“After the divorce, I decided that our house was going to be way too big for my family in a couple years. My kids were going to be out, and it would be this five-bedroom home with just me. We talked about selling it right then, but decided to hang on to it a few more years.

“I didn’t have a grand plan for what I would do or where I would go. But I did love the Hill Country, and always dreamed of living there. I’m big into nature. Before I became a teacher, I worked for environmental agencies and nonprofits. So I wanted to be where I had easier access to state parks and stuff that I really love.

“When my boyfriend, Eric Anderson, and I started dating, that was something we had in common. We talked about moving in this direction once our kids were a little older.

“Then I heard about an opening in Dripping Springs ISD, and I was offered a position at the middle school doing yearbook. When I got the job, Eric suggested that we look for an RV park and buy an RV. Since I love camping and being outdoors, that sounded great. So I came up here and went to like 12 different RV parks, and I found this beautiful little place. The way it’s laid out reminds me of a state park.

“I love that I now spend so much more time out in nature. With a small space, you live very minimalistically, and you don’t stay inside a lot. You get out. You go hiking. We cook our meals, and bring them outside to eat. We set up a projector outside for movie nights.

“I used to get the itch to go camping all the time. I’d watch the weather and try to plan things, so I could pack my stuff quickly and go on weekends. But I don’t feel the urge to do that so often now because I live only 15 minutes from Pedernales Falls State Park. If I want to go, I just go.

“It was difficult to part with the house. It was in the family so many years. It’s where I grew up and my kids grew up. But it was time for a change for us and for the kids. We wanted to shake things up, get them out of their comfort zone, and be a model for taking risks and trying new things. We just love it.”

— Laurie Adcox Haffelfinger

Both of their daughters moved into the same RV park, living in their own places. “We’re all right there in a little triangle together.”

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Before our coronavirus staycation began in earnest, me and the Mrs. escaped for a quick trip east of our Baytown home to check out a few of our favorite things. In one day we hit up Sea Rim State Park in Sabine Pass, Village Creek State Park in Lumberton, and Big Thicket National Preserve in Kountze. As you might have guessed, we were pretty tired by nightfall. But all that hiking was worth it. Not only to help celebrate her birthday, but to enjoy lots of fresh air, nature and peacefulness in the midst of this weird moment in time.

At Sea Rim, we had the beach all to ourselves. At Village Creek, it was just us and the trees. By the time we made it to the Big Thicket, we were worn out, so we didn’t stay long. But the next morning, with a little more pep in our step, we stopped by Beaumont Botanical Gardens to view the beautiful scenery.

All in all, it was a nice getaway before returning home to hunker down for who knows how long.

What have you been up to during the coronavirus pandemic? What activities are helping to take your mind off the situation — for a little while, at least? If you care to share, use the message feature on The Baytown Project’s Facebook or Instagram page to submit a photo and a few thoughts. Or you can email baytownproject@gmail.com. I’d love to share your story with others.

— David Berkowitz

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“My heart has always been kind of connected to nature. I grew up in Van Horn out in far West Texas. You could walk outdoors, and there would be mountains and wildlife everywhere. I used to be out in the woods all the time, fishing, hunting and things like that. And I always kept it clean, or at least better than it was when I showed up.

“I feel the same here. Jenkins Park is like my home away from home. This is such a beautiful place. When I would come out here to walk and ride my bike, I would see all this trash on the ground. I guess it’s just careless people throwing it everywhere.

“So I told myself, if I’m going to come here and enjoy the park, I may as well do my part to pick it up a little bit; try to show a little respect. I work a four-on, four-off schedule at an oil terminal in Channelview. On my days off, you’ll probably find me here picking this stuff up. Maybe I watched too much Captain Planet as a kid. But you’ve got to do something, right?”

— Tim Kuykendall

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“I’ve always really loved nature, and especially animals. That’s been a fascination for me. My dad goes canoeing and he likes the outdoors. So I was exposed to that, even if it was just a little bit at a time. And we had pets growing up. I loved our cats. I loved seeing animals at the zoo. To be honest, I’m not always that great with people. But I feel really comfortable being outside, being in nature.

“I’d really like to do research because I love learning more about animals and how they interact with each other and with the environment. I like wild animals because they’re connected to all of these systems that are so interesting to me. I’d love to contribute to scientific knowledge about wild animals, and I’d love to maybe even do something that would help preserve habitats for them or help preserve the environment for people.

“I became a Texas Master Naturalist during my first semester of college. Going through that program really expanded my knowledge of what was going on locally and connected me to so many other people who are passionate about nature. So I’ve been doing a lot more volunteering since then.

“There’s a project in Clear Lake called Exploration Green. It’s revamping an old abandoned golf course to become a park and nature conservancy. I’ve been working a lot with that. Every once in a while they have tree plantings and wetlands plantings. I also help with prairie plantings and prairie tours, and I go on Christmas bird counts where we collect data. It’s really opened my eyes to a lot that’s going on here with local environmental issues.

“On the Christmas bird count in Clear Lake, we were touring new urban development in that area. We passed what seemed like mile after mile of new neighborhoods and new shopping malls coming up. They pointed to one house in a new neighborhood and said, ‘This is the last place we saw sandhill cranes in Clear Lake. They’ll fly over, but they don’t stop anymore.’ That’s kind of startling.”

— Emily Blumentritt

In her spare time, Emily enjoys writing and painting. Check out some of her artwork.

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The post Nature more comfortable place to be for student appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I’m definitely an animal and nature lover, and right here is an animal activist. She takes after me.

“She draws pictures and posters about not killing for fur and stuff like that. She’s the most caring person I know and the most beautiful singer and artist. She likes to go to nursing homes to pass out her drawings. I’m just real proud of her.”

While we were visiting, mom’s phone rings. Her ringtone is her daughter singing an original song.

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She and her family have lived in Baytown for 3½ years, but are planning to move.

“Baytown is getting bigger and the traffic is getting a little too hectic for us. We’re country people anyway, so we’d rather have some goats and chickens and acreage on a nice quiet street where there’s not a lot of traffic; where we can let the kids run the four-wheelers.

“We’re looking for a simpler, quieter life. We love our house and the neighborhood. But we just want to get back to nature again.”

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