The day we got to stop

The roads narrow at night. Something happens in your 50s. It becomes even harder to navigate after dark.* The signs blur. Exits and streets hide.** I no longer enjoy hurtling through the night.

Still, I had a goal - spend the night with a friend and head to the hill country for the day - a long day and sad farewell. I suppose the start was somehow proper - an hour on dark and narrow roads, mostly alone with my thoughts, and steeling myself for tomorrow.

The trip ended the same way - an hour in the dark trusting the maps on my phone and missing only one exit***

But "in between" we talked and ate and shared and stopped wherever we wanted. It seems we both have partners who won't stop.  We visited a nursery, market/post office, fence/cedar furniture store, and herb farm. A search for a weathered board took us to a trash pile.

I snagged a few photos to remember the day we got to stop.

The "little library" my friends are creating and donating.

Ideas for the yard.

This is not the milkweed I so not the seeds I collect. I am reminded that my seeds need to be planted.

I almost stopped for purple coneflower seeds, but decided I have enough work to do in the yard (and enough seeds floating around the kitchen).

I love to see jars lined up on shelves. What kind of preserves do you want?

Hot sauce always reminds me of my brothers.

I love the texture on these pots - inspiration!

This kind of snake is welcome in my yard.

How about a lizard?

New old windmill.

Silly little blinged-out giraffe.

Wish that this old hardware store nail/screw/nut & bolt container had fit in my pocket.

The old Hye Market and Post office was interesting.

The old post office safe was half opened. Robbers got the first door open. No one knows how to open the inside door. Nor does anyone know what is inside.

Another safe provides the rest of the support for a desk. This one is open and used for storage.

A display that will shock some, but just made me laugh.

The post office and display.

It has not been so long ago that the post office was the center of the community (the post office and the barber shop).

You can buy hay in Hye.

You have to love a good hardware/feed store.

Century plants and cactus.

Notes:

* I blame it on bifocals, but that's another story. And I can only say "50s" for another month.
**Yes, it is time for a eye exam. Yes, I will have my cataracts checked.
***Left exits can be tricky without street lights and poor signage. Construction changes everything.

A bend of the Colorado

Early morning sun.

I have heard about this place for years. DH went here back when it was a fishing camp (soldiers after a training exercise sometimes wake in the night.*)  MC's scout group canoed and hiked there many times. DH and brother RF have camped there recently. Friends have shared photos. So, I was happy when DH recommended we hike at Colorado Bend.

Our oldest joined us and added wry comments and perspective.

This park offers a large number of trails of varying difficulty (easy, moderate, challenging, and very challenging). DH looked at the map and showed us some short hikes he assured us were easy.** I suggested we walk to Gorman Falls. We walked, climbed, crawled, and slid along the mostly rocky paths.

Highway is almost empty in the early morning.

Red dirt means something in our family.

Some of the trail was narrow and shady.

DH heads out.

Lichen covered rocks are seen on the river side of the trail.

Holes in the trail hint at the many caves below.

We suggested to OC that we lower her into this crack. She declined.

Stopping to check the map at a trail crossing. We hiked Cedar Chopper Loop. That name seems to be a bit loaded using a pejorative name, but then no one asked me.

On this trail there were few overlooks. Here you can see lots of dead cedar.

DH and OC keep a steady pace.

Some of the limestone ledge.

We start climbing.

The trail continues up and gets rougher.

The limestone is smoothed in spots - from thousands of feet passing over.

Then we headed down towards the river. Not much of a trail here.

As we got closer to the waterfall convenient cable allowed a balanced descent.

The entire cliff face was dripping - a waterfall "under construction" according to signage.

Gorgeous.

Viewers were kept at a distance to protect the area.

It must be stunning after some rains.

A poured concrete step had a backwards and upside down message. Of course I read it wrong initially - an anagram of "this."  I think it says something like "THIS AREA" and "TO PARK."

Barbed wire fencing

Lily pads in the creek that feeds the falls.

 
It's red dirt, limestone shelf, cedar, oak, caves, cactus, cactus, and cactus. And the waterfall was unusual and lovely. We saw a few deer as we drove in, heard a few birds along the river,*** and saw evidence of wild hogs. Otherwise the only creatures we observed were early yellow butterflies, flitting through the brush.

Some lovely cedar stumps.

While I am sure it has a specific name, we called of this type of cactus "devil's pincushion."

Pitted limestone - like the surface of the moon.

Cedar log.

Lady finger cactus fruit.

Yucca

Fern growing on the path to the falls.

Prickly pear.

Milkweed seed pod

Live cedar and dead cedar.

Three hours and 3.5 miles later we were back at the car and headed to Lampasas for lunch.

You know you wanted to see it.

Then it was time for home, ibuprofen, and a nap.


NOTES:

* DH swears he got up for the loo and saw a mountain lion across the river. He told his story (and still tells it) and was teased unmercifully. Later, when the unit was training in Germany, one man had a Lampasas newspaper that included a story about a rancher shooting a mountain lion. Vindication - or so he claims.

** The legend was on the back of the map. I only saw it after the hike. DH lied. We were on a moderate and then challenging trails. It's okay. I am used to "march or die"  DH. And he is used to me - I stop to take photos and stop to rest.

*** Including a raven (I am making the call. It was a crow or raven and who will argue?).