Yep. We have now been there and done that. After carrying the goal of climbing the tallest peak in Texas around on a bucketlist for years, we did the dang thang.

The park was actually stop #2 of a 7 park, 10 day trip that we had planned all year with my newly retired dad to tackle with us. We started October 1st with an overnight at Monahans Sandhills State Park. Second visit for us, first for my dad. The kids were thrilled to be back there and I questioned if starting the trip off covered in sand was the best idea haha. Thank goodness for the parks excellent bathhouses.

The drive from Monahans to the national park the next day was quick and easy and we were set up in our “parking space” by noon. There is no electrical access in this park, only water. RVs park side by side in a parking lot and tent campers have a trail to some pads. There is a bathroom with flushing toilets and one sink as well as a dishwashing station. They also have a water bottle filling station that is filtered. We were aware of all the “boondocking” that this trip would entail ahead of time and Dad came armed with a solar panel, rechargeable battery and a portable refrigerator. So we had lights, charged phones or cold food! All while being good neighbors not running a generator constantly. The weather also stayed just right being 70 and sunny during the day with 40s at night that a good layer of blankets and warm clothing handled.

After getting the camper settled, the kids and I were restless and decided to tackle a hike to Devils Hall which also trailheaded at our campsite. We would be pushing it to get it done before dark, but it seemed doable. My brief research noted there was a large section of the hike where the trail was a “pick your own path” through a creekbed. Not really a big deal, we’re used to a rocky creekbed…except this was a BOULDERED creekbed that took a long time to traverse and was quite the effort. We made it to the first attraction along the trail, “Devil’s Hole,” and took in the crazy geological structure.

The trail beyond was more creekbed and I couldn’t tell how much farther we had to go with the limited trail map provided on line. It seems National Parks are geared towards hikers having handheld GPS capability than just going by a paper map with marked distances. Sooooo after gauging how long it took us to get to that point and still having to make it back, we decided far enough and turned back. Our neighbor later told us we were looking at another mile to the hall and that would have definitely put us back after dark and very exhausted before our big hike the next day. oh well.

We were on the trail to Guadalupe Peak by 7:30am Monday morning. The crowd in the park was fair during the week, but lots of cars had shown up in the pre dawn hours to get started. I’m going to just let pictures tell the story of what we traversed for 6 hours up and 3 hours down with an elevation change of 2,940 feet for 4.2 miles one way to put us at 8,750 feet above sea level. 🙂

It was intense, long, strenuous and could’ve gotten the better of us a few times. But it was also beautiful, historical and adventurous. We saw people give up and turn around with only a mile to go. We also saw people running up and lapping us. The way back down was quicker, but quite painful for all but Archer lol! The kid is built for distance and can keep a pace unlike anything I’ve seen. We were constantly calling him back to us or to at least wait!

The next day, we visited a historical homestead in the park and got a great view of the entire span of trail and peaks we covered.

All of us decided we are “one and done” with this feat. Tackling such a challenge with my dad, who has obviously had a huge hand in teaching me how to take on the hard stuff, along with my own kids made the victory even more special. Maybe, just maybe, they will want to haul their own kids up there one day and *maybe* I’ll do it again then.

There is definitely more to Guadalupe Mountain National Park than just the peak. The mountains are covered in geological marvels and 100s of miles of beautiful trails. One could spend weeks there exploring. The visitor center has a ton of fascinating information on the geographical and geological history for the area and then to see evidence of it in person is remarkable. I wouldn’t mind going back and making it all the way to Devil’s Hall at least!

-Lindsay

**I’m going to try some major catch up on posts the next couple of days. I’m 8 behind haha!**

At the beginning of March, Nathan was sent to North Carolina to attend a week long class for the new role he took on at work. And I was able to tag along! The kids spent the week in Houston with their grandparents and I took myself sightseeing everyday and had datenight with Nathan each evening. It was a fantastic time! Aside from the air travel. Which, at this point, I’ve mostly blocked from my brain so its whatever.

We landed in Asheville on a Monday and hit a couple of breweries (of which there are more than 50 in a relatively small city) having some tasty beers and food before the 30 minute drive to Lake Junaluska where the hotel and Nathan’s class were.

