Early Morning Walk on OC Fisher Dam

Donna and I do most of our walking in our neighborhood, but we also do a great deal at the nearby state park. But it had been about 2 or 3 years since we last walked at O C Fisher Dam, so we decided to get out there early this morning for something a bit different.

The dam is a good place to walk for various reasons. It is level, making it ideal especially for bicycles. It is paved, making for easy walking. And the views are great. From the dam, you can see the city to the east and San Angelo State Park to the west. However, walking atop the dam leaves you very exposed, so if the wind is blowing -- and in West Texas it is usually blowing -- you are going to get buffeted about. And since most of our winds are from the south and southwest, you will have to walk into the wind on your way in, when you are probably the most tired. But you can walk as long and as far as you want.

In past walks, we have normally seen quite a bit of wildlife out there, especially early in the morning. Deer will often graze in the mesquite-covered land below the dam, and other critters will often appear here or there. But this morning, we saw no wildlife on our walk other than a few buzzards. Oh, we did see some deer on the 2 mile drive to the dam, but nothing on the walk itself.

We were out there early and caught the sun coming up. In fact, the moon was just setting in the west as the sun was peeking over the horizon in the east. It was a great morning for a walk, about 60 degrees with a slight breeze out of the south. We only met one other person on the dam this morning.

Below are some pictures I snapped along the way.

The sun as it begins its climb for the day.

The dam goes on for 7 miles. After about 1.5 miles or so, it curves to the left.

Hazy view of downtown San Angelo from the dam. I don't have a powerful zoom, so that is what causes the hazy look; the day was very clear.

This black vulture was atop a pole about where we turned around.

The North Concho River as it heads downstream from the dam towards downtown San Angelo.

Some typical West Texas landscape. Those buttes are to the west of the lake.

This is one of the camping areas in the park. I believe this particular campground is called Lake View. There were 4 or 5 tents campers there when we walked by on the dam.

Across the little bay from Lake View, this group of RVers are camped in a small grove of oak trees.

This view is of a residential area called The Bluffs. We live in a subdivision about a half mile to the left of the water tower.

Our walk is almost done, about a quarter mile to go. In the trees ahead -- where the red and white aerial is -- is the park headquarters and our starting point.

To see another entry I've made on O C Fisher Dam, you can visit the following link:

• Hike Report: O. C. Fisher Lake Dam (January 2014)

A Little Spring Color

We're still getting some cool nights out here. In fact, Thursday night/Friday morning dipped to 34 degrees; that's just a hair above a freeze. Kind of late in the year for that. I believe it set a local record for that date. The days are nice, though, and we've enjoyed a few calm days lately. Anytime the temp here is about 80 and the wind doesn't blow is a special day. Wish we could get some rain, though. Oh, we've had a light shower or two in the past couple of weeks or so, but not even enough to measure. Things are not looking good. Those of you out there getting too much rain, please send it our way. We'd be most appreciative.

On my walk this morning, I did spot a few signs of spring color I wanted to share.

Nice little rose among the prickly pear. Donna and I walked the park the other day and saw several good cactus roses out there.

I believe this is called a bird of paradise. 

The ocotillos at the club house are really nice right now. The color doesn't show up well in this picture because of the lack of light. I took this picture on my morning walk, and the sun had just come up. I'll try to get a better picture later.

Recycling Center Closing

In an entry a few months back, I reported about our recycling efforts (see "Recycle Day" from November 2017). Well, I'm sorry to say that S.A.F.E. (San Angelo Friends of the Environment) has now closed.

We began using S.A.F.E. 25 or more years ago when we lived in Ozona. About once a month, we'd drive the 80 or so miles to San Angelo to do our monthly shopping. We'd bring all of our recycling with us and drop it off at the S.A.F.E. location which was then on Knickerbocker. The center has expanded over the years and was pretty comprehensive in what it would recycle.

About 3 or so years ago, San Angelo began curbside recycling, which is a good thing. Curbside recycling is easy; just dump all of your recycled goods into a single container and roll it out to the curb for pickup. But this convenience has basically spelled the end for S.A.F.E. Anyone on the recycle route, which is virtually everyone in the city limits, now uses the curbside pickup. However, the subdivision where Donna and I live does not use city services, so Donna and I have continued recycling our own waste at S.A.F.E.

