As we turned Gladys’s northward to wrap up the last leg of our winter travels, we stopped at Lake Livingston State Park in Texas. Our site was fine, and the park was outstanding! There were four different areas or “loops” of camp sites, and the park offered a large, beautiful lake, fishing piers, boat ramps, canoe rentals, gift shop, and many hiking trails. And we had two whole weeks to take it all in.
One afternoon we walked a mile long boardwalk through a swampy wildlife area,
Tim took a few hikes on his own, too. We drove around each of the camping areas marking our favorite spots in case we return again to this area. The weather continued to be up and down, but fortunately mostly up.
After driving from Brazos Bend to Lake Livingston on a rather dreary wet day, Gladys was in dire need of a spa day. Even though state parks discourage campers from washing their RVs at the park, after seeing another person get away with it, we decided to give it a try. Karma is a bitch as they say and our dastardly plan bit us in the butt for sure! We started to gather a bucket, soap, sponges, and towels. But when we turned on the faucet the gush of water slowed to trickle, then a drip and then it stopped all together. At that time, a park employee walked over to tell us that we had to leave the park within 24 hours. With five days remaining on our reservation, we were more than a little taken aback! We naturally assumed it was because of our nefarious plans and scooted closer together to hide the evidence behind us. He went on to explain that the water tower that served the park had developed a huge leak and it could take days, weeks or even months to repair it. “What are we supposed to do?” I wailed as Tim thrust a practiced elbow in my rib cage. “Call the regional Texas State Park office in Austin” he called over his shoulder as he continued his eviction rounds.
Having to leave the park was not a great hardship on most of the campers because they were close to home and aside from a few screaming kids, they took it in stride. But we still had five days on our reservation before we could go to our next park near Texarkana. So, for once, I did as I was told and called the regional Texas state parks office. A genuinely nice young man by the name of Chris was extremely sympathetic and helpful! He applied a refund for our remaining five nights on our credit card and managed to get into our next park early! In fact, we would only have to stay in a temporary site for one night before we moved over to our assigned space at Atlanta State Park.
We were in a much better mood as we prepared Gladys for the move. After all, I have been kicked out of much nicer places. More than once. But I’ll save those stories for another day.
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