No blog for May

There will be no state park visit for the month of May. The blog has continued for one year and may end with April as my last written report; I shall continue to travel to the parks since I love my time outdoors.

Big Bend Ranch State Park

In April, we visited Big Bend Ranch State Park. My husband and I stopped at the Barton Warnock Visitor’s Center, where they sell daily passes to the state park plus Big Bend National Park. Both are huge parks and are popular places to visit, even on weekdays, like the day we arrived. We didn’t stop by the office within the park; the trip required driving 27 miles on a dirt road with a suggested speed limit of 25 mph.

 

The visitor’s center had a lovely desert garden that was 2.5 acres; we enjoyed the stroll around it and took pictures before moving on. The tree on the right is a Parkinsonia aculeata.

In 1988 the state of Texas acquired the Big Bend Ranch, which covers over 300,000 acres. It was purchased from Robert O. Anderson, who became the largest private land owner in the United States in 1969 when he bought the property and begin running it as the Diamond A Cattle Company. He partnered with Walter Mitchell when it became a hunting preserve (in the 1980’s). The park operated on a limited basis in 1991. In 2007, it fully opened to the public as Big Bend Ranch State Park.

The city of Lajitas is located along the park road. We drove six-tenths of a mile going from city signs at both ends of the little town. Another thing that caught my interest was a sign I saw a few times; it warned motorists of “loose livestock”. There are cattle farms inside the park and the owners are allowed ‘free range’ grazing in the park. Due to this policy, cattle could wander in front of vehicles. Some are Longhorns but we didn’t see any cattle.

 This would be an excellent park for serious hikers or for those who enjoy horseback riding. There are miles and miles of trails to be explored within the borders of Big Bend State Park. We walked down the Hoodoos Trail–one of the shorter trails. It was a rugged trail, 2.1 miles in length, with beautiful views for picture taking. Due to animals like bear and mountain lions one might run into, the park visitor needs to be aware of what’s around them. I read instructions on a park sign regarding what to do if a bear came near. They suggested making yourself as tall as possible and yelling. A person who turns and runs (which seems like the natural reaction) appears to be easy prey to the bears. And bears can run faster than people.

 

 

 

I also read instructions about taking along a minimum of a gallon of water when hiking. That seemed like a common recommendation in state parks with long walking trails.


 

Above is a photo taken from the trail and below is the Rio Grande.

My usual trash pick up was along the Voodoo trail; I found very little during the hike.

I waded in the Rio Grande River while in the park and knew that Mexico was on the other side of the river (the water was chilly in April).

We saw signs advertising kayaking and rafting in the Rio Grande: summer pastimes. Long distance mountain bikers would find a paradise for peddling around FM 170, the main park road. And, individuals who like roughing it while camping would find a wonderful park for tent camping. Although I’m sure summers in this desert climate are tough on the tent campers.

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re a person who enjoys hiking and stargazing this is the park for you. The Big Bend area is one of the best places in the United States for seeing the night sky clearly. El Solitario, the park newspaper, had an article about junior high school children spending 3 nights and 4 days on a school sponsored park trip. Obviously the park staff is welcoming of unique adventures for young folks who enjoy outdoor trips, too. I left with too many adventures unexplored, as usual.

San Angelo State Park

March is San Angelo State Park month. We started out at the South Shore of San Angelo Park, planning to move on to the North Shore later.

Unfortunately, the park volunteer at the front desk informed me that the season for rainbow trout was on it’s way out. I’d love to catch a decent size trout and the park handout stated they do have fishing equipment to loan out. But, since late winter isn’t the best time to catch them, I decided not to fish. Javelina Pond is the place to fish at San Angelo State Park, since it’s stocked on a regular basis. O.C. Fisher Lake is normally the swimming and boating area. The lake was at 16 percent capacity during our visit, due to lack of rain in recent years.



 

O.C. Fisher Lake above and Burkett Trail below.

 

Although we only walked on the Burkett multi-use trail, there are over 50 miles of biking, walking and horse trails in the park. We saw bikers, walkers, and a jogger, but no horses. Those bringing their horses to the park can leave them at the equestrian area not far from the beginning of the path we walked along. Horses can also be tethered next to some of the campsites.

