DAY 4 - LOCKHART, TX TO SMITHVILLE, TX

Mileage - 43.9; Total Mileage - 149.5 miles

It was overcast all night but never rained. But when we first got out of the tents, there was a mess of trash spread around the campsite.

Coons were able to get the trash bag from the clothesline. Then, they managed to smell my packaged  gatorade powder, oatmeal, licorice, and gummy worms in my front pannier. Fortunately they didn't rip it open - they simply unzipped it and ate everything they wanted! It was a rookie mistake - i put some food in the tent but didnt bother with the packaged items.  

Today was our longest mileage day, along with the most climbing. I knew we would be tired tonight. And we are! 

There were lots of ups and downs that added up over the day. We only had a few really steep hills but we also had some hills that weren't necessarily steep but were long. Reba hasn't toured in 12 years but she is riding like a badass!

It's not a tour without at least one rest break at a Dollar General. 

We stopped for lunch at a wide spot in the road named Red Rock, TX. The El Borrego De Oro had a full parking lot of work trucks so we knew it would be good. The town of Red Rock was established in 1850, but there wasn't much left of the town except a General Store and a few other building on the main street. 

This was the funniest sign we saw today. Look closely for the non-existent "shoulder" that was closed. 

There were Indian Blanket wildflowers all along the roadsides today. Seemed like all we saw was orange and red. It was very pretty!

We only had a few miles into camp from our last stop in Smithville, TX. Smithville is where the 1998 Hope Floats movie starring Sandra Bullock was filmed. The restaurant where Dave and I picked up food to bring to camp had memorabilia from the movie on the walls. We found this pretty mural on a building in downtown Smithville. 

As you leave the Buescher State Park entrance station to head to the camping area you see this sign. The one key thing I know about scenic drives is that they are always hilly! And this one didn't dissappoint with two steep sections before we finally turned into our camping area!

All in all, another great day of riding. Looking forward to tomorrow!