My brother, Don, drove out with me on Saturday to pick up my “new baby” so he could drive my Honda CRV back home.  It seemed a waste of a perfectly good weekend to drive straight home from Arkansas, so instead, we decided to overnight in Lake Bob Sandlin State Park.  We went straight from the official “title signing” at the previous owner’s bank over to the Brookshires to stock up on a weekend worth of provisions, then headed across the border for the park.   Neither of us had been there before, so we weren’t quite sure about the quality of the park, so I made a reservation for one night, but we took enough food for two.

Although my automatic inclination was to hand “big brother” the keys, he insisted that I take the wheel sooner than later, as I should get all the practice I could while he was there to help me.  This was only my second time to tow, the first being my move from Atlanta.  I have to say, it’s a whole lot more stressful now that I am the owner and not U-Haul!

It was further to the park than I thought, and daylight was not in our favor.  The registration station was already closed, and there was about 10 minutes of twilight left when we pulled through the gate.   Fortunately for us, a cold front had blown through, bringing nighttime temps down in the mid-30’s, unseasonably cold for Texas in late October, leaving the campground only about half full.   We found a spacious, level spot  (Site #5) next to a hiking trail, so no neighbors on one side.  The campground was heavily wooded, so it afforded a lot of privacy.

RV Lesson #1 — Never turn into a campsite with a tow vehicle, no matter how long the parking space appears!   I thought I had enough “ramp” to straighten the tow vehicle out after the turn, but was I ever mistaken.  There was so much torque on the tow bar that I thought we would never get it unhooked!  Had it not been for Don’s tenacity and perserverance, (along with the added pressure of my now blocking the road!) I don’t know what I would have done.  The only solution I could think of was to give up and activate my new Good Sam RV towing service on the first day!   But after much reelin’ and rockin’, the little “Mini-me” was finally free!

Demonstrating Yagi sighting

Don was eager to try out the new Yagi antennae he had constructed for me, while I was anxious to pop an immediate cork on a bottle of red!   Within minutes, we had five screaming bars of service, and two much needed glasses of wine!    Now that we had lost daylight, there was nothing to do but relax and unwind, while Donald gave me “RV 101” instructions on hook-ups.

The Lake Bob Sandlin park turned out to be a real find.  Not too far off I-30 with stores nearby for provisioning, yet remote enough to offer a quiet serenity.  The lake is supposedly great for fishing, but has quite a few stumps around the perimeter, which keeps the noisy boats away from shore, (though it sure could do a number on an inflatable kayak!)   There are several very scenic, heavily wooded hiking trails, one leading to a trout pond that is reported to be stocked in the winter.

In spite of the cold snap, we managed to stay comfortable at night, though the central heat AC could use a muffler!   Sunshine by day warmed us up, as did the hiking.   It was such a nice park that we decided to stay a second night, so we made the prerequisite trip for all new RV’ers to Walmart to pimp out my new coach!

Note:  A little pre-planning is necessary for this park, as there is no campground store for provisioning, nor did the host sell firewood.  (Though they did have some very special “trout fish” decorative camping string lights! 😉 )

Once Sunday rolled around, there were two obstacles looming in my mind…my first hook-up of the tow vehicle.  And….The Dreaded Dump.   I wanted to wait as late as possible until the bewitching check-out time of 2:00pm in order to have the least audience possible for my “dumping debut.”   I am relieved to report that both tasks were easier than I had anticipated.  All that dread for nothing!   The Tracker lined up perfectly in tow, and in spite of my latex armour, I didn’t spill a drop!    😉

I believe I am now ready for my maiden solo voyage!