Lost Maples State Park and warmer weather

Texas Red Oaks and a few maple along the East Trail

With San Antonio in our rear view mirror and all that crazy ‘Christmas traffic’ behind us we felt the tension leave our shoulders.  A couple of weeks driving around in big cities had us in need of a nature ‘fix.’  Luckily, there was time for a quick visit to Lost Maples State Park before heading home to West Texas for the holidays.

A late changing Big Tooth Maple with red leaves

Lost Maples was past its ‘peak’ color as that usually occurs in early to mid-November.  But we were pleasantly surprised that it was still so beautiful and colorful.  This was less than a week before Christmas and there were still a few maples with red leaves on them and most of the Texas Red Oaks had turned scarlet red.  A little more fall right before Christmas!

Monkey Rock, a unique limestone formation in the park

Our first night in the park the temperatures dropped into the low 20’s.  However the next morning was sunny and warming up rapidly so we packed a lunch, laced up our hiking boots and went for hike along the East Trail.  Not far into the hike we noticed something that at first glance looked like cotton stuck in the dead stalks of some plants along the trail.  But a little closer examination revealed that it was really frost weed, a plant native to the hill country area of Texas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frost Weed

 

Frost weed is not a particularly outstanding or noticeable plant most of the time but the first hard freeze will split the stalk of the plant and the sap bursts out and freezes, often in beautiful shapes.  Although not exactly a rare phenomena, the lovely frost weed ice sculptures aren’t something you see every day.  We felt so lucky that the weather conditions were just right and we had so much fun looking for the little ice sculptures along the trail.  Even Maya got into the act as she discovered that the frost weed “ice” was good to eat!  (We did discourage that activity, not being sure how good the sap would be for her.)  And then, in less than an hour the frost weed ice had disappeared.  Who knows when we will get to see it again?

 

Maya munching on frost weed ice

 

Beautiful oak leaves

 

The rest of our time at Lost Maples was very restorative.  We walked the better part of two days and it felt good after several weeks of not much physical activity.  The days were sunny and the temperatures really warmed up after that first cold night.  It was beginning to feel like the Texas winters we remembered.  We were finally ready for Christmas…

 

Reflections along the Sabinal River

 

 

 

David’s Stats:

Days Hiked   2

Total Miles Hiked   14.78

Ave. Miles per Day      7.39
Total Elevation Gain       1,615
Ave. Elevation Gain per day   802

 

 

 

 

 

Cold Days in Texas...

Maya making up for a lot of lost 'couch time'
as she sleeps off her Thanksgiving turkey...

I haven’t been doing any ‘blogging’ lately as we have been catching up with family, taking care of business, celebrating birthdays and Thanksgiving not to mention trying to stay out of the cold and ice.  Texas is not supposed to have so much cold weather this early!  (David says we could have stayed up north if we had wanted this kind of weather…) But we didn’t want it.

Just before Thanksgiving, West Texas had an ice storm and temperatures into the teens for three days!  Again, not really why we came home.  But we finally thawed out.  Thanksgiving Day warmed up into the 50s and we counted that among our many blessings.  

Since the warranty was almost up on our RV, we made a trip to the Dallas / Ft. Worth area to get the service done and visit with family and friends.  We had planned to stay a week but as this crazy weather would have it - another ice storm was on the way.  We decided to cut our stay short and head south to avoid the ice. Texans do not handle ice well and our method is to try to stay out of it if at all possible.

 

 

Pip is the best cook!

Yummy Swedish meatballs and sausage...

 

 

 

We had a nice invitation from long-time friends, Cindy and John, to camp out on their six acres near San Marcos.  As it turned out we spent a lot of time in their house huddling by the wood stove.  One cold night we were all treated to a ‘Swedish Christmas Dinner’ prepared by our friend Pip who is from Scandinavia.  That got us all in the mood for Christmas!   

The weather warmed a bit and we spent a few days at Guadalupe River State Park north of San Antonio.  We had one last trip to get the electrical connection between the RV and Honda finally fixed.  It seems like we have been having a lot of maintenance work done lately but when you spend so much time on the road, it is really important to be safe. 

 

A visit to the Guenther House is a Christmas tradition

 

The days before Christmas are always so busy and it was good to get to see the few friends we managed to catch this time. We are looking forward to being back in San Antonio and spending a couple of months volunteering at Government Canyon State Natural Area. 

Merry Christmas and see you soon!

 

Tennessee to Texas...

Goodbye Tennessee

 

 

The cool, rainy weather stayed with us for the next several days so we decided we would drive as it wasn’t the best hiking or sight-seeing weather.  We traveled through Tennessee at a good pace spending a night near Knoxville and then another two nights between Nashville and Memphis at Natchez Trace State Park.  Since we had spent time this spring in Tennessee driving the Natchez Trace Parkway and visiting the Great Smoky Mountains and had just hiked several days at Roan Mountain State Park, it wasn’t too disappointing to head on down the road. 

