I love the outdoors, Texas food, and some Texas wines. This is my story about combining the three into an adventure to see all the state parks of Texas, eat a lot of Texas food, and find as many good Texas wines as I can.
Another stop on my recent Texas State Parks day trip was to a nice little coffee shop in Lampasas, TX called Perk’s. We were greeted by the smell of good coffee and tea brewing and a smiling owner named Monty. We’ve had good luck finding great coffee spots on our trips and I’d have to say we struck gold once again.
Perk’s Coffee in Lampasas, TX
Along with a great iced tea, Italian soda, cafe americana, and an assortment of tea bags to choose from Monty also has a selection of pastries to choose from for a much needed sugar boost after the trip to Gorman Falls. It turns out Monty is a pastry chef by trade and just has the coffee shop on the side. His cake shelves were all empty though he proclaimed that they were all full this morning when he opened at 10:00 am. All the cakes on display were custom orders which were picked up promptly at the opening of the store.
He did have some unique cupcakes available for us to try out. They were made with four different chocolates and had a chocolate chip cookie baked into the center. Try one…or two if you happen to stop in. I promise you won’t regret it.
One of my good friends helps find permanent homes for dogs in shelters and recently shared a story with me that I want to share with you.
One of her rescue dogs was due to become a service dog. That in itself is a great story, but the rest of this story draws at your heartstrings a bit. Robyn, the rescue, was due to become the service dog for Alaina. You can read more about Alaina on her blog page.
There’s a few excerpts below along with a video of Alaina.
“Alaina Bella is our sweet little 4 year old daughter. She was born with Amniotic Band Syndrome which caused the loss of her fingers, a clubfoot, vision impairment (even with glasses), speech and motor delays, and several learning disabilities. Life has been rough for this little one with the many surgeries and daily struggles; however, she is strong and brave and ambitious…”
“Robyn, her service dog in training, recently visit WalMart in a training session and did very well so we are very excited to see her moving forward. We were able to raise just barely enough to cover this month of training. It seems to be getting harder…”
If you would like to help in the effort to fund the service dog for Alaina please share the story on social media, with your friends and family, and/or donate if you are able.
An attempt to visit all of the Texas State Parks and Historic Sites
At some point in the fall of 2012 I messaged one of my good friends, “I think I’d like to visit all the state parks.”
Response: “I’m in.”
This site documents our story. Below is a list of the sites we’ve visited so far. There are blog posts on each park. I have personally been to some of them more than once so there are multiple posts about several of the sites. I hope you enjoy and I hope that our story inspires you to visit some Texas State Parks. There are some amazing treasures out there and the only way to experience them is to get our there and explore.
The main focus of my site is the attempt to visit all 93 parks. Several people have asked about a post that tells a little about myself or my story. Ask and you shall receive.
My name is John. I’m an 8th generation Texan and proud of it. I was born in the Houston, TX area and got to Austin as quick as possible. I went to the University of Texas at Austin and decided it was so great I’d never leave. I started working full time for the University and still hold a position today.
I’ve always enjoyed the outdoors. My dad would take me fishing at Lake Livingston State Park when I was 5 or 6 years old. I can vividly remember waking up and staring at the alarm clock waiting for it read 5:00 AM. I knew that would mean my dad would be coming to wake me up to take me fishing at the state park. That is my earliest memory of a state park, but there would be countless more to follow.
Shortly after my dad passed away, I joined the cub scouts where I met a family which would become somewhat of a surrogate family to me. Over the next eleven years they would include me in many of their family trips to state parks, national parks, or any number of other outdoors destinations. Not only did my love of the outdoors stem from this relationship, but this family was also responsible for me becoming a Longhorn. I can’t begin to put in words how important these people were in my life growing up and continue to be today.
