Just like the picture on the box!

July 13, 2012, 110pm, Guadalupe State Park, Site #34

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I woke up at 8, showered, packed my food, bought ice and hit the road.  I stopped to gas up the Excelsior, grabbed some breakfast at Whataburger, and headed up 281 for Guadalupe State Park.

Going up 281, you really get to see a few hills, unlike I-35 to Austin.  It was an uneventful drive, the park was easy to find and only a half hour’s trip from San Antonio.  I paid the fee, got to my spot and set things up.

As a side note, the employees at the office were all women, as if I needed another reason to go camping.

The tent gave me a bit of trouble, mainly because I’ve never put up a ‘modern’ one, my experience was limited to the six-man Hillary tent my folks got from Sears many years ago.  Its made of canvas, held up with aluminum poles and held down with railroad spikes.

They sure as hell don’t make them like that anymore.

This is my first time here, and I have to say that it is pretty nice.  Each site has a table, a hook to hang your lantern from, a fire pit, and a designated spot for your tent.

The only downside I’ve found so far is that my spot would seem to be pretty far away from an easily accessible spot on the river for swimming.  I took a hike to see the river and found myself on a ledge about 15 feet up overlooking it.  Rats.  I figured I’d follow the river until I found an area where I could get to the river itself.

An hour later, I found myself back at camp with sore feet and no closer to finding water.  I had lunch and am about to hop into the Excelsior to see if I can find the ‘swimming hole.’