Krause Springs day trip

I wrote this post last month and am just now getting to moving the pictures from my phone to the computer.  Sorry for the delay, you have been waiting very patiently I am sure.

We get a lot of our inspiration for destinations from a show on PBS called The Daytripper.  The host Chet Garner travels around Texas in search of fun.
Shawn stayed home to work, so we invited Grandma to come with us.  Krause Springs is located in Spicewood, about an hour and 30 minutes or so from our house.  The weather looked a little rainy (weird for August), but we went anyway.  Krause Springs is private property that has been opened for swimming and camping.  This is not a state park so be prepared for a little more open container than you would see at a SP.  The property has 32 springs that bubble up and flow to create a swimming area.  There is also a pool that has concrete added to make the floor and walls.  We headed down to the main swimming hole area and set up our chairs and picnic on the large rocks.  The giant cypress and pecan trees are all around the springs and a good sized rope swing has been added.  Patrick was brave enough to tackle the rope swing, although he came up crying because he lost his goggles.  Mommy had a hard time watching as he grabbed the rope and swung off the rocks.  Water shoes and pool noodles make this a nice area to float.  The water is a chilly 68 degrees, but in the hot Texas summer it is a relief.  In the swimming hole in the back of the waterfall there is a cave.  It is not roped off so you are welcome to go in and explore.  We had no light or bravery so we decided not to go in.  There are bathrooms and changing areas in two different parts of the park.  The camping area is right next to the day use area and was mostly taken by RV's and pop-ups.  The admission price was $6 for adults and $4 for kids.
Just outside the park we stopped for take out at Opie's BBQ.  This was such a cool place and the food was delicious!  Every kind of meaty goodness, sides, and desserts.  I can't wait to go back next summer and take Mom.  They also offer canopy tours in Spicewood, but that will have to wait for another day.
If you are looking for a fun day and have already tried Hamilton Pool, I recommend visiting Krause Springs and Opie's banana pudding.

Dinosaur Valley State Park

After an almost 2 month break for the heat and school to start, we are back to the great outdoors.  To kick off our fall camping we headed up to Dinosaur Valley State Park.  I have posted about this park before when we went for a day trip.  We had such a  great time and we excited to try out the camping area.  Overall we had a good time, although there were a few bumps in the road.  We decided to leave Friday night to make it a 2 night trip.  It is just under 3 hours to Glen Rose so we were hoping to leave by 4:00 at the very latest.  And we almost did....except we didn't because as we were backing out of the driveway the truck started to fill with smoke.  After some investigation it was decided that the truck had an oil leak and could not be driven.  So the bikes went back in the garage along with the grill and the washers.  We loaded up my car as fast as we could and were again backing out at 5:15.  After a stop at HEB for ice and charcoal and a stop at Academy for bait, we were on our way.  Fortunately the headquarters is open till 9:30 on Friday evenings, so we checked into site 10 with no problems.  I didn't remember when we drove through last time the camp sites being so small and close together.  There are not very many sites and all are water and electric.  We are snotty tent campers and prefer to camp in a water only (translation: tents only) loop.  There was a very large family next to us with about 481 children.  Ok maybe it was only like 8 but it seemed like a lot.  And the sites all around us were all one family reunion.  But quiet hours came and they were good neighbors.  The people behind us not so much.  The rangers do not seem to come through as much as we have seen in other parks, so it was not the best night of sleep.
But we were determined to make the best of it and set out Saturday morning for a hike.  The kids did well as we hiked about 3 miles through the rocky hills and across the ridge overlooking the river.  After lunch and some playtime in the woods behind us, Shawn set off on a much longer hike while the kids and I went down to the river.  They had a great time swimming and catching stuff in nets.  I found a very shallow fast moving spot and laid down on the rocks to enjoy the afternoon.  We stayed down there all afternoon.  After dinner and much needed showers, we toasted marshmallows over charcoal as there was a burn ban for wood fires.  Our neighbors were much quieter after many complaints to the ranger that day and we enjoyed a good nights sleep.  The raccoons finished off our marshmallows which were accidentally left out.  We had our usual Sunday morning pancakes and bacon before packing up.  Shawn wanted to go fishing so we drove out to Meridian State Park to fish in the lake.  The kids put their bathing suits back on and swam in the lake for  a couple hours.  He didn't catch anything, but a woman in a boat got a huge bass.  So there are fish in there somewhere.

It was a great weekend and despite all the pollen, it was good to be in the woods.