Camping

Bored…can’t think of anything to do?…try camping.

"Camping you say? What in the world are you talking about? I’m too old…I’m too tall…I’m too busy…I’m too…I’m too…"

Wait a minute…wait a minute…this might just be what a person needs to change his life and change it for the better. Week-end camping is also very satisfying. It’s also healthy, out in the clean air and out-of-the house is wonderful for most of us. I can’t imagine anyone not enjoying camping once they try it.

In between our business workload, my wife and I enjoy weekend camping almost as good as traveling to some distant camp site. We actually do more weekend camping than we do traveling far distances--especially since we discovered Thousand Trails Preserves, which are beautiful private campgrounds.

My history concerning camping is that I used to tent camp, and we had so much fun it’s hard to believe. But in these days, we do recreation vehicle camping--in other words RV camping. What I mean by RV camping is camping in pop-up trailers, tongue-pulled trailer campers, 5^th wheel campers or even motor homes. The type camper a family selects to camp in has to do with which type and price camper they feel they can afford and/or which camper that is comfortable to them, etc.

When we returned to camping years ago, we were introduced to Thousand Trails Preserves. After being informed of the many, many benefits of owning a private membership to Thousand Trails Preserves we decided to purchase a membership. We had purchased a tongue-pulled camper which was a 24 ft. Mallard without any slides. We used this particular unit for awhile and decided to purchase a larger unit with a large slide out and changed to a 28 ft Keystone Cougar 5th wheel. A few years later we purchased a brand new 33 ft. 5^th wheel HitchHicker and believe me…we are very, very happy with our new HitchHicker.

After purchasing our new RV, and we had some time between home starts we spent a month traveling to Missouri and all over Colorado and New Mexico and Wow! We really had a wonderful time. We didn’t spend a night in a motel yet we saw things that others don’t get to see because they are either traveling to and from their motel or in the motel room resting up for the next drive to one of the scenic sights. The idea of being close to the action is reason enough to get into camping because campers stay where the action is, and they don’t waste their time going back and forth to the action from the motels, etc. Yes, we are always in the thick of things--no wasting time for us when we are traveling. It’s hard to believe the amount of RV parks in our great country. They are everywhere, and as you can imagine, they are built in close proximity to the beautiful areas and vacation spots. Of course, most of them blend in with the scenic surroundings which make the RV parks a pleasure to visit.

If you are interested in changing your life call me with your questions, and if I can’t answer them for you, I’ll give you the phone numbers of those that can answer your questions.

Where I take my rig on a regular basis is to the Thousand Trails Preserve at Lake Whitney, Texas. This Preserve is sitting on 408-acres located in the beginning parts of the Hill Country and is covered in oak and cedar trees offering a natural environment and private camping area. It has 141 full hookups; 81 power and water hookups; 16 overflow sites, and 6 tent sites. They also have rental trailers for members and member prospects to rent on a short-time basis. We enjoy the 2 pools, the over 4.5 miles of hiking on beautiful nature trails. We keep our eyes open for fossils which is great for those that are fossil collectors. Of course, one of our favorite things to do when we bring our rig to Thousand Trails on Lake Whitney is to walk a couple of times a day or even more. I also find the Thousand Trails employees very friendly, and believe me, they have time to talk to you. They are never too busy to talk to their members and assist wherever needed..

To be honest, my favorite thing to do when I visit Thousand Trails is to simply relax either in our 5^th wheel or among the shade of the oak and juniper trees.

Lake Whitney is a crystal clear lake and noted as a scuba diver's paradise as well as an angler's haven.

Most of the Thousand Trails across the country have many amenities, but as a member of Thousand Trails, my wife and I use the Thousand Trails located on Lake Whitney due to its close proximity to Burleson, Texas. It’s not too far to drive when my wife and I need to get away for a weekend or longer.

Go to Thousand Trails web-site at www.1000trails.com and read up on these wonderful, friendly private membership parks. By the way, all the Thousand Trails, Naco and Leisure Time preserves have on-site rangers to protect the members' security. I feel as safe when I am visiting one of these preserves as I do at home. Actually, if you think about it, it is our home while we are visiting a preserve with our RV. If you have any questions for me, contact Jim at 817-447-7068 or e-mail Jim at jimb1@swbell.net.