JohnRich 4 #1 May 15, 2006 This is a trip report on my weekend away from the DZ, from a few weeks ago. There's nothing spectacular here like my other posted stories of my Rio Grande canoe trip, or the canyon hike. But it might give some Texans some ideas for a good weekend escape. I took advantage of beautiful spring weather to go off on a not-too-far-away camping and hiking trip - only about four hours from Houston. This one was in what is called "hill country" in Texas, in the central part of the state, west of Austin. The destinations and plans were for one day at "Enchanted Rock", and a second day at "Pedernales Falls". Both of these campgrounds were full, due to many people having the same idea as me, and being smart enough to register early. So I ended up camping at "Inks Lake", about 40 miles away, and commuting. So I'll start out with a few photos from Inks Lake, and then move to Pedernales Falls, and finally Enchanted Rock. Inks Lake Inks Lake is on the Colorado River, created by a dam, and surrounded by granite hills. One of the biggest attractions at the lake, besides canoeing, is the cliff jump into the water at the place called Devil's Waterhole (Photo #1). The teens were having a blast here, along with underage drinking, and gosh knows what else. In the photo, you can see the gaggle on top of the cliff, trying to work up the courage to jump off. I suppose it was about 20 feet high. This is the view of the Devil's Waterhole cove where the water enters the lake at the up-stream end (Photo #2). The photo is taken from atop the jumpin' cliff. No, I didn't jump - I didn't have a bathing suit, and I needed to keep my camera dry. That's my excuse. And I'm chicken - the water wasn't clear, and I couldn't determine how deep it was. A view of a small waterfall running over granite ledges, entering the lake (Photo #3). You had to get across this stream to get to the jumpin' cliff, which was hard to do and keep your shoes dry. But if you went far enough upstream you could find enough stepping stones to get across, with one pole vault using a walking stick. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #2 May 15, 2006 Photo #1: Flower power. Yeah, I take photos of flowers. Whaddaya gonna do - yank my manhood license? Photo #2: Here's something more macho for you; a fat lizard on the rocks. Sounds like a new mixed drink. "Hey bartender! Give me a fat lizard, on the rocks!" He's eyeballing me, but seems to realize that I'm harmless. Photo #3: Snake! (How's that for macho?) I almost stepped on this little fellar, who was curled up and sunning himself on a patch of sand. It's a baby rattlesnake! My first thought was, "Oh shit, I wonder where his Momma is?" He was only about 75 yards upstream from where all the kids were playing. So that presented an ethical dilemma: Do I kill it to make sure that it can't bite a kid? Or do I leave it alone and just hope it doesn't bite a kid? While I pondered this choice, the snake, as if reading my mind and sensing danger, unwound himself and slithered off to disappear into tall grass. Good luck, kiddies - you're on your own. Photo #4: And while I'm covering animals, here are a pair of deer that wandered by my tent at night. My flash didn't extend into the blackness enough to get a good photo of the deer, but their eyeballs reflecting in the dark sure look creepy. Photo #5: I like rocks too. I'm weird like that. Quartz and granite go together like peas in a pod. Quartz is the peas, and granite is the pod. Inks Lake is a popular place for families, but unless you've got some kind of watercraft to play with, there really isn't much to do here. Unless you're the type that just like to pitch a tent and sit there all weekend. As for me, I like to hike all day and see things, and a campsite is just a necessity as a base camp. Tomorrow I'll show you Pedernales Falls. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davedlg 0 #3 May 15, 2006 QuoteInks Lake is on the Colorado River I was about to argue with you, matter of factly stating that the Colorado river does not flow through Texas... But I decided to look it up and determined that Texas has it's own Colorado River, seprate from the "other" Colorado river I am familiar with. Looks like a fun trip, I'll have to keep that area in mind if I ever find myself in that part of the world. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Channman 2 #4 May 15, 2006 John, some excellent photos, looks like you had a good time. Never been to Inks Lake, but have camped at Pedernales Falls several times. How was the river running? and did you get a change to hike Twin Falls while there? Pleasure meeting you several weeks ago at Spaceland. Cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #5 May 15, 2006 QuoteQuoteInks Lake is on the Colorado River I was about to argue with you, matter of factly stating that the Colorado river does not flow through Texas... But I decided to look it up and determined that Texas has it's own Colorado River, seprate from the "other" Colorado river I am familiar with. Yes, that is confusing. On the 'net I found this statement: "The Colorado River (in Texas), allegedly misnamed because of a mapping error by early Spanish explorers..." Blame the Spaniards! