Balmorhea State Park

If you want to see a fabulous park, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed with Balmorhea State Park. There's a huge, spring-fed swimming pool that's unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. The water temperature is supposed to be in the lower seventies but I went swimming there before 9:00 in the morning and felt great both in the water and when I got out. I'm sure the deserted pool I found was due to my visit being before Memorial Day.

 

A pool with no swimmers!

I talked to Krista, who works at the front desk of this park, and asked her what cienega was after seeing the word on a sign. You'll see her answer below. She was quite helpful in answering my questions.

I also read, and was amused at, the “no fishing” signs and had to take a picture of one of them. If you want to fish, this isn’t the park for you. Thanks to this policy, visitors can watch fish of various sizes swim in the waterways around the park. While swimming, I got nipped at by swarms of minnows.

 

 

I learned a new word. Cienega is a Spanish term for wetlands. You’ll see these wetland areas where there are signs telling all of us to stay on the path.

If you’re wanting to view CCC construction, look for the telltale light brown stone in the park. A park employee informed me that the attractive motel building and stone around the pool were constructed (in the 1930’s) by this group who did so much of enduring value for our parks. The lodge rentals looked tempting since I saw what looked like a picturesque river right next to where renters of these temporary vacation dwellings were barbecuing – just a short distance from their back door.

When I looked for trash, I found the majority of it outside the fence around the pool. I could identify the snacks sold locally by the plastic wrappers I found; they made up a majority of my bag of trash. I also found a complete outfit of clothes for an unusually shaped male. The swimming trunks and flip-flops would fit a big man and the shirt looked like it would fit an average size boy (about a ten year old). I left this outfit on top of a garbage can in case owners came to look for their clothing.

 

Once again, I left this park too soon. Although I plan to come back here, I look forward to my next month’s park.

 

Abilene State Park

I recently visited Abilene State Park.  I’m quite familiar with this park but will first tell you some historical facts about it.

Abilene Park was one of more than 50 public parks in Texas that benefited from the labor of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The Corp was created by Congress to provide jobs for unemployed WWI vets. The city of Abilene donated land for the park in 1933 and the CCC constructed the pavilion, roads, picnic tables and a swimming pool of native sandstone in this new park. The workers were from CCC company 1823 and were all WWI vets.

In 1935, a CCC group of African Americans from the same company came back to the park. This time, they built culverts, restrooms, and a water tower as well as fixing areas in need of repair.

Stonework they constructed is still standing and can be seen around the park now.

 

 

The pavilion (a large building built by the CCC near the pool).

As usual, I picked up trash around the park. I found more trash than at the two previous parks. The majority of it was found around a muddy area (Buffalo Wallow) that was underwater until about two years ago. The long-time drought in Abilene caused Buffalo Wallow to change  from a fishing hole to an area of more mud than water. I sadly recalled seeing people fishing in this area years ago but old-timers say that it dried out and filled up again in the past.

I found more plastic than anything else at this park.

 

Turning to more recent news: the swimming pool, which was closed last year due to maintenance needed, has been repaired. The park staff are hoping these repairs keep the pool operating for years. It’s a real attraction in the hot summer months.

I was lucky to be at the park when they had one of their Dancing Under the Stars evenings. A band played and the outdoor dance floor was full when a Texas-Two-Step was the band’s choice. We are in Texas! There should be a dance a month during the nice weather coming up. Check the schedule on the park website (or stop and ask); there’s a lot on the schedule. Just look up the park you want to visit (tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks) and you’ll find out what’s going on when you plan to be there.

Top: the repaired pool weeks before reopening.

Lower: The beginning of the dance.

 

Mother Neff State Park

I visited Mother Neff Park recently, traveling with my husband. Expecting to stay in an older park, we were pleased to see the new section we encountered after being directed to a second entrance. We drove very slow when looking for the second sign. I think it would be passed if a driver traveled at a normal speed. The entrance is between two hills and it made me wonder how many accidents occurred while people were pulling a long camper and making the left turn.

