OUR SITUATION:
We have a reservation for our usual space at Bastrop State Park for PBF for March 26-29, 2009. The State park system has notified us that they may – or may not – be doing construction there during that time. They will not be able to give us any more information until January 2009 at the soonest, and so they cannot guarantee that we will be able to use the site.
OUR OPTIONS:
We have found no other State parks within 2 hours of Austin with comparable facilities at comparable prices that are available next spring. We have found 2 private camps that can work for us if we’re willing to hold PBF at a Girl Scout camp. It is possible we could find a private campground (like KOA) that has sufficient cabins and beds for 75-100 people, but right now, time is running out and we haven’t found one so far. If we’re not willing to use the GS camps, we can just keep the reservation at Bastrop and PBF will happen in 2009 only if there is no construction. For more info on what we’ve considered so far, go to
MAKING A DECISION:
Our inclination is to reserve Camp Texlake for the weekend of May 8th, which also happens to be Mother’s Day weekend (which is why it’s available), but keep the reservation at Bastrop and wait to see what happens with that. Effi and Benji prefer Bastrop (if it’s available) because it’s familiar, there aren’t problems with cooking facilities, and because holding PBF at a Girl Scout camp makes them a little uncomfortable. Lauren’s first choice is Texlake because of the date (more certainty, more time to get ready for PBF, nicer weather), more personal privacy, and the nicer facilities. There’s a lot of merit in each viewpoint.
We need feedback from you on preferences for dates and sites for PBF 2009. For all of our locations, we can have dates that include an afternoon/evening on the first day, plus 3 full days of workshops and activities, through 5 or 6 pm on the last day. We have set up a poll here:
We will keep the poll open until SATURDAY, NOV. 22. To help you make a decision, there are photos of Camp Kachina and Camp Texlake here:
CAMP TEXLAKE Camp Texlake has beautiful facilities in very good condition. They have 2 brand new lodges that have both heat and A/C and have beds for a total of 96 people. The lodges are arranged in 2 Ls around a grassy quad. Each lodge has 6 bedrooms on each of 2 wings, a large, clean, modern bathroom in each wing, and a large common room with kitchenette, eating tables and sitting area in the middle where the 2 wings meet. The bedrooms sleep 4 people each in one bunk bed and 2 single beds. They can be pushed together. If there are people who really want to camp, we would have to reserve separate campsites for tents. There are lots more accommodations available, including tent pad sites, screened shelters, and cabins with or without A/C and heat. So there is room to grow. We would rent their old dining hall, which gives us the use of the commercial-grade kitchen, except for the stoves due to liability issues. We can set up a line of propane stoves and grills for cooking and people have volunteered to organize this.
If we do Texlake, one lodge would be designated as family friendly, with all the families with children located together on one wing. The entire other lodge would sleep adults only, with the common areas possibly being used for PBF activities during the daytime. Because there’s lots of privacy available, and it is a GS camp, the rule on adult activities would be that you can always do whatever you want in the privacy of your own bedroom. It’s none of anyone else’s business what you do there at any time. Everywhere else, behave as you would in public, because that’s where you are, just like at Bastrop. Cuddling is always good anywhere. We can take a vote on what people want to allow in the common areas of the adult lodge at night when the common areas aren’t needed for workshops, etc.
Camp Texlake is located on Lake Travis just north of Pace Bend Park in Spicewood. It took 40 minutes to drive from there to South Austin (MoPac at Hwy 290/71). Cost is roughly equal to Bastrop, but less if you take into account the daily use fee there ($4 per person per day).
CAMP KACHINA
If we go to Camp Kachina, we would need to reserve the entire camp. (roughly the same price as renting Bastrop or the lodges at Texlake). There are enough fully enclosed lodges to sleep most of our people in 4 separate buildings, along with screened shelters that have beds and nearby restrooms, as well as camp sites for tent camping. The lodges are close enough together that we wouldn’t be too spread out, but not right next to each other. Lodges would be designated similar to the barracks at Bastrop. Not all the lodges have heat and A/C, and the camp is in generally poor condition. (renovations are planned) We’d be able to eat in the dining hall, but not use the kitchen at all, so we’d have to keep meals very simple or use some kind of take-out or catering option from local restaurants (there’s a bbq place down the street that was OK). Our evaluation is that it would do if there was nothing else available, but we all liked Bastrop better.
Camp Kachina is located in Belton (near Temple), 45 minutes north of Georgetown off I-35.