began, it ended on a chilly note, just in time for a weekend trip to Galveston for Patti’s birthday weekend. A front had come through and the weather was overcast as we began our journey. But cold and overcast was not a deterrent. It was a weekend at the beach and we were going to enjoy it. There wasn’t a lot of traffic, not too many people wanted to be on the beach on a chilly day.

Galveston Bound

Any road trip from this area involves at least one stop at Buc-ee’s. It’s a huge one-stop shop. From breakfast to dinner, snacks to desserts, coffee to wine, Buc-ee’s has something for you. Want to buy gifts for those back home? They’ve got that too. T-shirts, socks, pjs, knick knacks. They have clean restrooms, plenty of them. And, they have a ton of gas pumps. We’ll have to do a post on Buc-ee’s one day just to show everything there. We ended up with some bacon and egg bowls and packs of venison sausage and cheese for lunch.

He stands outside to pose for photo ops
This Buc-ee’s is off I45 in Texas City

From there, it was back on the road to Galveston State Park. Galveston State Park opened in 1975. There are two sections, the beach side, and the bay side. Both sides offer camping. Damaged by Tropical Storm Frances in 2008, and Hurricane Ike in 2008, construction began in 2018 to repair the damage and upgrade the facilities. The camping sites were redone, as was the gift shop, and entrance. All the old picnic tables that flooded every time it rained, and the porta potties are gone. The bumpy parking lot is gone. In it’s place is expanded, neatly organized parking at each entrance to the beach. There are restrooms and changing rooms at each entrance, and outdoor showers to rinse off the sand and salt water. The picnic areas have all been redone, all are now on cement pads, with covers and grills at each one. It’s a much prettier area now.

Changing rooms and Showers
The day began dark and gray

As it was a chilly day, we weren’t going to staying on the beach relaxing, we took a walk to the south edge of the park and back. There were very few people out walking as the breeze was making a damp day rather cold. But it was still beautiful, and some decent pictures were taken.

The birds had the beach almost entirely to themselves.
Except for the Jellyfish, which were everywhere, oblivious to the cold

Most of the Jellyfish were blobs, but one still appeared to have some semblance of life. The colors were more vivid than in the pictures above, the camera does not do them justice.

Although it’s not a shell gathering beach, there were a few pretty ones, so we had to take a few pictures.

And what beach walk would be complete without driftwood. The driftwood was almost non-existent for this trip, but one makes do with what we have.

A few more random pictures to finish up part one of Galveston State Park:

Even on a cold gloomy day, there is beauty in nature.

We’ve got Alligators! Brazos Bend State Park

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Texas has over 80 state parks, natural areas, and historic sites. Beaches, lakes, mountains, sand dunes, caves, dinosaur tracks, all of these and more can be found throughout the many state parks. Whether your interests lean to fishing, hiking, swimming, boating, star gazing, geocaching, or more, there’s a park in Texas for everyone. The Texas State Pass only costs $70 for an entire year and gives everyone in the passholder’s car free daily entrance to any state park. It’s an amazing deal for a year of entertainment for a family.

Brazos Bend State Park lies about 30 minutes southwest of Houston. Originally a hunting ranch, the approximately 5,000 acre park was purchased by the state of Texas in 1976 and opened as a state park in 1984. The park offers miles of hiking and biking trails and 13 miles of equestrian trails. There are multiple picnic areas and two playgrounds for children.

If you’re into star gazing, the park is home to George Observatory, which is part of the Houston Museum of Natural Science. There is a separate entry fee to the Observatory, and tickets have to be purchased online through the museum. On any given Saturday night, amateur astronomers gather to view the stars and planets, and the domes and telescopes are open to visitors with tickets.

For many people, it is the nature and wildlife that draw visitors to the park. Bird watching is very popular in the park. If you’re lucky, you might see a wild boar in the distance, and deer often show up at dawn and dusk. The nature center has exhibits on the three ecosystems in the park and, if you’re lucky, they will have alligators and snakes on display. Sometimes the park rangers will even have a snake or baby alligator out to view and pet, should you wish.

And then there are the alligators. There are hundreds of alligators in Brazos Bend State Park. It’s estimated there are around 250 over 6 feet. The biggest known ones are 15-16 feet in length. They mate in May or June, and eggs hatch in late August to early September. The babies, when they hatch, are only about 8 inches long. They stay with their mother for at least a year, sometimes up to two years.

The alligators are the reason I return to the park again and again. The best place to see alligators is 40 acre lake and Elm lake. Spring and Fall, when the weather isn’t too hot or cold, are the best seasons for alligator watching. I’ve seen as many as 40 alligators on a good day, from babies to big ones. You have to be aware of your surroundings as you can come around a corner to find an alligator sunning on the bank. They won’t bother you if you don’t bother them, but it’s always best to cross to the other side of the path and move along so as not to disturb the alligator.

