Settling into Texas Gold

January 16, 2025

Settling into Texas Gold: A Week of Hard Work and Hidden Treasures

Last month, we packed up our fifth wheel and rolled into Texas Gold, a peaceful RV park nestled near Palestine. The move marked the start of an exciting new chapter for our family, one that came with a big project: preparing our land for a future foundation. Little did we know, this week would be filled with sweat, surprises, and a special visit from a friend.

Enter Dave, a buddy from Tucson who runs a land clearing company. He’d planned to swing by to offer some guidance on our project, but one look at the job ahead, and he decided to stick around for a full week. With his expertise and a backhoe in tow, Dave became our MVP. My son, Collier, and I teamed up with him, diving into the work from sunup to sundown. Our mission? Clear the land, remove stubborn tree stumps, and get the ground graded for what’s to come.

The days were long and intense. Collier and I tackled the stumps, prying them out one by one, while Dave worked his magic on the backhoe, shaping the land with precision. Each evening, we’d gather around a fire, burning the day’s haul of stumps and swapping stories under the Texas stars. The work was grueling, but the camaraderie kept us going.

As we cleared the land, we stumbled across unexpected treasures buried in the dirt. Old handmade red bricks, weathered but full of character, hinted at the history of this place. We also uncovered fragments of antique glassware, their delicate shapes sparking our curiosity about who might’ve lived here long ago. Each find felt like a small gift from the land, a reminder of the stories beneath our feet.

By the end of the week, we’d transformed the plot. The stumps were gone, the ground was graded, and we’d unearthed a bit of history in the process. Dave’s generosity, Collier’s grit, and those long days together turned a daunting task into a memory we’ll carry forward. Texas Gold isn’t just an RV park for us now—it’s the starting point of something we’re building, one stump, one brick, one day at a time.

Here’s to new beginnings and the friends who help make them happen.