It’s the 3rd of November we hit the road about 9 in the morning. We only had about 3 hours to drive to our next destination and we didn’t want to get there too soon. Al and I are both morning people and during our working days when we would go on vacation it wasn’t uncommon for us to hit the road between 5 and 6 a.m. especially if we had a long travel day in front of us.
Ah, the days of hurry up and get there are thankfully behind us. But habits don’t break easily. Now a days, we have to remind each other that we don’t need to get rolling so early. We try to keep our travel days anywhere from an hour to four hours and keeping check-in times in mind we don’t necessarily want to arrive to our next destination too soon.
So we meandered down the road taking in the countryside and it isn’t long before the land started to roll …… the Texas hill country near Junction, Texas.
We arrived at South Llano River State Park just in time for lunch. Fortunately the park was only a quarter occupied and we were checked into a lovely site. This is a beautiful Texas State Park with an abundance of wildlife. While driving into the park we passed turkey and deer. 
The most significant Rio Grande turkey roosts in Central Texas can be found here. There’s over 240 bird species that have been documented in the area.
This 507 acre Texas State Park offers water, woods, and wildlife. There’s 18 miles of hiking/biking trails, 58 campsites with electric and water, and 11 walk-in tent sites. There are several blinds for birding, and access to the river for summer swimming, tubing, and canoeing.
I was really excited and looked forward to spending a couple of nights at this state park, but without cell phone service we opted to spend just one night. Yep, no cell phone service, no internet, no TV. Sometimes it’s fun being without connection, but we needed that cell connection for a family member.
So the next day we pulled out of South Llano River State Park…. reluctantly, I might add and drove to San Antonio. In San Antonio we stayed at an Elks Lodge and had hoped to see a few sights we missed during our stay last February.
Such was not the case as the torrential rains did not let up for 2 whole days and we had a reservation for the weekend at Goliad State Park. So onto Goliad, Texas….
Live Laugh RV 
Beautiful wild life pictures!
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Ingrid, glad you got to experience South Llano State Park. It is one of my very favorite! If I remember correctly, text messages work in the camp area. Hope your Dad continues to improve! Happy Thanksgiving!
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Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving as well. My dad is doing much better thank you but I still feel better staying connected 🙂
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You got some really nice nature shots…I guess when there is nothing but nature, nature is the best shot!
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Thanks. We really enjoyed being surrounded by nature 🙂
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The red bird is stunning! You have such an amazing eye for photography!
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Thank you so much Karen. Lately, I’ve been getting so frustrated with my camera….. obviously not the cameras fault – blame the operator LOL! So the compliment is very much appreciated 🙂
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Beautiful wildlife photos, Ingrid, especially the deer. 🙂
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Thank you Syliva, it was such a beautiful state park.
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Your travel times are similar to ours in the one to four hour duration. It is so nice being able to leisurely go from one spot to another.
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That’s the only way to travel…. smell the roses along the way!
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Too bad you didn’t get to sight see in San Antonio…Lots to see there, but I’ll just bet you go back someday. Being without cell phone service is a deal breaker for us…too many people we need to check on..plus…having so many emergency service people in our family, I really don’t want to be without 911 at our extended years! Cannot wait to go to Goliad with you!
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Fortunately last February we made it to the Riverwalk and a few other places. Even with the rain this trip, Al did manage to visit a site he’s been longing to see for years; The National Shooting Complex (Al used to compete in Trap, Skeet, and Sporting Clays) So the visit was productive from our stand point.
Loved Goliad – stay tuned!
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We love South Llano River SP and have stayed there in various seasons. Such great biking, hiking, kayaking, and birding — but you’re right, there’s absolutely no cell coverage, which is challenging. For future reference, there’s excellent cell coverage in town, but it’s certainly not convenient. For only being there one night, you sure got some great wildlife photos! I don’t think we’ve ever gotten a really good roadrunner photo.
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Thanks Laurel. We did enjoy S. Llano River SP very much and loved being surround by deer. I also made several visits to the bird blinds during my strolls around the park. My dad has had some health problems over the past six months which included two hospital stays, so cell phone connection for us is an absolute must these days.
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I’m so sorry to hear about your dad, Ingrid. Sending good thoughts your way.
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Thank you Laurel. He seems to be doing so much better but staying connected gives me peace of mind.
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So sorry you had to leave South Llano River State Park so quickly. It is one of our favorite parks in all of Texas.
Be sure to do the Angel of Goliad trail. Isn’t long but it takes you in two different directions. Fun. Presidio La Bahia is really a neat fort too.
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We hated leaving S. Llano River SP but regular connection is a must for us these days. I’m just not comfortable not being connected with a dad who’s been in and out of the hospital. That said, we do plan to return some day. And oh yes, the Presidio La Bahia was a great stop on our Goliad tour 🙂
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