Hike Report: Hill Country State Natural Area

During our recent stay at Kerrville-Schreiner Park, we decided to do a short hike at Hill Country State Natural Area. Unlike most parks in the Texas Parks and Wildlife system, Hill Country SNA is not developed. There is not a single bit of pavement within this remote park, located about 10 miles southwest of Bandera, nor are there any developed camp sites. But the park does offer over 40 miles of trails, and it is arguably the most popular park in the state for equestrians.

The rustic headquarters building at Hill Country SNA

This was not our first visit to the park. We originally visited the park in July 2006, when we took a 6 or 7 mile hike almost due west from the headquarters building. On our most recent outing, we followed a trail more or less in a southerly direction from the headquarters. By using the park map, we followed trail 8 for most of our hike, working our way up and down a series of hills along a utility ROW. After looping back to the north, we then followed West Verde Creek and a park road along a few trails, especially trail 8A, until we arrived back at the truck near headquarters.

Trailhead across from the parking area near headquarters

On our previous trip to the park, we were virtually alone in the park. It was July then, and quite hot, and few people were willing to venture out in the summer heat to hike. But today, the temperature was quite pleasant, and a number of vehicles were parked at headquarters, including at least 3 trucks with horse trailers.

Since the area had seen some heavy rains recently, I planned a hike to avoid low lying areas and any creeks as much as possible without hiking portions of the park we had already seen. And because we are not as adventurous as we were just a few years ago, I tried to pick easier trails. On the park map, single and double track trails are clearly indicated, so I picked a trail with double tracks hoping that the trail would be clear.

A double-track trail. This was near the beginning of trail 8. Actually, this is a road to me, much more than a "double-track" trail. But I'm not complaining a bit.

This trail sign appeared at the junction of trails 8 and 8A. It is indicative of trail signs in the park. The top 4 symbols are related to trail 8A while the bottom 3 apply to trail 8. The colored sections indicate trail difficulty. Basically, the straighter the horizontal line, the easier the trail. The arrows indicate direction. The symbol just below 8A indicates a group camp along that portion of the trail. We followed 8, which would require a bit of elevation change.

There were quite a few trees and much brush along the trail, but I was able to snap this view of surrounding hills.

The park, like many Texas parks, was originally a ranch. Many of the double-track trails were originally ranch roads, used by trucks and jeeps. There are also a number of old ranch structures throughout the park, and we came across several during the hike today.

The trail passes to the left of this old ranch structure.

Depending on your location, the trail surface is a mix. On most slopes and high ground, the surface tends towards exposed rock. Most loose stones range in size from golf ball to football size. Much rock is embedded in the ground with jagged edges jutting up to trip you. Regardless, you really have to watch your step around all the rock. Along lower elevations, especially near West Verde Creek, the trail is dirt and is rather easy walking.

This picture clearly illustrates the mix of rocks you'll encounter, from loose stones to embedded rocks that jut above the ground's surface.

About a third of the way through our hike, we encountered this utility ROW, which stretch for nearly half a mile in all. Notice that at this point the trail is really just a single-track, not the double-track indicated on the map. If you are referring to the map, this is the section of trail 8 located between the two asterisks.

This photo, near the end of the utility ROW, illustrates both elevation change and the rocky nature of the trail.

More structures from ranching days. Horse trough in center. I guess the structure on left is some type of cistern, while the structure on the right might be a pump house of some sort.

From time to time, there are some nice views.

Near the Comanche Bluff Camp Area (see map), we became a bit lost. I was hoping we could stay on the south side of West Verde Creek. When we first entered the park in the truck, there was a low-water crossing over this creek, so I knew that there was water in the creek from recent rains. I really did not want to have to do a water crossing. I'm getting to be a lazy hiker in my senior years, I guess. I could not tell clearly from the map, but it appeared that there was a trail (8B, perhaps) that would keep us on the south side of the creek and allow us to rejoin 8A for an easy walk back to our truck. But in the section of the park around the scenic overlook (again, see map), the trails were not marked at all. After scouting around some, I did find a ledge trail above the creek, but I knew there was no way I'd get Donna up there walking along a ledge, so we decided to work our way over to the park road.

Ledge above West Verde Creek, seen in part below. Note trail on other side of creek.

We were able to cross the creek on a dry low-water crossing near the Chapas Croup Camp Area. We then followed the road for perhaps a third of a mile before we found a place where we could cross the creek without getting too wet.

The Chapas Group Camp Area is just an old ranch house. It sits in a lovely grove of oak trees along the banks of West Verde Creek.

Looking upstream along West Verde Creek from low-water crossing.

