New Year's Eve Campout Lake Livingston State Park 2011

Last year, I slept in the loft of a shelter.  This year, I opted to pitch my tent next to the water.  Mine is the tiny green one.  This may become a yearly tradition.  It's nice to not have to drive the roads with the drunks.  My share of the campsite fees was $12.  I also contributed champagne, a bundle of firewood, and guacamole but still only spent around $50 total.

I'm excited to finally be allowed a campfire again.  The drought is not over, but at least we have gotten some rain and we have a break from the severe fire threat.  I was beginning to think I would be telling my future grandchildren stories about when it used to rain in Texas...or when the entire state went up in flames. 

Hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year.      

    

Kemah Boardwalk

My new apartment is just a few miles from Kemah.  After work yesterday, a colleague and I visited the Kemah Boardwalk. We ate dinner at Joe's Crab Shack (she's amazed at the amount of food someone my size can eat), and browsed some of the shops.  

We watched boats returning from a day of fun on the water, or heading out for a sunset cruise...

...and we saw some kids cooling off in the fountains...

I toyed with the idea of starting a new geocaching blog, and probably will eventually, but the search engines like my travel posts so I decided I should start a new travel blog instead.  I made our dinner at Joe's the subject of my first post.  Please visit Gulf Coast Traveler to read it.  

Cycling in Clear Lake / Nassau Bay

BCO had a bike ride in my new neighborhood, so I joined them and got to have a look around. We rode past the lake and visited a few parks. I’m on the blue bike, wearing the blue helmet and blue backpack. No, I didn’t coordinate that on purpose.




Click to read sign.

 There seem to be an awful lot of gators this far south. I see signs warning about them everywhere.  Two swam up to us during a break. People must be feeding them. It may be cute when they’re small, but when they become 12-footers – not so much. This one looks pretty large.

I think I’ll limit my swimming to the apartment pool…

Backpacking the Lone Star Hiking Trail: Winter's Bayou Section

I went backpacking along a portion of the Lone Star Trail with my outdoor group this weekend.  The trail is marked with rectangular blazes on the trees, as in the above photo.  If it is tilted right or left, that is indicative of a change in direction.  There are many jeep trails, logging roads, etc. that cross the LSHT, so it's important to watch for these blazes.



Yes, I know it's dry under the bridge...but someone spent a lot of time and effort building it...and it was fun... 

 This section of the trail can become very muddy, so there are a lot of small wooden bridges along the way.  Most are constructed over ravines.  Others are placed to assist crossing areas that become boggy after a heavy rain.  The trail was exceptionally dry this weekend, though.  Even the bayou and pond was dry, so we had to carry all of our water.

We stuck pretty close together for the first 6 miles.  After we stopped for lunch and discussed where we thought we would stop for the night, we began each hiking at our own pace.  The two fastest hikers were quickly out of my view.  I passed the third hiker and was within view of her for awhile until she stepped off the trail to find a bush.  I kept going and sort of zoned out, alone and content with my own thoughts...until I looked up and realized there were no blazes on the trees.

What would Bear Grylls do?  But I don't want to take off my pants and bite the head off of a snake.  Guess I'll turn around and go back the way I came.

I think I was off the trail for close to half a mile.  That put me far behind the others.  I was trying to increase my pace to catch up with them, but eventually gave up on that.  I wanted a break.  I wanted to stop and adjust my pack but I was getting tired and was afraid I wouldn't be able to put it back on myself.  Then I came upon a bridge that was high enough off the ground to be a convenient little ledge I could use to make it easier, so I took my break.  I adjusted my pack, had a snack, and pulled out my cell phone to check the time.  4:30.  Sunset was supposed to be around 6:15.  I decided I would keep going until 5:30 and if I still hadn't caught up, I would stop where I was for the night.

I positioned my backpack so the shoulder straps would be directly behind me, sat on the edge of the bridge in front of it, slipped my arms in, then stood up.  Hooray!  I managed to get it back on.  35 pounds is awful heavy when you're getting tired.  Fortunately, once you get your pack adjusted correctly it's not too difficult to carry.

I continued on until I found the mile marker where we had agreed to stop.  I looked around and still didn't see my friends.  It still wasn't 5:30, so I stuck to my plan and kept going.  About 10 minutes later, I heard a very happy voice calling my name.  They had tried to call my cell phone but I didn't have a signal.  They became a little concerned when the woman I passed made it to camp before I did. 

