Camping at Guadalupe State Park

Being back in Texas has allowed us to spend more time with loved ones, including Brad's family. One of our goals was to go camping with Brad's sister and brother in law. The challenges to making this happen included conflicting work schedules, 4 dogs to bring and living in three different locations spread 3-4 hours apart. 

After picking a weekend, we spent another week or two searching maps for campground that allowed dogs, had river access and was between all of us. That brought us to a wonderful state park that none of us had visited previously, Guadalupe State Park. We would have preferred to pick a place in the wilderness off to the side of the road where we could pitch our tents and dip our fishing poles, but free access along the Guadalupe is nearly obsolete these days. 

We were able to get spots in the "primitive camping" area which consisted of 9 walk-in campsites. We got two that neighboring sites and camp went up. Expecting over night temperatures to drop into the low 30's, Brad rigged us up what I call the 'homeless tent', using old blankets for insulation underneath the rain fly. 

Seriously, it isn't good looking, but it does help with insulation! A few minutes later we realize that the pump for our air mattress is NOT in the bag. So we blow up a queen size air mattress with all the hot air we could muster up. A couple hours later, some light head spins and numb lips, and we got the job done. ((Sadly, as the hot air cooled over night, we lost a lot of the firmness in the mattress)). 

Eventually camp got set up, and the fun really began. We stayed for two nights, while Amy and Adam were only able to stay with us on Friday. We did some walking around the park, fishing in the river, naps in the grass and had lots of good eatin's. 

The tent looks significantly better with the rain fly on, doesn't it?!

The beef jerky got Brad a lot of attention

Adam, Amy and their furry babies

The day time temperatures were chilly but warm sun shining, night temperatures were cold, but we had such a glorious time exploring a new park and building our relationships with family. Maybe one day I will remember to get all four of us in a picture!