Tag: state

Lake Somerville State Park and Trailway

by John L, posted in General, Lake Somerville

On our way home from Houston (Battleship Texas and San Jacinto Monument) we stopped by Lake Somerville State Park.

The park has an office on both sides of the lake. The reason for this is that the lake is very long. It does take some time to drive from one office to the other so if you plan on visiting both offices (path tags at both) make sure you allow for about 45 minutes to get from one to the other. The other key piece of info is that the Birch Creek Unit Office closes at 4:45 pm. We arrived at 4:55 and were unable to get our path tag.

The park and lake are very beautiful. Some trails do need some maintenance. It doesn’t look like they cut some of them back much. Make sure to wear jeans/boots on the more hairy trails as there are some poisonous snakes out and about especially around the shore.

This was one of the trails that looked safer.

It turned out to be the one we saw a rather large water moccasin cross right in front of us.

Again, the lake was beautiful and there were lots of people out enjoying the water.

lake somerville

lake somerville

Plan to spend a weekend at this park to enjoy the lake. Be sure to check the TPWD site for good directions and updates on the water level.

Battleship Texas

by John L, posted in Battleship Texas, General

Next to the San Jacinto Battleground in Houston is Battleship Texas. If you like history, ships, militaria, or all of the above you’ll easily spend a few hours checking out this jewel of the Admiral Nimitz Fleet.

battleship texas

Your parks pass gets you aboard for free. This is a great deal considering it’s normally $12 for an adult and $6 for the kids.

You can take a seat on the guns and get a feel for what it was like to aim these beasts.

view from guns on battleship texas

If you’re a photography nut, you’ll need to bring extra memory cards. One of my favorite shots was of the San Jacinto Monument from the bow of the ship.

view of monument from battleship texas

San Jacinto Battleground and Monument

by John L, posted in General, San Jacinto, TexasStateParks

Back in June we headed to Houston to see an Astros game and check out a couple of Houston area parks. Truly one of the highlights was the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site and Monument. This should be on every Texan’s bucket list. (summary of battle)

san jacinto monument

view from top of monument

The elevator ride to the top is $4 and is probably a “do it once just to say you did it” kind of thing. The views are nice though.

Guadalupe River State Park Drought Conditions

by John L, posted in Guadalupe River State Park, Hill Country

From TPWD:

August 13, 2013 – All water in the park is currently off Monday through Thursday. Restrooms, showers and all potable water sources are currently closed during this time due to the drought related water shortage. Weekday camping is only available in the Turkey Sink, water and electric, campground and portable toilets are available to park visitors.

Full water service will be available for weekend Camping (Friday through Sunday) in the Turkey Sink, water and electric , campground and Cedar Sage, water only, campground. Wagon Ford campground will remain closed and the day use area restroom will remain out of service, however portable toilets area available to park visitors in the day use area. Call the park for the most up to date information.

 

Might be a good time to visit the park to see it in the summer without tubers and campers. (silver lining right?)

Pedernales Falls SP: Fishing

by John L, posted in Pedernales Falls State Park

This past Saturday I made it out to Pedernales Falls SP again. This time I brought the fishing gear with me and headed to the Pedernales Falls overlook area.

The spot I chose was just North of this spot though I won’t give away the exact spot. Where’s the fun in that?

Here’s the first giant I caught. No laughs. I was in it for the sport and not to find dinner.

And the biggest catch of the day…

It was a lot of fun until the families with untrained children showed up and thought it was a good idea to throws rocks into the water. I wish I had the camera out to get a shot of the fish throwing up the peace sign and disappearing never to be seen again.

By the way, “Harassment of Hunters, Trappers, or Anglers (Sportsmen’s Rights Act) is punishable by a fine of $200 to $2000 and/or 180 days in jail.”

Until that point it was a wonderful day out on the river. There were some bigger fish in this spot, but they weren’t interested in the bait I tried. Maybe next time.

*No fish were harmed in the production of this blog post.

Pedernales Falls (again)

by John L, posted in Pedernales Falls State Park

I made it out to Pedernales on Monday after the heavy rains. Got some great pictures with the old camera I dug out of the closet. Easy to say that this park is my favorite so far. Every time I visit I see something I haven’t seen before.

picture of rocks at state park

limestone cave at state park

old tree at state park

Doeskin Ranch – Creek Trail

by John L, posted in Doeskin Ranch, Hiking

map of park

The creek trail starts at the informationschool at Doeskin kiosk near the restrooms* and follows the old homestead (no longer there), school (mid to late 1800’s structure), and then continues along the creek until it meets back up with the main trail (rimrock trail).

The old school building provides a small picture of what living on the ranch must have been like.

Even though the creek trail is only a half mile from the ponds and prairies trail the landscape is completely different. You’ll also see lots of grasshoppers along this trail. Watch for snakes (depending on time of year) and keep an eye out for the many birds and butterflies. The creek will have water in it if there has been a recent rain. Otherwise you can explore the old creek bed.

The old trees on this trail also provide plenty of photo opportunities. This was one of my favorite from today.

old tree at ranch

McKinney Falls State Park Video

by John L, posted in Hill Country, McKinney Falls State Park, TexasStateParks

I found another great video on one of the parks I’ve visited a few times now. Watch the video and check out my posts on McKinney Falls State Park.

TPWD Sheldon Lake Video

by John L, posted in General, Sheldon Lake, TexasStateParks

Great short video on Sheldon Lake State Park and Environmental Learning Center.

Sheldon Lake State Park

by John L, posted in General, Hiking, Sheldon Lake, TexasStateParks

Park #17 on our Texas State Parks adventures was Sheldon Lake State Park. This park is just East of Houston about 20 minutes from downtown.

We almost missed the turnoff to get into the park because the entrance was blocked by a passing train.

entrance to sheldon lake state park

The park office was closed because they don’t want to be open on the weekends when people may visit. Just kidding of course, but it did seem odd. There was no entrance fee so that was nice.

There were plenty of picture opportunities at this park. The front of the park has several ponds with lilies and other blooming flowers around.

pond at sheldon lake state park

Each pond had it’s own personality. Some looked calm.

sheldon lake state park
The detail in the full size is pretty decent for an iphone. Click the image to see the full-size image.

And others looked like “several things in there could kill me.”

pond at sheldon lake state park with many tree stumps
No distortion here by the way. That’s just an optical illusion from how the stumps and leaves are naturally arranged. Very interesting result from a quick point and shoot with the iPhone.

 

We saw some wildlife along the trail.

rabbit on trail

And were warned of some others.

A recent picture of an alligator spotted at Sheldon Lake State Park can be found at another blog. The picture there was taken by Sandy over at “What Shall I Make Today?” Click the image for her alligator pic.

Between the smaller ponds at the front and Sheldon Lake is a great observation tower. The elevator is powered by solar panels. (Elevator currently undergoing maintenance. Call ahead to check availability).

observation tower

sheldon lake

the bent pine tree

Be careful at the Bent Pine Tree. While standing and reading the sign we noticed our feet were quickly covered in ants. They weren’t fire ants, but still annoying.

Overall a nice park with much to offer for visitors of all ages.