So hello again! Remember us? Yeah, I knew you would. Last time, I showed you our campground, but today, we'll start at the beginning, now that we have time to take a decent photo. Here's the gate to our home of the last two months. It was SUPPOSED to be THREE months, but, as usual, the Good Lord heard our plans and laughed. Apparently, He has OTHER plans.
And here's one of our new rides! As it turns out, this particular truck had a HUGE barrel attached to its back and was turned into a sprayer truck. We were given a normal 4x4 Ford pickup truck to drive around the 26,000 acres. When we agreed to come here, back last winter, we were told we would be mostly just walking the trails and talking to other hikers, and once a week, we'd hose out the vault toilets. No big deal, right? But, then, COVID, and everything changed. For one thing, they closed the Visitor Center, and personal contact is absolutely discouraged. Thankfully.
We actually have to leave the Park Headquarters area to get to the Observation Deck in the northern section of the Park. No more flat lands! No more seeing tomorrow on the horizon! We are definitely in Hill Country Texas!
Back in the Park, Bailey is suited up with her booties to take a hike with us. The road is rocky, and the trails are full of burrs and cactus thorns. She's not fond of the booties, but she does tolerate them and seems to know they're for her own protection.
The Rangers here have been working from home for months now (don't ask me how, seems crazy to me), so the fields have all been neglected. One benefit of not mowing is that there are wildflowers everywhere we look. As we walk around, we can actually hear the fields humming with bees enjoying the riot of colors. I just couldn't resist bringing some of it inside.
Can you see him? A Painted Bunting! Our very own Painted Bunting! The first and only time we'd ever seen one before was up at Aransas NWR, years (YEARS!) ago. And now we have one in our very own yard, on our very own feeder (that we just purchased, knowing there was a Painted Bunting in the area!!) We bought a hummingbird feeder, too, and it's hung and being frequented, but only by 3 hummers, and they are so very fast, we'll never get a good shot of them. This isn't a great shot of a Painted Bunting either, so go click that link and take a look at how pretty he really is! The young lady that is responsible for that website has gathered lots of interesting information about the PB too, so take a look at some of the facts she so conveniently listed there.
Obviously, Bailey enjoys watching the birds too.
And then there was this little guy. I say little, but he really wasn't little at all, as far as insects go. He was about 3 inches long, and he appeared to be hard of shell. For those of you that must know, I'm pretty sure he's a Western Cicada. He seemed to be having trouble with his right wing; it appeared to be folded back on itself and he couldn't fly. He kept flapping his wings, but all that did was flip him over onto his back. After a few times of righting him, we put him over in the next site (it was vacant) and let Nature run its course. I don't know, nor do I want to know what happened to him.
This house is out of the park, and across the street, and obviously, up the hill. It is spectacular all lit up at night. Do I want it? Heck, NO. But, would I love to take a tour? Heck yeah!
Our shadow selves have finally shown back up! My, but what long legs we have!
And, lest we forget, there are signs to warn us of the dangers lurking in the weeds...
This one was a surprise - let's don't fall off the cliff, ok?
Oh my, what have we here? (remember now, at the time of this photo, we don't know anything about this park, so you're seeing us see it all for the first time)
Ahhhh, it's a bird blind!
Overlooking an overgrown pond...
I turned around and saw this ring-tailed cat peering out at me. Yes, I was startled! I thought it was real! But, no, it's just a VERY good painting!
Indian Paintbrushes are EVERYwhere!
And Brown-Eyed Susans
And pretty little yellow flowers..
And there's my favorite Driver, walking up "our" driveway. Yup, we live behind the Area CLOSED sign. All by ourselves.*
This guy looks lethal!
*And what have we here? This, my friends, is coyote scat. Let's amend my earlier statement. We live behind the Area CLOSED sign all by ourselves except for the coyotes. Last night, we had a pack of 'em come through, howling, yipping and growling. Pretty sure they were only about 50 feet away, and there must have been about 20-25 of 'em. Bailey was not impressed. Nor was she willing to go outside and join them.