Tuesday morning, Nathan started his class and I took the day to sightsee locally. Lake Junaluska is a small resort community built on a man made lake bordering Waynesville. The area had summer camp and retirement community vibes and the hotel we were staying in was one of 2 on the lake and was the older of the 2, but carried more charm. But in some ways it reminded me of the hotel from “The Shining” lol! I enjoyed strolling the 3.5mile paved trail around the lake and was back at the hotel for some rest before heading out to dinner with Nathan.

After going into Waynesville the night before for dinner and seeing its cute, walkable downtown; I spent Wednesday’s afternoon checking out shops and had a yummy lunch at local brewpub.

Thursday was my biggest adventure day yet! I got up and out early and drove about 40 minutes into the Smoky Mountain National Park and did some serious hiking! I entered the park via the Oconaluftee Visitor Center and drove the Newfound Gap Road up and over the ridge of the Appalachian Trail, into Tennessee to access the trailhead for Chimney Tops. The drive alone was an adventure with the narrow roads, sharp turns, tunnels and intense elevation change. Empty water bottles in the floor board were crushing in on themselves! The Chimney Tops Trail came up as one of many points of interest for the park when I was researching hiking, but I chose it along with Alum Caves due to their relatively short mileage and accessibility. All other park roads were still closed for the winter and other POI’s would be quite a hike in. Chimney Tops was under 4 miles round trip, but was a doozy due to the constant elevation gain. But I made it and thoroughly enjoyed my break at the top watching the “smoke” move through the mountains. The trek down was 10 times easier although just as daunting due to the angle, but I enjoyed the scenery a little more.

Making my way back to North Carolina, I drove to the next trailhead already pretty tired, but curiosity of the cave made me head out again. This trail would be 5 miles roundtrip but didn’t have much elevation change. Unfortunately I didn’t make that destination. The hike was beautiful meandering along Alum Cave Creek, but the fatigue won and I turned around under the 2 mile mark. I did get to see and walk through an awesome washout in the mountain side and that satisfied my cave craving just fine.

I got back to the hotel that evening just in time for dinner and rewarded my muscles with some cold beers.

Friday was my last solo day and it was entirely spent at Biltmore Estate in Asheville. I walked the gardens until my 11 am tour time and spent the next hour in awe of the grandeur and history of the manor. The audio guide was thorough and entertaining. I thought about dedicating an entire blog post to this one experience, but will instead leave it as a photo dump and the recommendation to add it to your list. 🙂 It came highly recommended to me by a few people and after experiencing it I’m glad to say, “been there, done that.” The entire experience is grand and most appreciatively structured for hot tourist destination.

It was finally Saturday and after Nathan aced his test that morning, we were free to sightsee TOGETHER for the rest of the day as we didn’t fly back until Sunday. I had spent the week coming up with all the outdoorsy things we could do…mostly in the Smoky Mountains and the day had finally come annnnnddddd we woke up to a blanket of snow with more falling. That, of course, lead to road closures and the National Park being closed. Whomp Whomp. Nathan was determined to put his Texan driving skills to test on snow covered roads and found an opened route to the north of the mountains that would get us into Tennessee. We got into Sevierville; had lunch at a cool little tap room/cafe, then we went into Smoky Mountain Knifeworks and after some gawking, came out with a pocket knife for each boy and a bracelet for Ashlyn that actually had her name on it.

From there, we drove through Pigeon Forge into Gatlinburg enjoying both the natural snowcapped scenery as well as the gaudy tourist attractions. Pigeon Forge seemed like it was trying to be the Las Vegas of Tennessee. We did some walking along the main drag of Gatlinburg, enjoyed a brewery there and impulsively ducked into a “museum” of famous cars. lol! We both got a kick out of it and enjoyed the photo ops. Google Maps led us back to the hotel via some cool but questionable back roads, then it was time to rest up for our travel day back home.

This area definitely made the “got to bring the kids back here” list. We would probably stay on the Tennessee side that trip. They would enjoy Gatlinburg and Momma needs to see that cave still! We’re so grateful for our support people holding down the fort and yay for work sending us Nathan awesome places 😉

-Lindsay

We finally checked this one off the list! Guadalupe River State Park shares a boundary line with this day-use-only-must-be-admitted-under- the-supervision-of-a-guide natural area, but when we visited the neighboring state park in August of 2021, it was on a weekday and tours only take place on the weekends. Womp Womp. Luckily, Ashlyn requested a revisit to Guadalupe for her birthday THIS year so I selfishly plugged in a “while we’re there” event. She didn’t mind too much since there would be an old farmhouse to explore as well. So about a month in advance (these things reportedly book up) I scheduled us for May 8th to tour this pristine 2,000+ acre piece of hill country.