Luckily, Ranger Yvonne stopped by our campsite to inform us about signing in regulations since we arrived after the front office closed for the day. Yvonne is a former Mother Neff volunteer who just recently became a ranger. She seemed to love her job and quickly came up with some unusual facts about her work-place.

Items of interest:

Mother Neff is usually referred to as the oldest state park in Texas. It started with 6 acres of land that were given in memory of Mother Isabella Neff at the time of her death (in 1921). In 1937, 192 more acres were added to the park; most of them deeded by Pat Neff, former governor of Texas and Mother Neff’s youngest son. Yvonne mentioned that Pat Neff also started the Department of Transportation In Texas and got funding to build the first roads in Texas parks. In 2012, 150 more acres were added to Mother Neff State Park. It's a little less than 400 acres now.

I wasn’t able to stay long enough and hope to visit this area again in the future. I would love to see a Golden Cheeked Warbler, an endangered species bird which Yvonne said nests in the park. She stated that this bird’s nests have been found in only 22 counties in the world: different sources said they breed only in Texas but have been seen In California, Mexico and the Virgin Islands.

The Golden-Cheeked Warbler

She also mentioned the 3 ecosystems in the park:

Blackland prairie

Riparian Canyon

River Bottom


I walked down a path leading to a pond and found a few more pieces of trash here than at Somerville Park. I'm pleased at how clean the parks have been. There were a couple of shredded plastic bags, which led to more pieces to pick up. I found what my husband called a "spent shotgun shell".  It was the first bullet I saw while "keeping America beautiful" by collecting trash.

I close while looking forward to visiting the park I plan to write about in May.
I always travel to the state parks with my husband. I write about what I observe but want to thank him for accompanying me since I wouldn't make the trips without him.

Walking can be dangerous!

I've got a new boot. Not two. One ugly boot. After leaving Lake Somerville State Park, my husband and I stopped at my daughter's home. When walking on the sidewalk near her place, and not paying attention to what was ahead, I tripped over uneven concrete. I landed with knees, hands, shoulder, and finally face hitting the sidewalk. I thought I only had bruises until, hours later, my foot that twisted when I fell started hurting and swelling. The next morning it looked so swollen we went to the nearest emergency room to see if the foot was broken.

The Nurse Practitioner treating me looked at x-rays and concluded I just had a bad sprain. I'm home now and have set up an appointment with a local Dr., as he suggested, to make sure I can return to my normal active lifestyle. My foot is healing fast but my face still looks awful.

My advice to myself and others: watch where you're walking!!

Lake Somerville State Park

A mid-Texas resident by choice, I've decided to visit Texas parks. My husband and I have an RV in which we can travel in comfort. The goal is an average of one a month, seeking out what makes the park different from other parks. My plan: catch an employee and ask, "What makes your workplace unique?"

While I'm at the park, I plan to take about an hour and pick up trash. I'll take a picture of what I find and also note what might be different from ordinary trash finds. I pick up trash around my home streets once a month and know what I find there. I'm going to compare pictures of what I find in my travels to see if there are different cast-offs in each place.
 
My first step in this endeavor was to go to Lake Somerville State Park, Birch Creek Unit. When I stopped at the visitor's center, I was informed the building, built in 2006, is a green & sustainable building. Talk about finding the treasure immediately! Sustainable features of the Visitor's Center are:

*Rainfall harvester
*85 percent sustainable lumber
*75 percent fly ash concrete
*Natural day lighting design reduces need for electric lighting
*Salvaged oil pipe framing
*Environmentally friendly paint used
*Recycled blue jean denim insulation
*Native landscape

Yes, this is the visitor's center.

Lake Somerville State Park, Birch Creek Unit is a great place to hike or bike. It has nine hiking trails on the Lake Somerville Trailway. These trails total 13.11 miles long and connect the Birch Creek Unit with the Nails Creek Unit of Somerville State Park.

My trash pick-up was difficult since the area around the lake path (and beach) I searched had very little trash that was easily found. I had to look in bushes and still found very little. There was part of a Styrofoam item...probably a cooler. It was different from my home litter but may be a common find in parks.

And this was the trash I found around the lake. It was clean!

I'm looking forward to future trips to other Texas parks!