Sunday January 27 through Wednesday January 30, 2019
Sunday, not wanting to arrive at Lake Casa Blanca International State park too early, we left the San Antonio KOA just before the 11:00 AM checkout time. That way, the two to three hour drive to the state park in Laredo would put our arrival time just before 2:00 PM, the official earliest arrival time for Texas State Parks.
The sewer sites were not reservable at the time we made reservations. However, when we arrived, Linda asked for a sewer site and we got one. Looking around, there were plenty of available sewer sites the entire time we were there.
Winters in Laredo are milder than San Antonio but maybe not as mild as the RGV (Rio Grande Valley). RGV in January is generally full of Winter Texans however Laredo was not even though they aren’t that far apart.
Springtime comes early in Texas. Stands of wildflowers were in bloom.
Lake Casablanca International State Park is an urban lake park meaning the park is literally surrounded by Laredo and on a lake allowing power boats. Fortunately, we weren’t at the park over a weekend. There were hordes of day use people at the park Sunday afternoon picnicking but they left before sunset. January weekdays weren’t busy at all.
The park must have heavy usage during certain times of the year. All infrastructure like electric meters, electric transformers and sewer pumps were surrounded by tall chain link fencing. In some bathrooms, toilets and showers were out of commission. Other bathrooms were severely worn down. Tile was chipped and broken. Cement floors were pitted and rough.
Others than a few egrets, no other wildlife was seen. Not surprising given the urban location. From the hill above the campground, we could see the University across the lake. We could also see commercial aircraft landing at the nearby airport.
This is a good park to stay in when passing through. Laredo is large enough to have the big stores at the same time it is small enough to easily get around. We used our time in Laredo to do laundry and stock up on groceries for the next week of our journey through Big Bend.
Hope to see you on the road ahead!