Bonham State Park (TX)

Thirty-two azimuth miles northwest from the Cooper Lake South Sulfur Unit lies Bonham State Park.  During our exploration of the communities around Cooper Lake, we discovered that the most direct route to Bonham SP was not necessarily the most maintained.  In the interest of having intact dishes and glassware upon arrival at Bonham, we chose to take a route that ended up being over 50-miles.  Still…fifty miles on a “travel day” was a breeze, and we arrived at the park well-rested and stress-free.

Bonham State Park is an intimate little jewel in the Texas Parks system, with a tiny footprint (as far as state parks go) of 261-acres.  The park had less than 20 RV sites with partial hook-ups, and in the winter they scale back to 14.  The baker’s dozen +1 are all closely situated in a small gravel oval pad that sits adjacent to the parks modest-sized 61-acre lake.  The history of the park—as well as the history of several Texas state parks—is rooted in the Civilian Conservation Corps.  As part of “The New Deal” program, this park—as well as other parks, highways and various public infrastructure—were constructed by young, unemployed males.  The history of the Civilian Conservation Corps is fascinating; and the work performed is a gifted legacy to our prodigy.   

Kristy & The Boys pose atop one of the many legacy structures crafted by the Civilian Conservation Corps

The park is sits 5-minutes south of the town of Bonham, named after James Butler Bonham (not John Henry Bonham of Led Zeppelin) who was mortally wounded defending The Alamo.  The town is similar to other small towns we’ve visited, with a deep history of better days and a struggling desire to keep-up with an ever-changing world.  Track-side stations—once flourishing with agrarian commerce—have been reutilized as mercantile shops with a throw-back appeal.  The town square—a symbolic pillar of most county seats—shows the wear and aging that accompany declining revenue.

Although this park is a under one-half square mile, it has an extensive walking/hiking trail system, as well as a very technical mountain bike system.  There seems to be an on-going project to expand the mountain biking trail system, as single-track routes bombardering through narrow glades of salt cedar can be discovered throughout the main trail system.  

The group camping sites are an amazing display of natural utilitarian design.  In various secluded spots within the park, small campsites comprised of natural stone couches and chairs encircle a focal point of either a rock table or fire pit.  It is rather surprising to be walking through the dense cedar thickets and come upon a clearing that looks so natural and inviting. 

An intimate place to gather under the vast Texas sky

The wildlife within this small parcel of land is respectable.  Sunrise would bring the daily regimen of Canadian geese on the lake, squirrels and rabbits in the nearby thickets, and at least 100 vultures—who take flight from one of the taller cottonwoods at the end of the lake.  On a few occasions we discovered what looked to be bobcat trails, and actually did flush out a coyote mid-day.  The deer population was easily observed moving across the park boundaries onto the adjacent farmland.  With aged boundary markers of 3-strand barbed-wire in disrepair, the deer could safely bed-down inside the park during the day, and browse the adjacent pastureland as twilight set in.

While getting quite accustomed to the warm Texas weather, something very unexpected happened…it started to snow.

It snowed.  Then it snowed again.  Just a week earlier we were sitting in shorts by Cooper Lake and basking in the much sought-after warm Texas weather.  Temperatures dropped below freezing, and the wet snow turned to a crusty ice sheet.  The RV pads were at the bottom of a fairly steep incline—and without tire chains, Hank would never be able to pull Glory up that hill.  We were kinda stuck.  Two days later it warmed enough to melt the snow/ice on the semi-circular pad.  When all was said-and-done, we experienced more snow in Texas than we had all of the prior states...combined!!!

"By-Tor and the Snow DogSquare for battle, let the fray begin."  - Rush; By-Tor and the Snow Dog

Never one to let a good snowfall go to waste, we took the unexpected weather in stride and reacquainted ourselves with Winter's Harvest.  First order of business was snowballs...

The Boys playing catch & fetch with an unlimited supply of snowballs

...followed by the age-old tradition of making snow angels.




Our current trajectory was designed to route us across North Texas and into New Mexico and Arizona.  The weather forecast was bleak.  A large snowstorm was advancing across West Texas, and was projected to drop up to a foot of snow between us and New Mexico.  We couldn’t travel west…at least not right now.  It would be too risky to get into a remote stretch of West Texas and get trapped in a snowstorm.  

The forecast grew worse.  That same system was projected to bring heavy ice, sleet, and snow to North Texas…including Bonham.  If we stayed here, we’d be stuck…again.  It would certainly be a challenge to get the RV up a steep incline with an inch of ice on the road.  With the western route a no-go; and the northern route looking like the western route, our choices were limited: go eastward from where we just left, or go South. 

We prepared The Rig for another move, fueled Hank, and charted our course away from the impending storm.

"Hank" and the "natural clear-coat"

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