West Verde Creek. The ledge pictured several pictures above would be along the top of the ridge in the background of this picture.

This picture was taken after we crossed the creek. We emerged on the trail on the left, then worked our way across the creek on high points of ground. We kept relatively dry.

We made a couple of attempts to cross the creek, but the water was too deep at those locations. So we continued to hike up the road towards headquarters. We then found a trail heading towards the creek near where Trail 9 hits the road. We found the creek to be rather shallow here and were able to successfully cross with only the soles of our shoes getting wet.

The trail from that point on was very easy. We met a couple of ladies on horseback and yielded the trail to them -- as trail etiquette warrants -- and soon found ourselves back on trail 8 heading for our truck.

This park offers some good hiking. The elevation changes are not too great. Because there are so many trails, you should be able to hike the park several times without repeating previous hikes.

Stonehenge II

One of the most unusual sites you're likely to see in the Texas Hill Country is Stonehenge II. Started as a lark by Doug Hill in 1989, Stonehenge II is roughly 2/3 the size of the original in England. The stones are about 90 percent the height and 60 percent the width of the original.

After the original arch was in place, Al Sheppard, the owner of the land, then commissioned Doug Hill to complete the project. Nine months later, the steel and concrete circle was finished. To complement the work, Sheppard added a couple of equally mysterious figures from Easter Island.

Since its completion, Stonehenge II was removed from Al Sheppard's land and relocated on the campus of the Hill Country Arts Foundation. To visit the site, head west from Kerrville on Highway 27. In Ingram, Highway 27 (the Junction Highway) veers northwest while Highway 39 continues west along the Guadalupe River. Take Highway 39 another .7 mile. After passing the Old Ingram Loop and then crossing Johnson Creek, you will see Stonehenge II on the south side of the highway. I do not recall seeing a sign indicating its location.

Stonehenge II, near Ingram, Texas

I placed Donna on the altar, then sacrificed her. She had gotten a bit too sassy.

Copy of a stone from Easter Island stands in front of Stonehenge II; another Easter Island figure is located nearby

Kerrville-Schreiner Park, October 2015

Donna and I have just returned from a great week spent at Kerrville-Schreiner Park in Kerrville, Texas. This city park is quickly becoming our "go to" park, for many reasons. First of all, it has full hookups for our trailer, and that is always good for RVers. Second, the park is located just on the southeast edge of town, so it is convenient to city services, such as restaurants and grocery stores. And even though it is so near town, it retains a great rural feel about it. I don't think there has been a single day yet when we have not viewed deer grazing somewhere in our campground.

I've written about this park before, so I'll try not to repeat myself here. For further reading, you may refer to these previous entries:

• "Kerrville-Schreiner Park" (May 2015)
• "Hike Report: Kerrville-Schreiner Park" (May 2015)
• "Kerrville-Schreiner Park, June 2015"
• "Hike Report: Kerrville-Schreiner Park, June 2015"

The weather really cooperated with us for the week. Daily highs usually reached the mid to upper 70s. A few of the nights were a bit chilly, dipping down into the low 40s, so we did have to run our furnace some. We did experience about 36 hours of on-and-off rain near the end of our stay, but it was a gentle rain for the most part, the kind that you love to sleep to.

We spent a great deal of time outside just enjoying the weather and the scenic setting. Kerr County lifted its burn ban just prior to our arrival, so we were able to enjoy a fire on a couple of nights. We also took strolls around the park, rode our bikes a bit, and enjoyed 3 local restaurants. We also took a short hike at a nearby park, and I'll report on this in a separate entry. It really was just a peaceful week for us, a chance to really enjoy being outdoors.

One of the things I really enjoyed about this trip is that practically all the other guests in our campground were like us. They were people our age out to enjoy being outdoors. During summer months, younger campers descend on the park to enjoy the river, and it verges a bit on a party atmosphere. But the group this time was very quiet. Each day, we'd see our neighbors all around sitting out, cooking on their grills, enjoying camp fires, taking walks around the park, riding their bicycles, and just enjoying the atmosphere. It wasn't loud, and no one disturbed anyone else. It was really quite nice.

Below are some pictures related to the park.

The original party girl enjoying one of our fires. It was perfect weather for an evening fire.

The road through our campground. Our campsite is on the right.

I often wonder who designs RV sites. Note how the utilities are spread apart. In another campground nearby, the sewer is located on the opposite side of the trailer from the other utilities. What were they thinking?

Empty campsites to the east of us. I really like how the trees are located, and all the camp sites in this campground are pull through.

Deer often get pretty close. Note the picnic table in foreground. Deer routinely graze through the campground.

