Whenever we head southwest from Hot Springs we try to stop near Austin to visit our friends Jack and Sharon. We were supposed to move on Tuesday but there was a high wind warning for the whole day so we stayed one more day and watched the waves on Lake Livingston.
Wednesday we drove for about 5 hours and came to Blanco State Park. This is a very small park (just over 100 acres) along the Blanco River on the edge of the little town of Blanco.
To get to the campground you have to cross the river on this roadway. It is made so the river can go over it when the water is high. At low water there are a couple of culverts. This picture was taken standing on the crossing looking downstream to the highway bridge. A flood a few years ago had the river up to the bottom of that highway bridge!
For a small park it is surprisingly pretty, with structures, like this pavilion, built in the 1930’s by the CCC.
Wednesday afternoon in our initial reconnaissance Matey and I found this lovely trail heading east along the south bank of the river. It only went about a half mile,
but happily it made a tight loop and we walked back along the lower bank, closer to the river.
Thursday was the only day we had to spend with Jack and Sharon as they were leaving town on Friday. Luckily it was the nicest day in the week. Jack and Bud played a round of golf at Grey Rock, where Jack plays several times a week. He shot this video of Bud approaching a green. Sharon, Matey and I took a walk over to the nearby campus of The Wizard Academy, which calls itself a nonprofit, non traditional, business school. It’s a strange place. There was almost no one around. We walked sidewalks that gave beautiful views across the hills. We tried to get a bit of lunch from the food truck, but it was closed. We came back and sat in the sun in Jack and Sharon’s back yard. I, of course, forgot to take pictures.
Once the guys finished their golf game we went out for an early supper at the Salt Lick Barbecue, a regionally famous place just a few miles down the road. We sat outside because Matey was with us, but it was warm enough. Jack remembered to take a picture and he shared it with me.
Today Matey and I explored a bit upriver from the campground. There are some massive cypresses…
and some big, beautiful sycamores.
At the upstream end of the park is a city bridge that is also constructed to let high water flow across it. Just beyond that, in front of a low dam, is the old bridge. I wasn’t sure we could walk all the way across it.
I later walked up on the other bank to the old bridge; I’m glad I didn’t try to cross it as we would have had to scramble across some broken parts to get to shore.
With its white limestone banks, beautiful trees and old dams and river crossings the park has a lot to see in a small area.
On the Roam Again 