January Camping

Frostweed sap at Guadalupe River State Park

Almost anything is possible with winter camping in Texas.  From ice storms to near 80 degrees and anything in between – yes, I think that sums up this month pretty well. 

After our ice adventures out in West Texas we went back towards San Antonio hoping for a little warmer weather.  And it was warmer at Guadalupe River State Park but moisture was still in the air so we traded in the ice for cold rain.  An improvement though not all that much fun!

 

Ice storm in West Texas

Sometimes nature has little surprises in store if you happen to be out and about.  One morning the conditions had been just right for the stems of the frostweed (Verbesina virginica) to rupture and the sap to spill out in frozen curtains of white.  The sap makes such delicate, almost cotton candy-like shapes.  Some of them look as if they could be fairy creations.  We were lucky enough to see the frozen frostweed last year right before Christmas at Lost Maples State Park and here it was again.  I imagine ranchers in the Texas Hill Country see it quite often but I am always delighted by the phenomenom.

Cotton candy frostweed

 

After a few days stay and a quick trip into San Antonio for a dentist appointment we decided to move on down the road.  The rain was not predicted to let up anywhere in Texas but it was supposed to be a little warmer to the south.  So we went to Brazos Bend State Park just a little south of the Houston area.

Rainy morning, Brazos Bend State Park



Brazos Bend is one of our favorite Texas State Parks.  There are over 40 miles of trails, hundreds of bird species and alligators.  Who can resist that combination?  Well, not us anyway.



Snowy Egret

 



 

We spent a week at the park and much of it was rainy.  Still the rain let up from time to time and the temperatures steadily climbed all week from the 40s to the low 60s near the end.  We were able to hike at least a little every day and some days quite a bit longer.  As usual, there were so many birds.  Brazos Bend is a fun place to photograph birds. You don’t have to be a great wildlife photographer or even have a very long lens to get some good pictures. 

 



White Ibis

The weather was warming up everywhere in Texas and we hated to leave the park just as the gators were coming out to bask in the sun.  But we were scheduled to start our duties at Government Canyon State Natural Area in just a few days so we left Brazos Bend and traveled to San Marcos.  We enjoyed a gloriously warm and sunny weekend with our friends Cindy and John before it was time to move to Government Canyon where we will be “living” for the next 10 weeks.  

'Fishing buddies,' White-faced Ibis and Snowy Egret

A slight dispute over territory...

 

Luckily, the weather was great for our move-in.  We put on shorts in the afternoon as the temperature climbed near 80.  Shorts in January, you just can’t do that up north.  The next day we were back in pants, rain pants to be precise.  Oh, well – it is winter after all.

The sun comes out and so do the gators!

David's Stats:
Days Hiked   5

Rain Days     4   
Total Miles Hiked    22.66
Ave. Miles per Day    4.53 
Total Elevation Gain     414
Ave. Elevation Gain per day  83