These 6 deer reminded me of meerkats as they popped their heads up and watched me as I took this picture. That is the rear of our trailer in the background.

Several deer grazing through a nearby camp site.

The Rain is Falling

It's a cool fall day in San Angelo. As I write this, we are even getting a bit of rain. Much of West Texas has received quite a bit of rain this week, and some areas, such as Odessa and Lubbock, have even appeared on national news programs due to flooding. But there's no flooding in San Angelo.

We've had some sprinkles off and on for the past 2 or 3 days, but not enough to even dampen the bottom of my rain gauge. But today, we've received about a quarter of an inch. There has been some heavy rains to the northwest -- in the area of Sterling City -- the past few days, and the North Concho has flooded in that area. Waters from those rains should have reached O.C. Fisher Reservoir in San Angelo State Park by now. That's good news, as the lake has dried considerably this summer falling heavy rains last spring.

It's been a warm and dry fall so far in our area. We normally get some good rains in September and/or October, but that hasn't happened in the immediate San Angelo area this year. But other parts of the area to the north and south of us have enjoyed good rains off and on, and that is good. Right now, the temperature is 57 degrees, and that is the lowest high temperature we've had so far this fall.

Donna and I have been wanting to get out in our trailer and enjoy the fall weather, but in truth, there just hasn't been any of our typical cool fall weather. And even if it was typical fall weather, we would not be able to enjoy a good fire as approximately 150 Texas counties are under burn bans, including most of the counties around us.

But we're getting some rain right now, and I'm grateful for that.

Movie Review: The Martian

Donna and I had been interested in watching The Martian since we first heard about it. When it arrived at local theaters, we didn't waste any time getting in line. We opted to attend the 3D version.

The movie stars Matt Damon as botanist Mark Watney, who is presumed dead following a ferocious storm and left behind on the Mars surface by his colleagues on the Ares III manned mission. Watney, however, survives the storm, and that sets the stage for the plot of the movie: the long term survival and rescue of Watney.

The filmmakers worked very closely with NASA to make this movie scientifically accurate. And that is the aspect that really drives the movie. Watney must constantly find solutions to problems he encounters, from extending his limited food supply to finding a way to communicate with NASA despite the damage the storm caused the communications equipment.

A side story revolves around the human struggle to survive alone in an alien environment. How do you keep your morale up? How do you keep from losing your mind by not having someone to talk to?

I was engrossed for the entire movie. The action begins almost immediately and does not let up until the end.

If you are looking for an intelligent movie to watch, this one should work for you.

The Casinos Where We Stayed

While in Laughlin, we stayed at the Aquarius and the Avi. In Las Vegas, we stayed at Sam's Town.

One reason we make this trip each year is that we receive offers from the casinos where we've played in the past. For this trip, all of our lodging was complimentary except for the hotels on our way out (Holbrook) and back (Santa Rosa) and for our 3 night stay at the Avi. And our room at the Avi was minimal. All told, we paid less than $300 out of pocket for all of our lodging. We were also able to use points for many of our meals. As a result, these trips do not cost a lot. With gas prices low, our total fuel cost was about $180. So, our out of pocket cost for a 2 week trip was less than $600.

In the past, Sam's Town in Las Vegas has been one of our favorite casinos. However, I did not enjoy our stay there as much this time. First, they have reduced the number of good video poker games they have. Their inventory of Full Pay Deuces Wild has been cut by 60% or so. Second, I've never cared for their buffet. I find the food there poorly prepared and admittance is very slow. And this time, I found the clientele throughout the casino a bit different. In the past, Sam's Town attracted mainly senior citizens. It's always had a country/western theme. But this trip I saw a different crowd frequenting the place, and I wasn't always comfortable.

On our last trip to Laughlin, we scouted out the Avi. We liked the promotions they offered, and they had some games we felt we could play successfully. We did not play long enough on the previous trip to warrant any offers, but decided to stay there and pay the low room rate. We think we played enough this trip to earn us some future room and play offers. However, to be honest, I didn't really enjoy our 3 days there. The dining options leave a bit to be desired. There are a few fast food places and the required buffet and other casino owned eateries. But there was no place to get a decent cup of coffee. Also, I found the casino to be quite smokey. Everywhere we went, people seemed to be smokers, and heavy smokers at that. Seems the smokers at the Avi don't know how to use ash trays, either, as machine after machine was covered with a layer of ashes. You'd have to do some housekeeping before you could even sit down to play. Pretty disgusting stuff. But the Avi has a beautiful pool area, and it has a nice beach on a cove of the Colorado River. A negative for the Avi is that it is about 15 miles from the other casinos in Laughlin. However, just to the east across the river is Fort Mohave with a collection of dining, reasonably priced gas, and groceries. The Avi also has a pretty good RV park which might attract us when we are in the area with our travel trailer.