I was never scared because I had food and water, I did have my tent, and there were people who knew I wasn't where I was supposed to be.  They would have walked the trails a little and notified the authorities if they didn't locate me.  I was annoyed, though, because I really didn't want to camp alone that night.  I was very happy when I finally caught up.

Could I have made the news?  Probably not.  What a boring story that would have been.  "We found her in her tent warm, dry, and fed."  Nobody would watch a survival show about that...     





 

Seminole Canyon State Historical Park

I'm the one in shorts.

I headed to the desert this past weekend.  We camped in Seminole Canyon State Historical Park on Friday night and headed for the park's overnight tour of Pressa Canyon early Saturday morning.  Yes, we were very close to the border, so a police officer accompanied us on our hike.  I think the media greatly exaggerates the risk for ratings, but it probably wasn't a bad idea to have him along.  We only had to carry a daypack with our lunch and water.  Our tents, sleeping bags, stoves, and other gear was transported on a trailor to our campsite.  It's my understanding that firewood would have been provided if there wasn't a burn ban in effect.  They even had a portable toilet set up.  It was a system that utilizes bags which you dispose of after use, so there was not the normal odor associated with port-a-potties. 

We didn't find the chupacabra, but did we find one of his victims?

It was 6 miles each way, scrambling over rocks, walking across the 45-degree slope of the lower canyon wall, and dodging branches full of sharp thorns.  It wasn't an extremely difficult walk, but not for those who only want to walk well-maintained, groomed trails.  You must be reasonably fit.




Click to enlarge for a closer look at the art.

We climbed up to several shelters where the ancients once lived.  There was some amazing art on those canyon walls.  It was difficult to choose which photos to post here.  There are many more pictures on Starting Over's public FB fanpage.  The link is in the sidebar if you'd like to view them.



We stopped here for lunch on the hike out.

 The Pressa Canyon Camp Overnight is just one of the tours offered at the park.  The Fate Bell Tour (included in the Pressa Canyon trip) has the best pictographs.  If you only have time to see one thing - choose the Fate Bell.  View the list of park events here.

Finally Emerging from Hibernation

I joined a challenge to walk 400 miles this year and did nothing to reach that goal for weeks.  I wonder if they've given up on me.

The weather has improved drastically, and I finally got outside.  I went for a walk along the Woodlands Waterway last night with a local fitness walkers Meetup group.  We saw some art I hadn't noticed before.

There were a bunch of these beautiful tile mosaics under one of the bridges.  

 

I'll stop and rest on this log with the turtle...he won't mind... (we were trying to make it look like I was hitching a ride)...

"Hey, that's not yours!"

"I was going to turn it into lost and found...I swear..."

  

Hehe...it's actually art.  Looks very real.  I was so entertained by the purse sculpture that I didn't even notice the cute frog until I uploaded the pics.  Click to enlarge the image so you can see the critters. 

I've volunteered to lead weekday evening walks for the group.  If I'm the event leader, I have to show up.  I'm going to set the meeting place as the park behind my apartment complex so I don't even have to drive - I just have to step outside.  

Enchanted Rock State Natural Area

We heard a rumor there were beautiful flower gardens and ponds on top... 

...so we hiked the summit trail, gaining 425 feet in elevation in just over half a mile...it was one steep trail...

...and we were not disappointed.

Click to enlarge the photos. 

Enchanted rock is a batholith, a mass of molten material that rose to the surface and solidified.  The pools of water and mini gardens are vernal ponds.  There are tadpoles swimming around in them that we saw, and tiny shrimp that are said to be in them that we didn't see.  It is a very strenuous hike, but well worth the effort.  There is not much shade on the summit trail so wear a hat and carry plenty of water.  Pack a lunch to eat at the top while enjoying the view.

There is an easier, 4-mile loop trail which circles the rock.  We hiked 2 miles of it, and I even found a geocache while most of the others were taking a break.   

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It's been a long time since I did a Travel Tip Thursday.  I still have lots of travel stories from this summer and I thought I'd link up.  I looked, and Pseudo hasn't posted since 2010?  Has she left the blogosphere?

