Sunday, October 9, 2011
Fall is here, and that means less outings & future plans.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Rain!
Over the weekend scattered thunder storms kindly dropped a little over an inch of rain in my area (San Antonio) and a good portion of the 281 and 35 corridor. It was nice to finally have some measureable rain in the area but it will by no means bring an end to the local drought. As the Sunday storm rolled in I went into my backyard and snapped a few pictures of the clouds.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Enchanted Rock SNA - Review
*Enchanted Rock State Natural Area
16710 Ranch Rd 965
Fredericksburg TX 78624
830-685-3636
Brief Description/Location of Park
Enchanted Rock is a 425ft tall Basolith (granite dome) located 18 miles North of Fredericksburg TX and about 95 miles West of Austin by way of either HWY 290 or HWY 71. Enchanted Rock SNA offers primitive backpacking, camping, hiking, technical and rock climbing, picnicking, geological study, bird watching, and star gazing (minimal light pollution)*. Often referred to as Enchanted Rock State Park it is actually a State Natural Area.
Main Attraction
The main attraction at Enchanted Rock SNA is without a doubt Enchanted Rock, the largest of the exposed rock formations standing some 425ft above ground level. Surrounding Enchanted Rock you will find other formations such as Little Rock (not really little),Turkey Peak and Freshmans Mountain. For the typical user at the park the summit trail will be the first priority, this trail takes you from the base of the rock all the way to the top while at the same time testing your strength and determination. Once at the summit you will be greeted by panoramic views of the Texas Hill Country, vernal pools, cactus, oak trees and for the daring the Enchanted Rock Cave. For the thrill seekers all large rock formations offer great opportunities for rock climbing and repelling with the more popular locations being the very steep back side of Enchanted Rock and Turkey Peak.
Panoramic view of Enchanted Rock viewed from the top of Little Rock.
Looking down towards the mouth of The Enchanted Rock Cave. Water runoff flowing to Sandy Creek.
Day Use
The day use area is directly south of Enchanted Rock along Sandy Creek. If driving from the headquarters the day use area is a right at the fork. There are pic-nik tables, restroom facility, small playground and an overlook facing towards the rock formations. Cooking hot dogs or eating sandwiches while resting your body in the day use area is a common practice after a day on the rock.
Vernal pool on top of Enchanted Rock.
Camping Facilities
There are two ways to camping at Enchanted Rock SNA, tent sites or primitive camping. The tent sites are well arranged with some being more private than others. Sites 4 -21 are more open and may be great for those who would like to spend the evening looking at the sky with no trees in the way, of course less trees mean less shade in the day. Sites 22-46 are on the same side as Little Rock and have more vegetation surrounding them (these are my favorite sites). Sites 1-3 are kind of off to the side on the opposite side of the road and right up against sandy creek.
If you want to be close to the showers look for sites 5 -11 and 25 - 30 and if you want the most private sites look at 21, 25, 29, 35 and 39. Primitive camping is behind Little Rock and Enchanted Rock and can be accessed by a long hike around Little Rock on the Loop Trail or a shorter more rugged hike through Echo Canyon. It is between the primitive campsites that you will find Moss Lake, a smallish body of water that attracts many local animals but is not set for fishing.
Restroom/Shower Facilities
There are 2 facilities at Enchanted Rock SNA, one facility is in the day use area and features restrooms only, the other facility in the camping area does offer semi private shower stalls. If I had to rate these restrooms I would give them a 3.5 out of 5. They are not as nice as Inks Lake or Pedernalis but much much better than Mustang Island.
Conclusion
For serious climbers and hikers to families looking to enjoy the beautiful Hill Country, Enchanted Rock SNA is a must see destination in central Texas. I highly recommend this park.
Beautiful view of the Texas Hill Country from the Summit Trail of Enchanted Rock.
Pictures
Please enjoy this collection of pictures
Water pools in Echo Canyon. Western Diamondback Rattle Snake on the Loop Trail near Freshman Mountain.
Turtle sunning in the middle of Moss Lake. Moss Lake viewed from the top of Enchanted Rock.
*Source http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/enchanted_rock/
Monday, August 29, 2011
Cypress Trees and Pop-Ups
While visiting my Mother in Kerrville this weekend I snapped this shot of the cypress trees along Goat Creek turning brown. My Mother hopes they are just going dormant while they wait for rain to return.
Among the conversations I had a chance to ask her about her experience with PUP’s and what she thought of them. I gained valuable information in advance the new year when we plan on purchasing one and are strongly leaning to new (for warranty reasons).
Next weekend (September 3rd, day after wife's birthday) we are probably going to go visit another RV dealership and check out the PUPs and TT (for grins). It will he hard to find a better deal than the one we found at RV Outlet Mall in George Town N. of Austin. The nice thing about this place was how open they are about the costs and what's included (AC and Awnings are included in the cost be default… this is Texas). So far they have offered the best price in the area and being that they are in Austin not to far of a drive either.
