April 25, 2018 Balcones Canyonlands was acquired to provide habitat for two endangered songbirds–the black-capped vireo and the golden-cheeked warbler. We didn’t see either of them but we did enjoy a couple of hikes. There was a pond full of turtles behind the visitors’ center. The first hike afforded a Read more…
April 12, 2018 The Bastrop Historical Museum had one of the most interesting prehistoric artifacts we’ve seen. It’s a fossil of the basal rear part of an American Mastodon skull found in the Colorado River near Bastrop in 1992. The city of Bastrop was established in 1832 where the Colorado River Read more…
April 19-22, 2018 The Old Settler’s Music Festival is 31 years old and has moved from a venue near Austin to 142 acres a few miles from our campground. It promised roots music in a family-friendly atmosphere. We weren’t familiar with any of the performers and are very glad we Read more…
April 27, 2018 Government Canyon State Natural Area was created more for preservation than active recreation. There’s no swimming pool or ball fields, but there are 40 miles of trails on 12,000 acres of hills and canyons. We hiked five miles of trails and saw plants, insects, rocks, and trees. Read more…
April 11, 2018 It was Jane’s turn to plan an adventure so she sat down with a brochure on Texas Hill Country and Trip Advisor and planned a route she knew was ambitious: 222 driving miles, estimated driving time just over four hours. The plan didn’t account for the wrong Read more…
April 19, 2018 It’s easy to get caught up in the emotion surrounding the Alamo. Around 200 men died there defending the right of Texas to become a republic separate from Mexico. A cenotaph memorializes their sacrifice. The state of Texas has designated the area designed as a church as Read more…
April 14, 2018 Rockne is an unincorporated area in Bastrop County [population in 2000 was 400] and is only a few miles from our campground. We visited the Rockne Museum one Saturday afternoon. The area was settled by German Catholic immigrants in the mid-1850’s. The area was known by several Read more…
April 10, 2018 We finished our trip to Gonzales with a hike in the 300-acre Palmetto State Park.
April 5, 2018 Lockhart State Park was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1935 and 1938 and opened in 1948. We enjoyed walks on several trails.
April 10, 2018 We knew from our visit to the state history museum that the city of Gonzales, about 30 miles south of McMahan, had played a significant role in the Texas revolution so we checked it out. The drive was pleasant: Primrose, Indian paintbrush and Indian blanket (gaillardia) lined the highway. Read more…