FINALLY!

I am finally hitting the road! Yay!

I spent last night at Wright Patman Lake in a Corps of Engineers park (Malden Lake Campground).  Wright Patman is such a big lake that it has about 15 different parks surrounding it.  Some are Corps of Engineers parks, there is a state park, and several parks run by private individuals/companies.  This was my first visit to Wright Patman Lake which is right out of Maud, TX.  I was born and raised in Texas and thought I knew just about everything there is to know about Texas. But, I had no idea there was a Maud, TX. They even use Texarkana as their mailing address instead of Maud.  That should give you a hint about the town.

During the registration process, Mr. W asked the lady what there was to do around here.  Her reply was, "Absolutely nothing."  Well, that will definitely make you want to come back and stay for long periods of time.  Right?

Anyway, the park was nice, clean and the sites are very pretty.  If you like getting outdoors, hiking, and fishing, this is the place for you.  However, it was about 90 degrees with about 90% humidity so I opted to stay inside and catch up on some things that I had been putting off doing. Giving myself a pedicure, reading, taking a nap.......you get the idea.

One of the highlights of travelling is meeting new people.  Or at least that is what Mr. W tells me and on this trip he met Willie Byrd.

Willie Byrd is a disabled vet who was in the 101st Airborne in the Viet Nam war. I want to sincerely thank you Willie Byrd for your service to our country. 

Willie is from Hughes Springs, TX.  Willie says he spends 6 months out of the year at Wright Patman Lake.  As you enter the park, there is a sign that says you can spend 2 weeks max. and then you must leave for a specified amount of time before returning.  However, according to Willie, after October 1, you can stay 42 days without having to leave.  You pay nightly for your site but you do not have to pay for your electricity.  Willie must have the coming and going rules down to a science.

Mr. W is always interested in the fishing wherever there is a lake, so of course, the topic turned to fishing.  Willie lives on Lone Star Lakes in Hughes Springs.  He says there are a lot of fish in that lake.  However, the lake is owned by U.S. Steel so you really aren't suppose to eat any of the fish because the levels of mercury are so high.  Probably explains why Willie has 3 eyes and 1 ear.  JUST KIDDING!  Geez! So, Willie says every spring, he brings a cane pole, sits down on the bank of Wright Patman Lake and catches channel catfish all day long.  He even keeps a separate freezer outside his trailer to store them.  So, if you like to catfish, Wright Patman might be the place for you during the spring.

My next stop will be Queen Wilhelmina State Park in Arkansas.  But for now, here are a few pics of Malden Lake Corps of Engineers Park on Wright Patman Lake.

You can see the lake through the trees.

One of the campsites

Home

One of the hiking trails

A nice playground for kids.