We met our Guide/Master Naturalist/Caver/State Park Volunteer at 9am that morning along with a supervising guide and about 15 other people and started off on a 2 mile hike that they estimated would take about 2 hours.

Our main attraction of the hike would be the creek itself, but along the way, our Master Naturalist pointed out numerous plant species. He took a liking to Weston, who stepped right up to sample any plant he deemed edible.

Around half way, there were a few tables set out with bones and unique rocks that had been found in the park and the kids enjoyed the hands on experience. We also saw an Eagle Scout built Brown-headed Cowbird trap. Apparently cowbirds are negatively affecting the song bird population by parasitically laying eggs in other bird’s nests to be hatched and the inferior chicks push the original young out. That was some new, wild information! We were not able to see how the trap worked, but hopefully it is effective.

Eventually we made our way down to the creek where numerous picnic tables were available and we were invited to sit, snack and take it all in.

Our return to the starting point was a more direct ascent up the hill and we were soon back at the farmhouse and were able to explore it as well. Before the state owned the property, it was a working ranch until the 60s and owned by the Weidner Family. Luckily, the house remains preserved by the park and descendants of the family still have annual reunions there. Just gotta love the details of an old house. 🙂

Our 2 mile hike took 3 hours due to numerous stops to look at plant details….. not our favorite way to explore a park. Botany is no doubt interesting, but even Ashlyn was forcing interest towards the end. I do, however, fully understand why they protect this area so fiercely and limit human traffic. There is a war of sorts occurring between state conservationists, landowners and developers over this spring fed resource that feeds into the Guadalupe River. The spring bubbles out on private property and the creek dumps in the river on state property and neighborhood developers just keep punching wells into the water table. Lots of tensions and lots of websites available to dig into for those interested. But at the moment, it seems private landowner and conservationists are on the same side and they’re going to make sure the area stays as natural as ever.

-Lindsay

** Well! A year flew by fast! Here’s hoping my memory will help me catch up.**

During our September visit to ETX, we pit stopped at Buescher State Park for two nights and had the opportunity to day trip Bastrop State Park just 12 miles away via a scenic park road. It was a beautiful, hilly, winding drive along a ridge and the forest’s comeback from wildfires ten years ago made for a very unique landscape. The wildfires destroyed much of Bastrop State Park’s “Lost Pines” and threatened it’s historic CCC structures. While TPWD has made great strides in reforestation and restoring facilities, much of the park was still closed. And since we opted to take the scenic route instead of exiting Buescher and entering from the highway, we only made it as far as the trailhead parking on the far side of the park before the through road was closed. But the park is quite small and their alert system was very thorough, so we had a hiking route planned to hit all the major sights.

The start of the trail was entertaining and fun with small hills, bridges and switchbacks. Shade was lacking since there were few tall tree survivors.

We made our way past some beautiful campsites in a valley that showcased what the entire park once looked like, then up on the ridge past some pull through sites.

Once in the day use area, we scoped out the exquisite cabins. Seriously, they were a kind of craftsmen style with tall ceilings, wood floors, elaborate trimwork…. glamping for sure! Coupled with the cabins were the most stunning bathhouse facilities with incredibly cold air conditioning. I definitely appreciated the addition of a dishwashing station!

From there, we strolled past the CCC built refectory, swimming pool (closed for the season) and former golf pro shop. The golf course was open until 2015, now the golfcart paths are incorporated into the hiking trails.

Our final stop was park headquarters where we officially checked in (haha) and enjoyed some ice cream. We had now travelled the entire park! Time to head back the way we came! Not the kids favorite thing to hear, but they managed. They liked the hilly trails more than flat sidewalk and road hiking.

Bastrop is a beautiful park with dozens of creature comforts available. There’s many points of interest to enjoy between the old history and the more recent history. However the park is somewhat small, the campsites lack privacy and the proximity to highway 71 makes for constant road noise. We would likely still choose the more “dated” neighbor, Buescher State Park, for our camping needs. But that Blue Bell at Bastrop headquarters sure did hit the spot. 😁

-Lindsay

50 STATE PARKS VISITED! Whoohoo! And while we’re past the milestone of half way, there’s something cool about accumulating 50 park visits. 😁 Buescher didn’t carry any particular significance for being our 50th, but rather timed out as a convenient pitstop on our way to ETX to visit friends before the busy holidays at the end of 2021. I had originally looked at Bastrop SP, but due to almost half the campsites being closed for renovations, it was mostly booked. Uniquely enough, Buescher is located 12 miles away connected by a scenic park road and had plenty of openings.

