New Activities, Old Favorites at Roman Nose General Store

Even though summer is winding to a close, there are still plenty of warm days ahead when parents and children alike are looking for something to do without spending hours in the car or a small fortune for admission to attractions.

Consider new adventures at Roman Nose State Park General Store. Rory Espy, along with his wife, Becky have taken over the store and plan to restore it to its glory days that Espy remembers well from his own childhood days in the park.

He spent those summer vacations in the area and later worked and lived on the property, raising his children there and working for the state park system.

There are many new facets to the store, including scheduled hours for the in-house eatery. It is open from 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. Sunday and Monday, closed Tuesday and Wednesday, and open again Thursday-Saturday from 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. The store is open every day beginning at 8 a.m., except for Tuesday and Wednesday, when the doors open at 10 a.m.

There is also a bakery case at the store that holds the wonders of the kitchen.

“We do all our baking in house now, from scratch,” Espy said. “We have a pastry chef on staff.” The jams, salsa, seasoning and pickles available for purchase are locally sourced from Kay-Jan.

The menu features breakfast favorites like eggs, breakfast meats, breakfast burritos or biscuits, biscuits and gravy or build your own omelet, all at reasonable prices. Lunch and dinner choices include salads, traditional foods like hotdogs or burgers, grilled cheese sandwich, turkey or egg salad sandwiches, and chicken fried steak. Side dishes such as baked beans and potato salad are varied with the likes of carrots and celery, poppers and potato skins. Children’s selections are also available. There are also steak nights once a month, with live music, perfect for date nights.

But the fun extends outside the building. Espy and crew are working to increase the number of kayaks and canoes at the lake, and paddle boats go out as well. The boats are by hourly or day rates for eight hours, and paddle boats can be rented in combination with mini golf for a combination gig. Children less than six years old can go out on the paddle boats or play mini golf or both free with a paid adult. “We do a lot of sanitizing between mini golf customers,” Espy said. Live bait in the form of minnows and worms are available and Espy said he is working on building up the supplies of fishing tackle and will soon add a fish cleaning station with running water near the store.

While restoring the boating scene and the mini golf course were high up on Espy’s priority list, a new activity has been added. Now visitors can pan for minerals at the General Store.

A sluice station and tower have been installed. Rockhounds can pan in the tank by purchasing a bag of gems and fossils, beginning at less than $10. The largest bucket, called the Bonanza, is less than $50.

That is a great deal, said Karan Brunken, who had traveled from Glencoe with her daughter-in-law and three granddaughters. “We came over three days ago,” Brunken said. “We have been having a ball, and we’ve done everything in the park.” She said they went horseback riding, a first for one of her grandchildren.

Sonora WhiteHorse, Brunken’s daughter-inlaw, said the family all enjoys minerals and gemstones that they have collected in their travels. “A lot of places charge a lot more than this, (for the stones)“ WhiteHorse said. She also noted that not many attractions are set up for the actual panning.

As she talked and panned, her daughters, Cynthia Skinner, 21, K.D. WhiteHorse, 15 and Sunny Toehay, 12, swarmed around her and their grandmother like an active, happy hive.

“Oh, an arrowhead,” one exclaimed, talked over by another who laughs out loud on finding fool’s gold, or pyrite. Meanwhile their grandmother is finding quartzes and agates. Each is lost in their own discoveries and glad to be so but sharing what they find in a true family activity.

Espy watches from the front porch of the store, grinning, and relates his vision for the General Store. “Right now, we have a lot of visitors for the summer. We are looking forward to creating birthday party packages when we can safely do that,” he said. “But we are looking to our locals to help us get through the winter.”

For more information, to order take out or special-order baked goods, call the Roman Nose General Store at (580) 623-7750, or seek it out social media.

Connie Burcham can be reached at Editor@WatongaRepublican.com