Vacation 2009

Devil’s River and Lake Amistad, and lots of fun. It took us about 6 hours road time. Of course we went through Andrews on the way, because we had to stop and let George read the meter on his rental property. We think going through San Angelo will be quicker. It was not a bad drive though.

We would be down for a little over a week here at Lake Amistad and the place my in-laws have on the Devil’s river. George’s friend, and now our friend, Tommy, was kind enough to go over and unlock the water and turn on the AC for us before we got there. Which made the trailer nice and cool compared to the average 108 degree temperature it was outside.

We unloaded the cars, which were full of groceries, clothes, cameras, and a guitar. Most everything you could ever even think of needing is already here…including some things you would never think of. That is how my father-in-law is. I think he used to be a boy scout or something. LOL I always tell my friends, if he has one of them…then he probably has three.

George gave me the complete tour. Where the spare keys were hidden, where to turn stuff on and off at. Then we took a tour of the Devil Shores site. We ended up down at Tommy’s place. Tommy has had a place a few years longer than George down here. He and his wife now stay here year round, which must be nice.

Tommy was a good fellow. We talked about how it is down here, who to trust and who not to save if there boat was sinking. LOL. As I was leaving I noticed he had been in the 25th infantry, and was a Freemason. I of course respected that, and him, even more. George assured me if I was ever down here and needed anything, Tommy would be glad to help out.

I hooked up the Direct TV and helped George get things all tuned on while Jace cleaned up the place a bit. She had a Betty Jo moment as I like to call it. LOL George told me about the “Bud Trips” he used to host annually with guys from work – showed me the trophies and plaques, flyers, rules, and told some good stories.

While out looking at the fish cleaning place he has set up and the out door shower we smelt something dead. We found a little fawn had died between the outdoor freezer and the fish cleaning sink table. It was a rough smell in the heat.

Anyway, after unloading and setting things up, we pulled the fishing boat out of the shop and made sure it would start with out any trouble – fired right up. We did a check for gas, and made sure the registration and all was updated. Then we had Jace take us to Rough canyon ramp to drop it in the lake. George and I went up river toward Devil Shores (where the trailer is). We asked her to pick us up around 9PM.

We did a little fishing, and it was hot. July is not prime fishing time anywhere in this part of the country, especially while the sun is still up. We had a couple bites, and then the Game Warden pulled up. George messed with them a little and said “I am not showing you my license, my launch permit, nothing!” The lady game warden said, “well, climb over here in this boat then.” to which I jokingly replied, finally I can do some fishing!”. We talked a little and they checked our license – we were all good. They told us the level was up a bit in the river and lake, and that the fishing had slowed down a bit due to the heat. We agreed. Then, in the words of the lady warden, they let us get back to “bonding and telling lies”.

Not soon after they left I caught a small mouth keeper. I looked him over real good and turned him loose. I caught him on a blaze orange rattle trap. He fought like he was a 20 pounder. I love catching those small mouths in rivers!

George told me he had not seen many small mouth this far up the river. We both agreed that he had now. We fished our way back up the river and met with Jace at the ramp at Devil’ Shores. This ramp is now used only for emergencies. Although you can park your boat down there and then leave your car or the golf cart there while you hit the river. So, it makes it easier.

We came in and ate our supper and then everyone showered and went to bed. Jace was upset that she could not take a shower outside, because of the fawn…or the smell. I promised to get it out of there in the morning. We went to sleep.

The next morning George and I went fishing. I caught another small mouth up at Indian Springs…right where the springs feed into the river. George gave me the river tour too. So we did not fish too hard. We ad promised to be back by lunch, so we showed back up around 11:00. Jace had lunch ready and the kids were getting read to go swimming. George and I got the big boat ready to take out on the water. Then we all loaded up. George, Debbie, and I in the car…and the kids and Jace in the boat. We drove down to the Rough Canyon ramp again about 5 miles from where we are. Put in, and Jace drove the car and trailer back to the camp. We took the boat up the river and picked her up and the Devil Shores ramp. Kaden got rather mad at his PawPaw for driving too fast. He said “Pawpaw is scarey and he drives too fast. He is a booty!”. He was seriously mad at him. He said “Momma and Daddy are my best friends in the world.” LOL Made me a Jace happy anyway. He was wanting out, but we talked him into staying by telling him we were about to go swimming.

