Mileage - 40.1; Total Mileage - 40.1 miles
We had a nice campsite last night at Cooper Lake State Park. The park was clean and had lots of options for people to stay there from cabins and screened shelters to RV and tent camping. Texas state parks are a great value for what you get. We booked the site for the week and will leave the vehicle there while riding.
On the drive up to Cooper we noticed it was very dry in this part of Texas like most of the rest of the state. We didn't even put the fly on the tent because we figured there wouldn't be any dew overnight. It was neat to be able to look at the stars and the moon from bed. There was a beautiful 3/4 moon shining when we went to bed.
Moon shining bright over our campsite
Last night's campsite
Leaving camp this morning
We drove through the town of Sulphur Springs on our way up yesterday and were diverted around the town square because they had a festival going on. Because of that, we decided to eat in Cooper last night to avoid the festival in Sulphur Springs, only to find the town square there also blocked off for a festival! I didn't see what the festival was for in Sulphur Springs, but the Cooper festival was the annual cotton harvest festival.
We walked around but there wasn't much to the festival and not too many people were there. We were able to find a good dinner at the 7F Waterhole and Grub House on the square before heading back to camp.
Sulphur Springs was about 20 miles into our ride today. It is the county seat for Hopkins County and a fair-sized town with a population of about 15,000. We always enjoy looking at the county courthouses in Texas. They are all different and it is neat to see the different designs. Sulphur Springs did not dissappoint!
The courthouse square had beautiful flower beds, several war memorials, and some really cool bathrooms. From the outside, the bathroom looks like a big mirrored box, but when you get inside, it is like it is clear glass and you can see right out. I'd seen pictures of these from Europe but never expected to see them in a small town in Texas!
View from outside the bathroom.
View from inside the bathroom looking out on the square.
We were at the halfway point for the day and stopped at the Metro Diner for lunch before leaving Sulphur Springs. Diners have the best food when on tour!
We rolled another 13 undulating miles to Yantis and stopped for a break in the shade with some snacks. We spent the majority of the day on TX 19 and TX 154. They were busier roads with speeds up to 70, but they also had a shoulder that was the width of a lane. Once we got away from any town, the traffic would decrease and not be too annoying.
It was hot today - 95 degrees and sunny this afternoon - but the humidity was very low so that helped some. We also had a steady headwind of probably 10 mph out of the south. You guessed it - we were headed south most of the day. At least it helped a tiny bit with the heat.
After Yantis, we took some quiet backroads the last 8 miles into camp at Lake Fork Marina. We arrived in camp a little early for us - it was just 3pm. We are the only tent campers here so it will be a quiet night. I think we are both tired enough after a good first day on the road that it wouldn't matter anyway!
We were planning on eating at the Marina restaurant tonight, but they closed at 2pm today so we had to use our back-up plan of the Italian restaurant a mile up the road. The short ride was definitely worth the good meal and desert. We are in a dry county here, so there was no wine to go with the great Italian meal - just seems wrong! When we asked at the Marina, the gal said it was "only a 10 minute drive to a wet county". Of course, we know that means it could be 5 - 10 miles down the road!
We saw these pretty purplish wildflowers several places alomg the road today. I think they are Mexican violets but I'm not sure.
The rolling roads we had most of the day
Nice quiet backroad this afternoon.
We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the cool front here "up north" tonight. Will finally be able to enjoy cooler days (low 80's) and nights (50's). Looks like Houston will have to wait a couple more days for that joy!
Dave just asked me what time it was. When I told him it was 8pm he just groaned, meaning it's too early to go to bed but he's tired and wants to go to bed! Such are the trials and tribulations on a tour. 😁
We are headed to Bob Sandlin State Park tomorrow night. Maybe we'll get some favorable wind from this cool front - I can always dream!
The courthouse is beautiful but those bathrooms are amazing! I cannot believe a small east Texas town has them. I would go there just to use the bathroom!
ReplyDeleteThat was our thought, too! Such a surprise to find something like that there. Dave and I both went in. We saw lots of people going in and then coming back out to tell others they were with about them.
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