Changing Plans -- Again and Again

A cold January day on the Guadalupe River

We are back in East Texas after a road trip that turned out nothing like we planned.  Admittedly our plans were somewhat nebulous, but except for the trip out to Odessa and a quick stop in San Antonio, I don’t think we went anywhere we thought we would. Winter camping weather is always unpredictable but this year’s El Nino made it even more so.   
  

Guadalupe River State Park

 

 



 

After spending two weeks in Odessa, we nixed our plans to visit the Big Bend area because of the snow and cold and instead went straight to San Antonio where it was at least a little warmer.  Our favorite state park near San Antonio, Guadalupe River, was getting ready to close down for one of their deer hunts so we could only stay a few days.  We managed a few quick visits with friends and one nice hike in the park before it was time to leave.  We missed seeing too many of our friends!  But knowing we would be back in March for Spring Break made it a little easier to spend such a short time in the place I still consider ‘home.’ 

 

John with Cosmo and Caelyn, Cindy with new boy Finch
and David with Maya (who doesn't have to wear a coat)

 

Good camping buddies of ours, Cindy & John, met us at Palmetto State Park located a few miles off Interstate 10 east of San Antonio.  David and I have spent time camping at Palmetto for the past two winters and it has become one of our favorite state parks.  This was Cindy and John's first time to camp at the park and they brought their newly-adopted Italian Greyhound, Finch plus the two they already had for a grand total of three 'Iggys.'  Counting Maya, we had some very doggy walks.  Maya thinks she is bigger than all three of them put together (and definitely has more fur).

 

 

Dwarf palmettos bordering swamp

 

Cindy with her new baby, Finch

 

 

Palmetto is a small, gem of a park that manages to feel remote and mysterious even though it is very close to I-10. The miniature palm trees or dwarf palmettos that grow near the San Marcos River and throughout the ephemeral swamp areas of the park give a tropical, almost ‘Jurassic Park’ feeling to the place.  No wonder there are rumors of a ‘swamp thing’ that lurks around the area. 

 

 

Sunset on Lake Livingston from our 'living room'

 

 

Maya appreciates David's Christmas present of brand new hiking boots 

 

With only a week left until it was time to be back in Nacogdoches, we opted to head slowly back to East Texas and explore some new places rather than visit the coast.  From Palmetto we traveled just a little north of Houston to Lake Livingston State Park, a new place for us.  Recent rains made this park and its trails very wet and muddy but we stayed three days anyway hiking a little in the park and also traveling to a nearby part of the Big Thicket National Preserve.

Really?  Good thing David has new boots for this.

Trail Carpet?

The first winter we were ‘on the road’ we visited a different area of the Big Thicket and really enjoyed our time there.  This time we explored the Big Sandy Creek Unit which is the second largest unit in the Big Thicket National Preserve.  We hiked about 4 miles along the Big Sandy Trail which meandered through a lovely forest of beech, magnolia and loblolly pines.  The weather was sunny and 60, the land gently rolling, the ground soft and sandy underfoot with  some swampy areas near the floodplain of Big Sandy Creek – a nice hike indeed.  We did some driving around as well and located a few other trailheads for future adventures.  This part of the Big Thicket is only a couple of hours from Nacogdoches so I believe we will be returning soon.

Maya loves hiking

A great trail and a great day!

 

From Lake Livingston we made one more stop before going home.  The Davy Crockett National Forest is southwest of Nacogdoches and only about 25 miles away.  With moving, settling in and starting classes we hadn’t had time to do much exploring of the nearby forests so this seemed like a perfect opportunity to do so. 

 

 

Along the Tall Pines Trail in the Davy Crockett National Forest

 

 

Ratcliff Lake in the Davy Crockett National Forest was our camping spot for two gorgeous days.  We shared the large campground on the lakeshore with only two other groups of campers.  It was quiet and remote and we took two great hikes, one for about 4 miles on the Tall Pines Trail and another hike of over 9 miles on a section of the 4-C trail.  Both were beautiful trails through upland pine forests and the weather could not have been better.  It never ceases to amaze me how being in nature is so restorative to both body and soul.  Of course good weather really helps too. The last week of our trip saw the tensions leave our bodies and the worries vacate our minds.  It was a great way to end our first road trip since settling down, even if nothing did go as planned…

Small lake on the 4-C Trail, Davy Crockett N.F.