September 2021
We took our first trip to Inks this week, camping there Sunday through Wednesday. We got lucky that the temperatures those days dipped into the high 80s for us, as they had been in the mid to high 90s for months. When we arrived we were told that the spot we reserved wasn’t available, because the folks that had been staying there had abandoned their trailer and could not be located or contacted.
So we nervously trekked to an alternate site they awarded us to see what we were in for. The site was a waterfront site like the one we had originally requested, but wasn’t as isolated. The sites with power and water in this park are closer together than the ones at Pedernales, and Guadalupe State Parks where we stayed at earlier this summer. We had to get used to a little less privacy here. Some folks like mingling with the neighbors. That’s not us too much.
At first I was a little disappointed. The Powered sites didn’t seem to have the shade, scenery, and privacy of other parks. There were non-powered sites that offered this. There were some ugly-looking cabins within site of us as well, and playgrounds for children down the street, none of which is our thing. However, if you have kids, it’s great. The playgrounds were nicely kept. In fact, the whole park appeared very well managed, and clean, including the bathrooms, and shower, though we wish these had a lock for more privacy like some of the other parks offer.
We had a nice big Oak tree on our site, and that of course is where we set up. We have a mobile set up of a couple of chairs, fans, and lightweight table that enable us to move around under a shady tree that big all day following the shade. Once the trailer was situated, and we were finally cooled off and sedentary drinking a cold beer, it started to dawn on me why this park is so cool – it is called Inks ‘Lake’ after all - is the huge beautiful lake we were sitting in front of.
The lake is gorgeous, and you can take advantage of it in many ways here. Jet skiing, boating, swimming, canoeing, and fishing were all going on. You can rent fishing gear, and canoes there, and I don’t believe you need a license for fishing. They have nice fishing peers you can fish off of, or you can cast from a boat, or your camping site if you’re on the water. We’re not in to any of that. We just like sitting by the water with a book, cold beer, painting rocks, and watching the squirrels, and ducks parading through water, air, and right through our camp. (see pics)
We were even visited by a couple of skunks while we were there, which was a first for me. All the animals are really tame because of their ongoing proximity to people, and I guess that’s why the skunks didn’t spray when I shewed them off. They, and the squirrels will be in your trash the minute you’re gone from the site, so be sure to hang up your trash bags if you leave the site even for an errand. These little creatures are just waiting for you leave. When I caught them in the trash 2 different times, they just looked up at me like, ‘What’?, before slowly walking off. They aren’t scared.
Day 2 started with smoking some incense, making coffee, and starting Terence McKenna’s ‘Food of the Gods’. Erika started feeling her camping groove while doing early morning jigs to music we were playing while she prepped yummy breakfast tacos for us; nothing like the smell of bacon and refried beans in the skillet. We painted rocks, read, and enjoyed some family drama by phone that afternoon, while I slow-cooked a giant Dino rib all day for dinner. We brought the Weber grill with us this time for this.
Speaking of phones. There was no cell service for us for wi-fi, but we were able to send non-pic text messages, and make and receive phone calls. We have Sprint, but were told by some folks we met there that their Verizon phones had no issues.
That night we enjoyed our rib, and Queso, an mushrooms we made on the grill while jamming out to our tunes while debating the differences and merits of Stevie Ray Vaughn vs. Jimi Hendrix. One set of our neighbors enjoyed our music, and requested the Rolling Stones to which we obliged. The other set of stuffy neighbors abandoned their trailer to go visit another while leaving a big outdoor tv they had on to Fox news to blare all night. Bring your own entertainment to block this out.
Day 3 found me making Erika jump through playful hoops to coax me out of bed to go bike riding. In summer Texas heat, you’re smart to make sure you have heavy physical exertion activities over by 11 am if you don’t want to invite extreme sweat, and heat stroke. We headed out on our e-bikes and explored the whole park. It was a beautiful morning for riding.
We met some nice folks on the way, and chatted with them awhile before scoping out all of the different kinds of campsites that are there. Make sure you take a good look at the Park Map for what kind of site you want. There is something for everybody here, but the powered sites are a little on top of each other except for a few. The non-powered sites have a lot more privacy, and shade in many instances.
We rode our bikes all the way down to the pretty vista offered at Devils Waterhole. You can climb rocks there to get to high-up vistas, and a cliff you can jump from to go swimming if that’s your thing. We then rode to a couple of fishing piers with gorgeous views of the lake where we had a romantic pair of ducks make a dramatic exit from the water to get airborne and proceed to fly right over our heads on the pier to the point we had to duck to get under them - no pun intended.
There are no formal bike trails in the park. We just rode on the roads, and rode the walking path down to Devil’s Waterhole.
We came back to camp where Erika made a delicious cheese and cracker plate. We then napped, got up and chased shade around the big oak tree the rest of the afternoon. We made a nice fire that night, and grilled carrots, chicken thighs, and corn on the cob. There was a glowing full moon that gently lit the lake, and we talked until we were too tired to and called it a night.