About a mile from the Refuge, is Flat Creek Estate Winery, a scenic (and pricey) establishment.
There is an outdoor pavilion where you can purchase a flight of wine, either red or white, or enjoy a wood-fired, hand-thrown pizza or sandwich. There's a full-fledged restaurant, too, where, for $65 a person, you can partake of a 3 course meal, with each course paired with a specially chosen glass of wine. I would imagine one would leave snockered. We do not intend to partake, for a multitude of reasons, mainly, 65 of 'em. Each. And then have to drive home!
So today, we explored the Refuge some more. First we went down Cow Creek Road. This was a new warning for us, and we wondered what we were in for. We didn't bring the waders, so there was a little trepidation.
We came across a little pull-out on the side of the road, so we stopped to look at Cow Creek. WOW, the water was swift, clear and DEEP.
See the turtle, almost dead center of the photo? We estimated this water to be about 4 feet deep here, and we THINK this is the headwater of an underground spring. We'll check with the Rangers, if we ever get to meet any of them.
This is that same pool, on the left, with what appears to be another vent on the right. Again, this water is MUCH deeper that it appears from this photo. And absolutely crystal clear, as you can see.
Oh my, oh my! Now, THIS is a sign we haven't seen for quite some time! Thankfully, no ice in sight today!
And here's that slick water crossing, finally. No guard rails, just some cement to help us cross the creek.
Looking upriver, to the North
I dunno what happened to the downriver photo; apparently, I didn't think it was blog-worthy at the time, so I skipped it. Sorry. A mile or so down the road, we came to a FWS (Fish & Wildlife Service) gate. We had received (via an envelope taped to the office door) gate keys, but we hadn't come across any gates yet, so we when we saw this one,we decided to give it a try. HA! Now we know what our keys are for! Apparently, all the gates are keyed the same.
A few miles farther, and we came across another ford, but this one had a really tall fence beside the bridge. We thought it looked like a game fence, so we kept our eyes peeled as we traveled.
And, what do ya know!? A mama gazelle and her baby.
Being as we were in a government vehicle, we were extra careful on this unfamiliar, windy back road, so when we hear the engines revving behind us, we pulled over as soon as we could. Our politeness was rewarded by the sight of about 15 Lotus sportscars zooming by. They were the original LOUD and FAST I suppose.
Just in case we got any funny ideas....there was cactus to watch out for, as well as hidden cameras. Hidden so very well, too, 'cuz we sure didn't spot 'em.
This is one of the two birds that call this area home. Because it's on the Endangered Species list, activities here are severely curtailed, and this is a REFUGE, not a Park.
On the way back to the camper, we thought we'd run down to the Turkey Bend area, situated on the banks of Lake Travis. Lake Travis is really just a dammed up section of the Colorado River.
They do offer primitive camping spots, I think for about $15 a night, but no electricity, no water. I prefer my own, thank you, unlimited power, unlimited water, nice soft bed, stove, and most importantly, Air Conditioning! Yes, I'm going on record here, and telling you, it's HOT. Maybe not Arizona or Death Valley hot, but plenty hot enough, even for me!
Back on Refuge property again, this is Sunset Deck. No, you cannot watch the sunset here. First off, the area is closed at dusk, and you're not supposed to be here then. Secondly, this is a southerly view, and there are solid trees to the West. So, why's it called Sunset Deck? Because it overlooks Sunset Ranch. So now ya know.
And what have we here? Pretty sure it belongs to a raccoon. Why do you suppose he climbed up on a rock to do his business? I dunno. Why do I assume it's a he? I dunno that either. I guess 'cuz if it had been a she, she'd have gone BEHIND the rock?
Back at the camper, Bailey was eager to play. She'd been home by herself plenty long enough, and now we were her captive audience. Didn't last long, just a couple of throws and she was done. :)
So, there's your introduction to Balcones Canyonlands. I'll have lots more to share next time! Till then, stay safe, stay well and MASK UP!
Thank you for taking us along. Are you sure you have enough room in your home for all of us?
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