Fourth Van Camping Trip was Best Yet!
Finally, we enjoyed a camping experience with cooler temperatures, however, we had rain, a lot of rain. That’s okay with us. It was a great opportunity to test our wet-weather van camping skills and tools. We realized quickly that we did not have an umbrella, the floor gets dirty real quick and the rain drips right inside the van when the sliding door is open, even if the awning is out. More about all this in a bit.
Lake Belton
We’ve lived in Central Texas since 2000 and have tent camped at a lot of places, but this weekend was our first experience at Lake Belton, which is only one hour away. The lake covers more than 12,000 acres and has several parks, including the LCRA Park where we stayed.
We hit the road as soon as Dale finished his work day. We started the trip off on relaxing note by avoiding I-35 and taking a country route through Granger, Bartlett and other small towns. In just over an hour, with minimal traffic, we arrived at the park and began setting up. It’s a nice little campground, right on the water with plenty of trees, and deer! After setup, which takes less than five minutes, we were able to sit outside and enjoy a light supper before the rain set in.
There were several RVs and a couple of brave (and wet) tent campers. A handful of children enjoyed themselves all weekend playing in the puddles and riding bikes. What I assume was their parents, all huddled under a big screened-in gazebo talking, and keeping an eye on a nearby, very large smoker that was wafting wonderful smells throughout the campground. It looked like a very nice set up.
There were other old farts like us, sitting near their RVs, listening to music, yelling at their barking dogs and some were even watching big screen TVs attached to the outside of their RV. Very nice setup. Our van was very small and conservative in comparison.
Relaxing Saturday
Saturday morning it was raining steadily so we took our time fixing coffee and breakfast, doing some reading, and generally lying about until 11am, which is highly unusual for us. But that’s the great thing about camping, there’s nothing else to do but relax, especially if it’s raining.
A tour of the park was first on our agenda. With clouds overhead and our windshield wipers clearing our way we made our way to a second campground, the marina and some group event areas. All in all, it’s a very decent park.
Since it was nearing lunch, and we needed an umbrella, we headed to the Temple Walmart. I am not ashamed to say that I love a good Walmart, and this was definitely a good one! We took our time. We found a very sturdy umbrella and some batteries to replace the ones in my headlamp (which I discovered were pretty much dead on the way to the bathroom in the dark). We split a sub at Firehouse, then headed back to the park.
Chili and cornbread are always a great option for rainy, cool weather, and thankfully I had made some to take with us. We normally grill, but it wasn’t the weather for it. After eating dinner, securing all of our outdoor gear, and taking a shower we hunkered down with a Jason Bourne movie on the iPad. The following morning we got up early and made it to church by 9am. What a great weekend!