In 2004 I enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin. A love of sports developed and I made it a point to see as many events as possible while a student. It has helped to fuel my passion that some of the greatest athletes in the history of Texas Athletics have come through while I have been on campus. Cat Osterman, Vince Young, Sanya Richards, Colt McCoy, Kevin Durant, Lamarcus Aldridge, Derrick Johnson, Brendan Hansen, Ian Crocker, Aaron Peirsol, Cedric Benson, Aaron Ross, Michael Huff, the list goes on…
Through various friendships and connections I met some of my closest friends today. Every fall we combine our love of UT Athletics, BBQ, and having fun and host tailgates for our friends and family. It was after one of these tailgates that I sent one of my friends the text.
“I’d like to visit all of the state parks in Texas”
On Saturday April 14th, 2013 my friends and I were out on another day trip on our quest to visit all 93 state parks. Originally we planned to do Colorado Bend State Park and then head to Abilene State Park. We spent a little too much time enjoying the treasure that is Gorman Falls and were forced to change plans.
Our detour led us to Mother Neff State Park. We headed to Belton from Lampasas, crossed over Lake Belton a couple of times and found ourselves at the first official state park of Texas. Like many of our state parks, Mother Neff has its own unique history.
Park Road 14 to get to the trails
We got a map at the temporary headquarters and headed to the trails. The park ranger at the office informed us that there will be a permanent headquarters opening soon so keep an eye out for sign directing you to the correct location if you head out to the park.
cave at mother neff state park
The park only covers about 25 acres so we were able to hike all of the trails in about 30 minutes or less. Even though it is small, the park has its treasures that need protecting just like most other parks. The first trail you encounter will take you to the cave that the Tonkawa tribe used as cover during buffalo hunts.
The next trail will take you back to the rock tower near the temporary headquarters.
The third trail will take you to both the prairie and the river basin and pond. Take the right fork to see the river basin and head to the cave. Take the left fork to head to the prairie and see the numerous wildflowers.
The park was a CCC project back in the 1930s and there are still numerous buildings standing from that time. When the CCC starting clearing land and excavating sites they found at least 3 Native American burial sites. I didn’t see where the sites were or even if they are marked. The CCC buildings appear to be in good condition. Those guys really did a great job of constructing long-standing structures.
structure at mother neff state park
Overall Mother Neff State Park was a beautiful park with lots to offer to every one who visits. I recommend it for a quick secluded hike. Join the park ranger for a guided tour on Saturdays from 2-3 pm.
We headed out from Austin at 7:30 am to try and knock out more parks on our list of 93. On the agenda for the day was Colorado Bend State Park and Abilene State Park. We had Lake Brownwood as a “if we have time” destination for the way back to Austin.
Word of caution: Don’t use Apple Maps to get to Colorado Bend State Park. You’ll encounter a nice sign that warns you “don’t enter or else.”
We found the park using Google Maps about 9:30 am and headed down the road past Gorman Falls to find the park headquarters. The road into the park is unpaved but covered in rocky gravel. Any car can make it down the road fine, but you will need a car wash afterwards. About 6 miles down the road you’ll find a dreamy oasis with plentiful camping, a beautiful river, and the park headquarters. The restroom is 100 yds past the headquarters so if you are in need keep driving to the right and park closer to the restrooms.
Campground below bluffs next to Colorado River
The group unanimously decided that this was the most beautiful camping spots we’ve encountered on our state parks quest so far; nice camp area with spacious fire pits and tent spots, the slow moving Colorado River flowing close by, a bluff reflecting the morning sun hanging over the river, and a restroom close by.
park store
We headed to the park store to pick up a souvenir and get our permit. There’s a really cool tree outside that appears to be very old.
The staff inside was helpful though seemed like they may have needed more sleep or an extra cup of coffee. After getting our permit we headed back up the 6 mile unpaved, dusty road to head to our trail head to Gorman Falls.