On Wednesday, September 29, we arrived and were set up by 2:30. Ready to explore, we checked out a CCC built recreation hall and the walkways around it before heading to the outskirts of the park closer to Bastrop SP to explore more of the “Lost Pines.”

A quick history note: in 2011 the area was ravaged by a month long wild fire that destroyed thousands of acres in the geographical phenomenon of a pine tree forest in central Texas. 10 years later, the obvious effects remain while showcasing mother nature’s ability to rebound.

The 2.75ish mile hike through pine gulch was incredible. The terrain of the trail was highly entertaining and challenging with it’s elevation changes and switchbacks. It was also shocking to exit a towering canopy of ancient pine trees into an open area of charred remains and new growth displaying the fires’ movement.

We called it a day after that with some dinner back at camp and an early bedtime. We would be exploring Bastrop State Park the next day. And I will go ahead and make note now that we were really happy with our stay at Buescher. The campsites are private and sizable. Ours had a small trail accessing the lake, but it was supposed to be off limits while we were there as they were repairing the dam and other structures around it. After our day visit to Bastrop, and checking out their amenities, I think I would continue to book at Buescher for the peace and quiet. Even if their bathhouses aren’t as swanky 😉

-Lindsay

After our leisurely departure from South Llano River and a short drive to North San Antonio, we were set up at a lovely campsite just in time for dinner.

With plenty of daylight left after eating, we drove to the riverside park to scope out what we could get into the following day. We were thrilled to discover a beautiful section of crystal clear river shaded by towering cypress trees with a limestone cliff as the backdrop. AND there were only like 5 other humans there (and a few creepy buzzards milling about 😆).

And by the looks of the huge parking lot and overflow parking available for the spot, it appeared it could get quite congested at peak times. We decided to take advantage and planned for an entire day of lounging riverside for this visit. After a little more exploring, Weston made a fire and we enjoyed s’mores and hanging out at the enormous campsite.

The next morning, we had a laugh to discover the local raccoons had helped themselves to our yeti cooler in the middle of the night and ate ONLY the rest of our chocolate bars for s’mores. We had been warned they were crafty, but underestimated their ability to adapt to current ice chest latching systems! We were lucky they didn’t clean us out entirely, just satisfying a sweet tooth. 😉

Our day of river play was so relaxing and perfect. A few people trickled in and out during the day, but we still felt like we had the river all to ourselves. The kids chased minnows, built rock dams and floated. Sally and I lounged on the shore and waded around occasionally. We finished out the R&R day with another campfire (without s’mores unfortunately) and a good night’s sleep after locking the ice chests in the car of course.

It goes without saying, we barely touched on what this park has to offer. We have to go back. For starters, we missed out on touring the Honey Creek State Natural Area (part of our total count) that’s within the park’s boundaries as it’s only open on weekends. We didn’t hike a single trail either and there’s a whole section on the other side of the river.

This park ended up being our last stop of the tour. We had 2 more nights planned at Choke Canyon State Park, but after learning the park was under a boil water notice and plans developing for a trip to Rocksprings that weekend following our return, we all agreed to cut the trip short and headed straight for home.

While we didn’t meet all the goals I had in mind, we hadn’t pulled a trip off like this yet! Camping at the height of summer definitely had its draw backs, but we did eventually acclimate and when we returned to our 76* home, that temperature then took some getting used to! Haha. And even though I had planned on 14, being gone for 12 days was still the longest we have achieved. It makes me optimistic about our ability to venture outside this massive state now that we live at the bottom of it!

– Lindsay

After Abilene, we were officially over half way through our trip and were pointed back South. We took our time packing up from Abilene. I was getting pretty tired by now of loading and unloading the kayaks from the pop up. Especially after not using them at the last 2 parks, but at South Llano River State Park, they would end being worth hauling every mile!

Our drive was easy and pleasant and we were set up by 2 pm with a light drizzle and overcast skies making for quite a cool afternoon. We took advantage and jumped right on a 3.5 mile rountrip hike to check out a canyon wall where water seeps out apparently creating a habitat for lizards and wrens. No luck on finding lizards, but the kids enjoyed scaling the canyon wall and testing their limits (mine as well).

