Camping at Buescher State Park near Bastrop

After Lake Waco, we drove back to Austin and then past Bastrop to Buescher State Park.  We hadn’t been to the Bastrop area since the fires and it was pretty sad to see much of those ‘Lost Pines’ burned.  But you can see new plants coming back and there are many pines that were not burned.  A new forest is slowly being born. Still it will be a long time before it will be a mature pine forest again.

Buescher did not suffer as much from the fire as Bastrop and that is the reason we decided to stay there.  The campgrounds were untouched by fire and the burned areas were mostly near the park boundaries.  The woods and trails in Buescher were still thickly forested and it was easy to forget that just a few miles away was such devastation.

Tessa and Kellen (on the tree branch) by the lake

On a much happier note, our friends Sasha and Casey and their kids, Tessa and Kellen came for the weekend and camped with us. What a great time we had!  We walked around the lake area, grilled steaks and told stories around the campfire and of course made smores. Tessa is quite the storyteller. 

Sasha watching the fire

On the trail in Buescher State Park

The next morning we made pancakes for breakfast and went on a long hike. Maya had so much fun with Tessa and Kellen.  Boy was she tired though.  Come to think of it, so were we…

Lots of love and kisses

Signs of beaver gnawing on willow