The Tenth Annual Camping Trip of the New Families of the Focolare will be held at Buescher State Park, the same place as last year. Buescher State Park is located in Smithville, Texas, about ten miles southeast of Bastrop. The camping trip will be from Friday evening, October 14, 2011 through Sunday afternoon, October 16.

The purpose of our gathering is to build unity among our families, to experience the presence of God among us as we enjoy nature, good food and good company. We hope that each of you and your family will be able to join us for this special time together. Last year was a wonderful experience for all, with more than 70 campers.

Buescher State Park is located near Highway 71 north of Smithville, Texas, about half way between San Antonio and College Station.  Buescher State Park was unscathed by the severe wildfires that damaged most of nearby Bastrop State Park. It is centrally located from Austin, Georgetown, San Antonio, College Station, Houston and Dallas. For exact directions, we suggest you use MapQuest or Google maps or a good old fashioned paper map! Some people who tried to use their GPS had some difficulties last year!

Everyone has three options for participating in the weekend. You may arrive on Friday evening if you wish to camp for two nights, or you may arrive at noon on Saturday if you wish to camp for only one night. If you do not wish to camp, you are invited to arrive on Saturday and spend the day with the rest of us and then go home in the evening. As in previous years, we will have a Pot Luck picnic in the pavilion for Saturday lunch.

For the campers, we have reserved fifteen campsites for Friday night and Saturday night. Each campsite can hold two tents and up to eight people. Depending on the turnout, we may ask two families to share a campsite. Campsites have water and electrical outlets. Checkout time for campers is 2:00 P.M. on Sunday. The cost of each campsite is $17.00 per night. We have already pre-paid for the campsites. There is also a day charge of $4.00 per person (13 years and older) which you will pay at the gate when you enter the park. There is no charge for children 12 and younger. . We also ask that each family give $15.00 per family to cover the cost of the pavilion where we will have our meals and spend much of our time together. Checks for the campsites and the “per family” charge can be made out to “New Families – Focolare”.

For those who would prefer to stay in a motel, the following are about ten miles away in Bastrop on Highway 71: Super 8 Motel, 512-321-6000, or Days Inn, 512-321-1157. In addition, the park has some rustic cabins. If you are interested in a cabin, please arrange your own reservations by calling the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department at 512-389-8900. Ask for a cabin in the Oak Haven camping area of Buescher State Park.

We will have activities for everyone together on Saturday afternoon. For the Saturday lunch, please bring enough food for your family and then we will all share. For the other meals we will ask families from each city to plan a meal, bring the food and prepare it. We will provide details about those meals at a later time. We will also have games to build unity on Saturday along with opportunities for hiking, singing and sitting around the campfire. On Sunday, church services are available in Smithville and Bastrop.

If you are camping, you will need to bring your own tent and camping equipment. Be sure to include good walking shoes, umbrellas (we’re optimistic!), parkas or raincoats, flashlights, insect repellant, etc.

To help us with planning, we would appreciate it if you would e-mail us your intent to come and how many nights you wish to camp. Also it would be helpful to have the number of adults and children.

This event is open to everyone, so feel free to invite friends and family!

For more information, please contact Mike and Jeanette Zwartjes at mizwartjes@sbcglobal.net.