Abilene State Park | March 2021
I was lucky enough to actually get some time off during Spring Break. I think this is the first time in my 8.5 year career that I've done that and it was much appreciated. Over the course of the week, we managed to visit four different parks - two new, two old. Our first one was...
ABILENE STATE PARK
I'll be honest, Abilene State Park was not destination park for us. It was merely a stopping point halfway between home and Palo Duro Canyon. That being said, we enjoyed our short stay. We stayed in a water/electric campsite in Pecan Grove, strategically located near the restrooms. The best part about the park was that there was NO BURN BAN! Every other park was under a burn ban and camping just isn't the same without an evening (and morning) campfire! We got camp set up, made dinner, then got our campfire going. It was about 70 degrees outside, so the campfire was not necessary for warmth, but I felt obligated to get one going regardless. I essentially started the fire so I could proceed to sit and stare at it for an hour. What is it about campfires that is just so entrancing? I do not know, but I won't ponder too hard.
After calling it a night and crawling into the camper with the windows open, we awoke refreshed and ready to start the day. Before breakfast, we went for a quick hike on the Elm Creek nature trail. We stopped en route at a creek adjacent to Buffalo Wallow and admired the water, stained red with mud. The water in the wallow was clearer and we sat on the lake shore (wallow shore?) for quite a while, listening to the splashes of fish snacking on bugs at the surface and watching the subsequent ripples as they expanded until they disappeared. We studied a group of coots as they dove and surfaced, then dove and surfaced, in search of their breakfast, as well. At that point, we decided it was about time for us to hunt up some breakfast, too, so we finished up our walk, taking the Eagle Trail back to the road then returning to the pavement, far less desirable than the trail. We busted out the grill and made breakfast, packed up, then hit the road to head north...