Sunday March 14, 2010-Stephen F. Austin SP

We woke this morning to warmer temperatures, and of course, two boys spread out all over the living room. I'm sure that they are more comfortable in the nice air bed that was included in the pull out bed in the sofa, but they didn't take as much room when they slept on pallets on the floor of the old trailer. I can tell they are sleeping better by the snores from both of them. They are PePaw's boys...

The park guests started at 8 o'clock this morning with requests for ice, a lot earlier than usual. I was up and dressed, so it really didn't matter. I stayed busy all day with orders for ice and firewood. I heard on the radio that Tom, the park host that is in the tent/shelter area ran out of firewood and had to go get more. I would also like to take this time to remind anyone coming here or to another state park to beware of snakes! They are coming out of winter hibernation and are very active right now. One of the rangers found one when he was loading firewood for Tom that was all coiled up and ready to strike if he had taken another step. They have a catch and release policy here, so the snake was released to the wild. I'm sorry but if I can tell its a poisonous snake, it's a dead snake. I'm deathly afraid of snakes anyway, so just knowing it was venomous makes me nervous.

Stella made us french toast for breakfast this morning. It was nice to sit outside at the table to eat with the boys. This weather is spectacular! Bright sunny days without a cloud in the sky and warm temperatures. It got to almost 80 degrees today, so shorts were in order.

I had talked to park ranger Larry last night and he had asked if we would be able to come help him clean the group area today. There was one group that was leaving on Sunday and another coming in later that day. I told him that we could help, so he called us to come over. We had just finished breakfast, so the boys and I went over. Cameron rode his bike and I walked. Stella drove our golf cart and Tyler rode with her. When we got there, the boys and I were assigned to sweep and mop the dining hall, which we got done soon. Many hands make light work. A couple of the other rangers had also showed up to help, but by then there were so many people working, there was really no room for them. We got through in about 30 minutes and Ben, the park's environmental ranger invited Tyler and Cameron to go on a nature walk with him this afternoon.

The boys enjoyed their walk with Ben and learned to pick out poison ivy and other nasty plants that are found here in this park. It was a good thing because later in the afternoon, Cam threw the Frisbee out into some high grass behind our site and knew there wasn't any poison ivy around where he had to go to get the it. They didn't see any snakes and I wish they had so they would know what to look for. I talked to a man and his two boys later that saw some moccasins while they were fishing.

I continued to sell ice and firewood all afternoon. We ate supper outside and sat around relaxing. The boys wanted a fire, so I lit a small fire in our firepit. We sat around it, enjoying the warmth and colors when A.D. and Dee came by to visit. He had come down to sell some firewood and stopped by for a bit. We had a nice chat with them and turned in about 8:30. Today was the first day of Daylight Savings Time and it seemed to make a lot of difference in the evening. It was light until almost 8, and I know the days will just continue to get longer.

So long.