It All Worked Out Today

Attitude really can make a difference. Today proved to exemplify the effect of a positive attitude very well. Let’s hope for more like this for us all!

The day started with me doing all my chores and packing, then diving into work with gusto. Why not? The folks I work with were happily surprised at how much I got done on our project. That was a good start to the day.

Rather than getting impatient with Lee about getting off to our distant campground on time, I decided it was his schedule and his trip, so he could leave when he was ready. Thus, no stress.

I ended up having to work three of the four hours of our drive, but I managed to see many gorgeous wildflowers on the roadside, as well as two Roadrunners and flocks of Cattle Egrets. Plus I managed to work quite well from the RV. It was pretty fun, for work.

When we finally arrived at Garner State Park, which is next to the Frío River and surrounded by hills, it was late. We were hoping it would not be too hard to find our campsite. But, we were delighted to discover the check-in was open late because it’s Friday. We had a great chat with the check-in lady, who had many park insights.

Then we went out to unhook the Jeep and I wandered to a trailhead near the parking lot. I was greeted by a loud chirp, and a bold little bird looking right at me. I thought that it was funny-looking for a White-eyed Vireo, because it didn’t have white eyes. Merlin identified it as a new lifer for me, Hutton’s Vireo, apparently fairly common here.

All happy about this, I led Lee to our site. I was cheerful, especially when a flick of Wild Turkeys walked across the road. But. Oops. The site I’d reserved had a short driveway with a large live oak tree right at the end, so we couldn’t hang over. And once he got to the space and tried to back in, he hit (gently) an overhead branch. It was not going to work. I got a bit flabbergasted, but managed to call the park and explain.

A park ranger came and said they could trim the branch. Then he realized that couldn’t happen. The tree is big. So Plan B was to put us in an “emergency site.” It turned out to be more spacious with fewer neighbors. It worked out great!

We got set up, chatted with nice park hosts, then went to look for dinner. It was pretty late by the time we got to the nearest town, Leakey (pronounced lake-ee). There used to be a La Leche League administrator who lived nearby, on an exotic animal ranch. So, even though no restaurants were open except a super crowded one, we were fine just getting food at a gas station and admiring feral cats. I finally saw Leakey, and that’s what counts.

I’m happy to be here! We might be late and we may have had to change plans, but here we are!