campermom

February gets cold in Texas and we thought we were ready. With electric blankets and thermals packed, we headed off to Lost Maples. We brought a friend this time who had not camped or hiked like this before. Since Friday was a school holiday, we had a three day weekend to enjoy.

Upon arrival, the woman at the gatehouse said we were the first people she has seen all day. There are 26 site, only 3 reservations ( + the host). We were given a site on the end, 16, ( 17 might have been nice too). Since we were tent camping, any sense of seclusion/privacy would be nice. These sights off little shade or shrubs. The tables are covered.

We took a short hike of the Maple trail/east trail, showered, suppered, then off to bed, early.

It was a cold night, low 40's. The friend said it was pretty cold and wondered if we could make a trip to walmart for another electric blanket.
We had breakfast then went for our big hike, the east trail, up to the top of the biggest hill and down the back side. Upon arriving at the top, it was clear our friend was having a spiritually-good time, gazing off the cliffisde at the view. (If anyone out there listens to Christian music, Todd Agnew has a song on his latest CD, "The Wonder of It All", The perfect song for an outdoor person. I can hear it know as I type this).

After a strenuous 4 hours ( it takes that long with a small kid and an asthmatic), we drove to the closest walmart, 1 hour away. After getting supplies, we stopped by Garner SP, (It was on the way). Our Park Host friends were there still and we visited a bit. The drive between Vanderpool and Uvalde is breathtaking. The road is high along the mountainside and you are glad someone created guard rails. The sun was setting and it was really pretty.

We hunkered down for what would be the coldest night tent camping ever ( for us) 17 degrees. The water in the tent, and on the roof rack frozen, as was the water for our site. We did the dishes with paper towels. We broke camp.

We drove to Bandera to Hill Country SNA. We hiked there for the day, asking which trail would be nice for a few hour hike. It was nice but after seeing Lost Maples, it didn't really compare, ( and we were pretty tired). We found a nice shaded spot along a creekside for a picnic and enjoyed the afternoon watching the armadillos.

Another great adventure. Our friend asked, "when are you going camping again?!"