Leaving Lake Livingston

                                   “Ô, Sunlight! The most precious gold to be found on Earth.” 
                                                                                                       ― Roman Payne

The skies did not clear up overnight and the wind was still blowing. We drank coffee in the shelter of Mammoth's Mass and watched clouds of chickadees, titmice, and yellow-rumped warblers chitter by. Then, after a quick breakfast, it was time to start packing up to leave.

There should have been no reason to rush--we had all day and no commitments to meet--but we were facing the Deadline of Dallas Disfunction--five o'clock rush hour traffic. The trip would take about four and one-half hours and there was no good detour around that sprawling mass of morons between Lake Livingston and McKinney, Texas. We wanted to be through Dallas by four p.m.

Zack waited patiently. I think he knew.


Ed undertook the novel task of dumping our black water tank. We'd been doing that at home using a pump and a hose that led into our septic system rather than wasting an hour at the park dump stations, but this time we had full hookups. First time for us! The procedure was relatively painless but probably not worth paying a premium price for.  (At this campground loop most of the sites were full hookup)  I can see, however, that if we were going to be taking an extended trip with many stops it would be worthwhile choosing a full hookup site every four or five days.  I'll need to remember that--it's a whole lot better than waiting in line at a dump station.

The sun was beginning to peek out when we pulled out at about 10:50; we arrived home at about 3:30. I didn't make exact notes. Coming into Dallas, my phone offered to reroute us on account of a six-minute delay on I-30 eastbound. I cancelled the option, thinking that six minutes didn't sound all that serious, but then later I passed one of those illuminated warning signs that said I-30 Eastbound had three left lanes closed. That did sound serious.

So we stayed on 635 all the way around to the High Five exchange with 75, and it wasn't bad at all.  That let us avoid getting off 190 at 75 in southern Plano, which is regularly  backed up. Maybe stick with this route in future.

So to sum up--good trip; so-so lake; lack of birdage. I never did get to confirm the American Pipits at water's edge.  All I saw was: Forster's Tern, Cormorant sp., gull sp., Carolina Chickadee, tufted Titmouse, Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, American White Pelican, Bald Eagle, Yellow-Rumped Warbler, Black Vulture.


NOTES:
1. On travel day, check out road conditions close to home. We must have wasted an hour dealing with road construction within ten miles of the house.
2. When you see a new bird, if at all possible make sure you've got the best ID you can make before leaving the site. This is the second time I've planned to go back for a bird another day, only to find it missing in place.
3. People in southeast Texas talk funny.
4. Check out all day trip "places to go" carefully beforehand and make sure the reviews are current.
5. On AN extended trip with many stops it would be worthwhile choosing a full hookup site every four or five days.
6. Retire from work so you can do more camping on weekdays. It's quieter and the good sites are free.
7. Also, when you arrive at a campground in the off season and you have a reservation for a not-so-good site, see if they've had any cancellations. Just in case!