The trail to Gorman Falls is about a mile from the parking area, but the closer you get to the falls the harder you’ll have to work to get there. “That escalated quickly” was a commonly held opinion among the members of our group.
rocky path
I advise you to be careful, wear proper footgear and don’t pack too much for the last section of the hike. You’ll have to make some leaps of faith to get to the best view in the park. It is worth it and it is safe if you take it slow and think about your route down the steep, rocky path. The picture below is the beginning of the steep section of the path. It only gets more difficult from there. Hold onto the steel cables on the sides of the path. I don’t have any pictures of the more precarious section because I was a little distracted trying not to break my ankle.
The light at the end of the tunnel does shine brightly. When you make it down the rocky path you are rewarded with one of the most spectacular sights. “It looks like something out of a movie.”
I highly recommend the hike down to Gorman Falls. There is a self-pay station at the trail head for Gorman Falls. You don’t need to drive the 6 miles down the unpaved road to the park store if your only destination is Gorman Falls. Colorado Bend State Park is definitely a diamond among jewels in the state park system. It is one of my favorite so far and will defnitely be a camping and hiking destination for me in the years to come. Five stars all the way. (yes, even with the road)
One day back in March I sent a message to a friend and the conversation went something like this:
“I think we can do five parks in one day. And I can throw in a visit to the Memorial Museum to see “the cannon” in Gonzales.
“What time do we leave?”
There’s never any hesitation with this group when it comes to combining a great day of state parks and Texas history. Throw in a little BBQ and the fact that we decided March 2nd was the perfect day for this trip and well…that’s heaven on Earth ladies and gentlemen.
We departed Austin at 6:30 am on March 2nd. (quick stop at Starbucks for obvious reasons)
We got to Lockhart State Park right as it opened.
This park is relatively small and its primary purpose seems to be to play host to a 9-hole golf course. It is the only golf course operated by the state parks system. There are other golf courses on state park land, but they are operated privately. We were able to cover a few of the trails fairly quickly and actually covered nearly the entire park in 30 minutes because we weren’t playing golf. Although we visited the park on this trip, I won’t mark this park off my list until I return to play the course.
On to the next park!
Palmetto State Park is right down the road.
This park turned out to be a somewhat hidden jewel. Combine what used to be swampland with a state experiencing a serious/critical drought and you end up with a beautiful, dark green forest with wonderfully maintained trails. Because the trails are built up to account for rainy seasons (if that every happens again) the trail is in great shape and nearly perfectly maintained. This park has great camping, great hiking, and of course the Ottine Swamp Monster. Apparently, this is the Central Texas version of Bigfoot. I had never heard of it until visiting the park, but one can’t help but notice the “confirmed pictures” of the monster inside the park store. I was drawn to that area for one of my favorite flags (pictured below). I definitely recommend Palmetto State Park for a weekend camping/fishing/RV/hiking/did I mention canoeing?/relaxing destination.
Back on the road…we headed to Gonzales. It was a short drive and we made it to the Gonzales Memorial Museum around 11 am. This is the Gonzales Memorial Museum on Texas Independence Day. That’s a little over the top for most, but not for this group.
We were a little confused when we walked in. We were the only ones there. I understand that the big visiting season/day is in October/November to commemorate the actual event surrounding the myth/legend/fact? of the cannon of Gonzales so I’ll cut fellow Texans a little slack.
Inside the museum is what is allegedly the cannon guarded in Gonzales during the fight for independence from Mexico. For most Texans, whether or not this is the actual cannon doesn’t matter nearly as much as the ideas behind the story. “Don’t mess with Texas” and “Come and Take It” are fundamental to how most of us live our lives. To stand in that room, on Texas Independence Day, with that cannon, and read the stories from that era was a truly memorable trip and should be on every Texan’s bucket list.
Time for lunch. We headed to La Grange for some back porch BBQ. No really…Back Porch BBQ in La Grange, TX. This was a surprisingly good BBQ joint and will be a destination on future road trips. We downed a few pounds of brisket, a chicken, and a pound of sausage (b/w 3 people…not too bad, eh?) and then headed, slowly, to the next park.
