Small town Texas

As we traveled across Texas, I noticed a few things that all the small towns seem to have in common. First, the people are all very nice. We had just gotten set up yesterday when a sheriff's deputy stopped by. Although we were legally parked, we had to wonder what was wrong. The answer was 'nothing.' He just saw our Colorado plates and wanted to know what part of the state we were from. (This happens more than you would think. I've decided that everyone either lives/lived in Colorado or knows somebody who lives/lived there.) It was lucky that he stopped because it was Friday and to Ron that means 'fish fry.' The deputy directed us to the local VFW where they had the best fish I've had in a long time. But I digress. . .

The next commonality we noticed struck me as unusual and wonderful. No matter how small the town, nice parks seem to be a top priority. There are plenty of places for kids and 'older kids' to get out in the fresh air and play. And we have seen these parks being used - for baseball games, for family outings, for just having fun. It impresses me.

Also every small town seems to be the county seat. They must have the smallest counties in the country. Here we are in Mount Vernon, a county seat of about 2200 people with a charming courthouse.

Next observation - it's always windy! The winds range from a stiff breeze to gale force. Just look at the flags flapping in the previous picture.

And last, but perhaps the most important to us, in Eastern Texas are many, many beautiful lakes and we've stayed on as many as possible. Right now we are in a ten acre park on Lake Cypress Springs with dispersed camping (no hookups) and a boat ramp. We find the show is almost as good as watching RVers park. Today there were ten empty boat trailers here at one time and others came and went all day. These Texans know how to have fun!

Tomorrow we'll say goodbye to Texas.