Hello Texas...

 

When we reached Arkansas we had high hopes of exploring the Ozarks but the rain we had been doing our best to avoid was hot on our heels.  We headed south to Hot Springs National Park just ahead of the storms.  Maya and I managed a short hike that afternoon after we arrived.  But then the wind and rain began in earnest and we all spent a pretty miserable night with acorns crashing on the RV all night long.  It sounded like we were in a hail storm.  Poor Maya was shaking and definitely not a happy camper.  Lesson learned:  In the fall, pick the campsite with no oak trees around.

 

Beauty Berry at Tyler State Park

 

The next morning the rain, wind and crashing acorns were still with us and we decided that we would just go to Texas.  We were grumpy and badly in need of sleep so we went as far as Tyler State Park, got a campsite and took a nap. The next day we were all much happier and we had a long hike in the park.

Maya with her new buddy, Rocky

Then it was on to Georgetown to visit friends we made in the Great Smoky Mountains back in May.  Maya often introduces us to people she likes and that was the case with Melissa and Dustin in the Smoky Mountains.  We promised we would come by and visit them on our way home in the fall and so we did. Dustin and Melissa also have an Australian Sheppard that they wanted to introduce to Maya.  Rocky and Maya had a great time playing and we humans had brunch at El Monumento, a wonderful restaurant in Georgetown.

Brunch at El Monumento -- Poblano & Chorizo Casserole

We stopped for just a few days in San Antonio for a minor repair on the connection between the RV and car and also for an orientation at Government Canyon State Natural Area for our volunteer job in February/March.  We couldn’t linger long as we were due in Odessa for my dad’s 80th birthday celebration on November 19 and the upcoming Thanksgiving Holidays. 

 

Fall along the Guadalupe River near San Antonio

 

After Thanksgiving we have plans to visit the Dallas / Ft. Worth area for a week or so and then we will be back in San Antonio.  It is hard to believe it has been over 7 months since we left Texas for our ‘eastern adventure.’  It was so much fun but we are glad to be home.  We are looking forward to catching up with everyone over the next several months while we are in Texas. 

Happy Thanksgiving, Y’all!

 

 

David’s Stats:

Days Hiked  5

Rain Days   4

Total Miles Hiked    20.21

Ave. Miles per Day    4.04  
Total Elevation Gain      2,456
Ave. Elevation Gain per day  491

 

Roan Mountain and our last hike on the AT

 

View of Roan Mountain

 

We had so much fun and were so busy exploring on our travels east and north this year that we lost track of time.  Here it is time to head home and we haven’t seen and done everything we wanted.  The southeastern seaboard and Gulf Coast will have to wait for another adventure.  Although it is a little sad to think that this year’s journey is coming to a close, we are looking forward to time in Texas with friends and family.  We’ve missed everybody!

Late fall in the Blue Ridge Mountains

So instead of heading to the coast, we left southern Virginia and headed to Tennessee to Roan Mountain State Park located in the southeast corner of the state near the North Carolina border.  We had hiked the Appalachian Trail up on the ‘balds’ near Roan Mountain earlier in the summer and thought it was gorgeous.  Heading back home now, Roan Mountain would be one last chance to hike the AT and say goodbye.

 

Some fall color can be found in the lower elevations

 

We arrived just barely in time on Tuesday afternoon as the state park was closing for the season that Friday.  The weather was chilly and rain was supposed to move in late Thursday.  Our first day, we explored several trails in the park.  The leaves were falling fast but the trails were still beautiful and we didn’t see another soul out hiking.  The campground was practically deserted as well.  One of the pleasures of fall camping besides the beauty is the quiet and solitude.

White blaze on the tree marks the AT - our last hike

The next day, we took our final AT hike.  Being one of the higher points on the AT, Roan Mountain’s deciduous trees were bare of leaves.  Since we had hiked that section of the AT before, we decided to hike a lower section of the trail to the northeast of Roan Mountain State Park.  We drove through rural Tennessee to reach the AT and passed many small farms with a few cows, chickens and gardens.  Many people live as best they can off their little plots of land much as it has been done for many years in Appalachia.

 

Winter is on the way

 

 

The first half mile or so of the trail was very close to these small farms.  Both David and my families came from Tennessee in the early 1900s.  My grandmother used to tell us about coming to Texas from Tennessee in a covered wagon when she was around 3 years old.  Eight siblings made that trip with her and two more were born in Texas.  What an experience!  I had not thought of it before, but walking the southern parts of the AT this year did feel like coming full circle.