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #6 May 15, 2006 QuoteJohn, some excellent photos, looks like you had a good time. Never been to Inks Lake, but have camped at Pedernales Falls several times. How was the river running? and did you get a chance to hike Twin Falls while there? Pleasure meeting you several weeks ago at Spaceland. The water level did not seem very high, but there were still some nice falls. But I don't know what "normal" is there. I'll be posting pictures tomorrow, and you can see for yourself. I didn't even know about Twin Falls. I told the ranger I was only there for the day, and she recommended the 8-mile loop trail, which starts behind the entrance station, as the best hike. So I hiked the waterfalls area first, and then that 8-mile loop. Doing more research right now, I see that Twin Falls is on "the other trail" which starts in the campground area, which I didn't do. And apparently you can only see it from the overlook now, because the grotto is off limits due to excessive trampling, and makes you subject to a fine. That means I'm going to have to sneak in there on a repeat visit some day. Then there is also a place called "Dugout Cave". I'm definately going to have to do more research, and go back there some weekend. We had also chatted briefly about Enchanted Rock. Stay tuned here, and I'll post some neat photos of that place. It's heavily visited, but very neat. It was good to meet you too. I'll be back at Spaceland someday soon - I have to: I've still got credit for a jump on account! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davedlg 0 #7 May 15, 2006 Quote Yes, that is confusing. On the 'net I found this statement: "The Colorado River (in Texas), allegedly misnamed because of a mapping error by early Spanish explorers..." Blame the Spaniards! That's a heck of a mapping error! The "real" Colorado River is over 1000 miles from the Texas Colorado! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #8 May 15, 2006 QuoteThat's a heck of a mapping error! The "real" Colorado River is over 1000 miles from the Texas Colorado! I agree. It must have been some bureaucrat back in Spain! But those Spaniards didn't have the advantage of satellites and GPS back then in the 1600's. All they had were horses and stars. And most of the time they did amazingly well with those. Attached is a map I found of the Texas Colorado River. Goofy things like this happen. Another example I know of: North Texas has a river cutting across the panhandle called the Canadian River, because when it was discovered it was thought that the origin must be in Canada. It turned out, it doesn't go that far north, but the name stuck anyway. Ha! Just chalk these up as Texas tall tales. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gene03 0 #9 May 16, 2006 Excellent photos as usual, John. Just curious, how many photos do you take on average in a day? I've got a friend who spent 4 years in the Navy and then shifted into the Merchant Marines until he retired 2 years ago at the age of 65. He always has a camera with him and most of his photos are excellent also. As are the stories that go with them.“The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him. Stanislaw Jerzy Lec quotes (Polish writer, poet and satirist 1906-1966) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #10 May 16, 2006 QuoteJust curious, how many photos do you take on average in a day? It depends upon how much stuff I find interesting. But I can get interested in some pretty mundane stuff that everybody else ignores. When hiking like that, I can take 50 photos a day, easy. And of those, maybe half will be really good stuff. I'd rather take too many and throw some out, then take too few and miss something good. The digital camera makes that possible. In the past when I was paying for film and developing, I was much more choosy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #11 May 16, 2006 It's time to see Pedernales Falls! Pedernales Falls is a waterfall area on the Pedernales River in central Texas. This is the state park description: "the elevation of the river drops about 50 feet over a distance of 3000 feet, and the cascading falls are formed by the flow of water over the tilted, stair-step effect of layered limestone..." Nothing extraordinarily dramatic, but nevertheless, some very nice scenary. Photo 1: Long shot of the main falls, with an extraordinarily handsome guy in the foreground. Photo 2: Close-up of the area in the 1st photo with water sliding down the diagonal rock layer. There was no swimming allowed in the waterfall area, due to dangerous currents and water hazards, like underground tunnels and caves. There was a maximum fine of $1,500 for violations. Yikes. It sure looked like it would have been fun though. I'd love to slide down this falls on an inner tube. Yeehaw! Photo 3: Another falls a little further upstream. Watching a waterfall is mesmerizing, sort of like staring at a campfire. There's something about the continuous dynamic action that is just magical. It's a beautiful place, and a lot of fun to scamper over all the rock ledges, and figure out how to get from one place to another across all the small cliffs and around fingers of water. If you're wondering about the wet t-shirt, that's not sweat from exertion, but rather cool water dumped over my head with my hat. Photo 4: Beware of the troll in the cave! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #12 May 16, 2006 More. Photo #1: Rapids through a narrow chute in the rock riverbed. Photo #2: The riverbed terrain over which I hiked & climbed. It's a bunch of plates of rocks protruding from the ground at a diagonal, presenting a continuous series of low walls over which you have to climb. Ugh! Photo #3: Interesting rock pattern with holes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #13 May 16, 2006 The critter series. Photo #1: Butterfly. Or a "flutter-by", as my sons called them when they were little tykes. I think their word is more aptly descriptive than the official one. I have no idea what type he is, but he's pretty. Photo #2: Lizard, with racing stripes. My reptile-loving friend tells me this is a "spiny earless" lizard. Aren't all lizards missing ears? I've seen these guys in a variety of shades and configurations. Another one had stripes just like this one, but on his neck instead of his belly. Some have no stripes at all. And one had a band of orange around the perimeter of his belly. These little fellows are shy and don't let you get very close before they take off running. So if they give me the time, I switch the camera to a higher resolution and zoom-in from afar. They're tough to get a decent photo of. And I've always found their run to be humorous. They lift their tail and point it straight up in the air, rise up on their legs, and skitter off really fast. Their little feet are so tiny and moving so fast that you don't even see them. Thus, they appear to be gliding effortlessly across the ground like they've invented anti-gravity locomotion. Photo #3: Here's my snake picture from the park. This one is a tiny harmless garter snake. Next up, I'll hike 3.5 miles to Jones Spring, at the end of a long trail which a Park Ranger recommended as the best in the park. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #14 May 17, 2006 It looks good John! As things tend to be, I find myself jealous of your fun hiking and camping trips. Next year I HAVE to take some vacation time and go camping. Now I just have to convience my wife that wondering off into the woods for a few days with some water, a blanket, knife and a couple MREs is a perfect hiking trip.--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #15 May 17, 2006 QuoteNext year I HAVE to take some vacation time and go camping. Now I just have to convience my wife that wondering off into the woods for a few days with some water, a blanket, knife and a couple MREs is a perfect hiking trip. If she won't buy into that, then you'll just have to wander off without her... Don't tell Morgan I said that! Wrapping up the Pedernales Falls photos: Photo 1: Cypress forest. The focus is fuzzy - I propped the camera in the notch of a tree branch, and then didn't position myself correctly in front of the auto-focus beam. Oh well. This was described as the "premier" trail in the park, but I found it boring. All there was to see was trees everywhere. No overlooks, no mountains, no canyons, nothing. Just trees. BORING! Photo 2: Jones Spring. This was the reward at the end of a 3.5-mile hike. I was hoping for an Olympic-sized swimming hole, filled with cavorting naked Playboy bunnies. What I got was this tiny little mud hole in rock. I hiked seven miles round-trip to get this photo of a mud hole, so you WILL appreciate it! Got that?! The waterhole actually wasn't that dirty, unless you stirred up the sediment on the bottom. It was clear enough to dip my hat in it and flip it up on my head, then let the water drip slowly down around the rim onto my body. Ohhhh! Ahhhh! There were also mountain bikers on the trail, so what took me several hours to hike, can be done on bike in probably 20 minutes. They would roll up, look at the spring for about three seconds, then take-off again. Those bikers move so fast that they don't have time to sit and appreciate something they've had to work hard for. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #16 May 17, 2006 Next up is Enchanted Rock. This was the best place of the three State Parks I visited that weekend. "Enchanted Rock" is a large bubble of volcanic granite, sticking up 450 feet out of the ground, and covering 640 acres of land. It’s just like Stone Mountain, Georgia. In fact, this is the 2nd largest such rock in the U.S., behind only Stone Mountain. But there are no Confederates carved into the side of this one – it’s all natural! This park gets a lot of visitors, and sometimes they have to close the gates by noon because there is no more parking space inside. So it's not a great place for solitude. But there is some terrific scenary, and despite the hordes, I found quiet places in far corners where the crowds of city-slickers don't bother to go. Photo 1: The long distance panoramic view of Enchanted Rock. "The Rock", as I shall call it from here on out, was so huge that I had to snap three photos side-by-side to take it all in. Photo 2: Me on top of the big rock, with a scraggly tree somehow growing out of a pocket of soil on solid granite. It takes a little bit of huffing and puffing to get to the top. It's like climbing stairs to the top of a 45-story building. But it's just a walk up inclined rock, and doesn't require any special technical skills. The following are some of the odd findings from the Enchanted Rock Park. Photo 3: A granite "mushroom". Well, that's what it reminded me of. What about you? How about a blacksmith’s anvil? Photo 4: A granite "hand". Okay, the fingers are a little