Month: January 2025

Tickfaw State Park

We stayed at Tickfaw State Park in Springfield, Louisiana. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A nice state park, at least until our site flooded; we moved to a different site for the last night.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2024-12-08
  • Check out: 2024-12-13
  • 5 nights

Weather:

  • Rainy at first then sunny
  • High temps 56-74°F, lows 35-64°F
  • A little wind, gusts to 26 MPH, but sheltered by trees

Noise:

  • No road noise
  • No train horn noise
  • Little neighbor noise

First Site:

  • #27, back-in, asphalt
  • Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
  • Mostly level site; high on passenger side; used hydraulic leveling
  • Asphalt driveway about 65 feet long by 10 feet wide
  • No neighbors on either side (over 100 feet through trees)
  • Lots of tall trees between sites
  • Scraping branches
  • Picnic table on 24 by 10 feet wooden deck
  • Charcoal grill and fire pit
  • Lantern hook
  • Mostly clean site
  • Elevation zero feet, front facing South

Second Site:

  • #6, back-in, asphalt
  • Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
  • Level site; used air leveling, since only one night
  • Asphalt driveway about 70 feet long by 10 feet wide
  • 75 feet to neighbor on driver side
  • 120 feet to neighbor on passenger side
  • Some tall trees, but only grass between sites
  • Picnic table on small concrete pad
  • Charcoal grill and fire pit
  • Lantern hook
  • Clean site
  • Elevation 10 feet, front facing SSW

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, conveniently located behind site
  • 42 PSI water, fairly conveniently located behind site
  • Loose sewer connection, very conveniently located (less than 1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • Verizon: 3-5 Mbps down, 4 Mbps up, 25-45 ms ping
  • T-Mobile: 5 Mbps down, 14 Mbps up, 24 ms ping, unreliable
  • AT&T: 2-9 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 85-1300 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpsters
  • Boardwalks

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Surrounded by the bayou, sometimes in it

This is a beautiful state park amidst the bayou, but it became a problem because it had rained heavily before we got there, and the river started to rise. We woke up one morning to see that our deck area was surrounded by water and our power pedestal was partially submerged. A very nice ranger came by, ensured we were okay, and offered to help us disconnect the power when we were supposed to depart the following day. However, the water continued to rise throughout the day, and we weren’t comfortable with how high it was getting, so we opted to move to a dryer site for one night. Two other helpful staff put on their waders and disconnected us so we could move. While the rising water was problematic, and the access road is a bit narrow, we would happily stay here again. We camped at Tickfaw State Park in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our first site was delightfully private, surrounded by trees:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Utilities:

Utilities

Utilities

Deck, in the rain… hey, what’s a little rain when staying in a bayou?

Deck

Oh, that’s what… we woke up to a flooded site on our last full day:

Flooded site

Flooded site

Flooded site

Flooded site

We kept an eye on it, but the water level kept rising, submerging the power cord from our Watchdog… not great, Bob:

Flooded site

So we made the call to ask to be moved to another site for our last night.

Our second site was more open, not quite as nice, but also not underwater, so that’s a plus:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

If we stay here again, this might be a slightly better site, #29:

Other sites

Glamping tent:

Glamping tent

Cabins:

Cabins

Group camp, cabin style:

Group camp

Another group camp, tent style (used by scouts):

Group camp

Dump station:

Dump station

We were very glad we made the call to change sites; our first site was completely submerged the following day, on the day we departed:

Our first site on the day we departed

Our first site on the day we departed

Yowza!

Despite the flooding, we’d be happy to stay here again. If we do, our first site (#27) would still be a reasonable choice (if no recent or expected rain!), though site #29 might be an even better site.

Travel from Galveston, Texas to Springfield, Louisiana

We drove our coach 346 miles, about six hours of driving, from Galveston, Texas to Springfield, Louisiana.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading east:

Route map

An interactive map:

Following our coach to the dump station, where we toaded up:

Following coach

Galveston Island coast:

Galveston Island coast

Galveston Island sign:

Galveston Island sign

Super scenic refinery:

Refinery

Fred Hartman Bridge by Galveston Bay:

Fred Hartman Bridge by Galvaston Bay

Fred Hartman Bridge by Galvaston Bay

Entering I-10 East:

Entering I-10 East

Rest area:

Rest area

Back to I-10, with Paladin on the dash:

Back to I-10, with Paladin on the dash

Paladin on the dash

Paladin on the dash

Entering Louisiana:

Entering Louisiana

Another rest area:

Rest area

Paladin in his tower box laying on the bed:

Paladin in his tower box

Food trucks:

Food trucks

Overturned big rig, probably going too fast in the rain:

Overturned big rig

Overturned big rig

Paladin asleep:

