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Saturday, April 9, 2022

Oxford Ranch Campground


As I mentioned in my Camping Roundup blog post in late February, we visited Oxford Ranch Campground in Llano County on Saturday, February 26. Unfortunately, it was a short visit due to a puppy "emergency" but I figured I'd still share our quick experience at this campground, including why it was short lived.

All camping gear used for this trip is linked at the end of this blog post.
*This post contains affiliate links, which means that I may receive a small commission if purchases are made through such links, at no extra cost to you. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as I will only recommend products we use and love.*


GENERAL INFORMATION

Like Sulphur Springs Campground, the main attraction we had to Oxford Ranch Campground was the ability to just show up and camp wherever we wanted on their 160 acres of property.

The cost is $10 per person per day, so a total of $20. It's a little more expensive than the other campgrounds we have been to, but it's also one of the few campgrounds in our area that does not require reservations.

We truly enjoy the freedom of a spontaneous camping trip, and being able to just roam until we find a spot that seems like a good fit, especially considering our vehicle is quite literally essential to us camping because of the awning.


There was only a few other campers on the property, so we took our time driving around a little to explore what options we had. The initial photo in the blog post was of a cool camping spot with scenic views of the property, but it was pretty open and we thought it wasn't ideal because of the cold weather/wind.

After some deliberating, we ended up returning to this spot we saw initially that had plenty of trees could offer some protection from the wind. We also liked that this site offered plenty of room in a more secluded area, while not sacrificing a pretty view.


This area was rather large and could easily fit a good group of campers if you're camping with a large family or group of friends. It had a firepit (rim from a semi, actually lol), a standing table, and some wood ready to be used. There was also a picnic table but it had seen better days, haha.


As I mentioned in my first camping blog post, this was our first time getting to test out the platform Michael put together, and the awning room attachment.

This made setup super easy and quick! As it was pretty cold, this was the perfect time to test out sleeping in the car. Although we didn't actually get to sleep, we did lay in it for a while and it was super comfortable.

Let's get to the pros and cons!

PROS

  • No reservation required
  • Ability to camp anywhere of your choosing
  • Offers secluded spots
  • Had fire pit, table, and wood
  • Decent scenery

CONS

  • Cost is not crazy expensive, especially for a couple, but price would add up quickly for a bigger group. For reference, Sulphur Springs (that has similar pros), is $6 per person per day.
  • While it's a nice campground, and I understand why they do the Overland Expo here, I think it left us wanting a little more. There's a small pond, and some pretty views, but they were not nearly as good as the views we could get at Sulphur Springs.
  • Also, comparatively to Sulphur Springs, pretty much any car could get to these spots - no true adventure there. This is likely a pro for others, we just enjoy the idea of an adventurous drive!
Overall - would we go back? Yes, we plan to. A few reasons why:
  1. Our visit was short lived unfortunately.. as discussed below lol.
  2. Pros outweigh the cons. Still a decent campground!
  3. It's fairly close to us! Nice that we don't have to travel too far.


WHY WAS OUR TRIP SO QUICK?

About that puppy emergency.. our dog, Daisy started acting kind of funny not too long after we arrived. She was fine at first and was enjoying exploring, then all of the sudden, she started acting really strange. For starters, she was walking kind of funny so Michael checked her paws (since there was mud and some stickers around). Then she was pet shy (which she never is), wouldn't lick our hands when they were in her face (which she always does), was jumpy/easily scared over what appeared to be nothing, and then she started slightly swaying back and forth. It was bizarre. 

We were confused but weren't too concerned just yet. She ate some of the food we made (because she wouldn't touch her own), but ended up throwing it up. She threw it up while we were in the car, and it was everywhere. It ended up on her bed, her blanket, my jacket, our comforter, and even the window.

The swaying continued, as did the almost paranoia, so we called some emergency vet clinics. Since it could have been many things that could cause that, they suggested we take her to an emergency clinic. Of course, the closest one open to us at that time was in Bee Caves in Austin - over an hour away from where we were. 

While we figured she would be fine, we didn't want to risk it - so we packed up our gear around 10 something at night, in the cold, while it happened to be misting, and drove over an hour away to get her checked out. They did some testing, and literally asked us if she could have possibly got into something we had (as in marijuana LOL). We don't smoke, so that wasn't it. Not sure the vet believed us, we assume to this day she thinks we lied about that. 

Anyway, we spent nearly $400 for someone to basically tell us our dog was high. After speaking with my dad, it's likely that Daisy could have gotten into a cow patty, which can grow shrooms in it, and that made her high LOL. Anyway, when we go back, we're going to keep an eye out and if something like this happens again, we know our dog is just fine - she's just high on shrooms.

And there you have it folks - the long, drawn out story of how our camping trip was cut short because our dog got high at Oxford Ranch.


Camping Gear for this trip (shop the post below):

  • GX470 Platform Build Manual
  • ARB Awning + Room Attachment
  • Hikenture 4" Thick Sleeping Pad
  • AstroAI 55L Fridge
  • Jackery Explorer 500
  • Jackery SolarSaga 60
  • G4Free Camping Chairs
  • Coleman Ultra Compact Aluminum Table
  • Outry Camp Table
  • GasOne 1 Burner Butane Stove
  • BLUU GEMINI Backpacking Propane Stove
  • MalloMe 35° Sleeping Bags
  • 8" Rechargeable Fans
  • Solar Inflatable Lanterns
  • Reliance Aqua Tainer 7Gal
  • Bucket Toilet Seat/Commode Liners
  • Wekapo Beach Blanket



Have you ever been to Oxford Ranch?






 

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