Many people's idea of an excellent campsite is a location that is very remote. Preferably this location would be in the mountains or wilderness far away from other humanity.

Some folks make a matter of pride of the ability to survive with a minimum amount of supplies and equipment. Give them a knife between their teeth and some matches, and they are ready to go. Other people want even more than the comforts of home. They want luxury such as at a resort on a tropical beach.

FOR ME, I NEED TO ESCAPE.

A practical escape from the city should be within a few hours. The location should combine wooded areas and proximity to water. There should be availablity of outdoor activities such as boating, fishing, or swimming. However, the utilization of these other amenities should be optional.

Whenever my family and I want to get away from Houston (a city of millions), we go to one of the lakes or rivers of Central or East Texas. My favorites are the campsites and marinas on Lake Sam Rayburn which is near Jasper, Texas. If you will go to Mapquest, you will be able to get a good map of the area.

Jasper was in the news in a very negative way due to a racially motivated murder, but it is in reality just a small city on the edge of one of Texas's largest lakes. The people are tolerant and friendly. My favorite of the marinas combines both campsites and cabins with a boat ramp and swimming area. The cabins range from very basic one room cabins to large two bedroom cabins complete with satellite TV. The cabins don't have telephones. In fact, there is only one pay phone at the whole marina. All of the campsites and cabins have adjacent areas where one can build a campfire at night. We always do some cooking over the campfire. At night we make s'mores and toasted marshmallows. I bring my own firewood. The marina and stores in the area will sell firewood, if you prefer. For the people camping in tents, there are even hot showers in small buildings nearby. The marina that I've described is the Twin Dikes Marina. It is best to call ahead and avoid weekends in which the lake has fishing (bass) tournaments. There are several other similar marinas and campsites from which to choose.

When I get tired of eating my own cooking, I go to the excellent restaurants in the area. One is immediately north of Jasper on Highway 96. This is the Catfish Cabin. The menu is limited to mainly shrimp and catfish. They also sell an excellent map of the lake that gives the location and telephone numbers of the various campsites and marinas in the area. Every time I've eaten there, the food and service was excellent. Every meal comes with fresh roasted peanuts. They have excellent fried shrimp and catfish.

Another restaurant in the Lake Sam Rayburn area is Patrick's restaurant. Patrick's is also on Highway 96, north of Jasper. The best steak that I've ever eaten was at Patrick's and I've been in restaurants in every region of the United States. The prices are reasonable. If this restaurant was located in Houston, it would be standing room only every night. Patrick has a very interesting history. When I first ate some of his food, he was running the restaurant at a country club at Lake Sam Rayburn

Enjoy and please keep the noise down if you are in the cabin next to me.