stubby, but that's what it looked like to me. How about this: Remember the movie "Papillion", with Steve McQueen as a convict in a penal colony? He runs through the jungle to escape, and comes upon a leper colony. He talks with the chief leper about helping him escape, and the leper's grotesque shape is hidden in shadows. The leper raises a hand holding a cigar, in fingers made stubby by his disease. That's the hand it reminds me of. Is that better imagery for you? Must I do all the work? Photo 5: Another odd rock formation. I don't know what to call this one. How about "the bridge"? This is a sliver of plate rock that seems to have been pushed together on each end by movement of the rock around it, and the pressure made it buckle upward and crack in the middle. Yet, the pieces are anchored together in a triangular shape, and you can see clear through underneath! I climbed aboard gingerly at first, afraid that I might make it collapse. But it turned out to be a very sturdy affair. To be continued... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #17 May 19, 2006 Photo 1: Rock soldiers, marching uphill. This is some of the limestone that was lying on top of the giant bubble of granite. Most of it has eroded away, leaving the granite hill. Other pieces, like these, are still there in part. Elsewhere, giant slabs of the limestone top layer are fractured apart like a gargantuan jigsaw puzzle. Photo 2: Now, where are those "caves" that this park map says are somewhere in this area? The so-called "caves" are actually just holes amidst a jumble of house-sized boulders. They were fun to scramble around in. And the horde of kids thought so too. The Cub Scout pack made a gosh-awful racket. Ack! Photo 3: A yellow flower from a prickly pear cactus, with bee. Can I appreciate the beauty of flowers and still keep my guy card? Photo 4: A large and perfect purple flower, dwarfing the tiny finger of cactus from which it is growing. This may just be my best picture from the entire weekend trip. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #18 May 19, 2006 Photo 1: Speaking of flowers, here's another one. Sort of. This is the kind of beauty only a mother could love. And me! "Mom" is a prickly pear cactus, and the tender new shoot popping up is a tiny, prickly new "ear" starting to grow on top of another. Isn't it just darling! Photo 2: Flutterby! I was trying to get a good shot of a butterfly feeding on the nectar from a flower. He was being uncooperative, and kept moving his wings creating a blurred image. I was chasing him around as he flitted from flower to flower, trying to keep up with him and get a good photo. Then, he took flight just as my shutter tripped, and it caught this very cool blurred image of the color pattern on his wings. Even though it's blurred, I kind of like the "special effect". Yeah, I meant to do that. Photo 3: Enchanted Rock allows "technical" climbing at three places, if you sign the waiver saying you won't sue the state when you fall and hurt yourself. In this photo you can pick out three people on the rock face. It's not sheer vertical, but it's close to it. Everyone uses ropes and various gewgaws of fancy gear, like "ascenders", to climb. Some of these guys were good enough to scamper up like monkeys. The gal in the middle was taking so long that I got bored watching. Photo 4: Can you find Bambi? I stumbled into her territory, and she ran right by me in her haste to escape. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TAndrews 0 #19 May 21, 2006 John, you must have it made! Making all of these trips, the photos are great! I've been to enchanted rock, there's a hidden drop off on the back side and I could have sworn that I saw a panther. Thanks Terry Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jasonRose 0 #20 May 21, 2006 Are you Drunk yet??? Some day I will have the best staff in the world!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jasonRose 0 #21 May 21, 2006 Are you Drunk yet??? Some day I will have the best staff in the world!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shropshire 0 #22 May 21, 2006 Another loverly series John - Thanks for sharing... That's some beautiful country that you have there. If you are ever in the U.K.... bring your boots. Regards, (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 7 #23 May 21, 2006 Next year I HAVE to take some vacation time and go camping. Now I just have to convience my wife that wondering off into the woods for a few days with some water, a blanket, knife and a couple MREs is a perfect hiking trip. *** I don't know Dave...remember your LAST 'camping' trip! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shropshire 0 #24 May 21, 2006 Where d'ya find that tiny man? or is that a REALLY big deer gun? (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beerlight 0 #25 May 22, 2006 John, thanks for all the pics. Looks like you have tons of fun on your hikes. I camped near the entrance of the Bracken Bat Cave just north of San Antonio this weekend and witnessed the unbelievable event of over 20 million Mexican Freetails leave the cave Saturday night. It lasted for hours! Next we woke around 4 am today and watched the bats return! Again, over 2 hours of them returning... Simply a moving experience... I'll post pics after the GF downloads........ Buck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
