Texas - Day 40 - in Huntsville

Huntsville State Park, Huntsville

Saturday, 12 December 2020

I seem to be having trouble with these state park campsites recently.  Mission Tejas was that impossible sideways-leaning angle in a tiny space.  Martin Dies, Jr. was a mild angle with gobs of deer.  And here in Huntsville I've got a steep angle and dogs everywhere.

We're okay on our 2 early morning walks because almost everybody sleeps later in winter, and especially on weekends.  But any other time during daylight hours, I can barely get the dogs out of the RV without the 2 dogs next door (who are on long leashes outdoors all day long) or the 1 very large dog across the street barking away at mine.  And Dexter always thinks he needs to respond to the trash talk.

What I ended up doing was driving them down to the boat launch area, where there were dogs but not nearly as many, and more places for us to dodge them.  Of course, there was the sign saying "Alligators Exist In the Park" to make me nervous.

And today, I drove us all into town for much of the day, just so I could get an internet signal and the dogs could have somewhere to walk.  Well, not the first time for that and I'm sure not the last.

I went first to the local recycling facility and got rid of most of my accumulated pile, which was a relief.

On the way out there, I passed a parking lot next to what looked like a park, so after unloading I drove back, and we spent several hours there.  I walked the dogs around the area a couple of times and used the internet signal my hotspot could pick up.

Huntsville has a David Street.

On the radio I heard someone explain that when Santa gets stuck in a chimney, he has claus-trophobia.  (heh heh)

Huntsville has several claims to fame.  The one it pushes is that it was the home of Sam Houston.  Of course, they don't much want to mention that when he refused to pledge allegiance to the new Confederate States of America he was nearly run out of town.  But he lived here for many years, and died here.  This link gives a short version of his ties to the town.   https://abc13.com/huntsville-sam-houston

Huntsville is also known for the Sam Houston statue that claims title to World's Tallest Statue of an American Hero.  It's marble, 67' tall and stands on a 10' base.

Sam Houston

And the other thing Huntsville is known for, at least in Texas, is the prison.  The Huntsville Correctional Institution is a maximum security facility that includes Texas's death row which has a wide-spread reputation as being more active than almost any other.

I didn't pass by that but did see signs for the Texas Prison Museum.

Back in the campground, I watched a large group of kids about 11 years old pass by my campsite with quite a few adults.  Almost none of these folks was wearing a mask and it was clear social distancing wasn't something they'd thought about.

Taken together, I'd say this experience was a mixed bag.