Belton Lake C.O.E. Live Oak Campground, Belton, Texas

 

Belton Lake is a great place to camp when you want a “laid back” relaxing getaway.  We arrived on Wednesday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friends, Glenn and Donna, arrived on Sunday morning.  We spent a very enjoyable week together, sharing meals, playing games, and visiting with Donna’s family members who live nearby.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more on Belton Lake and it’s impressive Dam Mural, visit our previous posting from here:

Belton Lake Stay, April, 2008

From Las Cruces to Belton, TX

Whenever possible, we like to find new routes to travel, and this time, we decided to take U.S. 380 to Texas.  It was a scenic route, traveling through the Sacramento Mountains.

 

 

 

 

 

The various signs of Roswell, NM brought a smile to our faces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mid-afternoon, we stopped for a break at Tiny’s Burger Barn in Tatum, near the state line.  In contrast to the name, the burgers were anything but tiny.  Both the barbecue and the burgers were from local beef, and simply delicious.

We stopped for the night at a free campground in Brownfield, TX.  Northern Texas has many of these small free campgrounds (some with a donation box).   Several of the communities have decided it benefits their local economy to offer camping sites.  We stay in them whenever we run across one.  This one, as most, was in a city park, but we were pleased to find free internet provided by the local high school.

 

 

 

 

 

The next morning, I snapped this photo as we purchased fuel… not a sign you expect to see in a community.  

A sure sign that you’ve arrived in western Texas is the appearance of the giant windmills.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent this night in Ranger, Texas.  The campground had a private lake inhabited by beavers. 

We didn’t spot any beavers, but evidence of their industriousness was all along the bank. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The afternoon of the following day brought us to our destination, Belton Lake Live Oak C.O.E. Campground.

Cedar Breaks and Live Oak Ridge C.O.E.s

April 9 –

We arrived in Kerrille on Wednesday Morning, and stayed 3 days to visit with good friends, Donna and Glenn.

Saturday morning found us on the road again, through the scenic Hill Country. Texas is famous for its spring wildflowers, especially the bluebonnets, and the roadsides were alive with color.

The price of diesel fuel continues to alarm us. Since leaving Yuma, we paid $4.09 per gallon once, our first time to pay over $4.00. As we passed through Marble Falls on Saturday, we spotted this gas station price of $4.15, the highest we’ve seen yet.

We like to stay at Corps of Engineer parks (C.O.E.) and have found some beautiful parks throughout the U.S. The next three nights were spent at Cedar Breaks Park on Lake Georgetown. Aptly named, the cedar grove provided a welcome respite from the wind.

A 28 mile hiking trail surrounds Lake Georgetown and the community of Georgetown. While not in shape for a hike of that length, we did enjoy a 2.5 mile hike along the trail while at the park.

It wound through a wooded area, with an occasional glimpse of the lake.

On Tuesday, we moved a short 35 miles or so northward to Live Oak Ridge C.O.E., a small, but attractive, park on Belton Lake.

Here we were pleasantly surprised to find they are offering wireless internet access on a trial basis, which is enabling me to make this update.

The first thing you notice on arriving at Belton Lake is its mural, the largest we have seen. (Texas doesn’t do anything small).

Painted on the dam walls, the impressive mural stretches over 800 feet on its east side.

Depicting scenes from Belton’s history, the panels cover everything from covered wagons to its military installation.

Painted in the late 70’s by the local art students of University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, it provided an attractive solution to a growing graffiti problem on the wall.

Although not quite as impressive, a colorful mural also decorates the west side of the dam

Although Live Oak Ridge boasts no hiking trails of its own, just across the street is Miller Springs, an arboretum, with several winding trails. We hiked on one leading to the edge of the mural wall.

The trail also looked out over the canyons once cut by the Leon River, before the creation of Belton Lake.

We’ll enjoy another day here, then move on tomorrow.