So, we were happy to get to the Aquarius. Ah, the Aquarius has always been our favorite place in Laughlin. First of all, they have the absolute best video poker on the river, hands down -- at least for low rollers like us. They also have good eating. For fast food, there is Subway, Panda Express, and McDonalds. We like McDonalds because their coffee is reliable and they post calories on their menu for food items. We love their little yogurt-based parfait. There is also a Duet's, which serves up a good cup of coffee much like Starbucks. Our last night there we enjoyed the seafood buffet. I'm not a big seafood eater, but Donna can eat her weight in crab legs, and I think she did so this time. There is also an Outback and a nice garden cafe where we can use our points. The Aquarius also has non-smoking sections. Our favorite place to play is at the Cove bar, which is completely non-smoking. We can sit at the bar, play some good video poker machines, enjoy a good draft beer, and look out over the beautiful Colorado River and the mountains of Arizona. It's fun to watch the river taxis, tour boats, jet skis, and other water craft moving up and down the clear waters of the river while playing some very good video poker.

The rooms at all the hotels are similar. We prefer to stay and play in Laughlin, though. It is a small town without the hustle and bustle of the much larger Las Vegas. I don't know if I will play again in Vegas. I probably will, but I'm just as happy to avoid it.

On the Road: San Angelo, TX, to Laughlin, NV (2015)

Normally on our trips to and from Nevada, we take scenic routes, which can add considerable time to our trips. This year, however, we went straight there and back for the most part. For us, that means we angle northwest from our home in San Angelo, TX, to hit Interstate 40 as soon as possible, which usually is in Santa Rosa, NM. From there, it is a pretty straight shot due west to Kingman, AZ, where we exit I-40 for the last 35 miles or so along an Arizona state highway.

I've reported our trips in previous articles (see the previous entry for links to these), so I won't repeat myself here. Instead, I'll simply describe the specifics for this trip.

Our route to and from Nevada

We usually make the 1,000+ mile trip to Laughlin in 2 days. On this trip, we traveled over 700 miles the first day to Holbrook, AZ, where we spent the night at the Lexington Inn. When traveling, we usually try to stay in hotels in small towns. Rates are usually better for the same quality lodging as you would find in larger cities. Also, getting on and off the interstate in small towns is so much easier than in larger cities. We also feel safer in small towns.

On our second day, we really only had about 5 hours remaining to Laughlin, so we decided to see a little of the country. I-40 basically follows historic old Route 66. We decided to detour from I-40 for much of our remaining trip to see the old highway. So we detoured through Holbrook, Flagstaff, Williams, and Kingman. We really liked the downtown area in Flagstaff, and hope to return in the near future and spend a couple of days there roaming the streets. Williams is also a picturesque town in the mountains of northern Arizona worth visiting.

About halfway between Flagstaff and Kingman, we detoured through Seligman, another picturesque town along the old highway. But instead of rejoining I-40 after passing through town as we had been doing, we stayed on Route 66 as it veered north from I-40 for the remaining 90 or so miles to Kingman. The old two-lane highway is well maintained. It winds through several small towns, such as Peach Springs and Valentine. There really was quite a bit of traffic on the old road, probably tourists like ourselves.

At Kingman, we then headed west for the final 35 or so miles of the trip to Laughlin.

On the return, we followed the same route without the detours along Route 66. Temperatures had dropped considerably for our return trip. It was early in the morning when we passed through Williams and Flagstaff, and the temps were in the 30s. We picked up heavy rain in the Albuquerque area. I had considered trying to make the trip home in a single day, arriving late at night. We've done that once in our travels. But the rain concerned me, and I was tired after not getting much sleep in strange beds for the past 2 weeks, so we pulled off in Santa Rosa and got a room in the Comfort Inn.

We woke to rain and temps in the upper 40s. After a good breakfast at the hotel, we climbed back in the truck for the remaining 400 miles to San Angelo. The rain continued until Lamesa, where we enjoyed a very good steak at K-Bob's Steakhouse. By the time we reached San Angelo, the temperature was in the lower 80s and all was dry.

As a side note, here is some information on gas prices. Texas had the lowest prices. We paid $1.82 in Levelland, Texas. Prices across New Mexico were decent. We paid $2.12 in Gallup both coming and going. Prices seemed to jump a bit in Arizona. We filled up twice in Bullhead City, AZ, and paid about $2.35 both times. Just across the river in Nevada, prices jumped about a dollar to around $3.35, though you could find it just under $3.00 in Las Vegas.