There are local places where we can take most of our recyclable goods, but it will mean making 2 or 3 stops rather than the 1 stop convenience of S.A.F.E. That's a small price to pay, though, for the positive effects of recycling waste. Our subdivision picks up garbage on Mondays and Thursdays. I'm amazed at how much waste people produce. As we walk or drive along the streets of our subdivision on those days, almost every house has 2 or 3 bags of garbage. Donna and I usually put out only a small bag of garbage on those days, and often we don't even do that. Most of our waste is recycled.

Donna and I have been recycling everything since the early days of our marriage. At first, only 1 or 2 items were recyclable, such as aluminum and newspapers. Now, though, there are a wide range of products that are recyclable. We recycle far more than we send to the landfill, and that is a great thing. And it really isn't difficult to do.

I've always been concerned about the environment. In my college years, I was influenced greatly by Living the Good Life, written by Helen and Scott Nearing. For years, Donna and I subscribed to The Mother Earth News, a monthly magazine for living compatibly with the earth. We've always used organic methods in our gardening and lawn care, and we also like to compost kitchen waste, such as vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, and similar items.

We're going to miss S.A.F.E.

A Recent Trip

In the previous post, I related the hike Donna and I took at Enchanted Rock. That was just the first day of a 4 day journey.

We left early Thursday to reach Enchanted Rock around 9:00 or so. Following our hike, we went to Fredericksburg to spend the night. Our first in town stop was Hoegemeyer's Barbeque Hall located near the Markplatz. Oddly, this was the location of the Thai restaurant we frequented in past visits. The BBQ at Hoegemeyer's is average, but the prices and quantity are good. But we thought BBQ was a good choice because we were pretty ragged looking following our hike, and we really didn't want to go someplace nice. The good thing about BBQ joints is that they are normally pretty casual affairs.

We then checked into our hotel, the Inn on Baron's Creek. Hotels in Fredericksburg are pricey. We normally try to get someplace within walking distance of Main Street. This was the first time to stay at this place, and it was a nice hotel with a better than average breakfast. After cleaning some of the trail off our aging bodies, we walked a couple of blocks to the Auslander and enjoyed a couple of dunkels in their biergarten. It was a fairly hot day, and the biergarten was open air. I needed a cooling down after the hike, so we strolled across the street to Culture's Bar and Grill to enjoy their air conditioning and some of their 47 beers on tap. We then returned to the hotel for the night.

Early the next morning, following a good breakfast at the hotel, we set off for Palestine. We drove east along US 290. I continue to be amazed at how the area between Fredericksburg and Stonewall is building up. Wineries and vineyards occupy much of the countryside, but there are other businesses as well. It wasn't that long ago that we could drive this route and see a few peach orchards and produce stands and little else other than countryside. Things do change.

We worked our way up through the Temple area and on over to Palestine, arriving in the early afternoon. As usual whenever we visit East Texas, we drove through some pretty heavy rain, especially from Temple on. The countryside was lush, stock tanks were full, and the crops, though young, looked promising. The first thing we did upon arriving in Palestine was stop at Little Mexico. I've mentioned this restaurant in my blog before. I grew up eating here, starting when it was just a little shop on the square. It has always been my standard for Mexican food. While still good, it really no longer appeals to me as it once did. The prices are a bit high, too, when compared with some of the places I normally eat. Oh well, as I said, things do change.

We checked into our hotel late that afternoon and settled in. Late that night, heavy storms rolled through, dropping quite a bit of rain. There was thunder, lightning, and hail in some areas around us. We rose early the next morning, had breakfast in the hotel, then set off for Lake Palestine. The whole purpose of this trip was to attend a family reunion, so that was our destination for the day. We had a good visit with some family that cool and windy Saturday. Later in the day, we set off west, returning home. We only made it to Hillsboro, though, where we spent the night.

Sunday, we rose early and headed home. It was rather cold that day, with temps in the mid 30s. That's a bit low for this part of Texas this time of year. It is always so nice to return home. We had a nice drive home, but both of us noticed the change in the countryside. While things east of I-35 were lush and green, west of I-35 the landscape became more parched as we drove homeward. Stock tanks held less and less water. Our part of West Texas continues to need rain. I continue to fear that we are in the early days of another drought.

Hike Report: Enchanted Rock State Natural Area

I don't know how many times Donna and I have hiked at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area; probably half a dozen times over the last 15 years or so. It remains one of our favorite places to hike.

