The week after Spring Break we decided to take our trailer to Garner State Park for two reasons: get it going after spending the winter idle and see how Boo Boo was as a traveler. One thing about Boo Boo is that he is always excited about getting into our truck. He was quite happy that we got him a traveling bed for use in the truck and in the trailer.
Boo Boo in his Bed
Garner State Park is a state park in the community of Concan, Texas located in Uvalde County. With around 350,000 visitors annually, Garner State Park has been the most popular Texas State Park for camping since it opened in the early 1940s. The fact that it is only two hours from San Antonio, the second most populated city in Texas, accounts for some of its popularity. During the spring and summer, it may fill up by noon on weekends, so if you plan to go just for the day, go early. The most popular attractions are the Frio River, dancing (yes, dancing) at the Garner Pavilion Jukebox, and hiking.
OVERVIEW
The park has several hiking paths, the highest of which has an elevation of 800 feet or so from the start. The park's rock formations were created in the Cretaceous age, which ended around 65 million years ago. These canyons and hills, including the famous Old Baldy, formed when limestone in the Edwards Plateau uplifted. The rock formations have two layers: Glen Rose on the bottom and Edwards on top. Both layers formed when ancient seas covered Texas.
OLD BALDY
Garner State Park is one of 31 existing Texas parks built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) after the Great Depression. The CCC provided 2.5 million young men with outdoor jobs in camps across the U.S. from 1933 to 1942. Enrollees helped build 56 parks in Texas, of which 31 are still in operation, including Bastrop and Palo Duro Canyon state parks.
The CCC used native stone from local quarries to construct buildings, fireplaces and other structures. Workers also used local cypress for beams and doors, and a local blacksmith shop manufactured metals for hinges and light fixtures. Below is a picture of the original entrance, built with local stones.
ORIGINAL ENTRANCE
Garner State Park is named after John Nance Garner, the 32nd vice president of the U.S. Garner moved to Uvalde, Texas, where he served as a county judge and, later, as a legislator. He served under former President Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933–1941. He had the reputation of being a no-nonsense kind of guy and his picture reflects that image.
JOHN GARNER
Garner was a colorful character and was nicknamed Cactus Jack. Of the Vice Presidency he said this: Worst damnfool mistake I ever made was letting myself be elected Vice-President of the United States. Should have stuck as Speaker of the House. Gave up the second most important job in Government for eight long years as Roosevelt's spare tire.
Garner was not exactly what one might think of a Roosevelt associate. In 1901 he voted for the poll tax, a measure passed by the Democratic-dominated legislature to make voter registration more difficult and reduce the number of black, minority, and poor white voters on the voting rolls. This disfranchised most minority voters until the 1960s and ended challenges to Democratic power.
Ironically, he was opposed to the CCC, the very organization that built Garner State Park, because it called for federal funding. Still, Garner's wife, Ettie, supported the project, which led to the acquisition of the land. County judge C. P. Spangler petitioned for the park starting in 1933 and local groups were able to purchase the 478 acres for $12 an acre. After traveling to Washington D.C., Spangler gained approval for the project and construction began in 1935. The park opened six years later.
CAMPING
There are four ways to stay overnight at Garner State Park: in a tent, in a shelter, in a cabin or in your RV.
We did not stay in a cabin but from what I know they are pretty nice. They have electricity and running water, but you do have to bring all your own bedding, plates, etc. They are not cheap, though, and run anywhere from $130 - $150 per night.
Then there are the shelters. I had never seen anything like them, but they struck me as a good idea for someone who wanted a step up from tent camping. The shelters are screened, have a water spigot and fire pit outside, a picnic table inside as well as electricity inside. To me it seems like a great idea if you don’t want to stay in a tent yet want to be somewhat primitive. I suspect it is great for people with little kids. Here is a picture of a typical shelter.
There were lots of tent campers down by the river. The spots are spread apart and seemed really nice. If I were to tent camp, I would do it in the Oakmont Camping area, shown below. It has plenty of rest rooms and showers and is a very short walk to the water.
OAKMONT AREA
Now, for RV camping. If you want a nice, tree-lined area, forget about the Shady Grove campsites. All the others appeared to us to be very, very nice. We got lucky when we went to the park, however. We went on a Sunday afternoon around noon, well after most people leave. When we checked in the woman at the desk said, “I’ll give you the nicest spot we have.” She warned us that, if the spot was still occupied, we would have to wait until whoever was there was gone. The spot was number 143 in the River Crossing campsite. It and number 142 have views of the river. Although the map of the park suggests that you can see the river from other spots, you really cannot. Check out the map below. If you are planning to go to the park, try to get spots 142 or 143.
