Needless to say, the weather was cold on the morning of December 29th, as we left north Texas. So cold in fact, that the tires needed quite a bit of air.

Most of the trailer had been packed the night before, which was clothing and dry goods. I started running the refrigerated goods out to the trailer about 8:00 AM. It was 31 degrees, with a real feel of 24. It felt like it. 

The plan was to leave about 10:00 AM so we could get there about 2:30 PM, and set up in the daylight with warmer temperatures. Since that night the temperature was predicted to get down to 29 degrees, turning on the water would be a no-go. However, after that one night below freezing, temperatures would be fine for the water connection.

Martin Dies, Jr. State Park is located about 9 miles east of Jasper, Texas. From our house it is about a four and a half hour drive. What you will discover once you get about 20 miles from the park, is that quite a few turns and stopping and starting will be required. Still worth the hassle.

We rolled into our site at about 3:30PM so the trip took a lot longer than expected. That was due to the craziness of the people on the road. I have never seen so many dangerous drivers during one trip. We had at least four people pull directly out in front of us. It was just insane! Just for comparison sake, the trip there took 5.5 hours, and the trip home took 4.25 hours. That tells you just how bad things were.

On the bright side, the trip there gave me quite a few opportunities to check my brake work from earlier in the year. Not exactly the way I like to test brakes but they worked great.

I was glad to finally be at the site, and so was Eva. The pad was perfectly level side to side, so that was great, and a rarity. It didn’t take long and we were hooked up. However the water would remain off for the night. When I went inside the camper I checked the thermostat and it was reading at 49 degrees. So, we fired up the furnace and the fireplace and it warmed up quickly. The outside temperature was around 56 degrees.

Tammy and I haven’t camped in Texas this late in the year. We have camped in horribly cold weather before though. When we lived in Wisconsin and the kids were young, there were multiple spring breaks to Florida where we left with snow on ground. Our first stop on the way to Florida was always a frigid one.

The trees at Martin Dies Jr State Park are a blend of pines with deciduous trees mixed in. What hasn’t fallen on the ground yet, ended up on top of our roof, and in a large quantity. In our site I would guess we were over ankle deep in leaves. 

I was also surprised at how many folks were here camping for the holiday. Every camping loop was full. I noticed online, that quite a few folks from the North Texas Campers Facebook page would be staying here. I was a bit surprised given the cold weather that was predicted, but happy that we were not alone in the campground. 

Eva and I took a nice walk before it got dark. It was pretty decent from a temperature standpoint. Once the sun set, it got cold really fast.

All in all, a very quiet first night with Eva settling back into camping mode. I was concerned that it might be a noisy night because the folks next to us had three dogs. They were outside in crates to start with, then they went inside. So, at least for the first night all was well.

The next morning, I realized pretty quickly I would need to make a shopping trip. So, we loaded up Eva and headed into Jasper, a short ten minute drive away. Given that it was a Saturday, the Walmart was insanely busy. I waited in line for ten minutes just for a checkout stand to open up. Then it was back to camp.

Eva and I took the Forest Trail later in the day. The entire loop that we take is probably a mile or so long. It winds from our loop through the wood and comes out by the entrance of the park.  From there it’s a walk on the road to the rangers’ station where the trail picks up again. We would walk this trail multiple times each day.

This girl loves her walks!

The night of the 30th was a another quiet one. Perhaps, this would be a great campground to escape from the fireworks.

New Years Eve was a beautiful day, with the temperature hitting 70 degrees. The three of us took about a two mile walk around the campground. We walked around the camping loops and Tammy made sure to document any campsites that looked like good options for the next trip here. Later in the day it was back to the Forest Trail with Eva. A tired German Shepherd is a happy German Shepherd.

That night it was the Packers versus the Vikings. What a game! I never expected the outcome, given how the Packers have played this year. It was a great way to end 2023; camping and a packers win! Now, if they can beat Da Bears in the next game, their playoff chances stay alive.

During the game we could hear fireworks in the distance but they didn’t bother Eva. They stopped about 12:30 AM. Surprisingly, the same people began to fire them off again about 5:00 AM. One camper in another loop told me that it sounded like Iraq near him. In our camper it wasn’t bad but it did wake Eve and Me up.

For us this was a major improvement over staying home and putting up with the fireworks in the neighborhood. I heard from three friends in the neighborhood that the fireworks were terrible and went until 1:30 AM. I am so glad we made the decision to go camping.

Perhaps for the other camper it was the angle he was on, or just the fact that it was so early in the morning, that made it seem loud. However, they didn’t last long but it spelled the end of sleeping for Eva and me. So, it was January 1st, 2024. This would be our last full day at Martin Dies Jr.

Our last day was full of walks and just general relaxing. I knew the next day would be a different story. We would need to break camp, go to the dump station, then make our drive home. When we got home, I would need to winterize the trailer again, before the predicted rain hit. It would be a hectic day.

My recommendation on this as a quiet park for the new year holiday is that it might work for a dog that is somewhat afraid of fireworks. If just the sound of popping in the distance upsets your pooch, then this park won’t work. Even I would like to find a quieter park for firework holidays. The real challenge is finding one where the temperatures are above freezing. There are secluded parks heading north but I don’t want freezing temperatures.

So, if anyone knows of a real quiet state park south of the Dallas area, send me a message! I am always up for visiting a new state park.

From all of us, Happy 2024!