Monday 11th April 2023
Enchanted Rock State park
We needed somewhere to break the 700 mile journey between Brazos Bend and Big Bend and Enchanted Rock State Park was recommended in the National Geographic guide to State Parks. It is one of the few places that we planned to stay for only one night, but we would have been happy to stay for longer. The park is located about 50 miles west of Austin, Tx and turned out to be really lovely. We arrived in the early afternoon and I had vowed that I would spend some time relaxing and taking things easy, but as ever, as soon as I saw the local surroundings I was hot-to-trot and keen to climb the Enchanted Rock. Gloria opted to hang out in our beautiful campsite and I set off to hike up the ~500 foot high monolith. In some ways it reminded me of Ayers Rock in central Australia, albeit a little less dramatic. Gloria and I were fortunate to be able to climb Ayers Rock in January 1990, before it was closed to honor and respect the local aboriginal culture. Both are former volcanic domes that have survived, where the surrounding countryside has eroded, and they both have tremendous views across the flat landscape for miles around. The hike up Enchanted Rock was hot and a little tiring, but technically very easy. There were many other parties, both young and old, making their way to the top. It was really worth the effort.
Later in the afternoon we took a more gentle stroll around the park, saw some new birds and ate a fine meal of Ramen noodles with pulled pork and the last of our homemade roasted tomatoes! The following morning we were up at 6am in the dark, took advantage off the showers and were on our way before the sun came up.
Mike
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