Bison and Longhorn cattle can be seen in the fenced areas of this park (if one is lucky). Both the bison and some of the Longhorn cattle are part of Official State of Texas Longhorn and Texas Bison herds given to the state in the early 1900’s. We just observed bison, but they were too far away to take a picture of since I didn’t have a telephoto lens. Lesson learned: bring along a camera with a telephoto lens if you want a picture of fenced animals.

I saw the outside of six small cabins that have electricity, a microwave, refrigerator and sleeping space for six. There’s also a bunkhouse–which also sleeps six. It’s roomier and has a bathroom.

Some of the trailer sites at this park are reserved for a full month’s time rather than the usual two week limit. The decision to open the sites for a longer period of time was useful to those who temporarily moved into the area due to jobs in the oil fracking industry.

I took a picture of burned trees and grass in the park. This burning was deliberately done to eliminate grass, cactus plants, and mesquite trees.





 

Above is a beautiful set of playground at the South Entrance and below is the tent discussed below.

 

After leaving South Shore, we traveled about 9 miles to reach the North Shore entrance. Upon arrival, there was no one at the check-in gate. A park ranger stopped by as we wandered around the entrance and checked our yearly park pass. If no one is at the gate, visitors are expected to put the $4.00 entrance fee in the drop box.

We saw an unusual home while exploring this part of San Angelo Park. A tent owner had a tarp over his/her tent and another one around the picnic table. Perhaps for protection from wind and rain? Since no people were seen at either the tent or the trailer in the same camping area, we were unable to ask questions about the eye-catching large tent with a pirate flag displayed next to the tent exterior. There was no activity around this part of the park at all on this late winter day.

As usual, I picked up trash. There wasn't much: a can, a bottle and paper.

 This is a great park for the person who enjoys taking their horse along to the park. Individuals who like to walk, jog, or bike ride would enjoy exploring the trails at San Angelo State Park too. Personally, I’d love to return in the late fall and try to catch a trout or two. I left the park with this plan to come back.

Lockhart State Park

February’s park combines all the benefits of visiting a state park plus a day at the golf course for those who enjoy the sport. Yes, my husband and I played golf at scenic Lockhart State Park in December of 2015! I went in December for two reasons. Reason one: we were in the area and I don’t like to camp in cold weather but wanted to keep up the blog-a-month during winter months. Two: it was an unusually warm day with Christmas right around the corner; what better day for golfing?

Knowing I would be there for only a day, I still picked up a trail map–and a couple of other handouts–at the front office. The trails were all noted on this map as well as the five pools along the spring fed Clear Fork Creek. The creek is supposed to be a good spot to catch bass, catfish and sunfish.

The Entrance sign isn't clear since the picture was taken mid-day. The golf carts we rented were parked a short distance from the front office building.

  I also walked over to the swimming pool area, an easy walk from the front office/check-in building. The original stone walls built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) still exist around the pool area but the first pool was replaced in the 1970’s. There was no water in the pool but it will be filled before re-opening, around Memorial Day, and will be an ideal place to cool off then.

Going back to my ‘to-do-list-at-Lockhart’, my husband and I quickly rented a golf cart and started down the course. We had hardly any company while playing the game since it was a weekday. That was great since it was a challenging 9 holes for me.

After golfing, I took a walk down one of the shorter trails. The one I chose, the CCC Trail, was a winding, very hilly trail. I was glad the trail only covered .08 of a mile. There was a handrail along the first part of the walk that I used and stone steps on the path were constructed by the CCC workers back in the 1930’s. The trail started at a trailer camping area and ended at the golf course.

The beginning and end of the rugged CCC trail.

Looking for other activities, I noticed another handout for park visitors titled “Public Programs”. It included archery lessons that were part of a Homeschool Series for ages 10 through 18 years old. I’m sure the front office would be glad to tell anyone interested if these public programs continue in 2016.

I didn’t pick up trash at this park. I saw no trash on the golf course, where I spent most of my time.
Before leaving Lockhart State Park, I took a picture of a CCC building that I was told is now being used as the park director’s residence.

I applaud the state parks for keeping up these CCC buildings. I'm sure it requires hard work to maintain them.