The next stop on our 5-park day trip was Monument Hill and Kreische Brewery. This was going to be another quick trip. You can do the entire (both?) park(s) rather quickly. We spent some time at Monument Hill (more on this in a moment) and then headed down the trail to the old Kreische settlement and brewery ruins. Yes I said ruins. It’s difficult to describe without seeing in person, but the correct word is ruins.
Old man Kreische was a stone mason and built the brewery out of heavy stone. All that is left is half of various rooms and several walls along with the foundation. The park ranger does offer a guided tour on request. It’s suggested that you call ahead. This will be a future trip of mine. I’d like to see the inside just for curiosity’s sake.
Now, back to Monument Hill. “Here lies the remains of the 17 men who chose the black beans.” The short version of the story is that 17 men were killed as an example to the remaining prisoners. If they tried to escape capture again they would meet the same fate. Long story here
To be at this monument on Texas Independence Day sent chills up my spine and reminded me of how rich of a history our parks have. It was a great way to relax and think after lunch. It didn’t quite prepare us for the next two parks, but it did give us a reason to pause and think about the bigger picture, the bigger story written by the history of our parks.
We headed back towards Austin to get to our last two parks before we lost sunlight. It was only about 3:00 PM when we got to Buescher State Park. We stopped and talked to the volunteers at the Park Store and shared our story of our day. Every park store we’ve come across so far has had just amazing staff. They are knowledgeable not only about the park they are stationed at, but most of them know a lot about the parks system overall. Park visitors should make it a point to take some time and visit with your parks staff. You’ll learn a lot, just as much, from that along with the remainder of your visit to the parks.
We didn’t stay long at Buescher because we wanted as much time as possible at Bastrop State Park. Buescher is another park that is still on my list to revisit and give another try.
Bastrop State Park was our last park of the day. That’s 5 parks, one museum, a bbq joint, and a lot of time in the car. It was all worth it of course.
I’m delaying a bit because this last part of this trip drew quite a bit of emotion out of me and writing about it brings it all back again. For anyone who calls the Central Texas area home, the Labor Day Fires of 2011 will never be forgotten. The experience of seeing fires burning on all horizons as you look out from central Austin is an image I will never forget. You look to the west and see fires. You look to the north and see fires. Then you look to the southeast and you see the biggest fire. I remember taking truckloads of supplies down to the Baptist Church in Bastrop and seeing the effect of the fires first hand. 50+ people sleeping on floors in the church. All of them taking care of each other because that’s what you do. Your friends are your family and that’s just how it is. I took time to talk to them and the biggest problem/fear most of them experienced during that time was not knowing. They didn’t know what to expect. they didn’t know if their homes were still standing. They didn’t know if their pets were alive. They didn’t know when it would end. They didn’t know how long it would be before help would be there. This state of not knowing is sort of what we experienced on our drive in to Bastrop State Park back on March 2nd.
It was very different from what the residents faced of course, but it felt intensely personal at the same time. We took the park road from Buescher State Park in to Bastrop State Park so we could take in the full scene of damage, destruction, devastation…no words really. After seeing how beautiful our parks can be and how important they are to our state this was very difficult. The car was silent except for the various gasps and groans as we came around corner after corner and realized we were just seeing a small part of what happened. It took every bit of energy left in me to keep the tears in. You realize how many lives this fire affected and how many generations will be affected going forward and you can’t help but feel a terrible pain deep inside. There are some signs of life, but all of them are new life. Newly planted saplings clinging to life in piles of ash. We needed rain then. We need rain now. Only time will tell.
We headed on to the park store. Just as I mentioned earlier your park store staff can be a treasure trove of information. The question I really wanted an answer to was “How long? How long is the expected recovery period?” The answer took my emotions to another level and was quite a shock.
“80 years”
look! I see green. It won’t last though. When they bring in equipment to remove trees a lot of the new growth will sustain damage. This is going to be a long recovery process.
“80 years before we start to see the park as it was.”
