TEXAS HILL COUNTRY TRIP
John Singleton
Camping Research Specialist for
GWRRA Chapter LA-J, Lake Charles, LA

In an effort to bring you the best information available, from time to time Mary and I will write up a review of a campground or a product report on how various items hold up.

 Monday, February 9th, we hooked up the camper and headed for the hills (Texas hill country that is) to mix business with pleasure. Our son was coming over from Las Vegas to Austin on a couple of job interviews, and we thought the least we could do is go up and visit him and his wife. (It’s a lot shorter ride to Austin than Las Vegas!)

The first piece of advice we can offer is to charge your cell phone overnight before you leave, so you will have a fully-charged phone for the trip. But more importantly, be sure to remember to BRING IT WITH YOU when you leave. (We didn’t… it’s hard to keep in touch and meet up with someone without it!)

We planned to stay at one of the Corps of Engineers parks along Lake Granger just northeast of Austin. (With our Golden Age Passport, the camp fee is reduced 50 %.) These parks have hot showers and flush toilets as well as electric sites.  We went to two of them and both were CLOSED! Well, we ended up “camping” in a motel in Taylor, TX that night!

Tuesday morning, I checked the Texas RV and Camping Guide to try to locate an RV park near Austin that might have cabins or rooms available as there was a front projected to move through the area that evening, with winds from 25 – 50 mph (ending at midnight). We found a listing for Lake Travis Inn & RV Park on the northwest side of Austin with a 12-room inn rented by day or by month. It said call ahead, but we just drove over (no cell phone remember). When we got there, they said that the rooms were on a monthly basis only, but we could have an RV slot on a daily basis… great, except they had no bathroom facilities!

Moving on to Plan B, we knew that KOA had cabins as well as RV slots. The only problem, the nearest KOA was about 70 miles west of Austin on highway 290 east of Fredericksburg, TX. The good news was we were already on the west side of Austin and would not have to fight traffic to get there. We took the scenic back roads to get there.             By the time we got there, it was about 74 degrees and not a cloud in sight. Ignoring the weather report, I told Mary that it certainly wouldn’t rain, and the winds were going to die down by midnight so why not just put up the pop-up? We were able to get a slot next to the bathroom facility and under the shade of a nice oak tree. After getting the trailer / tent set up and staked down, we took the bike and headed into Fredericksburg for some good food. (If you are there and don’t want German food, give Andy’s Steak and Seafood Grille a try – they’re a few of blocks off Main St. (Hwy 290) on south Washington (Hwy 87 south) and have a great chicken fried steak!)
By the time we returned to the KOA campground, it was dark but still comfortable. The wind was out of the south about 15 – 20 mph, just enough to rattle the canvas walls. We had a WIFI hookup, and so I checked the weather radar. About the time I had it loaded, the wind shifted abruptly to the north and the temperature began to drop. I commented that we had gotten back just in time. It became obvious that I had set the tent up facing the wrong way as I had the small end facing south and the broad, high opening to the north. I considered rotating it around but thought it seemed to be OK as is. (Besides, I had the outside corners staked down, and it was getting colder out there!)

We stayed inside and watched the fast moving front on the radar. By 11 PM, the front had moved below San Antonio and about 90 miles to the east. I told Mary that we might as well get to sleep as the worst had passed and other than the noise of the wind on the canvas, we seemed to have lucked out. A restless sleep settled in and with the exception of an occasional gust waking us everything seemed to be OK.

Remember the opening of the “Wizard of Oz” where Dorothy was spinning around in her bed as a tornado picked up her house? Well, about 1:45 AM, the trailer rattled and rotated about 45 degrees. The front dressing room area folded up against the trailer as it spun around. After assuring Mary that Dorothy had survived her tornado and we were dealing with straight-line winds, I pushed the floor back down and sat on the floor in the front left corner with my back against the tent wall and tried to hold it down. For about 15 minutes, I rode up and down on the floor until the wind subsided back to its 20-mph level. I told Mary that we need to get out and straighten out the trailer and then rotate it to where its front was facing south and the small end north. As we got out, it became clear why the tent had only moved 45 degrees, the edge was against the wooden fence and the side was against the electrical service pole!

The wind had gusted to about 65 mph! (As reported at an airport about 10 miles away.) The force had pulled the two large tent pegs from the ground allowing the floor to fold up. As a testament to the quality of the Aspen camper, the stake down straps were not torn nor was any part of the tent ripped! By the time we had settled back into the tent, the wind was dead calm! About sunrise, it resumed blowing but only about 10 – 15 mph. There was no rain as I had predicted but there certainly was more wind than predicted!

Lessons learned: Believe the weather report and get a KOA Kabin for the night. (This KOA had the cleanest restrooms of any KOA we have stayed in.)Wednesday was beautiful and we were able to meet up with our son and daughter-in-law for a wonderful afternoon. Wednesday night was great in the tent, and we both got some much-needed rest. We headed home Thursday morning and had a safe uneventful trip home.