We left Farmersville headed for Canyon Lakes; a state park outside of San Antonio, TX where we spent roughly a week. The highlight of San Antonio was not the Alamo or the Riverwalk, although both really were neat and great to see. Our highlight was a dude ranch we visited for the afternoon called Rancho Cortez. And while the activities we paid for were incredibly fun, the man who owned the ranch, Mr. Larry Cortez, made the day really special.

We spent the day riding horses, helping to take care of the horses, playing horseshoes, swimming, feeding the longhorn cattle, learning to lasso that cattle and riding in a side-by-side all over the hill country. Being a Tuesday and school still in session for most folk, we were the only visitors on the ranch that day. As a result, Mr. Cortez took a liking to us and personally escorted us all over his ranch. He was a bonified cowboy with cowboy boots, spurs and all, cigarettes, a cowboy hat and a salty personality. 😊 This man was 74 years old and still digging holes, fixing fences, personally feeding his cattle and doing the “yuck” of a farm. I don’t think “retired” is in his vocabulary.

He picked us up in his side-by-side, which was a 6-person ATV for those who don’t know the term side-by-side, which I did not prior to this adventure. He zipped us all over the hill country of Banderas, TX. While Beau and the kids were screaming with enjoyment at the speed in which we zipped over these hills. I was screaming in horror. No seatbelts. No helmets. No doors. You can imagine the thoughts going through my mind. But alas, we are still here.

The time before and after dinner was spent talking in his “office”. A picnic table under an oak with a fake Grammy trophy in the middle. Office talking required a light beer and some “no holds bar” discussion on whatever he deemed interesting.

If you’re ever in the area of Banderas, TX and want a great experience on a dude ranch, they offer day experiences, overnight lodging in cabins and land to park your camper on overnight. It includes meals and great conversation with an interesting man. 

More on San Antonio later...

The Great State of Texas - #1

 As you all know, Texas is a big state which means we have yet to finish it. We're still here and loving this amazing state! So there might be two or three updates related to Texas. Hold tight, there has been a lot happening in this state full of cowboy culture.

You see this picture below? Right in the middle of the picture is a what looks like a long gray line. That's a cutting board. A cutting board we had been missing for a few days. "How do you lost a cutting board in a 29' foot trailer?" you ask. We're professionals. We can do anything. One day after driving on the road, I'm cleaning up the inside of the trailer and putting the slide back out so we can actually live in it and can't find our cutting board anywhere! I thought Beau had decided we didn't need it anymore and threw it out. Low and behold, while looking out a window on the 2nd floor of Julia's house we see it sitting on top of the slide! All we can surmise is that it fell off of the top shelf in the kitchen while shuffling down the road and got stuck on top of the slide. Regardless, happy to find it again!

Our first big stop was at my dear friend’s house – Julia. Julia and I have been friends since we were 11 years old and were in each other’s weddings. She and I have done school together, church together, backpacking together, preparing for marriage together, preparing for motherhood together...just really a lot of memories shared over the last 20+ years. 

I had not had the opportunity to visit her, her husband and her son since they set up house in Texas and was very excited! They were incredibly kind and hospitable, hosting us for three nights! Julia and her family live on a beautiful piece of property in Farmersville, TX, a bit outside of Dallas. We set up our travel trailer right next door. It was like we were neighbors for a few days. A neighbor who comes over to shower. :) 

Julia introduced us to Whataburger. And man-oh-man has that become a favorite in our family. Did you know they have spicy ketchup? I'm not a ketchup fan, but that was a big draw. In fact, such a hit with the kids that every time we see one on the side of the road, which is often, they scream out "Waterburger"! Did you see that? My kids call it "WateRburger". It's too funny to correct them at this point. 

Julia also introduced us to Blue Bonnets, the Texas state flower. Gentle smell, beautiful color and blooming everywhere!

It had been decades since we were able to spend this much time together and it was wonderful! Truly cherished the time to reconnect and to rest. Thank you White family!

On to Cajun Country!

 We left the cold of Arkansas and headed south to Cajun country! First stop, a tiny town near Shreveport, Louisiana. As a member of Harvest Host we were able to stay on the land of a vineyard for free. The catch? We had to take part in a wine tasting. Nice trade off! Landry Vineyards is a family owned vineyard with a slew of different types of wines. They grow some of the grapes, but import many from California and Oregon. They're most delicious happened to be the Chocolate Raspberry dessert wine. Said to be scrumptious over vanilla ice cream. A must try!

The land we were given to park on was a beautiful scene of rolling hills and a playground of grass for the kiddos to run on!

We left there with our sights set on bellies full of crawfish! We headed to Henderson, LA. Our first stay in an RV park helped us realize we are campground people. To imagine the scene we were in at this RV park, think of spring break in Florida in a hotel. It was madness! The upside were the pools. The kiddos had a great time making friends and swimming their little hearts out in what I would consider an ice bath. I mean, they shivering, teeth chattering and claiming they were not cold. Really? I sat on the sidelines with a blanket over me...

Beau and I found a Baptist church in Henderson where we could worship the risen Savior, Teche Baptist. What a warm welcome we received! We were the ONLY visitors and that was evident by the closing prayer of the service when Brother Dennis prayed for the travelers. (We were the travelers.) 

The kids went to "big" church with us since there wasn't a children's service. This bring their first time, they had a lot of questions. Caroline asked, "Why does he (the pastor) keep saying 'Amen'?" To give you a feel, it was probably every 4th or 5th word and always with the intonation of a question. There were a few times when Caroline responded with her own "Amen!" Gray enjoyed the hymnal singing and following along in the Bible as the pastor read aloud. 