I will be posting later about what we saw and my impressions.
BB
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Pedernales Falls State Park - Review. Updated 2013
Johnson City, Texas 78636
First things first.. How the heck do you pronounce that? Ped-er-nal-es.
Pedernales Falls State Park is located approximately 75 miles North of San Antonio and 45 miles West of Austin, TX outside the small hill country town of Johnson City. Pedernales Falls State Park offers all the usual activities including (but not limited to) hiking, biking, swimming, horse back riding, fishing, birding, etc.
Main Attraction:
The main draw at Pedernales SP is the Pedernales River, the falls and the swimming areas down stream. There is no swimming at the falls but it is still a very cool place to hike and climb on the rocks.
Due to water hazards no swimming is allowed at the falls. |
Looking down stream from Trammel Crossing. |
The park offers 69 standard water/electric campsites as well as a primitive camping area accessible after a 3 mile hike. The campsites are pretty typical and occupy a large loop with a center road dividing the East and West. It is in the center that the camping areas two modest restroom and shower facilities can be found and while they are not large they are very clean and well maintained with private showers and stalls. Most of the campsites have ample shade, a picnic table, hook-ups and a fire pit. The park only offers back in sites, no pull through. Sites 1-16, 36-47, and 54-58, are the farthest from the facilities while sites 31-36 are closest to the trail that offers river access.
Standard W/E campsite. |
Facilities:
Restroom facilities are well maintained and clean featuring solid shower doors. The only real negative was that the facilities where small and the dry side of the shower was not very dry with no bench and only a small hook to hang items.
Personal Experience:
This was our second camping trip of the year and the first time that we had any rain (thunderstorm in fact). Everything went really well and we stayed perfectly dry with the only downside being the noise (rain on a PUP can be LOUD!). I am not sure how it happened but instead of going swimming we ended up falling asleep for a few hours on the second day (I blame the foam mattress topper that made the bed much more comfortable). Lucy (the Wiener Dog) also did really well and we dubbed her Lucy the Adventure Wienie.
From 2012 (During bad drought):
The next stop was the swimming area along the river that is accessed by a ¼ mile walk down a well maintained trail that included rock steps and a short board walk down to a sandy beach. The river is lined by many large Cypress and other trees that offer plenty of shady spots to relax. Despite the low condition of the river a few families still found deep pools and areas to swim while the cool water sparkled thorough the shallows.
The beginning of the trail down to the river and the stone steps at the bottom.
Despite everything the rivers cool water sill carves its way through the Texas Hill Country.
Pedernales has always been one of my favorite parks ever since I was a young boy in the Scouts and despite my many visits I have never actually gone swimming. Most of my time is usually spent at the falls and while we didn’t visit this time around I figure I should include a couple pictures from a previous trip when it was flowing well.
Water pouring through one of the many chutes at the falls & one of the pools (photos 2010)
Friday, August 19, 2011
New Site Title
Thanks
BRB
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Mutang Island State Park Video
Monday, August 15, 2011
Mustang Island State Park - Review
Mustang Island State Park
1704 State Hwy 361
Port Aransas, TX 78373
(361) 749-5249
Google Maps Link to Location of Park
Brief Description/Location of Park
View of the Gulf from our day use area. |
Our day use set-up on the beach. |
RV ready campsites with water and electric. |
Sunset over the Intercoastal Waterway. |
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
McKinney Falls State Park, Austin Texas
There were two things we wanted to do while we visited one was to look at pop-up campers (more on this later) and the other was to visit McKinney Falls State Park.
This State Park is within the city limits of Austin though once inside the park it does not feel like it. This McKinney Falls State Park offers a large amount of camping, great fishing spots, long winding bike and hike trails and a swimming hole at the falls, it is a do all park.
The first matter of business was to explore by vehicle, this involved us checking out all the campsites, facilities, parking access and so forth. The camping spots offered back in and pull through pads to accommodate large RV’s as well as an area of primitive camping for those who like to rough it a little. The facilities are what you would expect from a State Park, clean but could be better (not as good as Inks Lake State Park but not as bad as some of the private parks I remember).
The second thing we did was check out the day use area, swimming holes, fishing holes and some of the trails. We parked at the upper falls and walked down the short trail to the swimming area. Despite the falls being just a trickle there where quite a few people swimming, I took the picture below while trying to avoid getting to many folks in the frame.
McKinney Falls Upper
We then walked further back along the day use area to take a look at the fishing areas
Onion Creek has been affected by the 2011 Texas drought just like all the other water sources, its low, very low, but flowing.
We followed the trail all the way down to the primitive camping area that was right alongside Onion Creek before turning around and heading back to the falls and then our car. As my wife and I climbed into the car we both decided that this would be a place we would camp at once the weather was a bit more favorable and hopefully after we get some rain.
Would I recommend this park? Yes