Garner State Park, Concan, Texas
Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless man goes hungry. ~ Proverbs 19:15
Last night there was a thunderstorm. Or so I was told. Apparently, I slept through it. Blaine said there was thunder, lightning and quite a bit of hard rain. I might not have believed him except that there’s water droplets on all the windows and puddles around our coach. Thankfully, no water came inside. If there’d been a deluge over my bed again, I might have woken up.
We didn’t leave home until after lunch today because there were projects to work on, and if not now, when? Besides, it was only in the mid-fifties this morning. Spoiled brats. That’s what we are now.
The plan for today was to hike to two caves – the Crystal and White. We didn’t realize they were way up near the top of a mountain! Steep, but fun hiking – as long as you have walking sticks with you, or the alternative – – young balance and legs. 😊
We just didn’t want to go crawling around.
That’s our Old Baldy Trail!
But you can see the trail even better now.
Because of that, there just aren’t very many pictures, but in the end, we had a good time. : )
Honestly, I have no idea, but isn’t that what it looks like? : )
It looks like I’m climbing into a hole, but it’s really the trail!
We never did see or hear them again. Don’t know where they were . . . .
Once again, the passage would’ve required crawling around.
We just weren’t up for that. : )
From there, we walked over to the Blinn River Trail. Think, “Blinn” rivertrail. Not “Blinn River” trail. It runs alongside the Rio Frio and it’s beautiful!
When we first arrived at this Park, there was a sign at check-in that said this trail was closed due to a washout. But at the actual trailheads, there were no signs, so today we decided to go and see what happened. We could certainly see where there was probably no way through at this one area at one time, and there were signs posted that said it was an “unsafe area”, but other than that, it was clear. And our walk in the riverbed was fun and lovely!
Probably because of whatever flash flood came through here.
But it was still interesting and pretty in places!
Kinda scary!
was a great place to walk around and take in the beauty of God’s Creation!
Back home, it was “Meat Lovers Pasta” for dinner. This one’s my own creation, made up of a bunch of stuff it was time to use up.
Here’s how I made it . . . this time.
MEAT LOVER’S PASTA
1/3 C. pre-cooked shredded chicken
1 Italian sausage link, de-cased and browned like hamburger
4 pre-cooked meatballs, cut into quarters
12? Pepperoni slices, quartered and fried for a bit to remove some of the grease
½ green pepper, diced
½ C. onion, diced
2 green onions, sliced thin (tops too)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jar roasted garlic Ragu spaghetti sauce
¼ C. banana peppers (optional. I forgot them this time ☹)
1 t. oregano
1 t. Italian seasoning
1/2 pound of your favorite pasta (we like the farfalle aka bow tie noodles)
8 oz. mozzarella cheese
¼ C. or so, parmesan cheese
Once I browned the sausage and then the pepperoni, I wiped out the pan. Add pepper and onion and sauté until they begin to soften. Add garlic and stir, cooking for a minute or two. Add the sauce and seasonings, then the meats. Bring to a boil, then simmer until your desired noodles are done. Drain the noodles and add to the sauce, stirring to combine.
Pour ½ the sauce and noodle mixture into the bottom of a greased (Pam -sprayed) 9×9 pan, top with ½ the mozzarella and parmesan. Add remaining sauce, but NOT the cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or until bubbly. Remove pan, add the remaining cheeses and return to the oven until melted.
Serves 5-6
After dinner, Blaine took me on a bike ride around part of the Park. It was a nice ride, but there’s something wrong with my bike. Even on the lowest gear, on level ground, I was having trouble keeping up with him. By the time we returned home, my legs were like jelly. No more bike riding for me until my mechanic figures out what’s wrong.