We enjoyed the rest of our Easter Sunday relaxing by the pool, hunting for Easter eggs and grilling up some lamb burgers for dinner. Very different than in years past, but enjoyable nonetheless.

The rest of our time in Louisiana was certainly filled with some Cajun culture. Complete with fried alligator and multiple meals of Crawfish, not Crawdads or Crayfish, Etouffee and some swamp exploring on an air boat. Swamp tour complete with some up close and personal time with an alligator named Sam.

Overall, Louisiana was a hit and the food was delicious! 

Hot Springs National Park

 After leaving Memphis, TN we headed into the great state of Arkansas. This was the first time for all of us. Goal: hit up Hot Springs National Park. This national park is interesting because it's a mixture of the typical nature you see in a national park, but it's also made up of buildings. The hot springs themselves had baths built on top of them decades ago and are quite luxurious!

We were able to get a great spot at Gulpha Gorge Campground within the national park. It's first come, first serve and we were blessed to find one on the river!

There was a wonderful four-mile hike (roundtrip) that took us into town where the baths were. The kids did great hiking it and so did Titus! 

While we were not able to experience the actuals baths/spas themselves (the water was too hot for children), we learned a lot by taking part in the Junior Ranger program and walking the trails. We met a great man named John who was from Louisiana. We shared some southern birthday biscuits with he and his wife and they blessed us with some homemade Louisiana gumbo, which was delicious! Beau's 42nd birthday was a success to be complete with a key lime pie and some singing. 

Evans Family Road Trip 2021 - It has begun!

 

Some of you may be aware, but others may not, but Beau, myself, Gray, Caroline and Titus set out on Thursday, March 18^th for a road trip around the continental US. You’re probably asking “Why?” Well, here’s our why…

 

1. “Capture their hearts why they’re young.” Someone told us this a couple of years ago when we asked for parenting advice. We took it to heart by asking ourselves, “How do we do that?” This is one way we came up with.
2. Beau and I had the privilege of traveling to New Zealand a couple of years ago where we traveled the south island in a camper van for a week and had an amazing time! It provided so much freedom to our travels, was healthier since we could cook all of our meals and cheaper!
3. Camping become a regular for us during COVID since we didn’t feel comfortable doing much else for any sort of “get away”. Beau and I found ourselves talking and reading more and the kids were simply playing outside more, learning to make friends both in their age reign and with adults.
4. We wanted to challenge ourselves to live with less. Beau and I found our spending to be a reflection of someone we didn’t want to be. We want to change that.
5. We want to teach our children the world ourselves. There’s so much in this country we live that we have the opportunity to experience, see and introduce to them. Now’s the time!

 

God has blessed us both with jobs that allow us to work anywhere we are. God also led Beau and I to traditionally homeschool both Gray and Caroline for Kindergarten. We have found it enjoyable and made the decision to extend that teaching into 1^st grade. (I don’t feel like I can completely mess up their schooling at this young age. 😉 ) The remote working and the homeschooling is allowing us to be gone as long as we find this enjoyable to do without any restrictions being put on us.

 

We packed up our 200 sq foot 2019 Grand Design Imagine, hooked it on to our truck and set out for the country. Here’s what we’ve done.

 

1st Stop – Greenville, SC

2nd Stop – Pigeon Forge, TN

• We introduced the kiddos to Dollywood, which was a childhood summer tradition for the Kimbrell family. It was a great country time with funnel cakes, fried pig skins, roller coasters, candy apples and a bit of nausea. 😉

3rd Stop – Bardstown, KY

• Beau and I took a tour of the Maker’s Mark Bourbon Distillery. Amazing history and were able to dip our own bottle of bourbon in the red wax and take it home.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Kathryn breaks the pipe under the kitchen sink and Beau becomes a plumber. 😊
• We visited The Ark. If you’ve not been, it will blow you away at the level of detail and the actual size of this built to size boat from the Bible.
  
  
  
• Read a great quote, “If someone can convince you that Noah’s Ark didn’t exist, they can convince you that Heaven and Hell don’t exist.”
• We celebrated the kid’s 6^th birthday with cupcakes made in our tiny propane oven and sat by the fire.
• The bathroom and bunk lights stop working.
• We visited our 1^st National Park on our tour, Mammoth Cave.
  
  
  
• The kids received their 2^nd Junior Ranger badge after going on a historic tour of the cave and documented some of what they learned.
  
• We were surprised with a large storm coming through the area projecting 50+ mph winds and hail. For those who have not been in a camper with weather like this, it’s not fun. Friends in Louisville offered their home to us to ride out the storm so we packed up our site and drove NE to Louisville for the night.
• They blessed us with calling neighbor kids over to play with our kids, made a feast of slow cooked moose for dinner and fresh made croissants for breakfast and then sent us on with salmon fillets brought home from Alaska.
• Beau becomes and electrician thanks to our friends and fixes the bathroom and bunk lights. 😊

4th Stop - Clarksville, TN

• We spent the weekend with good friends in Clarksville, TN who blessed us with a weekend of rest and constant feasting.
• Our friends have twin girls that are the same age as our kids. Gray and Caroline enjoyed bike riding, arts and crafts, baking and sing alongs!
• Beau accidentally drops the camper off the blocks, which jams the ladder of the camper in with our friends’ trellis. This results in a broken ladder on the trailer and Beau having to cut off a corner of their trellis. …it’s funny now. 😊
  
  
  

5th stop – Springfield, TN

• We were hosted by my old friend, Amy and her family.
• Amy and I met 18 years ago as interns for Kingdom Building Ministries in Colorado. It was such a joy to spend time with her family!

6th stop – Memphis, TN

• Fort Pillow State Park overlooking the Mississippi River – I spent the time working a final presentation for a state customer while Beau and the kids spent the day hiking, cleaning the camper and bike riding.