Campground Review

Purtis Creek is a short hour and a half drive east of the DFW metroplex. It’s easy to get to and popular with the locals. One of the main attractions is the lake where you can rent kayaks and paddleboards. It is also a popular fishing hole. Most sites are electric and water at $20, water only at $14 and primitive at $10.

I arrived and got camp set then head out to the hiking trails. There are a couple of loops at one and two miles. I walked the entire stretch of around 6 miles. They are pretty unremarkable with very few animals and no real interesting features.

I was in site 62 which was set apart from the others with a path through the tall grass and a couple of trees to hang a hammock from. If you have a few people in your group, you may consider 60-62 as they are relatively close together. Once the sun set, the sky lights up with stars where you're just able to see the haze of the Milky Way. While I was going to sleep and early in the morning, the coyotes started up. The morning was a bit louder and they seemed to be near the lake only a couple kilometers off. Outside of some very noisy neighbors, the site was well worth the trip.

The only real drawback is how close it is to the main roads. Car noise can be heard at almost all hours.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I sometimes get items to review. I received the MH10 and took it out to the Purtis Creek State Park. Once the sun went down, I fired it up and had a full view of the entire campsite. I could spot the twinkle of spider eyes and other small critters in the bright light. I switched to the red lense to read and spotted a possum as it wandered into my camp site. If I hadn't made some noise, I don't think she would have noticed me.

The battery sits to the side and back. It's about the size and weight of three AA. It comes with a red and green lense that fit into a rubber grommit you slip on the light. It has three settings getting progressively darker. The strap is comfortable directly against the skin.

Pros

• Very bright
• Green and red lense filters
• Long battery life
• Waterproof

Cons

• A bit heavy
• Gets a little warm