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Category: Texas

Brownwood, TX

Brownwood, TX

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Site 23 – Basic no frills site but adjacent to the city park. Pecan Bayou river is just in front of the site.

Park Review – Riverside RV Park

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Location: Brownwood, TX
Type: I believe this is part of the City Park and possibly managed by a third party.
Check-in/Check-out times: 1:00/11:00
Site Quality / Amenities: Sites are full hookup with 30/50A service and no other amenities. There are separate bathrooms for men and women in the RV park.
Access: Easy access from US-84. Turn left onto Riverside Park Dr. and the RV sites are about 1/2 mile up on the right. Do not go into Riverside Park as some directions suggest.
Staff: There is no onsite staff. The park will text you on the day of arrival to confirm your reservation and site number. We did meet the person who texted us as he showed up when we were getting set up and he was nice and helpful with activities going on in town that night.
Cellular/WiFi: We had good Verizon service with speeds fast enough to stream. We did not set up our Starlink due to just an overnight stop but we likely would have had problems with it anyway due to limited north view because of trees.
Restaurants: We ate at the Cotton Patch Cafe which is just outside the park and it was decent but not necessarily unforgettable.
Nearby parks: We did not look at any other parks during our stay but Harlowe’s RV Park on the east end of town looks like it might be OK for a one night stay as well.
What we liked: The Pecan Bayou River flows right in front of the RV park, just 50 yards from the sites. There is a deck with chairs to sit out and enjoy the river. In addition the City of Brownwood also has a large city park adjacent to the RV park so there’s lots of room for a walk or to just get out and enjoy the outdoors. There are numerous opportunities nearby for food and stores like Walmart.
What we didn’t like: Many of the sites had issues like low tree limbs or other issues getting out of the sites.
Verdict: One of these sites should work for us 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, or 23. We were on site 23 this time. Do not pick a site below 14 with a big rig unless you can back out and then get turned around to exit because of a big dip in the road to get out of the sites. Any other site not listed above has trees that would likely be too low or might interfere with getting out of the site. This is a great park for a one night stopover or maybe even a few days.

Wolfforth (Lubbock), TX

Wolfforth (Lubbock), TX

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Park Review – Mesa Verde RV Park

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Location:  Wolfforth, TX
Type: Commercial Park
Check-in/Check-out times: 1:00PM/12:00PM
Site Quality / Amenities: Gravel pads and asphalt roads. Cable TV is also available. The sites have no additional amenities. There is a pool, exercise room, rest rooms, showers and laundry room available on site.
Access: From US 62/82 west of Lubbock take the FM 179 Wolfforth exit when heading west or the frontage road exit just before the FM 193/82nd street exit when heading east. Note that the park’s website showing the 82nd street exit is incorrect.
Staff: The lady who runs the park is nice if not a bit rough. Unlike our other Lubbock favorite, The Retreat RV Resort, Mesa Verde allow you to book month long stays well in advance.
Cellular/WiFi: WiFi was available but we did not use it. Verizon was 5G and decently fast at 22MB upload and 36MB download. AT&T was slower at 6MB upload and 15Mb download.
Restaurants: Hot and Jucy Cajun Seafood – Was not good despite high reviews. Teddy Jacks Hub City Grill – Good burgers and a variety of other bar type food. La Diosa – Good place for Tapas and wine. The Lost Cajun – Good gumbo.
Nearby parks: See The Retreat RV Resort post for another good RV park in the area as well as reviews of other nearby parks.
What we liked: Convenient to our doctors and to the south west side of Lubbock where some of the newer and more upscale restaurants and stores exist. Park is well maintained and seems to have good standards for the people staying in the park.
What we didn’t like: Some road noise from the nearby highway. Just a basic park with few frills. It’s basically a gravel parking lot but the sites are wide so there is a bit of extra room.
Verdict: In most cases we’d say this was a good place for an overnight to a couple of nights. Since we now come to Lubbock for doctor appointments and need to book 2 to 4 weeks each time and since this park is conveniently located we will likely come here again for these longer stays. Sites 66-71 are best but 12-15 might work and even 16-20 might be OK if they are long enough. The latter sites are closer to the highway though and might be noisier.

Blanco Settlement, Blanco, TX

Blanco Settlement, Blanco, TX

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For a variety of reasons, it’s been a very long time since our last post. For one thing we have stopped at several parks where we stayed before. I usually update the parks but do not send out an email for those updates. We also stayed at several parks for an overnight. I do create a post for those but they are usually just a review of the park and I do not send out emails for those either. You can find these stops by looking a the Routes item at the top of the web page. I’m also behind several larger stops and I will be working to get caught up on them soon. We visited Blanco almost a year ago. 🙂 Because of that, there will be more pictures and less text since we don’t remember all the details.

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Sweetwater, TX

Sweetwater, TX

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Park Review – Bar J Hitchin Post

Rating: ⭐⭐1/2
Location:  Sweetwater, TX
Site Quality / Amenities: Roads and sites were gravel. Some mesquite trees for shade. Restrooms and showers, self-service laundry, Office with Pool table, TV, and Lounge Areas.
Type: Commercial Park
Access: Easy access right off I-40 west of Sweetwater.
Staff: Friendly family owned park.
Cellular/Wi-Fi: Decent AT&T and Verizon service for an overnight. There was WiFi but we didn’t use it.
Restaurants: We ate at Skeets in Sweetwater. The chicken fried steak was good but overall the place was just ok.
Nearby parks: We didn’t look at any other parks in the area.
What we liked: Easy access for a one night stop. There are two truck stops for fuel at that exit. Cheap full hookup sites with 50A service.
What we didn’t like: Train tracks nearby but we only heard them during the day. Close to I-40 so there was some road noise.
Verdict: This is a nice park for a one night stopover when travelling through the area and we’d stay here again.

Goliad, TX

Goliad, TX

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On October 9, 1835 a group of Texas citizens, led by Capt. George Collinsworth entered Goliad and attacked the Mexican garrison stationed at the Presidio La Bahia and were successful in taking possession of the fort. This action followed the incident at Gonzales a week earlier where the slogan “Come and take it” was coined daring the Mexicans to come and take a cannon that protected the city. From here the Texans marched out and captured Ft. Lipantitlan, near the Nueces River on November 5th thereby cutting off the last remaining line of Mexican communication from San Antonio to Matamoros.

After Texas gained its independence from Mexico in 1836, settlers began arriving in the Goliad area, lured by the prospect of rounding up stray cattle that belonged to the nearby missions. Ranching became the primary economic driver, and the age of the cattle drives began in the late 1800’s. Local ranch owners drove thousands of head to railheads in Kansas and Nebraska for shipment to the coasts of the U.S. As railroads were built, cattle were no longer driven up the trails and the economy of Goliad shifted to cotton and other types of farming along with beef production. With the influx of Mexican citizens fleeing the Revolutionary turmoil in Mexico and the population of Goliad grew to 13,000 in the 1890’s. By the 1940’s cattle raising and agricultural production again became economic generators and that continues today.

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