Let that sink in. 80 years is longer than a lot of us will live. That’s a lot of people who will never experience the park as it once was.
We left out of the park store and headed to the trail head. Not really knowing what to expect, but expecting the worst. We started out on an uphill trail into the woods/charred remains. It was about a half-mile in when I asked anyone, already knowing the answer, if they had seen anything green yet. Aside from the rare moss there was nothing. Ash, rocks, and charred remains of once great trees.
We continued and paused at a creek that appeared to be a mix of an orange substance and cloudy water. Nothing swimming, not even insects really. We guessed that the orange sludge was fire retardant that was still draining off of the hills and ending up in the creeks. We don’t really know, but it didn’t look natural.
We continued on the trail and came across some signs of life as we went deeper in. The signs of life were tokens of false hope really. When we finally saw green it was in what can only be described as a mortuary for the trees. Every tree as far as you could see in any direction was marked for removal. Think about what that means. Every tree in every direction for as far as you can see will have to be removed because it is dead.Thousands if not tens of thousands of trees before they can start planting new ones. Add to that the fact that this land is virtually inaccessible to any large equipment and you can imagine how long it will take to clear the land.
We finished up our 3 mile hike in mostly silence as we piled back into the car. This was a physically, mentally, and emotionally draining day. If I had to do it over again I wouldn’t change a single thing. From the company, to the food, to the destinations I will never forget this Texas Independence Day.
Continuing on our quest to visit all the Texas State Parks we decided to hit up Enchanted Rock State Natural Area back on March 23rd. The 21st was my birthday and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend that Saturday than another great day visiting state parks. I want to take a moment to thank the Texas State Trooper who gave me a warning instead of a ticket. “Happy Birthday and slow down. I think you’ll make it before the park closes from too much traffic.”
For those that haven’t made it out to Enchanted Rock it is important to note that during peak visiting season the park can be so popular that they run out of parking and close the park. It can be rough to make a 2+ hour drive only to find the park is close. Luckily there are other attractions close by if this happens to you. LBJ, Pedernales, Inks Lake, Longhorn Cavern, and several others are close by and won’t be closed for lack of parking.
So we headed out highway 71 and zoomed straight to the park. It was cloudy that day and that probably helped with traffic/parking. We were able to park and get to the trail fairly quickly.
We walked for a little while after coming down for the summit. The echo canyon trail is fun, but is very popular and can be crowded, and loud…really loud, during peak times.
This is a great family park and one that I’m sure I’ll revisit many, many times in my lifetime. Do yourself a favor and move this park to the top of your list. It’s worth any drive.
This weekend I visited another central Texas state park. After a quick brunch with some cousins at Bluebonnet Cafe in Marble Falls I made the short drive to Longhorn Cavern State Park. I’ve made one short trip to this park previously back in March (more posts to come soon on this 5-parks-in-one-day trip). We didn’t have enough time to go on the cave tour on that visit. This time I did and I’m glad I made the return trip.
The cave is quite the hidden jewel with, as the tour guide said, “just as wonderful of a human history as its natural history.”
The entrance to the cave along with a good portion of the cave was constructed and cleared out by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Both the entrance and the cave look much the same today as they did in the 1930s. Working at $1/day for 8 years the CCC cleared out the soft debris in the cave and the result was a beautiful cavern that people still enjoy today.
The tour is $14 for adults. They do offer several different tours including the “Wild Tour” where customers get down and dirty with the bowels of the cave. Call ahead for the Wild Tour.
Entrance to caveone of the bigger rooms in the cavequeen’s thronedog shaped formation in cave
“Planning is underway for our 4th Annual Gettin’ Sauced! BBQ-sauce contest/festival! Today, we announce the first details: date and venue. This year’s event will be Saturday, September 28, at Hops & Grain Brewing in Austin. Put it in your calendar, b/c we’d love to see you there. We haven’t sent out the sponsorship/vendor/entrant information, but if you want to receive it when it’s available, email us!”
Exploring Texas State Parks 