Camping is just what the doctor ordered! After being sick for almost 2 weeks in January I was in desperate need of some time spent outdoors. Luckily friends from my outdoors group organized a primitive camping trip. Winter and I packed up the car with all the essentials and headed about an hour and half north west of Houston to Brenham, Texas.
Brenham Texas
Some of you might be wondering where the heck we camped in Brenham Texas? While the city is known to be the home of Blue Bell Ice Cream, there are not any state parks in the immediate area. We camped on the private ranch owned by the family of a member of my outdoor group. A HUGE thanks to the Jones Family for opening Texian Ranch to us.
We really did just enjoy being outside on this camping trip. The weather gave us some love with temperatures in the 70’s and sun all weekend long. The weekend was spent exploring the nearly 200-acre ranch during the day – including a few run-ins with the resident cows. We also played camp games around fire and a few of us spent some time reading. Winter got to enjoy tons of attention and fetch all weekend long, even changing a few minds about the “pit bull stigma”.
Camp Food
Something I don’t talk about in detail often is camp food. Every trip is a little different, but for this trip everyone chipped in for food. We ended up eating some of the best food I have had while camping. Potato fries, veggies, spanish rice, sausage, and pork butt were on the menu for dinners. Breakfast consisted of plenty of bacon, eggs, and toast.
At every opportunity I am trying to learn and expand on my “outdoor” knowledge. On this trip we minimized the use of our Coleman camp stoves, primarily cooking over the fire. A first for me was manning the dutch oven and coals over 4 hours to cook the pork – which made an amazing pulled pork at the end. An entire blog about my camp kitchen essentials will be coming soon!
Things to do
Brenham, Texas and the surrounding area are deep-seeded with Texas History. Washington on the Brazos State Historic Site is a short 20-minute drive from Brenham, near Navasota Texas. Located along the Brazos River, this site is the location of the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836. Today the historic site features the Star of Republic Museum, Independence Hall and Barrington Living History Farm which hosts various Living History events throughout the year.
A local outdoor event that is always a huge attraction is the Bluebonnet Festival of Texas located in Chappell Hill, Texas. In 2020 the Festival is taking place April 18th and 19th showcasing hundreds of local vendors, music, and of course – Bluebonnet Fields.
Leave No Trace
This is so important when camping, for the environment and also to prevent wildlife from coming into campsites for food. Luckily, on this private ranch there were no bears to worry about. There are plenty of raccoons, coyotes, opossums, and skunks who could get into the trash. It is really important to clean up after every meal and never leave food or trash out overnight.
When camping with dogs, who have nature as their restroom, make sure they are not relieving themselves in the campsite. This will attract other animals, and also can cause less than desirable smells. Always make sure to bring plenty of baggies to clean up after them. Check out my series on Camping with Dogs here!
Using a refillable and reusable water bottle or bladder instead of using a plastic bottle from the convenience store is a must.
Check out more camping posts on the outdoor page! PLUS more to do in and around Houston on the Houston page!
another great article em.