I'm posting more pics to the Starting Over Facebook page.  The link is in the sidebar.  You should not have to "like" the page to view them.  Feel free, if you are so inclined, as it is not a profile page so liking it does not give me access to any of your profile information that is not public.  It simply prompts FB to post updates to your home page and allows you to comment.    

Lake Livingston State Park

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Look Vince!  I learned how to add maps!

I brought in the new year on a camping trip with my outdoor group at Lake Livingston State Park.  We rented screened shelters beside the lake.  I spent the night in the loft of one of them.  It was not enclosed by actual walls, so if I had not snuggled into 2 sleeping bags layered together, the cold wind would probably have made me miserable.  In the winter, I take a lightweight fleece bag and stuff it inside a regular sleeping bag which is rated to 50 degrees.  I find layers to be much cozier and warmer than any one bag.  There was a guy sleeping on the floor below me in one cold weather bag and he said he felt the wind.  I don't think he was as comfortable as I was.  A tarp could probably be rigged to help block some of the wind.  During the summer months, there would be plenty of room for an air mattress in the loft and the breeze might be more welcome.  There is electricity in the shelters.           

Most people opted to set up tents.  Eight people are allowed per site whether they sleep inside or out.  We used three sites, one for gathering and eating, two for sleeping, and everyone pitched their tents at shelter site 4 because it had plenty of relatively flat ground suitable for camping.  

We had a potluck dinner.  Every time I car camp with BCO there is more food than we could possibly eat.  I brought tamales, but didn't even bring them out until breakfast because there was too much food.  It was BYOB, but people brought plenty of that to share as well.  Consumption of alcohol is not allowed in public areas of Texas state parks.  (Interiors of shelters, cabins, tents, and campers are not public areas.)  As long as we keep it in our campsite and don't get too rowdy, we never have a problem.     

In the morning, we went on a ranger-led hike.  I learned a few bits of useful information.  This is palmetto.  Any place you see these is not a good place to pitch your tent.  Palmettos thrive in areas where standing water collects.  If you are camped next to these and it rains, you're getting wet.


This is poison ivy.  "Leaves of three, let it be."  You don't want to touch this one.  The middle leaf is symmetrical, while the other 2 leaves are smooth on the inside edge and have pointy lobes on the outside.

We did a little geocaching and I tried to get video with my new Flip Mino HD, but I mostly got footage of the ground and people's behinds.  I'll see what I can do with the editing software...         

Huntsville State Park

I'm trying to keep busy.  This weekend it was a camping trip at Huntsville State Park.  Those are just a few of our tents pictured above.  I've had that Timber Creek tent for over 10 years now.  I bought it on sale at Academy for $25.  They don't generally get very good reviews, but I've had no major problems with mine.  I did get wet once, but a three-dollar bottle of seam sealer took care of that.  Now it has to rain very hard for a very long time and then maybe a tablespoon or two of water will get in - not enough to ruin a trip.  I've never had it collapse on me, either, no matter how hard the wind blew. 

We went for a hike around the lake and found 7 geocaches.  I dropped off some travel bugs I've had for too long.  I thought I took pictures of them, but I can't find any.  Remember the Boy Scouts pinewood derby cars?  They made some they are racing as TB's.  Anyone interested in viewing the trackable or where it's been can click here.  "Prizes will be awarded for cars that travel the farthest, pass through the most hands, and have the most creative route, among others," according to the website.   

We had an armored visitor to our campsite.  It's unusual to see armadillos during the daytime, much less one that strolls into camp despite there being 20 people and 3 dogs around.  I heard him rustling around at night, too.  I spotted him on my way to the bathroom.  People staring and taking pics don't phaze him, but he didn't like a flashlight shining on his back.  

At the end of the weekend, I put out my Avon on the picnic table and actually sold a few items.  I made my first sale!  Woo hoo!         

Kamping

I'm in my tent surfing the net - how cool is that?  The state parks were full, so I'm at a KOA.  There are RV's across that little road.  I've had better campsites at other KOA locations.  I decided to put my tent in the open area and save the shade for sitting under during the day, but the light from the bathroom has me regretting that decision.  It may be a little darker over there.  It's possible I may move in the middle of the night.

And people keep cutting through my site!  How rude!

I think I like the cow pasture better.  