The park is located about 17 miles north of Fredericksburg, one of our favorite towns in Texas. The surrounding countryside is typical of the Hill Country, and the beer selections at restaurants in Fredericksburg are outstanding. I can't think of a better after-hike activity than sipping on a cold dunkel.

It had been 3 years since we last hiked this park. In the past, I never found the hike particularly challenging or demanding, but I have to admit that this latest hike left both of us a bit sore and very tired. That's just a sign of our increasing age, I guess. This was the first time that I really noticed the ups and downs bothering me.

On this hike, we stayed more or less on the Loop Trail, which park literature indicates is anywhere from 4.25 miles to 4.49 miles, depending on the source. We altered the route slightly, taking the Walnut Springs Trail, so this added a bit to our distance. Our final tally was 5.16 miles according to my GPS.

We always park our car in one of the parking lots on the east side, then walk through all the parking areas, past the camping areas, and begin our hike on the west, following the trail in a clockwise direction. Most of the loop trail is wide and well maintained. Only the section along Sand Creek is actually a foot path.

This is near the start of the trail. Note how wide and well maintained the trail is. It climbs to the right of the hill in the distance.

Initially, the trail climbs up granite slopes to the western end of the park, then begins circling back. There are good views from this area, first to the east and later to the northwest as well. There are various rock formations -- hoodoos -- that are interesting to examine. If there have been recent rains, then there will be water flowing in various places.

There are numerous hoodoo formations like these along the western part of the loop trail.

The trail crosses granite along the base of the rocks in the background. There are good views back to the east from here.

View to the east.

There are many trees in the park, especially along the western section of the Loop Trail, that are covered with moss.

Here is a closeup of the moss from above. I believe this is called Ball Moss.

Our first good sighting of Enchanted Rock (Big Rock) from the trail.

We saw at least 3 composting toilets along the trail. This one was located where the Walnut Springs Trail splits from the Loop Trail. It serves the good folks who camp in the Walnut Springs camping area, and anyone else who happens along.

As the trail circles back to the center of the park, other trails will splinter off. One of the highlights of the trail is Moss Lake, but we missed that this time since we opted to explore the Walnut Springs Trail. Where the Walnut Springs Trail rejoins the Loop Trail, there are some good views of both the Big Rock (Enchanted Rock) as well as the Little Rock. The gap between these domes is Echo Canyon, and is worth exploring.

I happened to espy this little winecup along the Walnut Springs Trail.

This is the view just before the Walnut Springs Trail rejoined the Loop Trail. That is Enchanted Rock (Big Rock) on the left and Little Rock on the right. Echo Canyon is in the gap between them.

Enchanted Rock summit. You can see a few people at the top.

Farther east, the trail turns south, providing great views of the eastern slope of Enchanted Rock. You can really see the exfoliation process of the rocks from this side. Giant slabs of rock will slide down the slopes, causing rock piles at the bottom.

This picture clearly illustrates the exfoliation process. Those slabs of rock will eventually slide down the hill and come to rest in piles at the bottom.

Here are some rocks that have slid to the bottom of a nearby hill.

The last time we took this trail, it had been raining quite a bit. At Sand Creek, we had to take off our socks and shows and wade the stream in water that came to our thighs or so. This time, however, there had not been much rain and the creek was low, which is its normal level. We were able to cross on stones placed along the trail.

Donna crossing Sand Creek. 

Here I am after crossing the creek. 

This is what the trail looks like from the creek crossing to the trail head.

Turkey Peak, with quite a few people atop it. We could clearly hear them from the trail.

Here is the obligatory picture of blue bonnets the law requires you must take when you visit the Texas Hill Country in the spring.

The trail to the summit, with quite a few people scattered along it.

This is a busy park. Take the warnings about park closures on the web site seriously. On weekends and holidays, the park will reach capacity early and the park will close. We always go during the week, but we've never been there that a crowd was not present. I can't tell you how many people we met on the trail this time. True, most were near the trail heads, but we did meet several well along the trail. We ran into a young lady and her 2 rescue dogs near where we rejoined the loop trail after walking the Walnut Hills Trail. The dogs did not seem to be in good health in the first place, and they were clearly wearing out. Later, after we got to our car, we drove to a restroom to freshen up. The restroom is near the trail head, where the lady emerged with her dogs. They found a shade tree and plopped down. Donna and I offered to baby sit the dogs while the lady retrieved her truck. The poor dogs were exhausted, and this saved them from walking an additional half mile or more.