This is a park worth visiting, especially if you’re a golfer, even a real amateur like I am. In the summer, it would be an adventure to take in a golf game in the morning and a swim in the pool in the afternoon. Swimming and golf on a warm day? What a plan as I sit in front of my computer on a cold winter day…

 

In March, it will likely be warm while I’m enjoying another Texas state park.

Bastrop State Park

January’s park is Bastrop State Park. When I talked to park employees at the front office, one of the first thing I heard about was the “Lost Pines” that are found in the park. They’re actually Loblolly Pines, the same type of trees found over 100 miles east of Bastrop Texas. These trees grow very well, despite adapting to about 30 percent less rainfall in the Bastrop area. A wildfire destroyed much of the plant life at this park in 2011. There are still dead trees and partially fire damaged ones in the park. Not only was there loss of wildlife and plants, but two people who lived in the area lost their lives. According to the park employees, one lady died when going back to rescue her horse and a man died attempting to go back for a tool box.

This Administration building is near the cabins. The signs are in front of both dying and new growth.

I expected to see a sad sight with just grass remaining since I was aware of the fire that raged through the area despite firefighters fighting the blaze. Instead, I saw healthy trees remaining and newly planted pines along with trees just growing on their own–as they do in any forest. These new trees, along with those not destroyed by the fire, convinced me that they will thrive and make the area even more beautiful for those who love walking or driving through forest lands.

Bastrop State Park had a ten acre lake–Bastrop Lake–that disappeared after a dam failure last Memorial Day weekend. The water all escaped the area, much of it ending up in the Colorado River. Eight inches of rain fell in one hour and flooded the lake to the point that it destroyed the dam and caused the water to drain within days of the dam breaking. During my visit to Bastrop, I observed engineers working in the dry area where the lake once was, studying how to bring this lake back again.

Danger signs are above the site of the former Bastrop Lake and Lake Mina in the photo below.

Lake Mina was the second small lake at Bastrop and now is the only lake. I was informed that it’s a good fishing spot.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed many buildings at Bastrop State Park. Cabins built by these CCC workers are still available for rent at the park. Cabins 1-5 and thirteen are built of stone while 6-12 and fourteen are log cabins. All were constructed of native materials. I stayed in cabin one: just viewing the exterior and interior stone and carving around the fireplace was worth the modest price charged for the rental property.

Cabin one with our park transportation in front of the beautiful scene.

I found little trash when looking for items to pick up during this usual part of my park visit. Although I picked up trash, I failed to take a picture of it.

While on the subject of trash, it’s worth mentioning the recycling efforts. Bastrop has the best recycling program I’ve run into at any of the Texas parks I visited. Plastic bags are available at the front desk and park visitors are encouraged to take one to dispose of recyclable items (such as cans, paper, plastics and glass) while enjoying the park. There was a separate trash can in the cabin for recycling purposes also. I applaud the park employees who adopted this program and hope to see the idea spreading to all Texas parks.

As usual, I loved this Texas park and was sad to be leaving so soon.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park

Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon in the U.S.A.; and if you live east of Texas, I would recommend visiting Palo Duro State Park rather than heading up to the Grand Canyon Park. The canyon is 120 miles long and up to 20 miles wide according to the park website. You’ll be able to walk to the bottom of some of the caverns without a great deal of difficulty and, (especially if you arrive during the week) easily get a campsite. And, I found the Texas scenery just as stunningly beautiful as the Arizona scenery on the north slope of the Grand Canyon Park (after we were unable to get a camping site at the south slope when we arrived there a couple of years ago).

A view from a higher point.

 There were many other things to do at this park other than exploring the canyons. The first thing I did was stop at the El Coronado Lodge. Park volunteers run this store and interpretive area.  (I went through this lodge on a weekend and it was a little crowded in the building.) The visitor can buy anything from post cards, nice jewelry, books, etc.; things to help you recall your visit or find information about the history of the Palo Duro area by just walking around the displays or stopping to catch one of the documentaries on screen.  I stopped to watch a documentary about Charles Goodnight and John Adair. In 1876, they started the ranch credited with saving bison ancestors of the herds now found at Caprock Canyons State Park–which is less than a day’s drive from Palo Duro. The most interesting information to me was found in the Civilian Conservation Corps Room (CCC). I learned that the CCC workers, who did so much construction in the parks we can still enjoy, received a paycheck of $30.00 per month and $25.00 of the pay was sent to their families. These 1930’s wages sound unbelievably low today!