 

Falling leaves

 

Our hike was cold and windy but beautiful with leaves raining down on us.  It really felt like winter was on the way and it was time to head home.  We visited with one southbound AT hiker, Slim, and he was planning to be in Georgia by Thanksgiving.  Lots of hikers and travelers are headed home. 

 

 

View of the Blue Ridge Mountains from the AT

        
We have some exciting news!  We are going to be ‘park hosts’ at Government Canyon State Natural Area near San Antonio for the months of February and March.  Our commitment is to volunteer about 20 hours each week and stay at the park in our RV.  It should be a lot of fun to help in the campground and in the nature area.  We are looking forward to being in the San Antonio area for two months and catching up with all our friends.

 

The end of the trail...

 

 

David’s Stats:

Days Hiked   2

Total Miles Hiked    9.87

Ave. Miles per Day      4.94
Total Elevation Gain       2,384
Ave. Elevation Gain per day  1,192

 

Fairies, Legends, Crystals and Leaves

Enchanting Fairy Stone Lake

 

 

Our last few nights in Virginia were spent at Fairy Stone State Park, about 25 miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway in the southern part of the state.  All we knew of the park was that it had an intriguing name and it was on our way south so off we went.

 

 

Maya shows David which way to go to find the fairies...

 

 

It seemed we wandered for a long time along the back roads slowly climbing in elevation and clinging to the seemingly never-ending curves.  Fall was still putting on quite the show in this remote little mountain valley.  We were definitely off the beaten path.  

 

Some of the 'fairy stones' before polishing

 

At the park office we learned about the legend and science of the ‘Fairy Stone.’  The park acquired its unique name from stone crystals known as fairy stones, found within its boundaries. These stone crystals form crosses composed of iron, aluminum and silicate.  The name of this mineral compound is staurolite.  The hexagonal or six-sided crystals often intersect at right angles to form the Roman or Maltese shape but some crystals intersect at 45 degree angles to form St. Andrews crosses.  That’s a quick look at the science.

 

The campground - just us and the fairies

 

 

Now for the legend…  A long, long time ago in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains fairies lived in a remote and enchanted valley.  Not much is known of them for certain, as fairies have always been elusive creatures.  But it is said that one day an elfin messenger arrived from far away bearing the sad news of Christ’s death.  When the fairies heard the terrible details of the crucifixion, they wept.  As their tears fell to the earth, they crystallized into little stone crosses.  No one knows for sure what happened to the fairies but sometimes in certain places in the valley, if you are lucky, you will find the little stone crosses or ‘fairy stones,’ the only thing they left behind.

Fall reflections...

 

 

David’s Stats:

Days Hiked   1

Total Miles Hiked   6.74
Total Elevation Gain     1,075 

 

 

Fall on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Fall color on the Blue Ridge Parkway

The fall leaves, the cooler temperatures and the shorter days were reminding us that our ‘roaming ways and days’ were numbered.  So we left the beautiful Williamsburg area to check out more fall color on the Blue Ridge Parkway and get in a few more hikes before we left the Appalachian Mountains.  The George Washington National Forest, located south of Waynesboro, Virginia was near the Parkway and had many trails for us to explore.  We stayed at Sherando Lake Campground which was only a few miles from the Parkway and had trails that led to the Parkway and to the Appalachian Trail.

 

Sherando Lake

 

Fall color was a little past peak, but it was still quite pretty.  We spent three days in the area hiking in the forest and also up on the Parkway and the AT.  Nights were in the 20's and days in the high 40’s and low 50’s so it was chilly hiking weather.  One day we even had snow flurries.  That day we talked with a lone AT hiker, ‘Puck,’ who was having a bad day.  Puck hadn’t made it to the shelter the previous night and had spent a very cold night out alone.  He was tired and cold and feeling very discouraged because the really cold weather was still to come in November in the higher elevations of the Smoky Mountains.  David and I knew the feeling having spent a few miserable nights out in freezing weather on backpacking trips ourselves.  We wished Puck good luck and warmer weather as he took off down the trail using his hockey stick as a walking stick. 

 

Maple and leaf reflections in Sherando Lake

 

Maya with snow flurries (the little white dots)

 

We encountered several groups of southbound AT hikers that talked to us about their adventures on the trail during the government shut-down.  Occupied with our own concerns during the shut-down, we hadn’t really thought about how the thru-hikers were being affected. Those that had been hiking through Shenandoah National Park seemed to have had the most difficulties.  The ‘unlucky’ ones were stopped from entering the park and had their hike delayed until the government opened again. This set them back over two weeks and will make arrival time in Georgia later into December and perhaps will increase the risk of hikers running into winter storms. 

