Preliminary Tour of Palo State Park

On June 1, 2013, John Ferguson invited a group of riders to tour the as yet unopened new state park near Strawn Texas. The group of 27 was well represented by TETRA who had 11 attendees. The North Texas Range Riders had several members attend and they all had their club T-shirts on. President Gail and Kay Conway were there along with Insurance Manager Barbara McKnight. They live in the area and will have a close hand in helping to open the park. TETRA brochures were handed and it was explained that our budget is able to fund a grant application where another group may not be able to manage the large sums. A grant’s requirement is that the monies are paid up front by the grantee until the state decides to reimburse. Even then, in-kind monies must be donated. This is a large drain on a bank account. We rode to a point where Ranger John explained that a new trail needs to be opened up so as to access the property on the other side without going down the county road. We rode back through the park to the road and ate lunch at the City of Strawn Park. There are many places to stage an equestrian area separate from the other campers. The ranch road is well traveled but having trails off of this established road will take work. Two work days will have happened by the time this article is published. 

By: Debby Alley