Friday, October 25 – .We pulled out of Leisure Valley Ranch this morning heading North. We are on our way to Houston to sit for awhile. We'll be there through the Christmas Holidays.
We stopped about half way to Houston in Goliad, TX. An historic town filled with many Texas sites that we will be visiting and reporting on in future posts.
We are staying at Goliad State Park.
The park is located within three ecological zones and located on the San Antonio River. It serves as the hub for visiting the Mission, Espiritu Santo (located in the park), the Presidio La Bahia, the Ignacio Zaragoza Birthplace, Fannin Battleground, the Goliad Historic District and Mission Rosario.
We are in site #26, a water and electric site. Each site on the outside of our loop has a covered picnic table, fire ring and grill. It is pretty much a large gravel parking lot with sites around the outer perimeter and another group of sites in the very center. It's pretty quiet with only a half dozen campers in our area. The cost is $20 per night but unfortunately, we have to also pay admission to the park for each day. That's crazy, in our opinion. Paul has a Texas Senior Pass providing half price on admission, but Marsha has to pay the full $3 admission per day. Maybe we should hide her in the trunk and sneak her in.....LOL.
Please notice the big, empty field next to our site.
There is another camping area in the park with pull-through sites. Those sites are $25 per night.
We were joined after dark by about 30 scouts camping in the area next to us. There goes our solitude. No problems....they were well behaved and even quieted down by bed-time.
We have company….9 tents.
The park has camping, picnicking, historic sights, swimming, canoeing, fishing, hiking trails and a park store. There is also a walking/biking paved trail into the nearby town of Goliad.
After getting set up, we drove into historic Goliad to see the town and stop at the Chamber of Commerce/Visitor's Center. Goliad is a phonetic anagram of Hidalgo, the priest who became a hero during the Mexican Revolution. (The "H" is not pronounced in Spanish.) Goliad is one of the oldest municipalities in Texas.
Historic Goliad is made up of the Court House surrounded by a block of historic buildings. An excellent walking tour is available describing many of the historic buildings.
The yellow building below is the Von Dohen Building built in 1896. It housed and continues to house the Goliad Pharmacy.
You can't have a historic town in Texas without a “hanging tree.” Located on the North lawn of the courthouse, the tree was often used in the “good ole' days” of Texas to enforce law and order in a pretty wild area.
Why is Goliad called the "Birthplace of Texas Ranching?" The first great cattle ranch in Texas is said to have its beginnings at Mission Espiritu Santo which is located in Goliad State Park.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day.
Love those small Texas towns:)
ReplyDeleteWe love that area of Texas. Looks like you have a gem of a place to stay for a while.
ReplyDeleteCrazy that you have to pay a fee! and no sewer?
ReplyDeleteI would think the camping fee would cover the entrance fee. But state parks are hurting financially. Looks like a great place to visit.
ReplyDeleteWhat's with Paul's red legs? Is he wearing long johns under those shorts?
ReplyDeleteI am sure we have been through Goliad before but I can't see pictures of it in our files so I am assuming then that we have only driven through it. From reading your blog post and seeing your pictures I am thinking that next time we will have to take the time and stop there and have a better look around. Glad you had a fun time.
ReplyDeleteRuth
www.travelwithkevinandruth.com
What a quaint burg. Can never figure out why the state parks don't just add the daily fees to the daily rates...oh yeah, they want $3 for EACH person. Must discourage large families from camping at a Texas State Park. Shouldn't that be discrimination? :-D
ReplyDeleteEnjoying yourself on the road again with a few new sites , thanks for sharing with us.
ReplyDeleteWe worked camped at that state park for 2 months a few years back. Loved the area.
ReplyDeleteThe per person charge is something I hate about the Texas state parks and one reason we don't use them much.
Georgia state parks also make you pay an extra fee to enter the park, on top of the site fee. Makes no sense to me. It looks like a nice area though and I'm putting it on Pinterest for future travels.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great tour and photos. I think those Texas hanging trees are still used quite a bit aren't they?
ReplyDeleteGoliad looks like a quaint little historic town. Not sure when we will get back to TX so am enjoying seeing it again through your eyes.
ReplyDeleteGee, that is one packed State Park. Not sure I've ever seen one with so many other places included.
ReplyDeleteGood to know the Boy Scouts were quiet. That's quite a large group of tents. With school in session you knew they would have to leave by Sunday.
Goliad looks like a really neat town. What cute buildings! Great Courthouse! Good to know the hanging tree is still available if necessary!!!
Lots of history in Texas...thanks for the tour and great pictures.
ReplyDeleteWant to spend some time in Goliad sometime.
ReplyDelete