Thursday 1-20 Cold Windy Day

I got you piglet

We had cold windy day. Woke up to 33 degrees but with the wind chill it felt like 21. The wind was out of the north blowing 10 to 15 mph. It basically stayed there all day. 

We didn't go hiking but I did to do some steps. I walked around the camping area for two and a half hour. I didn't hike around the lake because I was afraid it would be too cold. I ended up doing 21,584 steps, which put me in 5th place in my group. I missed my Garmin goal of 25,409 by 3824 steps. But for the week I have done 106,147 steps of my 175,000 steps challenge.

When I wasn't walking I was playing games. I did the Solitaire and Mahjong Daily Challenges and the Event: Two Game Tango of 20 games (10 Klondike and 10 Spider). It took me 2 hours, 15 minutes and 6 seconds to complete, which put me in 15th place in my group. I also did some Sudoku games.

While I was playing games Larry read.

During our stay here at Tyler State Park in the Big Pine Camping Area I saw a few cute spare tire covers. We just use a plain cover, in time the covers deteriorate and fall apart. But it's nice to see cute covers.

 

A Gecko tire cover

 

A donkey on another trailer

 

Hosts tow vehicle

Actually the cold makes things more interesting. Gives you something new to deal with.

     

Wednesday 1-19 More Hiking (A & B Loop)

 

Camping at Tyler State Park

It didn't cool off much last night. We woke to 64 degrees and overcast skies. 

After breakfast we went on a 7 mile hike. We hiked the A & B loops. We picked up the B loop not far from the dump station. The trail took us through the forest in the section where they had the controlled burn. We weaved around the forest climbing over or around a couple of trees that fell during the burn. When we got to the Dogwood Ridge Camping Area we picked up the A loop which was green since they had not burned this area. Eventually we looped back to this area. When we were deciding our return hike we saw three park workers getting ready to clear the fallen trees off the trail with a chainsaw. As we were hiking back we caught up with them. They stopped cutting the down tree and helped us get around it. We only saw three other people during our hike, a runner, a guy hiking with his small dog and a lady and her two dogs jogging. We had a wonderful hike.

Hiking trail

 

Forest we hiked in

 

Trail markers for the A & B Loops
 

After lunch I played my games. I did the Event: World Tour Mini of 10 games. It took me 1 hour, 4 minutes and 32 seconds to complete, which put me in 19th place in my group. Then I did the Solitaire and Mahjong Daily Challenges.

When I finished playing my games I walked around the lake, which took me 45 minutes. When I started the lake trail it was sprinkling but not hard. I was going to do another lap but it started to sprinkle harder. While hiking the trail I saw a fisherman on the lake. He was the same fisherman we have seen the last three days. I think he must come everyday to fish. I also saw another guy fishing off the bank and we said hi. While crossing over the bridge I saw a turtle on a log. Then I met two women walking their children on the trail. We said our hellos and I told them about the turtle. They had already seen four on a log and when the turtles heard them they rolled into the lake. Everyday when I have walked by the beach area there are people, today there was a lady and her two children. In the day area. I said hi to a couple enjoying the day walking around. I walked by the store and I was glad it wasn't raining because it was closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I had a very nice walk.

Squirrel on our picnic table

 

Tyler Lake 

 

A turtle enjoying the lake

 

A shaded area at the day area

We had a rain storm come through at 3:15. The temperature dropped from 72 degrees to 51 degrees. The rain didn't last long, maybe about a half hour. After the rain stopped I walked around the camping area for 45 minutes to get my steps in. I ended up doing 28,000 steps, which put me in 4th place in my group.

We spent the evening inside reading. A couple of days ago I started reading The Gondola Maker by Laura Morelli and finished it tonight. It was a very good book. I baked some Reese's Peanut Butter cookies. We had an awesome day. 

 

Reese's Peanut Butter Cookies

      

Tuesday 1-18 Hiking C & D Loops & Lake Shore Trail

Sunrise over the lake

This morning I woke up at 7:00 just in time to see the sunrise. I just couldn't sleep any more. Last night I went to bed earlier than usual because Larry had to sleep on the couch because of his elbow and I didn't want to disturb him. 

Last night Larry thought due to his arm we would probably head home today but this morning he said it had improved a bit so he wanted to stay and try to hike.

This morning the temperature was 44 degrees with a lite breeze. The high was 70 degrees with wind out of the south of 5-15 mph. It was perfect for a hike.

After breakfast we went on 4.25 mile hike. We hiked on the C Loop for 1.5 miles and the D Loop for 2.2 miles. Larry and I both wore gloves and I wore a lite jacket. Neither the gloves or jacket stayed on because once we started hiking it starts to warm up. We picked up the C Loop at the dump station and went to the right. There wasn't a trail sign so Larry had to get out the map. During the hike we went up and down hills through the forest. The trails were covered with pine needles which made it nice to walk on. We did have to watch the tree roots. We hiked to the Northwoods Picnic Pavilion. Larry had to use the All-trails app. on his phone to see where we should go because there was no sign to point you to the trail. They did have a nice big map showing you all the trails. In fact there were three different trails. We had to hike up a steep power line road to get to the trail. the road took us by Cedar Point Camping Area. Once on top of the hill we found a fallen tree to rest on. It was very soft but worked out great. After our rest we continued.  We saw a couple of nice benches in memory of Jan Wood and David Madser. We were suppose to see the CCC Rock Dam but we never did. As we were hiking a section of the D Loop a lady was jogging with three dogs. We waited for her to go by but she said she would just cut down the side of the hill because she didn't want to disturb us. We had a great hike through the forest.    

Benches in memory of Jan Wood

 

Northwoods Picnic Pavilion

 

The forest

By the time got home it was lunchtime. After lunch I did my Solitaire Event: Pyramid Adventure of 20 games. It took me 2 hours, 3 minutes and 21 seconds to complete, which put me 8th place in my group.

After I finished I went on a hike/walk around the lake twice. During my walk I met two ladies who were walking their children. One had a child on her back and the other had a child in a stroller. I thought that it had to be tough pushing a stroller considering the trail isn't flat. As I hiked I saw a couple fishing boats on the lake and two paddle boats with one person in each fishing. As I walked through the beach area I saw a couple enjoying the afternoon sun. At the playground in the day area I saw a mother with two young children and a lab. On the second lap the family was walking on the beach. As I was walking over the lake using a small bridge I saw two turtles in the lake. When I went by the park store there we no one there. When I was walking their the loop next to us the two mothers were finishing up their hike. They made it around the lake. I had a great walk.

After resting for a half hour I walked around the camping area to get my steps. I ended up doing 28,000 steps, which put me in 6th place in my group.

While I was walking Larry was reading. He also extended our stay at Tyler State Park for two more nights because there is a lot of hiking to do. 

In the evening I did the Solitaire and Mahjong Daily Challenges. Then I read a bit. We had a beautiful day.

Monday 1-17 Hiking B Loop & Lakeside Trails - Larry Falls

  

Get a buddy and go hiking

We woke up to 44 degrees. Perfect for hiking. We started at 8:30, it was a little cool but once we got going it warmed up. 

We started the day by doing a 4.5 miles hike. We started by hiking to the trailhead. The trail is a loop so you could go either way, however,  the instructions at this park for the multi-use trails are bikes go clockwise and hikers go counter clockwise. It really would not have mattered since we didn't see one bicycle. We took the B Loop Trail, which was  2.7 miles. There was a controlled burn a few days ago to clear out underbrush, the fire was still burning in places causing quite a bit of smoke. It is a very nice trail, it runs through the forest and goes up and down gentle hills. We saw one lady jogging and a young couple hiking. 

We were halfway through the hike when Larry tripped on a root and fell. You might remember back in September when we were in Colorado he fell breaking his left elbow and injuring his wrist requiring us to return home. The elbow is much better but it still gives him some trouble, well, he fell on the same arm re-injuring it. It is swollen and painful, once again he can only move it a limited distance. Definitely not as bad as the last time. He still has the splint from the last fall but it is at home. Hopefully in the morning it feels better.

 

C Loop Trail

 

Still burning

 

Hiking through the controlled burn

I'm still alive

For lunch I made tostadas. Then I did the Solitaire and Mahjong Daily Challenges and Event: Tri Peaks Mini of 5 games. It took me 8 minutes and 54 seconds, which put me in 13th place in my group.

With Larry's injuring he unable to hike so after playing games I went on an hour long walk/hike on the Lakeside Trail by myself, this is the same 2.1 miles loop I did yesterday. During the hike I took a short detour and went to the CCC Overlook. When I got to the lighted pier I climbed up some stairs to get to the day area parking lot. From there I climbed up the main road for .25 miles. It was a pretty view of the lake through the trees. Afterwards I walked back to the parking lot to get back on the trail. As I hiked I saw a lot of people enjoying the beautiful day hiking the Lakeside trail, day areas and the lake. People were fishing, canoeing and paddle boating. When I got to the park store I met the grandmother and two granddaughters from yesterday. They said they had so much fun they had to bring mom today. It was nice to see them again. By the end of the hike I had hiked 2.5 miles. I was going to do another lap around the lake but I was getting warm because I had worn a sweat shirt.

