Wednesday, April 25, 2012

IPhone is My Co-Pilot

iPhone promoted free applications in honor of Earth Day last weekend and several of them are definitely worth a download for campers / glampers.  The most exciting one for camping is "Oh Ranger".  This fabulous little application provides you with a quick reference to campgrounds around the country and includes a comprehensive summary of perks specific to each park.   

Screen shot of the front page and one of the search option pages

 It's a great resource whether you are already on the road are just planning a trip.   This is a great application and definitely a five star rating across the board.

Here's a view of a park summary
A shout out to Ford for sponsoring this application.  Many of our parks around the country are challenged with budget constraints and it is nice to see Ford stepping up to the plate to support our parks in this way.  This is a great application to plan your family summer camping vacation with tools to assist in mapping the route, planning what to do when you get to the destination and even plotting your next adventure down the road.

More applications to come...


Thursday, April 19, 2012

Glamper Review of Inks Lake State Park

Inks Lake State Park


Campsites -

  

Nice campsites with great views of the lake and spaced out for privacy.   

Ease in Access-

Relatively easy to park a motorhome (although I did hit a tree on my second trip there).  Trails are close to the camping area.

Hiking-

Lots of great trails with various degrees of difficulty.  Everything from rock climbing to a casual park road stroll.

Swimming-

Roped area for lake swimming but most of the action is at Devil's Hole where spectators float in the water and watch divers jump from rock cliffs into the water. If you hike to the higher ground above the lake, there are clear water streams and waterfalls - truly beautiful.

Devil's Hole

Bathrooms/Showers-

There are bathroom/shower houses throughout the park. They are kept in pristine condition. If you need more privacy, several of the areas have private locked showers vs. the dorm style.  In the winter the bathrooms are heated.

Park Personnel-

Some of the best employees ever. They work hard and truly seem to love working at the park. 

Fellow Glampers-

Friendly environment with a good mix of happy glampers - everything from the fancy super coaches to the college students in tents. Lots of nice folks always ready to lend a hand if needed.

Activities-

In addition to the general activities (hiking, swimming, etc.), you can rent canoes, kayaks and paddle boats. There is a great park store with food, fishing stuff and camping supplies - a lifesaver for those of us who forget at least two critical items we need. They also have cabins for rent if you don't have a camper or tent. 

Overall-

Just an all around great place to spend a weekend or more. I'm tempted to say something bad about the place just because it is already hard to get a spot there but I can't.

Link to Directions

Link to Inks Lake area

 3630 Park Road 4 West
Burnet TX 78611
512/793-2223