Get Ready. Set. Wait, go back.

Let's see, in order to do this blog right, I think I need to introduce the players. As of right now, it is me, Erin, and my fiance Reed. I am such a grateful and lucky person to have found someone who appreciates and enjoys the same things I do in life. If it weren't for Reed I can honestly say none of this would be possible.
So, now that you know who we are, let's start on our first adventure to the first Texas State Park on our list: Lake Mineral Wells.
Now, I should preface this by saying that this trip was very last-minute and almost didn't happen. To make a long story short, we ended up visiting my grandmother in the hospital during most of Saturday instead of hiking the rocks at Lake Mineral Wells. 
But, as we headed out of Fort Worth back to Weatherford, we decided to stop at Academy and buy all of our supplies - er, well most of them.
Some two hundred dollars later and a car full of items - including a new Coleman tent, two chairs, a cooler, three battery-powered lanterns, lighter fluid, a lighter, etc. - we headed out. And, although I may enjoy the outdoors, I am still a woman with an amazing sense of style so, I made sure the cooler and the tent matched and got myself one startling hot-pink chair. Guess if we decided to hunt later this year I'll be trading it in for some camoflauge.
Our next stop was Wal-mart for groceries. After filling the cart with lunch meat, snacks, a tote for storage, gatorade and a brand new bathing suit that I earned after batting my eyelashes like a four-year-old, we headed out again. In the parking lot we rearranged and packed the tote as best we could and filled the cooler. 
Last stop - my place to pick up our clothes. Well, it was supposed to be anyways.
On the way out of town we stopped at Brookshire's. I wasn't in on Reed's plan and stayed in the car. When he exited, I saw two more bags of groceries, this time toting some amazing-looking steaks and the necessary silverware.
Finally, we were on our way to the park!
Setting up camp was a breeze - I have to say I am in constant admiration of how well Reed and I work together as a team. No bickering and we are always willing to listen to the other's thoughts and opinions. Thank goodness I was a girl scout because I know my way around setting up a tent and it went quickly - that's not to say I did it on my own, Reed definitely lent a hand in the process. But I am more thankful that he is a good cook - if it had been up to me I probably would have survived on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for two days.
As I was unfurling sleeping bags and setting up our quaint little tent, I realized there was only one pillow in the car. Oops.
I was really needing that pillow. Darn. 
So, we loaded up again and headed to Wal-Mart, again. And then, for the third time, with a pillow, a new (pink) fishing pole for me, corn, potatoes and a pocket knife and foil. We were off for the third time.
Later that night I realized I had only forgotten one more thing - a toothbrush. Ew, how gross.
Thankfully there was an entire pack of gum in Reed's car. Although it didn't suffice the disgusting feeling, it at least tempered it until I got home.
After running all over the west-o-plex we were finally able to settle down and eat and then go fishing. Although I have to admit the heat had begun to get to my little head by the time we were on the banks of the lake. But that's for another blog tomorrow.

A dream come true

What would you do if you won the lottery? Come on, you know the answer to that loaded question. Maybe you haven't ever admitted to your friends or relatives, or even your spouse, what you would sincerely do with that money, but deep down you know the answer.
While most of us answer something like "Buy a mansion..." or "Quit my job..." we know that neither of those would actually be fulfilling, no matter how many millions of dollars we may have just had fall into our lap by sheer luck. So...I'm waiting...what would you do if you won the lottery? Let me give you a hint - it should be that thing you are great at. You know the one thing in this world that stirs a passion deep within you that you finally get that fulfillment you have been searching the globe for. Got it? Alright, good.
Finding what you are passionate about in life isn't ever easy, but I have a lot to be thankful for because I found two of my loves at fairly young ages in life. Of course, it took being a grown up and realizing that I wish I could be nine years old to comprehend what those loves were. 
First, I love the outdoors. And I mean love them. When I say I wish I could be nine years old again, I mean it. I think about the camping trips I took as a young Girl Scout - sometimes jumping as I stepped too close to a snake or giggling into the wee hours of the night under a star-lit Texas sky. I think about my family's lake lot at Lake Fork - the smell of the buildings that my father and grandfather built by hand, the swing in the giant tree that overlooked our dock and, most of all, my curiosity for all things wild, mainly a sick turtle that I was so fond of, although I was never allowed to touch it.
Second, I love to write. I discovered this love, and a tiny bit of my talent as a sophomore in high school when a short story I wrote for English class awed my peers. The teacher did not appreciate the piece near as much as my classmates, but the small interest that my story drew led me to enroll in a creative writing class my senior year, where I awed, and appalled, again. As a sophomore in college, writing once again came to the forefront. I realized quickly that a career in the veterinary industry was not cut out for me. As I said earlier, I love all things wild, but I would prefer to continue my appreciation for them on a friendly level. So, with several hours of agriculture under my belt, I did a 180 in college and switched my major to communications - journalism and public relations to be exact. It was my very last semester when I realized how fulfilling writing actually was for me. Several years, and several awards later, I was on the fast-track to becoming a hot-shot in a small Fort Worth suburb at a community newspaper, where the residents touched me as much as my stories touched them.
In 2010 I returned to graduate school and stopped writing, well everything except term papers that is. And I realized something - I miss it. I miss it terribly.
So I decided to write again - and then I got writer's block. 
"I know I need to write," I thought to myself. "But what do I write about."
I could write the great American novel...but that might take the rest of my life.
I could write about being a single girl....but we already have Sex and the City.
But in the end, it all came back to the question I asked at the beginning of this blog - If you won the lottery what would you do?
Well, I know the answer to that - that's easy: I would travel to all of the state parks in Texas and write about them.
Welcome the birth of Texas Tails & Trails - a blog about everything wild in Texas. 
Some of you will be delighted to know, and others may groan, that I have no time frame for finishing this project. The good news is that as long as I am able to travel and learn about Texas I can blog about it.
My goal is to blog a minimum of three times a week, but strive for five times. I will cover everything from wild animals to camping and cooking tips and activities that take place in Texas State Parks. 
This blog is truly a dream come true for me. I am looking to my adventure, or should I say adventures, and I hope you, my reader are too. Please feel free to leave comments and even make suggestions on which park I should visit next!
Thank you...and happy trails.