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After an early dinner, we drove to nearby Junction to get some more ice and food for the next few days since we didn’t do it on the way in. We crossed the Llano River leaving the park and the highway travelled along side it into town. I was in the middle of pondering out loud that there must be someway to float or kayak this stretch when I saw a sign for a kayak shuttle service outside a restaurant! A sign is a sign, so we pulled in to find out more! Fortunately, the owners were there and after a brief conversation and some convincing for the boys, our plans for Monday were set. 🙂

That morning we ate our weight in pancakes, loaded all 3 kayaks onto and into the car and drove to the river crossing at the entrance of the state park. Sally stayed behind in her kennel in the camper. We unloaded the kayaks on the river bank, told them to stay, hopped back into our car and drove it to a park in Junction 7 miles downstream. We then called our new friend, Bill with Paddler’s Porch, and he picked us up in his truck and shuttled us back to our kayaks! All for the fair price of $30! Along the way, he gave us tips and tricks for the journey and we chatted about ETX as he’s originally from Longview. Always a small world. I was a big fan of the arrangement. Our car would be at the finish line, we could travel on our schedule and we knew if we wanted to see it again; we better finish! And I didn’t have a plan much beyond that. I packed a backpack that was bungeed on my stern with 10 bottles of water, multiple snacks, sandwiches and tuna packets. Ashlyn was to command the 7ft “banana boat,” Weston the 5ft youth yak and Archer on the bow of my 10 footer.

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How I wish I had the ability to type out every inch of the 7miles of rapids, obstructions, and still very wild river we traversed over the span of 4.5 hours. I also wish I had a go-pro on the bow to capture some of the shit we went through! Cliff notes are; Ashlyn is a natural, she is all in and was our lead through the whole trip. She would go through rapids ahead of us and call out where the fast cuts were and where branches were hanging out. Her only complaint was fatigue at the end. But she’s ready to go again. ATTA GIRL! Weston’s boat was too small for him already. He also got flustered easy and flipped a few times. He was smart every time and found his footing first before messing with his boat. But for the last half mile, he ended up sitting on my stern holding a tow on his boat while I trucked it to out run a storm that chased us our last mile to the finish. Navigating a 10foot kayak with 60lbs on the bow was a booger, but Archer did really well holding still in the middle as best he could and the one time we got sideways on a log in the river and flipped, he did just as I had advised in my pep talk at the beginning and got clear of the boat to stand up. His biggest complaint was being sore sitting in one position for so long.

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We made it to the city park where we left the car and got the boats loaded all before a hellacious storm blew through. Then, I treated everyone to huge blizzards from Dairy Queen. The whole thing was the most epic adventure I’ve done with the kids yet and while hard, it was perfect! They were awesome at being safe and following directions. Being a completely foreign river to all of us and tackling it with their limited practice on their kayaks, there was just enough risk to make the completion so rewarding! For me and Ashlyn anyways…the boys never want to kayak again. Lol! Maybe they will grow into it, maybe they won’t, but in the meantime I’m looking forward to the next trail with my pro paddler. 😍

After that very full day, we returned to a power outage at the park. Everything was still cool at least since the storm had just blown through. Sally was happy to see us and we spent the evening with an early dinner watching the dozens of armadillos mill about the camping loop. The power came back on in time for bed and we treated our sore bodies to an early bedtime.

The next morning after a good night’s rest, we packed up camp and spent some play time at the “waterfall” area of the river at the front of the park. We had learned the previous day that was basically the clearest spot for the next 7 miles of the South Llano River and the boys were bitter over their lack of swim time the day before. Sally got in on the action as well and we stayed until our hunger drove us into town for a quick Sonic lunch and we were on our way to Guadalupe River State Park.

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This was MY FAVORITE PARK OF THE ENTIRE TRIP. And not just for our kayak adventure. It is still so wild there! We saw whitetail deer, axis deer, turkeys (there’s actually a whole protected roosting area in the park for them), javelina, hogs, coyotes, jack rabbits, raccoons, and so many armadillos we lost count. The park is a registered “International Dark Sky” location and all the campers respected the lights out policy. We were able to walk at night by not moonlight, but STAR light. Just stunning. The campsites are beautiful and accommodating with their awnings and multiple shade trees. I can’t wait to go back. Fortunately, it makes a perfect half way stop for visiting our Lubbock family!

