We had the unique privilege to visit this park as part of field trip with our local homeschool group and it was such an awesome way to finally cross it off our list. We had behind the scenes tours set up at both the fort across the river and within the mission on state park grounds. I joked that this one field trip covered our Texas History curriculum for the year, haha!

We started our tour at Presidio La Bahia, the fort where the massacre of Col. Fannin and his men occurred during the Texas Revolution. Our tour guide seated us in the church and preceded to tell us the history, art design and current use of the building. Most interesting eerie detail I took away was the fact that over 300 captured Texians were held in that relatively small space for days before they were marched out to their execution. There were about 50 of us in there and the space felt tight enough! On a lighter note, we enjoyed the analysis of the symbolism in the mural in the church painted in 1946.

Afterwards, we took some time to explore the grounds of the fort before a stop in the museum and gift shop area. We learned about Captain Dimmitt’s flag that he designed and flew at what he called “Fort Defiance” in December of 1835 when Goliad declared its independence from Mexican rule. The image of the message that one would rather cut off their own arm than submit to tyrants predates the “come and take it” cannon flag, but wasn’t widely used because it was viewed too radical by many revolutionary leaders. I, however, loved it and purchased one for our home 🙂

From there, we entered the actual state park and had a picnic lunch before our tour of the Mission Espiritu Santo. We met up with our tour guide and he walked us through the many aspects of how the mission operated and what was original to its construction from almost 300 years ago and what restorations over the centuries took place. Many rooms were set up with displays giving us glimpses into the past and our guide had us for almost 2 hours answering any question those kids threw at him lol!

Once the official field trip was over and everyone dispersed, the kids and I took a walk down a trail along the San Antonio River to a camping area and back. We also visited the memorial for Col. Fannin and his men on the way home, but I didn’t get any pictures there.

We couldn’t have asked for a more educational and special way to visit such a historical state park! The camping and opportunity for paddling in the park looked appealing as well and could be worth another visit sometime.

-Lindsay

The last day of our October Hill Country parks visits, we left Fredericksburg and headed North to Colorado Bend State Park. It’s a decent sized park that borders a large section of a “bend” in the Colorado River. All of the camping is primitive with a lot of riverside spots and the hiking trails are on the long side and rugged. This park is also the most far flung from a main road or town that we have visited to date. We were supposed to visit this park once before a couple years ago in August, but I skipped it last minute due to the heat at the time potentially making the hike to Gorman Falls an extreme challenge. I’m glad we skipped it then, because the hike was challenging enough in 80 degrees and Nathan got to experience it with us after all!

After about a 5 mile drive down a narrow ranch road, we reached the entrance gate to the park. Shortly after, we were parked at the trail head and starting the 3 mile roundtrip hike by 12:30. Being there on a Saturday in the fall, we thankfully didn’t encounter too much congestion on the trail and the first mile was easy going.

The terrain turned more rocky and it was similar to traversing the landscape of Porter’s Hill until we got to the final decent to the falls.

A handrail chain had been put in place to assist in the almost 45 degree slope, but due to DECADES of foot traffic “polishing” the limestone surface, we mostly slid down on our butts and used the chains to control the slide.

At the bottom we were instantly met with the sights, smells and sounds of the waterfall. Only to be viewed from afar haha.

Even though my photos don’t show it, the area was quite crowded and numerous people lined the banks of the river taking a dip. We weren’t interested in attempting that activity. The steep riverbank was muddy and we had a 1.5 mile hike back. We found a few places to sit, had a snack and made our trek back the way we came in. Fortunately, scrambling up the rock slope easier than the slide down!

By 2:30, we were back at the car and heading to Llano for the night. On the way out, we stopped at the General Store of Bend, Tx. The closest convenience to the park. We got a coke and a look around wishing we could stay for a late lunch, but we had sightseeing to do in Llano. Bronson&Ryder Brewing and Llano River exploring rounded out our long weekend trip perfectly.

Gorman Falls was a great hike, but I feel the waterfall didn’t live up to the hype. I know the parks system is protecting the ecosystem around the falls from the heavy foot traffic the attraction brings in, but looking at it through brush was just anticlimactic. I would like to go back to this park for camping and more hiking, though. I would like to see the night sky in its remote location and challenge myself on its other rugged trails.

-Lindsay