Purtis Creek State Park is about 90 minutes south east from us near Eustis Texas. The land for the park was acquired in 1977 and the park officially opened in 1988. This is our second trip this month to give Eva a chance to rediscover camping. I have to say there was great improvement on our ride to the campground. She is becoming a much better traveler.
The sites are all back in, some obviously easier to navigate than others based on the angle of the site. We weren’t so lucky as to get a nice angle towards the road. Since we are over 50 feet long connected, it took a little back and forth action to get situated square on the pad.
The pad itself was level but when you back up all the way, there is a pretty steep drop off requiring 10 leveling blocks under each rear stabilizer.
Also, not sure about the other sites but we only had 30 amp hook up. Given the time of the year, this was not a big deal.
The sites are very secluded from each other by way of dense foliage and trees. The ground is relatively sandy and void of grass in our site so it’s not a place I’d want to camp in the rain. This is primarily because dealing with dirty wet paws is never fun.
Eva settled into the trip nicely and crashed for a nap as soon as I was done setting everything up.
The good news – depending on the site you may get Satellite reception. We were able to lock on to two satellites which gave us everything we needed. I wouldn’t have been disappointed without Satellite TV because I really wasn’t expecting it given the massive foliage.
The bad news – cell coverage at least on our end of the loop (site 57) is terrible; terrible might be an understatement! As a matter of fact I’m writing this review in my iPhone notes because if you’re really lucky you might get one bar of cell coverage for five minutes each hour. When Eva and I walked down by the water we managed to get two bars for a short time. Maybe it’s time to think about a cell booster. It would be better yet if the state park could get a cell tower constructed nearby. I’m not sure what a camper would do if there was a medical emergency not to mention the inability to get weather alerts. This is by far the worst aspect to this state park.
Also, like most of the state parks we have visited in Texas, if you have a dog, take a flashlight. It is extremely dark in the campground at night; so if the puppy needs a potty break after sunset you won’t get far from the trailer without one.
During the day there’s plenty of hiking/biking you can do in this park. The trails are a bit ruddy and muddy but not terrible. I think if you stay here and expect to use the trails after a rain, that would be a problem. There is also plenty of fishing to do on their large lake.
Of course Eva loved everything about the trails because there’s so much to smell and investigate. Of course she always has to find a stick and carry it with her, no matter how long the stick or how awkward she carry’s it (always by one end instead of in the middle).
Eva and I walked about five miles our first morning and then we added another mile with Tammy before lunch. The problem with Eva is that she has a selective memory. So if you take her for a walk twice in the morning she starts to assume every time we go outside it’s to go for a walk. Therefore we need to do other things at the site with her so she doesn’t get a one track mind.
So since we brought her coolaroo, after our walks we sit at the table and Eva seems quite happy to sack out. We even had a small fawn run through the brush next to us and Eva didn’t seem to care. The only other dog that didn’t seem to care about nearby deer was Kendra.
The second day in to our stay we had some folks tent camping across from us. They were up until after midnight and that was something Eva did not appreciate. Fortunately the sites are far enough apart that it wasn’t terrible. She voiced her displeasure with a low growl and then went back to sleep for the night.
The next day it was back to the trails with the three of us. I really like the trails BUT I will say that they are the worst trails (as far as marking them along the way). In addition if you try to use their map, I believe it is incorrect as far as the red trail goes. I was also confused on how a loop on one trail can come to a split where you could take it in either direction. They could do a much better job marking all of these trails.
Saturday was 85 degrees and the humidity was 71% so it was muggy. When we got back from our walk we sat outside for quite a while, then decided it would be better in the trailer. That was the case until Eva charged past me as I opened the door to light the grill. Then the chase was on!!! Sorry – I have no pictures of that chaos.
Eva has some separation anxiety so at least she stayed within our site and the one next to us. The chase became a fun game for her as we tried to sneak up on her. Finally I thought that she’d probably jump in the truck if I opened the door and said “let’s go!”. That did the trick, crisis averted!
Later I crossed the street and talked to some really nice folks that had recently sold their house and were full time. They had a new Grand Design Travel Trailer. Now they were headed to California but would be staying in Purtis Creek for at least three days or longer depending on the weather forecast. The current forecast looks pretty rainy for the upcoming week, but by the weeks end things look much better.
If we could, I’d extend our stay as well but I have physical therapy twice a week and I just can’t afford to miss that. Climbing up the ladder to the RV roof doesn’t count as therapy unfortunately; nor does walking or chasing Eva. So we pack up Sunday morning and try to get out of camp before some severe weather moves in. I’m hoping for my neighbors next door and the couple across the street, that the weather isn’t horrible and that they stay safe. Texas weather is always unpredictable in the spring.
So, Sunday Eva and I make our way outside very early in the morning. Although I can see the stars through the canopy of the trees, I can hear some pretty decent winds on and off. Eva doesn’t care about any of that; she just wants to smell every square inch of the campsite.
Fortunately packing up goes relatively quickly, and we leave the site for the dump station by 8:15 AM and exit the park at 8:30. Life is good. We drive through some rain on and off on the way home but it is really a very light rain. By the time we get to our house the rain has stopped and we are able to unload the trailer and park it under the shop overhang.
We head back to Purtis Creek in ten days and I’m looking forward to it. Take time to visit this park, you will not be disappointed.
Next week I will start on inspecting and repacking the wheel bearings, they need to be done!
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