Watch Where You Step

I gave you guys a break for a few days.  I was camping without internet access for the weekend.  I could have gone to McDonald's or Starbucks, but I was having fun with friends in the real world.

Bayou City Outdoors did a series of Hill Country events for the Memorial Day Weekend.  You know it was a guy who picked the campground - we were camped out in a pasture.  I knew it was a ranch, but I didn't realize we were going to be in the same field as the cows.  Click to enlarge the below photo and you can see exactly how close they were.

I awoke to the sound of mooing and a strange call I soon realized was coming from the BULLS.  There were two of them coming straight towards our tents - dehorned, but still very large and scary.  I told one of the guys to go stop them from coming this way.  I was only kidding, but he did it!  He walked over to the bulls and immediately the two of them started fighting.  The cows came over to watch.  It reminded me of the school yard, with the kids yelling, "Fight!  Fight!"

There were a couple of dogs that were hanging out at the ranch and decided to adopt us for the weekend.  That's R and one of them pictured above.  When R started encouraging the cattle to move farther away from our camp, she immediately ran out to help.  She actually sent them in the correct direction and only chased them when we were trying to shoo them.  Smart puppy!  We decided if she was going to herd the cattle, she could stay.

She did a good job.  The cattle spent a lot of time standing around and staring at us.  I think we stole their favorite shade trees and all those spots void of grass where we liked to pitch our tents were their beds.  They were probably wondering why they could fit an entire herd under those trees and six skinny humans couldn't share.

There were also a couple of horses that occasionally came whinneying and running through camp.  One of them decided to take a dust bath.  The dog spotted the horse with all four legs in the air, rolling around on the ground and decided she wanted to play, too.  The horse wanted no part of it.  He reared up, kicked at the air, and our canine friend took the hint.        

We used the ranch, near Llano, as a base camp while we did some wine-tasting at the vineyards outside of Fredericksburg and visited a couple of state parks.  I hope everyone had fun this holiday weekend.
 

Galveston's Lost Oaks

Click to enlarge the images to see the details of the sculptures.  They are amazing.

Galveston's streets used to be lined with majestic oak trees until Ike's storm surge killed them.  Salt water topped the seawall and flooded the neighborhoods.

Local artists have begun carving the stumps into magnificent sculptures.  Bayou City Outdoors did a bike tour of them this weekend. 

 

I had a tough time deciding on favorites.  They were all beautiful.  There was also a mermaid, an angel, and by the fire station there were a huge fire hydrant and dalmation.     

 

The sculptures were all on private property, but none of the homeowners complained.  Several came outside to find out who we were and where we were from.  The man in the picture above was genuinely excited to see us.  He told us the Greek column design was his wife's idea.  It symbolizes work left unfinished, or something like that.  I wish I'd videotaped him.  He said, "This is awesome!  I'm so happy to see you guys!"  As we were leaving, someone told me he was the new mayor of Galveston.  That explains why he was so giddy about seeing almost 40 cyclists touring the island.  His city relies upon tourism, which has not been what it once was.  There is still a lot of rebuilding to be done.     

 

Those are some of our bikes on the ferry.  Cyclists don't have to wait in line with the cars.  Even with this many, we rode up to the front and walked on.  The ferry is free and a lot of people ride just to site-see.  There is a lot provided for anyone to park and walk on if they wish.  We saw a few dolphins and pelicans, but the uncooperative beasts refused to pose for photos.    

So you'll have to settle for one of me.  

Woodlands Waterway

The Woodlands Waterway connects the hotel/convention center to restaurants, shopping, and entertainment.  Take a free trolley...

...spend a few dollars on the water taxi...

...or take a stroll.  This a popular spot for joggers, walkers, and ducks.

      

Have lunch at one of the restaurants, shop at the mall or on Market Street, and then catch a show at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. Lawn seats are reasonably priced and even free for some events.

I found two more geocaches today.  I walked the half mile from my home to the waterway and found these.  When they said small, they meant it. 

The tiny canister opens to reveal the miniature log.  

  

There's only room for initials and no place to leave a calling card.  For the location of these and over a million more geocaches hidden worldwide, visit http://www.geocaching.com/. 

A Couple of Kayak Pics

I'm on the right in a dark helmet and blue shirt under my PFD and spray skirt.

 That's me, too...

