Lost in Texas

After our four wheeling run at Tree's Ranch, Cec and I played tourist for a day.  We drove over to Utopia, Texas for lunch and waymarked some historical markers (www.waymarking.com).  A group is photographing and measuring the coordinates of all Texas historical markers with GPSs.

After lunch we drove on to visit the Lost Maples State Natural Area.  Maples normally do not grow in hot climates, but they do grow in the canyons of the Sabinal River.  The cool spring fed river and the sheltered canyons provide an ideal microclimate for them.  The maples came to Texas with the glaciers in one of the ice ages and found a home.

We decided to hike the first section of one of the two trails in the area, but we just kept walking, crossing the very shallow river via stepping stones several times and climbing a very steep, rugged trail to a hill top where there were several very nice overlooks.  On the down side of the trail we ran across the lake shown in the photo above.  The attendant at our RV campground in Leakey later told me that he had camped there as a Boy Scout and that there was an artesian well that sprayed water up into the air.

Eventually, a tired pair made it back to the parking lot after a hike of almost 6 miles.  We slept soundly (and early) that night, but surprisingly we were not sore the next day.