Lazy days
Spillway Trail Alligator
Brazos Bend State Park
Another Spillway Trail alligator
Catching the rays
Stealth Swimming
The Big Daddies

Alligators, stars, birds, fishing, whatever makes you happy, Brazos Bend State Park has something for everyone. It’s a great place for a family picnic, a hike or a bike ride. Make sure to bring your camera to capture the memories.

Homemade Vanilla

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Holidays and baking go hand in hand and I find I use more vanilla at that time of year than any other. As we all know, however, real vanilla is pricy, and I don’t like the artificial ones. 10 or 15 years ago, I searched how to make homemade vanilla and I’ve never turned back to store bought. I always have a bottle prepared and I make more for Christmas Gifts.

There are many recipes on how to make vanilla, using different alcohols and different vanilla beans, in varying amounts of both vodka and vanilla. I’ve adapted my recipe over the years until I’ve come to a recipe I like.

To call it a recipe is really stretching it, there are only two ingredients: vanilla beans and vodka. While you can use any beans and vodka you prefer, I like Madagascar Vanilla beans and Skye Vodka. I don’t use the cheap vodka because, if I won’t drink it, I sure don’t want it in my food.

Madagascar Grade B vanilla beans
Skye Vodka

Since the intent is to use this batch as Christmas gifts, we bought two 1.75L bottles of Sky Vodka and a package of 26 Organic Madagascar vanilla beans.

13 Vanilla beans, about 4-5″ long each. Split each vanilla bean length wise. This allows all the vanilla bean goodness from inside to infuse into the vodka.
Vanilla bean, split, and the inner goodness.

Once all the vanilla beans are split, put 13 in each bottle, put the lid on and shake.

Vanilla in the making.

Store in a dark closet or pantry, shaking every week or so for 1-3 months, depending on how intense you want the flavor. The longer it sits, the more intense the flavor.

The great thing about homemade vanilla is, once this bottle is empty, there’s no need to throw away the bottle and beans. Simply refill with vodka and start the process again. You should be able to get at least two batches from each bottle.

Let the Holiday baking commence.

Saturday in the park

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October 1, 2022 was a glorious day. The sweltering heat and humidity of summer had dissipated, temperatures were hovering in the mid 80’s and the sun was shining. It was a perfect day to introduce Kangalulu to parks.

Lisa
Patti and Kangalulu
Kangalulu

Bear Creek Pioneers Park is on the West side of Houston, Texas. Created in the 1940s bye the US Army Core of Engineering, , the 2,154+ acre park offers something for everyone, from soccer fields, ball parks, and tennis courts to equestrian trails, nature walks and picnic sites. There are several playgrounds, a small zoo and aviary, and the Harris County War Memorial.

The park is free to enter and use, picnic tables and grills are first come first serve. The pavilions do need to be reserved before use. We found no shortage of picnic sites available. As beautiful as the day was, not many people were utilizing the park, except on the main drag, where soccer and baseball games were happening.

The Harris County War Memorial was built in 1985 to honor residents who lost their lives in World War I and the wars since. It is located near the Eldridge entrance to the park, near the aviary.

We loved this park, there’s so much for a family to do with their kids, without any cost other than the gas to get there. There are no stores in the park, so food and drinks are carry in only. There are water fountains at the restrooms, which are multiple, and clean. Many of the picnic areas are in shady spots under old oak trees, so comfortable spots to spread out and picnic.

We took the Bear Creek to Langham Creek trail to go see the Hillendahl-Eggling (also known as Bluelight) cemetery. However, the only thing there is a chain linked area with warning signs to stay out. The actual cemetery wasa moved in 1902, so all that remains is an overgrown, fenced in area.

The nature trails were mostly in the sunny areas, as far as we could tell, so these are best left to the cooler months.

The zoo and aviary are small, the bison and emu were not out. We don’t know if they were just in their pens or if they’re even there anymore. But it was still a nice little walk around the area to see everything.

All in all, we’d recommend this as a great place for a family outing on a budget.

Welcome to Roads More Travelled

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Hi,

Welcome to Roads More Travelled. Our goal is simple, to explore every “road” life takes us down and share the adventures with you. This could include our latest road trip, cruises, trying out a new recipe, or shopping for hidden treasures at the flea markets and antique shops. There is adventure in everything we do.

Recently, we were in Caprock Canyon State Park. Gorgeous tones of rust colored clay embed the cliffs and hills as you drive through the canyon. Whether driving through or hiking the many trails, the colors are breathtaking.

CAPROCK CANYON STATE PARK

Caprock Canyon State Park is the official home of the Texas Bison Herd. This herd has a different DNA profile than any other bison in North America, it is the last herd of the Southern Plains Bison. They wander freely through the park and, if you go at the right time of day, or year, you might find yourself in the middle of a wandering herd, or face to face with one of these magnificent animals. Remember, though, these are wild animals, do keep your distance.

We are actually on the other side of a small ravine, it would not be wise to be this close to a bison.

This is just a sample of what we’ll be sharing. We may revisit old adventures in between the new adventures, and we hope you’ll join us on the Roads More Travelled!