Paladin asleep

Rain:

Rain

Yet another rest area:

Rest area

Bridge over the Mississippi River; it always feels like a momentous milestone to cross this river, the divider between the more spacious west side of the country, and the crowded east side:

Bridge over Mississippi River

Mississippi River

A truck with a blown tire:

Truck with blown tire

Large crest on the road in the turn towards the park:

Large crest on the road in the turn towards the park

Narrow road to the park:

Narrow road to the park

Free-range chickens and ducks:

Freerange chickens and ducks

Arriving at Tickfaw State Park:

Arriving at Tickfaw State Park

Arriving at our site:

Arriving at our site

Galveston Island State Park beach

Other than the Moody Gardens Festival of Lights (which was posted out of sequence, on Christmas Day last year), and going to a H-E-B grocery store, we didn’t do much while staying at Galveston Island State Park, in part due to rainy weather. But we did enjoy several walks along the beach.

An info sign:

Info sign

Beach

Empty beach, with regular garbage bins. The sand is quite nice, with very few shells:

Beach

Oil rig visible in the distance:

Beach

Beach

Jenn picking up garbage:

Jenn picking up garbage

Houses beyond the end of the park at the south end:

Houses beyond the end of the park

Park boundary:

Park boundary

No motorized vehicles beyond this point; people can drive on the beach, but not in the park:

No motorized vehicles beyond this point

Beach

Shells

Boardwalk to a day use area:

Boardwalk to day use area

Showers and changing rooms in the day use area:

Showers and changing rooms in day use area

Picnic shelters in the day use area:

Picnic shelters in day use area

Turtle sculpture:

Turtle sculpture

A ranger patrolling on the beach:

Ranger patroling on the beach

Houses beyond the end of the park at the north end:

Houses beyond the end of the park

Park boundary:

Park boundary

Big empty beach:

Beach

Galveston Island State Park

We stayed at Galveston Island State Park in Galveston, Texas. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A nice waterfront state park. We had the best site, with nobody other than some tent sites between us and the gulf.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2024-12-01
  • Check out: 2024-12-08
  • 7 nights

Weather:

  • Lots of wind, some rainy days, some partly cloudy
  • High temps 62-72°F, lows 56-64°F
  • Daily wind, gusts to 24 MPH

Noise:

  • Little road noise
  • No train horn noise
  • Occasional helicopters going over
  • Little neighbor noise

Site:

  • #60, back-in, concrete
  • Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
  • Mostly level site; high in front; used hydraulic leveling
  • Concrete driveway about 60 feet long by 12 feet wide
  • 22 feet to neighbor on driver side, offset
  • 80 feet to tent pad on passenger side
  • Separation between sites: just grass, and a little slope on passenger side
  • Picnic table on covered 16 by 16 feet concrete patio
  • Fire pit
  • No trees
  • Mostly clean site
  • Elevation 10 feet, front facing due East
  • Beach view

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, conveniently located
  • 60 PSI water, conveniently located
  • No sewer connection

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 160 Mbps down, 30 Mbps up, 25 ms ping
  • AT&T: 120-130 Mbps down, 24 Mbps up, 36 ms ping
  • Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up, 40 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpsters
  • Beach

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Beautiful beachside camping

This is a beautiful state park campground with nice, large sites and easy access to the beach. The concrete pad was mostly level (just a bit high in the front). The covered patio area had plenty of room for tables and chairs, with hooks on the supports for hanging a hammock or windbreak. There are no sewer connections in the campground, but the dump station is very conveniently located on the way out of the park. We camped at Galveston Island State Park in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Park map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

View of the gulf out or side window:

View out or side window

Neighboring site:

Neighboring site

Tent sites, mostly empty — unsurprisingly for winter — though the second one was occupied the whole time:

Tent sites

Bathrooms:

Bathrooms

Noticeboard:

Noticeboard

Surf conditions sign:

Surf conditions sign

Path to the beach:

Path to beach

We’d be happy to stay here again.

Travel from San Antonio to Galveston, Texas

We drove our coach 249 miles, about four hours of driving, from San Antonio, Texas to Galveston, Texas.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading east:

Route map

An interactive map:

Paladin on the dash while leaving the RV park:

Paladin on the dash while leaving the RV park

Frontage road to I-10 East:

Frontage road to I-10 East

Buc-ees:

Buc-ees

I was amused by the name Flatonia, approapriate for Texas:

I was amused by the name Flatonia, approapriate for Texas

Motorhome and T@B trailer:

Motorhome and T@B trailer

Rest area:

Rest area

Several vehicles cutting across from the freeway to a frontage road to avoid traffic… which didn’t really work out for them, as the freeway traffic eased up after roadworks, and there wasn’t an entrance back onto the freeway for a while:

