About a mile from the campground, along the clear, cold (very cold) waters of Spring Creek, down a winding dirt trail, under US-97 and across a pine wood bridge is the Collier Logging Museum. The museum is a self-guided series of exhibits that follow chronologically the development of tools and techniques for the giant logging operations that fueled economic growth in the West and across the U.S. None of us felt a particular affinity for or interest in logging, but the outdoor museum, shaded beneath the tall and gently swaying ponderosa pines, gave everybody a chance to explore at their own pace.

The very essence of logging is machinery triumphing over nature and so the exhibits were anchored with a lot of hulking, rusting and diesel trucks, rail cars, lifts, cranes and tractors. The two park guides who alternated between roaming the grounds and sitting in the shade knitting, were native Californians who had moved to San Antonio 15 years prior. They worked the museum during the summer to avoid the Texas heat. Inside the museum was an considerable collection of unusual chainsaws and a kids play area, where the kids, well, played.

We returned to the campground for dinner and a very dusty “Kids vs. Parents” Wiffle Ball game in which the parents were – not surprisingly -beaten. Four of the five boys chose to ‘clean up’ by jumping in the creek (the temperature of the water was around 40 degrees) rather than with a warm shower. The sheer novelty of it was too attractive to pass up. They shivered and laughed, jumped in and hopped out howling, teeth chattering, only to jump back in and start the process over again. They stopped only when they couldn’t feel their feet.

It was our final night with Brett, Stacey and their family before they headed back to California. Needless to say, we set out a considerable feast 0f sloppy joes, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and hot dogs and a final movie night, “Smokey and the Bandit.”