RIVER CROSSING CAMPING AREA
Here are some photos of our spot (143) at sunrise.
Because a hiking trail is located down by the river, our Shih Tzu, Boo Boo, liked to watch everyone go by. I’m pretty sure he was hoping someone would come say hello to him, but unfortunately for him, no one did.
Some things you should know before you go to the park.
1. Cell phone reception is spotty
2. There is no WIFI except at the visitor’s center and even there it is very, very slow
3. We could not get any radio stations with our antenna. Could be because the antenna is your standard, crappy antenna
4. We could not get TV reception either
The only other trailer near us had a satellite dish, but I am not going to do that.
OUR TOY HAULER AS A TINY HOME
I have previously posted videos on YouTube about how my wife turned our toy hauler into a tiny home. I’ll provide a link to those videos at the end of this blog, but for now I’ll post a couple of pictures that show how nicely the latest remodel worked out.
First, here is a picture of our toy hauler with our kayaks in it.
Note the counter space on each side of the trailer. Now, here is a picture of the counter space in use.
There are (from left to right) our toaster oven (which works very well), a box of doggie treats, a coffee maker, a water filter/container (the water at Garner is not exactly tasty) and an ice maker. In the past, these items would be crammed together, fighting for space with our cell phone chargers, etc.
My wife also used our oven to make Naan pizza and appetizers. I had to put a picture of the appetizers in this blog.
For the Naan pizza we use Stonefire Original Naan, mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, bits of crumbled hamburger and tomatoes. It cooks up really well in our RV oven. Also, we have tried many times to make our own pizza dough and I have to say that naan is the best choice. It gets nice and crispy. If we add pizza sauce, it is only a tiny bit.
HIKING
Below is a trail map of Garner State Park.
Some of the trails are pretty steep, including the Crystal Cave Trail, the White Rock Cave Trail and the Bridges Trail. The Old Baldy Trail is steep but, unlike some of the others, does not have loose rocks that can make hiking treacherous. You may not be able to tell by looking at the picture below but this, part of the White Rock Cave Trail, is very steep and has loose rocks. While it was difficult for us humans, it was no problem for Boo Boo.
I was amazed at his analytic abilities. Whether going up a trail or going down, he would pause and study the path, looking for the easiest way down.
Often the path he chose was a skinny path between trees, a path that worked for him but necessarily for the humans. On occasion he seemed to turn around and look at us as if saying, “Well, what are you waiting for? I know the way down.”
Sometimes, though, his look said, “Well? You know I can’t make this. Pick me up.”
When we got to the White Rock Cave, I wondered how Boo Boo would make it up what seemed like a pretty sheer rock face. While I pondered that, he scrambled up the rock and waited for me.
The views from the Old Baldy Trail are pretty spectacular. Not only that, when you get to a certain point you can actually get a cell phone signal!
Here we are, posing with Boo Boo halfway up Old Baldy.
Another interesting and pretty easy trail is the Foshee Trail, which is 1.7 miles round trip. This trail has a century old rock wall “shrouded in mystery,” meaning that no one knows who built it or why. My guess is that it controlled water flow during heavy rain but that is just a guess. There is literally nothing around it that hints of human habitation. It was a pretty easy trail for Boo Boo to make.
By the end of the second day of hiking, we had done at least 6-7 miles. Boo Boo was not used to this type of exercise so, when offered an opportunity to get into a doggie backpack, he took it.
The afternoon of the last day was really hot, well over 90. We took a walk along a flat path (which was kind of boring) and let Boo Boo ride in a cart. We didn’t know if he would jump out like our other dogs would, but he is all about comfort.
THE FRIO RIVER
When we were at the park, the Frio River was low so it so cold. It was also crystal clear.
Because the water was so low, we actually got Boo Boo to walk on the river bed. Part of the reason, I suspect, was that it was a hot day and he had been hiking. This may not seem like much, but Boo Boo is terrified of being in water, perhaps because of something that happened to him before we adopted him. But he seemed pretty happy in the water.
WILDLIFE
When you go to Garner State Park you may see white-tailed deer, black rock and fox squirrels, raccoons, Rio Grande turkeys, mourning doves, black and turkey vultures, eastern bluebirds and several species of migratory birds. You will also see a lot of Axis deer, a non-native species, that competes with native white-tailed deer for food. We were lucky enough to spot a turkey strutting his stuff for some hens.
I also saw some leaf-butter ants in action. Here is a video I shot.
SUMMARY
As far as RV camping is concerned, Garner State Park is one of the nicest places we have stayed. I recommend it.