One of the CCC buildings still being used daily.

Getting back outside, there was a lot of room to roam around the park. I even managed to get information from a ranger about an event that would begin in about an hour at the Interpretive center: Native Indian dances. I made plans to make it over to watch the dancers. Before leaving, he informed me that Horny Toads (once on the endangered list) are making a comeback in this park and I found out the name of Interpreter Jeff Davis. Jeff gave me information about the performers who were just arriving and about the Aoudad Sheep found in the mountainous areas of Palo Duro. I saw no Horny Toads nor Aoudad Sheep at this park–the sheep live in both Palo Duro and Caprock Canyons Park.

Pioneer Days were going on during my visit. The dancers below were also part of this event.

I did see the dancers, who were Boy and Girl Scouts from about 6 years old to scouts in their late teens. Although they weren’t Native American Indians, they studied and practiced Indian dancing enough to look like professional dancers. It was a great show.

I found this trash right after a crowd left when Pioneer Days events ended.

I reluctantly left Palo Duro Park, knowing I left much of the park unexplored, as usual. I vowed to come back but also looked forward to seeing my next state park destination.

Caprock Canyons State Park

When I entered Caprock Canyons State Park, I wasn't prepared for all this park had to offer. I saw: more wild animals than I'd ever seen in one day at a state park; a beautiful lake; and breathtaking canyons and rock formations. I met a group of horseback riders near the "Little Red Tent" primitive camping area. Their picture is below.

There's a five mile scenic tour of the canyon; my husband (my driver) and I took pictures of bison on the way. It was exciting to be in the car with huge bison outside roaming around unpenned. They weigh up to 2000 pounds.The park is fenced and there are cattle crossing rails to keep them inside. But, with my vivid imagination, I could have been on a stagecoach in the 1800's, traveling across this rough country with views of bison possible with every turn of the road. Without the generosity of Charles and Mary Ann Goodnight, who donated bison many years ago to save the species that was on the road to becoming extinct, the awesome animals I saw wouldn't be alive today. They're called the "Official Texas State Bison Herd". Seeing the large herds, I was grateful for this gift and the park staff's decision to let the animals run free, just as they would have been viewed many years ago. When talking to Park Interpreter LeAnn Pigg, I learned that there are approximately 125 of these animals in the park and the population has increased by 25 in the last year. What great news!

I also learned about Aoudad sheep, an elusive species found high in the mountainous rocky areas of Caprock Canyons. Aoudad were brought to Texas from North Africa in the 1950's, escaped the fenced areas they were kept in, and now live in areas that are high and dry. The park's store sells a postcard with a picture of them taken at Eagle's Point in the park.

Another animal easily seen within the borders of the park are prairie dogs. They can be seen coming out of their burrows or running back and forth in their daily routines.

There are two lakes in the park. Lake Theo, the larger lake, looked inviting until I put my hand in the chilly water. Fish were jumping in the swimming area behind the "No Fishing" sign. Fishing is allowed in other areas. Dry Creek Lake is the smaller lake in the park. I was unable to see it on this trip but a ranger informed me that it does have water in it, despite being called dry creek. The water was quite a bit lower than Lake Theo, according to this ranger.

I forgot to pick up trash while at Caprock Canyons. In the time I meant to be doing my trash duty, I took a second drive to view the bison. It was worth the trip. The park was clean; I would have had to search the bushes to find enough for a photo of trash. That's what I do in most of the state parks. Our park workers and volunteers deserve a "Thank you" for keeping the parks cleaner than most city streets.

I plan to visit this park again since I could only stay for a day. There wasn't enough time to even fully explore a few trails. For the real hiker (not me), there are 64 miles of trails to walk along. I'd like to get a glimpse of the Aoudad sheep or the American Kestrel hawk, which also can be seen at Caprock Canyons. The lakes would beckon me back for fishing and swimming...in the warmer months.

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The rock formations alone are worth the trip to this park (above) and Lake Theo was lovely. After viewing the park, I rested under a tree near the lake.

Fall is a great time of year for hanging out in state parks; quiet and cool. This was before Halloween (obvious from the pumpkins next to the park sign). I look forward to writing about another park adventure next month.