To see previous entries on hiking this park, please visit the links below:

• "Hike Report: The Loop Trail, Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, November 2015"
• "Hiking Report: Enchanted Rock State Natural Area" from May 2012

A Short Drive Before Lunch

Donna and I had some free time early one morning last week. It was a beautiful spring day, plenty of sunshine and warming quickly. We decided to take a short drive in the country before lunch.

We started by heading west on US 67. We crossed the nearly always dry West Concho River, and continued on to FM 2335, which heads south to the old farming community of Knickerbocker. Just after turning off 67, we crossed a set of railroad tracks and then immediately turned back east onto FM 2166 to do a bit of exploring. We had never been on this road.

A few miles down the road, we came to the entrance for the West Texas Boys Ranch. I've always known the Boys Ranch was out here, but I know little of the place. I know that numerous fund raisers are held in Angelo throughout the year to support the ranch, but I know little else. The ranch provides a home to boys aged 11-17 who need a safe environment in which to grow. You can learn more by following the link above.

The entrance to the ranch is quite attractive as the road is lined with evenly spaced pecan trees. Fields of winter wheat spread out on both sides of the road. The ranch itself is not large, probably consisting of a few residences and a small number of buildings.

Entrance to Boys Ranch, with pecan trees and fields of wheat lining the road.

Some of the buildings at Boys Ranch.

Field of wheat.

After our short drive through the ranch, we continued east on FM 2166. Eventually, the pavement ended, so we turned around. Looking at the map, I see that the road actually heads towards Twin Buttes Reservoir (North Pool).

Wild turkeys scampering across a newly plowed field. You can barely see one of the huge overhead sprinkler systems in the distant background.

Another shot of the turkeys, with a line of low hills in the background.

Back on FM 2335, we continued south, where we pulled off for a short drive through the little park on the east side of the road on both banks of Spring Creek. There were a couple of tents pitched along the north bank and a travel trailer was parked farther up the slope. Spring Creek is a pretty reliable source of water in this arid area of West Texas. It helps fill Twin Buttes Reservoir -- along with Dove Creek -- then continues downstream to merge with the West Concho River to form Lake Nasworthy.

Shot of Spring Creek from the park.

Park pavilion on the south bank of Spring Creek.

Spring Creek as seen from the highway crossing.

We then detoured through part of the Dove Creek subdivision. In the 1990s, Donna and I bought a few acres in this subdivision and thought that one day we might retire there. We ended up selling several years ago, though. It is an interesting place, with tracts ranging from 5 acres on up to 40 or so acres. Many tracts line either Spring Creek or Dove Creek, and there are two little subdivision parks on the banks of these creeks where you can launch a boat or do some fishing or swimming. The creeks empty into Twin Buttes Reservoir.

We came across these guinnea hens in Dove Creek subdivision.

Back on FM 2335, we continued south, eventually crossing tree lined Dove Creek and arriving in Knickerbocker, where we turned east back towards San Angelo. It was a nice morning in the country.

A Little Color in the Park

Once again, Donna and I haven't been up to much. We're mainly just loafing about the house. We do our regular walks, putter about the house a bit, go out to eat once in a while, maybe take a drive around the lake, and that's about it.

Earlier this week, we went out to San Angelo State Park for a walk. Gosh, the wind blew so hard. It was blowing steady at 20 or more mph, and gusting at 35 or more. It really made walking hard. But we persevered and got our 5+ miles in.

I hoped to see some color at the park, but there is very little out there. It has simply been too dry this year, I'm afraid. I'd like to get down to the Hill Country to view the wild flowers; perhaps we'll venture there soon.

For now, I'll leave you with this pitiful collection of tiny flowers. It's all the color I could find on our walk.

We saw several stands of these purple flowers. They are quite small. I do not know what they are.

When we walk at the park -- as opposed to hike -- we stay on park roads such as this. This road is no longer maintained, and it gets very little traffic. As a result, it is a good place to walk. Notice the trail up the slope beyond the road.

I noticed these little orange blooms at the foot of this prickly pear. I look forward to watching the cactus roses later on.

Patch of little yellow flowers

Near the end of our walk, we passed this small herd of bison. Notice that the mesquite trees are leafing out.