-Lindsay

After an early break down of camp at Brownwood and the shortest drive between parks for the entire trip, we were set back up at Abilene State Park by 12:30. And it seemed we had out run the humidity finally! While the temp was still in the 90s, we were finding being outdoors lovely! With this park being our midway point in the trip, we opted for some activities with civilization. The rest of Friday would be spent sightseeing in the park, but Saturday was reserved for the Abilene Zoo, laundry and dinner at a famous steakhouse.

We started off walking the short 1/4 mile trail from the camping loop to the hub of the park where all the CCC structures stand. The main draw of the park is an almost all original CCC constructed swimming pool…which was closed for repairs. Doh. But we still enjoyed the architecture and the walk there and back was shaded and beautiful.

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Once back at the camper, we hopped in the car with some fishing gear to check out the lake. Uniquely, the lake is across a somewhat busy highway from the park and there isn’t a trail other than walking alongside the highway for a mile between gates. No thanks, we’ll drive haha. We fished for while and explored the shoreline until it was time for dinner. The water was a murky red color thanks to the dirt/clay bottom so we didn’t bother with swimming. It seems like a serene lake to kayak on as the park doesn’t allow anything bigger than a trolling motor to run on it and they even have a kayak rental station (a first for us). But we had bigger plans for Saturday than paddling.

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We woke up Saturday morning to super low humidity and 68*! We had found Fall! Haha. The weather certainly set us up for a lovely morning at the Abilene zoo and we while it is a small setup, we really enjoyed the variety and cleanliness they offered. We saw a cobra exhibit and I told the kids that may have been the first I’ve ever seen.

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Next we picked up some camp groceries and lunch goodies at HEB…the ONLY HEB in Abilene…it was a mad house. Then google led us to a laundromat with good reviews. Just in time, our laundry pile was taking over and our towels needed some freshening up.

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After our chore was complete, we had just enough time to take the laundry back to the camper and give Sally some outside time before before our 5pm dinner reservations at Perini Ranch Steakhouse. Located just a few miles from the state park and set within the boundary of Perini Cattle Ranch, the restaurant has gained nationwide popularity as a “ranch to table” concept with authentic cowboy cooking. Dining here was definitely a “when in Rome” opportunity! I had a fantastic ribeye, Ashlyn had ribs and the boys each a catfish platter. For dessert, I took a chance on a jalapeño cheesecake and had zero regrets while the kids split a square of chocolate sheet cake. Our table was outside and in addition to the food, we thoroughly enjoyed the scenery of the rustic grounds. So, yea, 10/10 recommend!

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We went to bed with full bellies and loaded up early the next morning to make our way to South Llano State Park. All in all Abilene State Park is a pleasant park. We met quite a few couples camping there just for a quick getaway from the city. The boundary crossing a busy highway is odd, but the trails offered along with the pool when it’s operational on the main side somewhat makes the lakeside obsolete in my opinion. We thoroughly enjoyed our day trip into civilization while in that area as well! Now back to the wild 😁

-Lindsay

We didn’t have much prior knowledge or expectations for Lake Brownwood other than it is a prominent CCC Park and was very convenient to visit on our way to Abilene. Thanks to our morning kayak trip on Inks Lake, we had to,pack the camper up around 10 am just as the heat of the day was setting in. So we took our time for the drive up there and arrived just before 3. Thankfully this site had another prominent shade tree for midday coverage. But the heat of the trip was still getting the best of us and the break down and set up of day 5 was rough.

To kill time until it was a more agreeable temperature for cooking and eating dinner, we drove to notable CCC structures alongside the lake. We marveled at the great deal of stones and intricate brick work used in the construction of the recreation hall and numerous lake overlooks.

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We also checked out a most unique bridge near the boat ramp. Tucked in a little cove is a canoe and kayak dock and this bridge provides access to the picnic area from the ramp without going around. The kids liked the wide open view of the lake and the little bit of sway the bridge did haha.

After dinner, we explored the lake frontage near the campsite. I was surprised to see the lake level was a little higher than the park is used too. I guess the rains earlier in the year made quite an impact on even the lakes notorious for being low. The water was deep with little clarity, so we wrote off swimming and kayaking during our visit.

We slept in the next morning thankfully and hit a short hike accessible from our campsite after breakfast. It was along one of the lakeside ridges scattered along the shore and we enjoyed moderate terrain and nice views.