A peaceful afternoon fishing 

 

Fishing from a canoe

 

Enjoying the lake in a paddle boat

 

A view of the lake from the CCC Overview

 

One of the screened shelters in the park

The park store

After resting a little bit and changing my shirt I went on another hike around the lake. Then I walked around the camping area for a half hour. 

After dinner I walked around the camping area to complete my steps done. As I was walking I noticed we were going to have a gorgeous full moon. I went home and got the camera and took a picture or two. By the end of the day I did 28,000 steps, which put me in 6th place in my group.

 

The moon rising over Tyler Lake

I started the day out wearing a sweat shirt and jacket. When I did my afternoon walk I was in a short sleeve shirt. By 4:00 it was 61 degrees. We had a gorgeous day of sunshine.   

Yesterday Big Pine Camping Area was full but by noon today it was almost empty. The families went home. As soon the families left a few people showed up. Now it's not even half full. It was nice to have the families around because they were playing games, watching Sunday football and cheering Dallas on and they had campfires. It's also nice when they leave because it's nice and quiet.  

Sunday 1-16 Tyler State Park

Tyler State Park welcome sign

We woke up to 24 degrees and a lite breeze. It was cold but not a bitter cold like yesterday. It got up to 54 degrees with a lot of sunshine.

After camping at Bonham State Park for three nights it was time for us to move on. Bonham was a beautiful park with great hiking trails except for the lack of signage. We hung around until about 9:45 and then headed to Tyler State Park, it was a 110 mile drive.

Tyler State Park is located 10 miles from Tyler, Texas. The park is in the Piney Woods Area of the state parks. We took two lane highways through a lot of small towns. We saw cattle, sheep, horses and ranches. It was a very nice drive. 

We arrived at Tyler State Park about noon and checked in at the gate. Once we were checked in we went to our camping area and found our site. The camping area is called Big Pine, all the sites are pull-throughs with full hookups, tents are not allowed. After setting the Minnie up we had lunch. This weekend is a three day weekend so the park is busy. 

After I did my Solitaire Event: Klondike Mini of 10 games. It took me 32 minutes and 42 seconds to complete, which put me in 22nd place in my group. Larry read.

Afterwards I hiked for about an hour. I did the Lakeshore Trail, which went around the lake for 2.1 miles. The trail starts just across the street from our site. The trail goes in both directions. I hiked it going to the right. It was very wide and busy with people. When I got on the other side the trail narrowed a little and weaved through the forest. It took me to the lighted Pier and Southside Day Area. The lighted pier was very nice. The trail followed the shoreline of the lake. I had to hike over tree roots, which made it a bit of a challenge. It went up and down small hills. There was a bridge and a boardwalk, that took me over the swampy area of the lake. I walked by tent camping areas. Once crossing the lake via the boardwalk I walked through the day use area. Next to the picnic area was the beach with a nice bathhouse. I walked through the beach area to the park store and boathouse, where you can rent paddle boats, kayaks and canoes. There were a few people on the lake. At the store I took the main road home. When I got back to our camping area I continued .1 mile to where the Loop B trailhead was. I had a great hike.

 

Tyler Lake from the trail

 

One of the sites in the tent area

 

Hiking in the trees

The boardwalk

Canoeing on Tyler Lake

 

Kids playing in the playground at the day area

Later I hiked the Lakeshore Trail going the other way. I met a grandma and her two granddaughters. We talked about the park. Three guys came by while we were talking and I walked with them back to the camping area. They were out of the Dallas area. I had another fun hike.

When I got home it was time for dinner. We had tostadas. After dinner I walked around the loop for a half hour. I rested a bit. Then I went outside and finished my steps. I ended up doing 28,500, which put me in 6th place in my group with 176,284 for the week        

Saturday 1-15 Really Cold

Brr it's cold

The weather application that Larry follows was right about today's forecast. We woke up to 34 degrees with a strong wind out of the north. This was the high for today. By 5:00 it dropped to 30 degrees but felt like 19. Winds were 20-30mph with gust to 40+.

We stayed inside to keep warm. The electric heater ran most of the day and Larry kept wrapped up in blanket. I kept a sweat shirt and jacket on. Larry finished a book and started and finished another one. I started a book yesterday called When A Man's A Man, written by Harold Bell Wright. I finished it today. He could really write. I really liked it. Larry had read one of his books called The Shepard Of The Hills when he was young. He and I both re read it awhile back and liked it. They both weren't too long and were easy to follow.

