Car camping is becoming
more popular. Many years ago I camped in
everything from a station wagon to a stretched
tarp between trees to motor homes and every kind of camping
in-between. After getting hooked on RVing and
Glamping, I thought "no more primitive stuff
like car camping for me." I was wrong. On a trip
last year, I had a long drive of about thirteen
hours between places that were graciously
hosting me. Being cheap, I decided to go back to
the old ways and do a night of car camping.
I had just attended the
International Food Wine and Travel Writers
Association (IFWTWA ) Conference in Santa Fe
where I was hosted in a lovely casita by
Glamping Hub. (That story is here) I was heading
to Beaumont and Port Arthur where my CVB hosts
had me set up in two nice hotels.Palmetto State Park is located about
midway. Since I didn't get there until after
dark, I drove straight to my site and set up. I
had picked one right across from the rest room
for obvious reasons. It was on a point and had
the lake as my backdrop.The
sites were large and I had a bbq grill, a fire
pit, and a picnic table. I had
picked one without electric as I had no need for
it. All my cooking items were fitted into a
small zippered bag. I brought just
a little cast iron frying pan, a tea pot that
plugs into either a wall outlet or a cigarette
lighter, some potatoes, a packet of precooked
bacon, a little margarine, some tea bags,
paper plates, and utensils. I included a fire
starter, some charcoal, matches, and a lighter.
Setting up with car camping
involved only getting all of my luggage andassorted items out of the car and placed
right in front. (I tend to pick up a lot of
weird stuff on trips.) There
weren't many people in the campground and the
weather was clear so I wasn't worried about
things getting stolen or rain. I pushed both
front seats as far forward as they would go.
Since I had already set up a small mattress from
my travel trailer in the back, I just needed to
smooth it out and arrange my quilt and pillows.
I slept pretty well and
woke to a beautiful morning. I had more time to
look around and enjoy the beauty of the oxbow
lake I was parked next to. There were a lot of
dwarf palmetto plants, from which the park gets
its name, some between me and the next campsite and
plenty across the road. The San Marcos River flows into
the lake but from my spot I couldn't see it but
remember crossing it when I arrived.
I didn't have alot of time as I had to set out for
Beaumont pretty early but did get chance to spot
some large birds around the lake. The park is
located on the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail
so those who know more about birds than I do
would probably find a lot more. I also spotted a
large feral hog. He was no danger as he wanted
to stay away from humans as much as I wanted to
stay away from him. I do wonder if I had left my
food outdoors last night instead of keeping it
on the front seat if he might have dropped by
while I slept.
Some background on the park
and its town, Gonzales. It was founded in 1825
and was the farthest west Anglo settlement until
after the Texas Revolution. It played a big part
in that revolution. In 1831, the Mexican
government sent Gonzales a six-pound cannon for
protection against the Indians. Instead it
helped take Texas from Mexico when it fired the
first shot of the Texas Revolution.
The park opened in 1936 and
parts were built by the Civilian Conservation
Corps (CCC). The picnic pavilion (in header) is
an example of their beautiful stone work.
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