The Bison of Caprock Canyons State Park

Hello and thanks for coming to my blog! I’ve been touring around the south and midwest with my two pups, Piper and Asia. We started in the panhandle of Florida and now we’ve made it to the panhandle of Texas. If you’ve been to cities in Texas and didn’t know Texas could look like this…

…then I was right there with you until this camping adventure. This isn’t Austin. This isn’t Dallas. This is basically desert! And from all the camping I’ve done this year (photos and recaps are on my Camping Stories page), Caprock Canyons State Park has become my favorite already, and it might be the best in the country! Yesterday I posted pictures of the canyons so today, just like the road in the pic below, belongs to the bison.

My story with the bison begins with my arrival to the park. The ranger at the station where I checked in warned me about the bison. She basically said they wander around the park freely and that “they’ll see my dogs as predators and they’ll remove them.”

OK, so watch out for the bison, got it. My heart rate is pretty high as I drive to my campsite, herds of bison way off in the distance. I’m excited to get my camera out and, with a zoom lens of course, get some photos of the big beasts.

My first full day started with walking the dogs. Eating breakfast. Marveling at the sun lighting up the canyons. Then I had the chance to take pics of the bison. Here are a few of my favorites from my time at the park.

pictures

This is the second post in a series of photo collections from the park so check back soon for the cutest animals at the park – prairie dogs! I’ll be posting these tomorrow at 1pm central.

Thanks for dropping in!

-Out of the Wilderness

Caprock Canyons State Park – the best campground in America?

Hello and thanks for visiting my blog! Well, I think the search is over. I might have found the very best state park in the entire United States. Of course, I’ll keep searching but if you’re ever in Texas or passing through or even thinking about going somewhere, you need to book a site at Caprock Canyons State Park in Quitaque, Texas.

From the hiking and biking to the wildlife and scenery, I hardly have words to describe this hidden gem of Texas, as one camper I met calls it. I was here for 5 days and it seemed like every day there was something new to see. But before I get into the treasures of this park, I’ll give you a little rundown of what’s to come. There’s so much that I want to share that I’m going to break it up into into smaller posts for the sake of your time. Obviously, the big draw at this park are the ginormous, amazing canyons. So why not kick off this series with the canyon collection of photos, shall we? As a teaser, though, I’ll tell you the upcoming posts after this one will include stories and photos of bison, prairie dogs, owls, a roadrunner, sunsets and stars, and deer… plus THE BEST photo I’ve ever taken in my entire whole life! But we’ll get to that. First up, the beautiful, steep, colorful, memorable canyons.

I post every day at 1pm so please come back for more photos from this wonderful park. Tomorrow… the bison! Thanks for dropping in…

-Out of the Wilderness

A nice break at Copper Breaks State Park – a recap with photos

If you’re in the middle of Texas and need a state park to camp in, Copper Breaks might be the perfect break from society.

This state park is about midway through my tour around the south and midwest, which started in Florida and the last stop is in Mississippi on my way back to the Florida panhandle. About Copper Breaks, I’d say that coming from the east this park was the first one that really had a desert flavor to it. It’s Texas, but it’s not how I pictured anything in Texas would look. It’s pretty great. I didn’t see much wildlife, which is something I’m always on the lookout for, but there was still room for hiking, biking, and photography. With that said, here are my favorite photos from Copper Breaks State Park in Quanah, Texas.

Thanks for dropping in…

-Out of the Wilderness

The 3 things I dislike the most about camping

I’ll start by saying I LOVE camping. Since January 2022, I’ve been living and traveling in a Gulf Stream trailer. There have been ups and downs, learning experiences, but the good far outweighs the bad. I actually like that I’m learning new things, too. For instance… figuring out why the water heater doesn’t heat water using electric, changing a tire on the trailer, and much more.

From my experiences camping in state parks, RV parks, parking lots, , fields, farms, and rest stops, I’ve discovered a few things that I really, really don’t like. Here are the top three. In fact, I’m dealing with one as this post is being created (#2 on the list below)!

TOP 3 CAMPING DISLIKES

  1. This first one has happened at a few campsites and it really gets my goat. It’s when my door entry area faces another RV’s entry area. In other words, my neighbor’s site is situated in a way that when they’re outside, they’re facing the door side of my trailer. There isn’t really anything I dislike more than not feeling comfortable entering and exiting my camper and it’s not comfortable when neighbors are watching every move I make.
  2. This is the one I dealt with most recently. Flies. I was camping in a canyon in the midwest and even worse than nosy neighbors are nosy flies! Especially when there are a lot of ’em! No lie, every time I opened the camper door at least a few flies would enter. So imagine having to potty the dogs, use the restroom, go out to hike or bike, and wondering how many flies are going to swarm the entry way and get in. Not cool at all. It was enough to make me want to leave the scenic canyons where I was camping.
  3. I’ve had this happen more times than I’d like… sand or dirt campsites. I guess the idea of a sandy site near the beach or a “all-natural” back-in site under the trees sounds good on paper. But there’s nothing worse that tracking in dirt or sand every time I climb up into the camper. It makes a mess… and that’s on dry days. When it rains? Forget about it! Sand and dirt everywhere, especially if you have pups tracking it in along with your shoes, flip flops, etc. One of the best springs I’ve camped in would’ve gotten more than 2 stars if the site was paved or at least had gravel. It’s a real nuisance.

Even with those frustrating things, I really enjoy getting around the Southeast (recaps here) in my travel trailer. Especially when I come across wildlife like this…

Barred owl, Colt Creek State Park, Florida

The ups make all the downs so worth it. Do you know of any solutions to the problems listed above? Share in the comments below to help me stay sane, along with anyone else who might see this blog and have the same pet peeves!

Thanks for dropping in…

-Out of the Wilderness

The Big Error in the Progressive Jon Hamm Commercial

Hello and thanks for stopping by to find out what this big mistake is in one of the Progressive commercials starring Jon Hamm. He’s a great addition to the team, especially with the “love interest” storyline between him and Flo, although Flo is having none of it.

Cbs No GIF by HULU - Find & Share on GIPHY

In his latest attempt to have some romantic time with Flo, Jon has an elaborate setup to ask about insurance regarding a leaky pipe in his upscale high rise apartment. Take a look…

We don’t see Flo enter the apartment but it has to be assumed that she came through the front door, as it’s behind her when she first talks to Jon. Jon’s secret plan to fake the busted pipe falls apart when one of the props catches Flo’s eye (the cardboard TV). Jon confesses he just wanted to see her and she rejects him for the millionth time.

As the crew begins tearing down the set, something occurred to me: the front door. It was part of a fake wall that gets pushed aside by a crew member, revealing even more that the apartment is just part of a set in some kind of production warehouse. But… what about that front door? When Flo arrives, thinking she’s rushing over to help Jon with a home emergency, would she not have walked through the front door? If she had, she would’ve had to walk through the warehouse first. Not down a sidewalk or riding up a condominium elevator like one would expect when arriving at someone’s front door.

I’m definitely reading too much into this but Flo would’ve HAD to know something weird was going on as she walked around cameras and cables and lights and people with clipboards just to get to Jon’s front door.

Am I thinking too much about this? Of course! I’ve never been accused of not overthinking things. But even with this big error, the ad is still funny and I like the banter and tension between Jon and Flo, even if Flo has never once given him any indication that she’s interested in a relationship. Such is the age-old quest of men pursing women, I guess. 🙂

Thanks for dropping in…

-Out of the Wilderness