Several vehicles cutting across from the freeway to a frontage road to avoid traffic

Roadworks:

Roadworks

A rather interesting name caught my eye on the map: “Mario’s Flying Pizza Airport”:

Mario's Flying Pizza Airport

The GPS was going insane, thinking we were not on the freeway:

The GPS was going insane

Multiple overpasses outside Houston:

Multiple overpasses

Evil-looking building in Houston:

Evil-looking building in Houston

Downtown Houston:

Houston

Bridge to Galveston Island:

Bridge to Galveston Island

Reached the gulf coast:

Gulf coast

Creepy-looking clouds:

Creepy-looking clouds

Galveston Island State Park entrance:

Galveston Island State Park entrance

Entrance station:

Entrance station

Our site:

Our site

Our coach arriving at our site:

Our coach arriving at our site

Humidifier and water distiller

Back to our regularly scheduled blog posts, with RV modifications on Mondays, travel on Tuesdays, campgrounds on Wednesdays, and attractions on Thursdays and Fridays.

When staying in deserts or other places with low humidity, we use a humidifier to make us more comfortable. It lives on our bathroom counter (or stored in the closet when in more humid places):

Humidifier

It is important to only use distilled water with the humidifier, to avoid greasy steam. For a long while we purchased jugs of distilled water from grocery stores, but that gets expensive and a hassle after a while.

So we later bought a water distiller to take tap water and distill it:

Distiller

We fill this with tap water, and it effectively boils it and captures the evaporation as distilled water, dripping it into a jug, that we can then pour into the humidifier. It takes about three hours to make a jug of water, but it has a timer to turn it off when it’s done, leaving a little water in the bottom to make it easier to clean up. One jug per day is enough to be able to keep the humidifier running all day.

We’d rather be in places with a comfortable level of humidity, but we do enjoy deserts, and would rather too low humidity than too high (and yes, we do have a dehumidifier for such places too). It’s good to have tools to be able to make such places more comfortable.

2025 travel plans

I hope you enjoyed the posts reviewing 2024. So what are our plans for 2025? Read on!

Like the previous year, we spent the holidays in the panhandle of Florida, in Carrabelle, then headed south in Florida. This time, though, we’ll be spending six weeks in Orlando, including a week in the Disney World bubble. (Unusual for us; we typically don’t stay in one place for more than two weeks, very rarely three weeks.) We won’t be going as far south as the Keys this year; instead we’ll head north, revisiting Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Maryland, reaching the first new state of the year, New Jersey.

We’ll then head northwest via Pennsylvania to new states Ohio and Michigan for a graduation and time with friends, before heading east again, adding upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, then back west to add Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, and continuing back to Ohio. That loop through the northeast states is a bit confusing; see an animated GIF below that hopefully clarifies that part. We would normally try to avoid backtracking, but the timing of the graduation dictated the route. We spread out the route to see different areas going there and back, so it’s all good.

After that, we head north to another part of Michigan, then back west via our favorite Black Hills area and Yellowstone National Park, reaching our home base in Washington state for the usual adulting and family time.

Finally, we’ll be heading south next winter, as usual for us snowbirds. But a little different this time: we’ll leave our coach at NIRVC in Phoenix while we travel to New Zealand for three weeks (probably), then finish the year in Arizona and California.

A lot of this is still tentative; we’ve currently booked up to the beginning of September. And we will try to change some of the stops to free alternatives (using our Thousand Trails membership) when they’re available to book.

All up, we should visit 10 new states in the northeast, so by the end of the year (actually by the middle of the year) we will have visited all 48 contiguous states, with just Alaska and Hawaii remaining. We’ll visit those two in a subsequent year (to be determined).

This route should be a little shorter than last year, at around 10,800 miles, give or take.

Here’s a map that shows the state outlines, colored time zones, our travel route, and pins for stops. Our route begins in the panhandle of Florida, and goes generally anti-clockwise, with a loop in the northeast:

Timezones 2025 map

Another variation of the map, that shows a little more detail, but the states are less visible:

Route map 2025

That northeast corner looks a bit messy, doesn’t it? Here’s an animated GIF that shows the route:

Route map 2025

Another interesting animated GIF, showing the elevations along our route; see the elevations and road gradients at the bottom, and a moving dot along the map route showing where those elevations occur (this route has a couple of minor differences from the above maps, but I didn’t want to bother redoing the GIF):

Map with elevations

Super flat until we reach the Bighorn mountains and Yellowstone in Wyoming.

Here’s a Google Maps list that shows the places we’ll stay, as of now; it will be updated as campgrounds are booked.

It’s going to be another busy year. I hope you’ll follow along via this blog and the YouTube channel.