 

View of Sherando Lake and the Blue Ridge Mountains

 

The ‘lucky’ hikers were already in the park and their concern became dodging park rangers and trying not to get caught and escorted out.  One group of hikers told us they were already in Shenandoah and didn’t know about the shut-down.  But they found out quickly from other hikers who had friends that were pulled off the trail and taken away by rangers.  There were even some hikers that were arrested.  It is a sad state of affairs that the government shut-down caused the people to be thrown out of their own parks.

 

'He loves me...'

 

One hiker told us an incredible story about being on a portion of the AT that was very close to Skyline Drive, the main road through Shenandoah.  He glimpsed a ranger car through the trees and quickly dived off the trail to hide.  After ten or so minutes of being very still he was about to get up and start hiking again.  Then he noticed a big black bear not 20 yards from him meandering across the trail.  He looked the other way and saw the ranger again and decided he had to stay put.  He needed to make some noise so the bear wouldn't be surprised.  What to do?  Luckily the bear ambled on and after a while so did the ranger.  Double danger!  This year’s southbound AT hikers will have quite the stories to tell as they arrive home for the holidays.

David’s Stats:

Days Hiked  3

Total Miles Hiked   20.90

Ave. Miles per Day      6.97
Total Elevation Gain       3,943
Ave. Elevation Gain per day  1,314

 

 

 

David on a stick

 

 

 

Shenandoah, Jamestown and Williamsburg

Shenandoah National Park, view looking east from Skyline Drive

Thursday morning we were the third car in line at the northern entrance to Shenandoah National Park.  We greeted the ranger at the booth with a “We are so glad you are back at work.”  He laughed and said it was great to have the park open again.  Heading for Big Meadows Campground, we drove along Skyline Drive marveling at how beautiful the park looked with the fall leaves.  It is hard to believe we were driving this very same road going north in June and here we are in October heading back to Texas. 

Doyles Falls

Arriving at the campground, we again found the park employees full of smiles and glad to have the park open.  Being in a beautiful place usually makes people happy, but everyone was in an exceptionally good mood that first day Shenandoah was back in business.  I bet it was the same in the rest of the parks across the country.



Leaves on the trail...

 

We enjoyed three days in Shenandoah and took two long hikes, both including some miles on the Appalachian Trail.  The days were cloudy and mild but the nights were cold!   A reminder that winter arrives earlier up here and it is time to be heading south.

 

South River Falls

 

The drive leaving Shenandoah was spectacular.  Many places on Skyline Drive were in peak color.  There were fewer maples, so the color was not as vividly red as in New England and New York.  Still, we weren’t complaining.

 

Maya investigates a new hiding place

 

On our way to the National Historic Site of Jamestown and to Colonial Williamsburg we continued to enjoy the fall color along Virginia roads.  When we reached Richmond, we made a stop for lunch at a Chuy’s.  David was so excited to discover that his favorite restaurant, Chuy’s, has expanded and now has several locations in the east.  The food tasted just as good as it does in Texas.  There was also an REI and Whole Foods in the same shopping center.  David bought badly needed new hiking boots and I stocked up on some of my favorite foods from Whole Foods.  It doesn’t get much better. 

 

Archaeology 'dig' in front of church at Jamestown

 

We spent a couple of days visiting Jamestown and Williamsburg and had a great time.  Probably because we have been thinking and talking about our government and its difficulties as of late made visiting these historic places all the more meaningful.  To think it all began with the first English settlement at Jamestown in 1607! 

 

Restored framing of the Barracks at Jamestown

 

 Except for tourists, archaeologists and park staff, Jamestown is abandoned.  The whole place feels silent and empty, much like it did when there were only 104 men and boys living on the island with the occasional Native American visitors.  It made me think how vast and lonely this country must have felt to the first settlers.  They were much braver than me.

 

 

Carriage ride for tourists in Colonial Williamsburg

 

Colonial Williamsburg, on the other hand, felt like a bustling little city.  Carriages were constantly going by and re-enactors were abundant in the shops, restaurants and walking along the streets.  There were plenty of tourists as well, but it wasn’t hard to imagine that you were in colonial times and might see George Washington or Patrick Henry on the streets.

 

Re-enactors in front of restored Williamsburg home

 

Jamestown was Virginia’s first capital until it was moved to Williamsburg in 1699.  During those years and many to follow the seeds of our form of representative government grew.  And other legacies from those early days are still with us too – American Indian policies, the consequences of slavery and tobacco.  We are still 'a work in progress.' 

 

 

David’s Stats:

Days Hiked    2

Total Miles Hiked   18.05

Ave. Miles per Day      7.03
Total Elevation Gain       2,889
Ave. Elevation Gain per day    1,420