Sam Rayburn Reservoir - Pineland, TX

Friday we left High Island and drove about 165 miles north to a campground on the Sam Rayburn Reservoir near Pineland, TX. The campground is an Army Corps of Engineers facility and, like all ACoE parks we've ever stayed in, is pretty nice. What we really like is being able to get the Senior half-price rate (that's true for all Federal campgrounds - National Parks, Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Land Management, National Forests, etc). Our campsite is at the end of a street, real secluded, with only one set of neighbors who were really (what we've found to be) Texas friendly.

 

We put out the birdfeeders, and had plenty of birds - Titmice, Chickadees, Cardinals, Blue Jays, etc. We also had sone interesting squirrels. There are a couple of the regular gray squirrels that we are familiar with from home, but we also have red Fox Squirrels and a Black Squirrel.

 

 

Fox Squirrel (note the red belly)

 

Black Squirrel 

 

I learned a lesson - don't try to hand-feed the squirrels. They are real tame, and are all around looking for handouts. I was feeding them peanuts and decided to let LaVerne get a picture of me hand-feeding the Black Squirrel. He was standing up on his back legs reaching for the peanut and by mistake chomped on my finger. My reaction was to jerk my hand back, which lifted him off the ground - still hanging on. I basically had to shake him loose from my bloody finger! LaVerne missed the picture, but she washed the bite real good for me with peroxide and then I soaked it in more peroxide for awhile. LaVerne read up on squirrel bites and found out that they don't carry rabies and that bites seldom get infected. Maybe my finger won't rot off - sure did hurt for a little while.

Friday afternoon was cloudy and we had a little rain Friday night, but yesterday (Saturday) was beautiful and sunny (and hot). We went into the small town of Pineland for breakfast at Dot & Dorothy's Diner, then made a WalMart run about 20 miles south back to Jasper. We got a few things we had on 'the list', plus a couple of much needed haircuts!

Back at camp, we sat outside and visited with our neighbors. They are from Beaumont and he's a fisherman. They've been here a couple of weeks and he's been setting out trot lines for catfish. He brought a chest-type electric freezer with him and I think he has it about full of catfish filets. He caught one that weighed 51 pounds - which he released. Late in the afternoon got a few pictures of a great sunset across the lake!

 

Fishermen headed home after a hard day! 

 

Today we went to Parkway Baptist Church (which is right outside the gate of the park) for Mother's Day worship service. It is another small church with a small congregation (maybe 20-25), but the music was good ole' time singing and the pastor preached a great sermon. Again, like the other churches we've visited on this trip, the folks were just extraordinarily friendly -- everyone of them came around, introduced themselves, and gave us a big welcome. We enjoyed it.

This has been a great relaxing Mother's Day weekend and tomorrow we're on the move again headed to Athens, TX (more on that next time). Then it will be on to Missouri.