George took us up to Slaughter slew…which is probably a canyon down here, but I use the term slew. LOL We tied the boat off and swam. It was really nice cool clear water. The kids had fun, and Jace and I too. George and Debbie did not swim, but sat in the boat which has a cover and laughed and took pictures of us. Kade loves to swim, he is not at the least afraid of water. Then we loaded up and headed in. Again, we just docked down at Devil Shores ramp.

Jace had a briskett on all day, and we had it along with all the fixings for supper. Jace went fishing with me, but did not fish because she did not have a license. I ended up breaking a rod, don’t know how but it had a broke tip. I got mad of cousre, and snapped the rod into. LOL Made me feel better. I rigged up another and fished away. We did not catch anything, but had a good time. The river is very scenic, even if your not catching fish.

Next day – George, Jace, the kids and I loaded up for a little road trip around the area. Debbie decided to stay at home. We went down to the damn, and took pictures of the international border. The boarder patrol was firing rifles off at the firing range. Sounded like a big one…and was a little weird. Your at the boarder, walking around on a bridge with no where to go and booom!!!!. We flinched almost everytime. LOL We went on to Seminol Canyon where the indians of their time lived. They made a bunch of drawings on the walls of the canyon and all. We did not get to go into the canyon because they have to go with you. To make sure nothing gets disturbed, and the tour was over for the day. Our luck. So we looked at the museum and all. Then we headed up to the “high bridge”. Tallest bridge in Texas. It was a really nice area. We stopped in Comstock for a coke and a snack at a local store. Then it was on to Del Rio to stop by Wal-Mart and get our phone messages. No signal down at the camp site – unless you drive up the hill and hold your mouth just right. LOL

We learned that there are some areas down here you can hunt for $20.00/year. Federal land and it is archery only, which is fine. I might try it one year. It would be really nice to hunt, fish and have a place to chill. OF course, you could always knock one of the deer walking around the camp in the head with a hammer and fill the freezer – they just don’t really …uhh…allow you too. LOL

Jace got her license the next day and went fishing with me in the mornings and evenings. I think I wore George out in the heat trying to fish. LOL I’ll have to come back for some perch jerking! He and Tommy are rigged up for it and even my friend Mark says it is fun as all get out. Tilapia is the african perch they catch down here. They wait until it is cold, go to one of the springs, and jerk them out of there!

We started an old tradition back up, the calendar entries. They used to make entries on the calendar each day of what happened. So I said lets start it back up then. We even pulled out the old calenders and read all of them. All the way back to 1983 I think. It looks like there has been a lot of good friends, good times, and good memories down here over the years. I hope to be able to make a few more.

Today is the 16th, and I decided to rest for a bit while the kids were swimming in there little pool at the trailer. I thought I would start a post of what all we did while we were down here, that way I could just cut and paste it to the blog when we get back home. Jace is cleaning dishes which makes me want to make note of a dishwasher in the new place we talked about building – after knock this one down and all. Don’t get me wrong, this is fine, but Jace and I talked about making it a bit bigger while fishing. I know George had a lot of plans for it, but things happen in life and he did a lot with the place. Read the old calendars for the proof.

We will be leaving here Friday morning, and I can’t wait to come back for some work and fun on and at this place. I have some ideas I want to put in the mix. LOL

Great time, with great people, great place, and made some great memories!

So for some reason WordPress is screwed up and won’t let me put in pictures and video so – here are some links:

Pictures are here http://picasaweb.google.com/jclark845/Vacation2009?feat=directlink

Video will be here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEHKJFgYopM