CA to NY 5

Day 26 8/2/17

The drive from the Parkview RV park to Jim Hogg Park in Georgetown was the longest, the flattest, the scrubbiest, the straightest and the loneliest drive of the trips I've taken. Thank goodness for Chuck; not that all we did was talk but the company was a big help. There was very little evidence of civilization along this part of the trip.  

Texas is B-I-G. The distance we traveled between El Paso and Jim Hogg State Park was about the same as driving from NewYork to Beaufort, SC.

This engineering feat baffles the imagination.

And Mother Nature's engineering also baffles the mind. No other structure
around, it stands alone.

We finally arrived at Jim Hogg Park. The park sits on the north side of Georgetown Lake in the Hill Country of Texas, about 25 miles north of Austin. Lake Georgetown is a reservoir on the north fork of the San Gabriel River in central Texas. The dam was completed by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1979 to provide flood control and water supply for the nearby community of Georgetown. It now provides countless recreation opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts. Great site facing reservoir. James Stephen "Big Jim" Hogg (March 24, 1851 – March 3, 1906) was an American lawyer and statesman, and the 20th Governor of Texas. He was born near Rusk, Texas.

The view from my campsite with the earthen dam seen as the horizon.
The total area of the lake is 2 square miles

The other side of the earthen dam of
Lake Georgetown.

Beep Beep...a Road Runner

Mule Deer...a real pest. They're seen everywhere including people's front
yard munching on their landscaping. Not good.

View looking straight across from my site.

Wednesday night, Chuck went into Austin and met a former manager and his wife, residents of Austin, for dinner. Pat and Marty stopped by the campsite with all the ingredients for a pre-dinner happy hour. It was my introduction to one of the many Texan IPAs. I think they have a convert. We then went to Georgetown for dinner at Gumbo's.   

Marty and Pat with Lake Georgetown in the background

They must know someone at Yeti; they brought
some tasty snacks including Shiners Bock, an Texan
IPA that was quite good. That cooler had no ice to keep the
beers cold. The holders kept the bottles as cold as when
they left the cooler.

The drive into Georgetown greeted us with some threatening weather.
Gumbo's is located just about where that car in the distance is.

Gumbo's was an excellent choice situated right on the
corner and offered outdoor seating on the second floor balcony.

You can see the railing surrounding the balcony where
we chose to dine outside.....

...despite the looming glooming. P.S. A drop of two fell but
that was it. We stuck it out.

Check out the dinner menu offerings HERE

Someone's opinion: "Nearly opaque bright dark medium color. Bright, buttery aromas and flavors of coconut buttercream, berry custard tart, and honeyed peppercorns with an oily, vibrant, dryish medium-full body and a warming, complex, medium-length creme brulee, roasted nuts, and earth finish with chewy tannins and moderate oak. A robust, very structured, flavor-packed malbec-led red blend." For me? Smooth and delicious with my tenderloin of beef.

TENDERLOIN SANTA FE tortilla crusted tenderloin topped
with pepper jack cheese and fried onions served over
honey chipotle vinegar and avocado corn relish.

And so ended a perfectly full and delicious day. This blog took me five days to complete. The pleasure of Chuck's company has kept me busy day and night and I just never had the time to sit, compose and detail all that I experienced. If it weren't for Chuck, I would never have done or visited the places I did. And thanks to Pat and Marty, my adventures into Georgetown itself made for more memories I shall forever enjoy. As everyone knows, this trip is more than special to me because I was with my son. With all the photos and memories bubbling in my brain, I decided to change my routine of detailing two days before posting. I will post each day while I was in Georgetown. There's just too much to read in a sitting. My trips to Austin, the State Capitol, Inner Space Caverns and activities with Pat and Marty have photo galleries I cannot place in a blog. My future blogs will have some sample shots with links for the reader to see the rest if they so choose. 

And a big thank you to those readers who commented on my FB page. I'll be posting this blog there as well and now, in Arkansas, I'll work on my next day in Georgetown.