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That afternoon was spent in the car traveling to the other side of the lake looking for lunch at a local marina. Unfortunately they were short staffed and would only be serving dinner that day. Instead we rested and snacked in the camper until the sun went down a little more and then hung out on the fishing pier. Again, we didn’t catch anything, but we saw a gar act like a dolphin hitting the surface and that was surprising and entertaining. After dinner, we settled in for an early bed time with an early departure the next morning (so happy to pack up when it was cooler) for Abilene State Park.

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Lake Brownwood is a beautiful area with what seems like the best of what central Texas, the plains and hill country have to offer. The lake is ideal for motor boats. Wide open, deep and minimal obstruction to just blow and go. That part along with our heat depleted energy made kayaking un-appealing for us. Perhaps, another time of year and more time in the park could give way to some fun paddling along the shore. The hiking in the park was entertaining, but we didn’t do the 2 other long trails and I’m sure those are rewarding. But the main draw, in my opinion, has to be the historical CCC aspect. SO MUCH work has gone into every corner of that park and you can just imagine a glorious heyday of outdoor gathering during a simpler time.

-Lindsay

Stop number 2 had been highly anticipated for a couple of years after our visit to nearby Longhorn Cavern. I was also very optimistic about our campsite! A less crowded weekday reservation allowed me to have options to choose from and I was able to select a well reviewed water front site! And it did not disappoint! We had a long, level concrete pad with a perfect shade tree over the camper. The water front provided an ideal kayak launch as well! So ideal, that other nearby campers politely asked if they could share the launch and they ended up being a very sweet couple we enjoyed chatting with. And as icing on the cake, the nearby bathhouse was brand new and air conditioned (!) literally the nicest one we have ever seen! If I have to list a con, it would only be that there is zero privacy between sites. That appears to be the case throughout the huge 300+ campsite park anyways. The hilly landscape and lake more than make up for it.

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Once we were popped up we headed across the camping loop to the trail head for The Devil’s Waterhole. Along the way we were distracted down/up another trail to take in a large section of Gneiss (pronounced nice, thanks for reading that plaque Ashlyn!) rocks and ended up in the dried up bed of Spring Creek that feeds into the lake. Apparently when it’s flowing, the area is a beautiful waterfall and lovely to swim in!

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We finally made it to a more reliable swimming spot coined the Devil’s Waterhole. The rock formations and cliff sides surrounding the narrow corner of the lake were stunning! The water, however, left a bit to be desired for me haha. The clarity was decent enough, but the globs of weeds? pond scum? sludge?….not quite sure what it was… kept drifting by and I wasn’t hot enough to swim with it. I guess the kids were though! They just swam around the chunks and found a good perching rock. We were able to witness one person jump from the highest point of the cliff and it got Weston’s attention, but we decided best to save that for the next day.

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After dinner, we drove to the other side of the park, which is quite large, and tried a fishing pier. We chunked lures for a bit, but didn’t catch anything other than a beautiful sunset.

The next morning after some bacon, eggs and biscuits Ashlyn, Weston and myself hopped on the kayaks while Archer and Sally lounged in the AC of the camper. We paddled around the corner back to the Devil’s Waterhole and up into the narrows as far as we could. Weston hopped off and attempted climbing up the cliff side to jump, but couldn’t get a good grip on the slippery rock in a bulky life jacket and I wasn’t ready for him to jump without one. Another time. They both enjoyed more swim time before we paddled back for lunch.

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Later, Archer gave kayaking in our cove a go and found it kind of meh. Weston and I went back out before dinner to look at another fishing pier. We were really loving that launch site! The boys waded around chasing minnows until dinner and then Weston built a fire for our s’mores. The rest of the relaxing evening was spent watching the fire and the water until it got dark and Archer was ready for bed. The 3 of us opted to sit in the dark and wait the fire out…until a skunk showed up and started digging through our not yet thrown out trash! 😆 Once our light hit him and we realized what he was, it was a race of who ran from who faster! Lol After he stayed away for a minute or 2, I retrieved the bag and sent it to the dumpster. Archer was a little bummed he missed the chaos haha.

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The next morning, Archer hopped on the bow of my kayak and we paddled into the Waterhole and he casted along the bank. One more ride before it was time to pack up. We WILL be back and will get that exact spot and will stay longer and will bring Nathan! Everything was amazing and we barely saw the highlights. We were rallying from Lockhart for sure, onward to Lake Brownwood!

-Lindsay