Humans have a word: “community”. It’s something like what we dogs call a “pack”, but it seems much stronger. There’s a park in Texas called Castroville Regional Park that really shows community. It’s in the town of Castroville, 15 miles west of San Antonio. Tom and I have stayed their a couple of times.
Some of the people camped there come year after year and stay for weeks or months. They all know each other and welcome newcomers. They do all sorts of things together, like barbecues and breakfasts. Tom even went out for an evening in San Antonio with them. It was nice having so many friends around.
But, it’s not just the campers that have a community. Everywhere in the park, you see signs of the community of Castroville. Everything was either donated by local businesses, or in memory of people from the community. There’s also some Eagle Scout projects, including an amphitheater, a native garden, and a wildlife viewing area. They’re proud of their park, and put a lot of love into it.
Castroville was settled by people from a place in France called Alsace. They still have a sort of community with the people of Alsace. There’s an area in the park called the “Garden of Roots”. The trees are laid out like a map showing all the cities and towns in Alsace. After the garden was finished, some students came from Alsace to help dedicate it.
Whenever we stay at Castroville, we feel like part of the community. We’ve made friends at other places we’ve stayed, but that feels more like a sort of pack. In a community, people build and celebrate things together. I think it’s one of the best things humans do.
You can read Tom’s Review of Catroville Regional Park at: http://www.rvparkreviews.com/regions/texas/castroville/castroville-regional-park