Great blog Bert, and I'm very sorry the unthinking bureaucrats put a damper on your camping! Frankly, I'm amazed it happened! I camped at Inks and Colorado Bend in October, and Pedernales Falls the last weekend of January, all under county burn bans, but fires in fire rings, with an adult in attendance and water readily accessable, were permitted. I really thought you'd be fine after all that rain. I'm wondering if for some reason Texas Parks & Wildlife made a decision to consider contained fires subject to county burn bans. You alluded to some event at Pedernales Falls. Was this a real event, or a hypothetical scenario?
Anyway, I agree with you that park officials should be able to make the call, especially in situations, such as you encountered when everything was soaked. Perhaps the park management should be able to at least pick up the phone and call whoever has authority to request a waiver for a few days during wet conditions.
I think the idea of having fire safety training at the parks is outstanding. In fact, since so much of Texas is in draught conditions, perhaps they could have a fire safety certification card, similar to a CPR/BLS (cardiopulmonary resuscitation/basic life support) card, issued by Texas Parks and Wildlife to those who complete a free, fire safety course, that would be a prerequisite for campers camping in draught conditions to have appropriate (contained) fires. In addition to such a program, I agree with you wholeheartedly that park rangers/attendants should patrol the parks in the evenings, checking out fires to insure that safety measures are being properly implemented.
More power to ya' Bert! I hope someone who can make a difference listens!
With all that said, I will say I have done a fair amount of camping in conditions that I wouldn't have even considered building a fire, i.e., in the backcountry of the Guadalupe Mountains, and I loved every minute of it. It's all dependent upon your mindset. It is entirely possible to have an utterly fantastic camping experience without a campfire, if you go into such an event knowing that it's just not in the cards.
Happy camping!
JohnK
P.S.: I don't think you have to worry about Shannon kicking you off the list for expressing your opinion about something like this. If anything, I think she supports such exchange of ideas. It's folks who are just here to hawk their wares that don't last very long.