Travel & Places
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Chilly Days at Stephen F. Austin State Park
Coral Berry, Symphoricarpos orbiculatus Ten petal anemone, Anemone berlandieri Forest took the following photos: In early February we made a our first camping trip since Thanksgiving. Bad weather had thwarted a couple of reservations before then and it appeared that bad weather was going to thwart this one. I know I’ve mentioned here before that it is one thing to be on a backpacking trip and having to hike all day and make progress and it is another to be camping with a kid and have to be able to entertain him while camping even if the weather is bad–I’d rather stay home and entertain a kid with all of…
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Hiking the Fawn Trail | South Llano River State Park
Our major hike at SLRSP was the Fawn Trail. We’d hiked a bit of this trail before the last time we were here when we’d connected it to the West Canyon Loop Trail. For the first portion of the trail it more or less follows the contour of a creek bed. Of course we took time to stop and inspect holes for potential wildlife… And there were interesting hunting blinds to inspect. Christmas Cholla, Cylindropuntia leptocaulis Our first find was this interesting antique can, a relic from the property’s ranch days. Cartilage Lichen, Ramalina celastri Slender Orange-Bush lichen, Teloschistes exilis Ruffle Lichens, Parmotrema sp. The vegetation along the creek opened…
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Along the South Llano River
Fishing along the river was something Chris was itching to do during our stay at South Llano River State Park. He’d fished there the last time we were here but since then there had been a massive flood back in October. Up and down the Llano River and some other adjacent riverine systems, flooding impacted the Hill Country. You can see some of the evidence in the last photo and I’ll share other photos I took from further away from the river where smaller creeks within the start park uprooted cacti and other vegetation as it flowed through the area. While Chris fished for Guadalupe bass, Forest threw rocks into…
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Winter Ramble at Tandy Hills Natural Area
Our trip to DFW after Christmas was chilly as per usual, though certainly no tenuous drive across Tarrant county as roads were icing like last year! We had one day where Chris and I were itching to get a hike in, to feel some movement, and so we went over to Tandy Hills for a short jaunt through the park. Zoe was game to go with us so we left Forest with Grayson under the eye of my Mom so they could play together for a bit. Being as it was winter, not a lot was going on. There have been several fires there recently, not for a controlled burn,…
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Wildlife at South Llano River State Park | Wildlife Wednesday
American Snout, Libytheana carinenta We were packing up the car to leave the state park when I noticed a butterfly landing on my backpack sitting on the picnic table. It was the first day of sunshine after a couple of cloudier days and surprisingly the butterflies were out. Not many, but just enough to make me happy! I had already taken the two butterfly photos you’ll see below before I saw this one and as I went closer to inspect the butterfly, before getting my camera to take a photo, I saw the odd, pointed snout and realized it was an American snout! I’d read about these butterflies but had…
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Birds & Mule Deer at Davis Mountains State Park | Wildlife Wednesday
We encountered this group of mule deer on our way up Skyline Drive one evening. Luckily we were going slow enough that I had Chris stop so I could get a photo with the moon as the backdrop. Thankfully this deer posted perfectly for me! And then there was this set of characters at one of the wildlife viewing areas that Chris and Forest saw (I was back at camp–I needed some quiet time!). Lesser Goldfinch, Spinus psaltria Yellow-rumped Warbler, Setophaga coronata Townsend’s Solitaire, Myadestes townsendi–Thanks Eliana for the ID! House Finch, Haemorhous mexicanus Acorn Woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis Pyrrhuloxia, Cardinalis sinuatus Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Dryobates scalaris White-winged…
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Scenes from TX-17 | Silent Sunday
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Around Camp | Davis Mountains State Park
Our campsite, 41, was not wide but it was spaced so that there was quite a bit of room on either side of us that we weren’t abutting the next campsites. I think the downside to this space was there was really only one spot for the tent which did happen to be closer to one of the campsites. That got frustrating one evening when we were in bed early (because dark and cold!) and the RV next to us decided to bring out a projector screen and watch a movie outside. Ooh boy. Some day I’m going to have a ranty post about campground quiet hours and how I…
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The View from Skyline Drive | Davis Mountains State Park
There are two ways to get to the main Scenic Overlook at Davis Mountains State Park: by car via Skyline Drive or by foot via the Skyline Trail. The trail itself is about 2.6 miles one way with the main overlook, I’m estimating, around halfway or just a bit more than that. We went the easy route, via truck, every evening. Most evenings we went for sunset, though there was one day, possibly the first day, where we arrived earlier and had a lot of daylight left to scope out the scenery below. The views were magnificent! The overlook was a popular place at sunset with many people bringing chairs…
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Seep Loop Trail | Davis Mountains State Park
As with the Limpia Creek Trail, this trail in the state park is on the north side of the highway. I should have mentioned in the post yesterday that you will have to get the combination to the lock to open the gate over there and check in and out of the trail at the park office when you go for your hike. This trail is not on the trail map for the park but it is on the general facility map for the park and is about 1.25 miles round trip. It is very easy going, sloping gently down to Limpia Creek where it crosses/kind of follows the creek.…