After I finished the book I decided to go for a walk. I ended up walking about an hour for about 3 miles. I started by walking to the Lake Loop Trail. I walked the main road to get there. It was cold but I had bundled up with my winter jacket on top of a sweat shirt and a jacket with a hood. The wind was strong and went right through my jeans. I had the hood of the jacket up but my face was in the open so my nose was cold. The Lake Loop Trail goes along the lake and through trees. I thought the trees would protect me, I was wrong. By the time I was half way around the lake I started to warm up a little bit. When I got to the dam I cross the street and hiked the Gnarly Root Trail. I hiked the whole thing. I was surprised I didn't get lost. I was protected from the wind hiking through the trees on this trail so it was a little warmer. I wouldn't recommend hiking in this cold weather because it wasn't a lot of fun.

By the time I got back I was cold. I spent the rest of the day inside. While keeping warm I played my Event: Two Game Tango of 20 games (10 Spider and 10 Pyramid). It took me 2 hours, 26 minutes and 56 seconds to complete, which put me in 15th place in my group. 

After playing the event I decided to go outside and do some steps. I wasn't outside long because it was too cold and it wasn't worth freezing to get my steps in. I ended up only doing 7,000 steps, which put me in 6th place with 147,600 for the week so far. Tomorrow I'll have to do 28,000 to get my weekly challenge goal of 175,000 steps. 

After stepping I made hot chocolate. I also made break n bake Reese's Peanut Butter Cookies for dessert. Then I did the Solitaire and Mahjong Daily Challenges. Tomorrow it's suppose to be warmer. LIFE IS GOOD!!!        

Friday 1-14 Hiking Bonham State Park Trails

Grab your hiking gear and let's go

We woke up to the temperature in the high 40s and overcast skies. It got up to 68 degrees. There was a little breeze. Perfect temperature for a hike or two. Tomorrow it's not suppose to get out of the 30s. We hiked about 8 miles together, I hiked about 11 miles.

After having breakfast we went on a 5 mile hike. The hike was very challenging, not physically, the challenge was understanding where the trails were, they had trails within each other and the signage was poor, mostly there was no signage. The trail sign had a green arrow when you go one direction and a blue arrow if you're going the opposite direction. I'll stop complaining. Using the trail map and an App. called All Trails Larry was able to figure it out so we didn't get lost. Overall the hike was very good. We climbed up small hills, through ravines, through trees and climbed over roots. We started the hike across the street from the camping area. We hiked the Bois d' Arc Trail. The trail took us through the group camping area. It had nice cabins and a dining cabin. We picked the trail back up by the park boundary fence. Then we went up a hill and through trees. As we hiked we saw some CCC picnic areas with picnic tables, stone seating areas and a place where the grill was. This is a guess because there were no signs. We hiked to the tent camping area. It looked like the picnic tables were built by the CCC because of the stone that was used. We walked over a small bridge built by the CCC. We finished the trail at the main road. We then followed the road to the Armadillo Trail, which was 1.5 miles long. We finished this at the main road by the Lake Trail which we hiked for about a mile to the dam. We picked up the Gnarly Trail and hiked it to the boathouse and ramp. We walked around the area. There was a playground with swings, a boat ramp, a boathouse, where you can rent paddle boats, a fishing dock and the park headquarter. Then we went back to the Minnie. We had a very nice hike.

A couple cabins in the group camping area

One of the picnic tables built by the CCC

 

A group get together built by the CCC

 

Boathouse built by the CCC

 

Paddle boats for rent

 

The park headquarter building

By the time we got back it was lunchtime. After lunch we rested. Larry read and I did my Solitaire Event: Pyramid Mini of 5 games. It took me 10 minutes and 39 seconds, which put me in 7th place in my group.

About 2:00 we went on another hike. This hike was for 2.5 miles for an hour. In the morning we missed some of the Bois d' Arc Trail so we hiked the pieces we missed and more. When we finished doing what we missed we took the Lake Trail back to the camping area. While we were hiking one of the sections we had to cut through the trees because two guys were chainsawing a fallen tree so they could remove it from the trail.

 

The park workers removing a downed tree

Larry has a hiking trail program called All Trails, that has trails people have entered into the database form all over the place. We were grateful to this application because Larry would never have figured out the trail system here.

 When we got back we rested. While resting I did the Solitaire and Mahjong Daily Challenges. When I finished I went on an hour walk. I did the Lake Trail and the Lake Loop Trail. When I got to the dam I hiked the piece of the Gnarly Trail we did this morning. I wanted to walk around another half hour. I checked in with Larry and told him what I was doing. When I walk the trails by myself Larry will worry if I'm late getting back. 

By doing this hour and a half walk I did my step goal. I ended up doing 28,000 steps, which put me in 4th place in my group.

For dinner I barbecued hamburgers. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing with a book. I made chocolate chip cookies.