I received an email that said, "Michelle Kvanli, who is our instructor Ben's wife, is the number 3 kayaker in the country right now and our lessons [the BCO group] are going towards helping her get to the Olympics."  Sounds like a good cause to me.

The kayak school also offers a membership that includes kayak and equipment rental for $35 a month and private lessons for an additional $10 an hour. Considering kayak rentals here are $40 a day, that sounds reasonable. I may sign up and see how much I use my membership benefits. San Marcos is only a couple of hours away.  I just need a little time to work up the nerve again.

Bottoms Up

Images from Flickr. These were taken at the same spot I was kayaking today.  There are some photos of me but I don't have them yet.

I made my first attempt at white water kayaking today. BCO arranged a Kayaking 101 class with Olympian Ben Kvanli at Power Olympic Outdoor Center in San Marcos. He's an amazingly patient teacher.

We had to practice what to do if our kayaks tipped before we could head down the river. You're supposed to tuck close to the kayak and knock on the boat to signal someone to come and flip you back up. The first time I kayaked on a lake and had to flip my kayak I had an asthma attack, I think probably because of the sudden change of temperature, so I was extremely nervous. I hoped one of the assistant instructors would help me because I didn't want to look stupid in front of Ben. No such luck.

I think he has asthma! He said he avoids cold places for that reason and suggested I relax and swallow when I first come up instead of immediately taking a breath. It helped! He also only turned my kayak halfway for a short moment the first time so when we did it for real it wouldn't be such a shock. It worked. I flipped my kayak, knocked on the hull, then he flipped me back up and reminded me about the swallowing trick. No asthma attack. So far so good.

Next, we had to practice a wet exit. We were wearing spray skirts which attach to a lip around the opening to the cockpit to seal water out. The first time I tried a wet exit, I couldn't get the skirt off the kayak. I had to knock on the hull to get him to flip me back up. He said, "You realize you are stuck with me this entire trip now? You and I are joined at the hip." That made me feel a little embarrassed but much safer. He showed me how to grasp the grab loop with both hands and pull up while pushing back with your legs and use your entire body to get free, then waited patiently while I practiced a few times upright and psyched myself up to try again.

We headed down the river and practiced a few paddling strokes.  I've paddled kayaks on the lake before, so I think I did pretty well.  Then we got to the rapids.  San Marcos has a waterpark with a series of three man-made waterfalls perfect for kayaking.  The first one looked to me like a scary drop almost straight down.  The two people who went just before me stalled on the rocks and flipped.  I wanted to make sure I didn't stall so I paddled hard to get up some speed when it was my turn.  I went down with no problem.  Ben was at the bottom videotaping and yelling, "That was awesome, Jennifer!  Way to charge that drop!"  Yay!  That was fun.  At this point I wasn't feeling embarrassed any more.

The second rapid required us to leave the calm water of an eddy into fast moving water flowing in the opposite direction, then line ourselves up to go down the center of the small waterfall.  I started out great.  I lined myself up to enter the white water, raised the right side of my kayak with my right knee like we practiced, then my kayak spun backwards.  When I was turning it back around, I didn't lift the correct side of the boat and over I went.  I knocked on the hull and waited for someone to flip me back up.  No one came.  I knocked again.  Still nothing.  I'm sure they'll be here any minute.  I knock and wait some more.  Where is my joined-at-the-hip instructor?  I finally decided enough was enough and performed my wet exit which I am very grateful to have spent so much time practicing.  The darn spray skirt wouldn't come off easily the first time I tried.  I grabbed it a second time and kicked with both feet while yanking with both arms and I was free. 

When I popped back up there were instructors all around me asking if I was okay, chasing my boat and paddle, pointing me towards shore, and telling me how well I handled myself.  I knew I was upside down for a while but I had no idea I had traveled the entire length of the rapids and down the waterfall upside down.  My hero was on the bank shooting video.  I did see on the tape that at least four instructors were right next to me trying to get in position to flip me up.  They said it was rare for someone to be upside down that long and not panic. 

After lunch I decided to call it a day and didn't run the second half of the course.  I'd had enough excitement for one day.  I'll try again another time.  Ben promises to be there immediately if I flip again.  I teased him for not putting down the damn camera and saving me, but it does make a great story.  If I get a copy of the video as promised, I'll try to post it here.