A Cold Front and Stephen F. Austin State Park

Stephen F. Austin, Father of Texas

After our camping companions at Buescher State Park left for home Sunday afternoon it became incredibly still and muggy - the calm before the storm.  A cold front started to blow in about 7:30 pm and during the night acorns and small branches rained upon our RV.  Maya did not like it one bit, so she was very restless during the night with all the noises, rain and wind. Needless to say it was not a good sleep for any of us. The next morning brought more rain and temperatures in the 50s. Night temperatures at Buescher and the Hill Country area were to drop into the mid to lower 20s for the next several days.  It looked like the weather would be a little milder to the south and east so we headed for Stephen F. Austin State Park near Sealy, TX.

 

David and Maya in front of Stephen F. Austin's cabin

Stephen F. Austin State Park is just off I-10 in the little town of San Felipe de Austin (named to honor both a patron saint of Mexico and empresario Stephen F. Austin).  David and I got a very good review of our Texas State History at the historic site in the park.  San Felipe was founded in 1824 where the Old San Antonio Road crossed the Brazos River and the first settlers were the Old Three Hundred families who established Stephen F. Austin’s first colony.  The settlers had been lured by land as cheap as four cents per acre but soon Mexico won independence from Spain and things started to change.  Dictator General Santa Anta seized power in Mexico in 1833 and his tight control spilled into Texas - trying to stop immigration to Texas, limit settlers’ weapons, impose high tariffs and abolish slavery.  Of course this did not go over well with our early Texans. 

To greatly condense our Texas history, after many failed negotiations Stephen F. Austin was jailed in Mexico on charges of sedition.  Not long after some of the first armed conflicts began, Sam Houston started to raise an army, U.S. volunteers arrived to assist in the Texas fight and then the siege of the Alamo began on February 24, 1836.  Texas Independence was declared on March 2, 1836 and on March 6 the Alamo fell.

The settlement at San Felipe de Austin was next in the path of General Santa Anta and the town was burned during the Runaway Scrape to prevent Santa Anta’s army from taking it.  The people of the town were very conflicted.  Many were the original settlers and had lived in San Felipe for 15 – 20 years. They had made their life in San Felipe and everything they owned was there. The newer settlers were more eager for an adventure and a fight for Texas independence.  I guess there is nothing new about about conservative and liberal politics.  Well, most of you know how it all ended – Santa Anta was surprised by the Texans at San Jacinto and the Mexican Army was defeated.  There were several years of unrest, rebellion and skirmishes with Mexico but Texas became the 28th state in the Union on December 29 of 1845.

Along the Brazos River at Stephen F. Austin State Park

After spending a great morning visiting the on-site museum and wandering the grounds of San Felipe, we returned to the campground and hit the hiking trails.  The park has over 5 miles of trails that meander through the bottom lands by the Brazos River.  It is a rich birding area and we saw a huge vulture roost, many crows, red shouldered hawks, lots of sparrows and many pileated woodpeckers.  I just love those woodpeckers. At night we were serenaded by great horned owls.  Although our nights were in the upper 20s, our days were in the 60s and the abundant sunshine really helped warm us as we hiked and birded and had a great time exploring the park.

Vine growth, river bottom land near Brazos River

 

Vulture Roost