Guadalupe River State Park

So after doing a bit of yard work today (which consisted mostly of bagging up lots and lots of limbs I'd pruned from crape myrtles and pomegranates a month or so back) in 90+ degree weather, I decided it was time for a little relaxation. Since The Wife had a senior portrait session over in Gruene with Monkey Girl tagging along as her assistant, I needed something that would entertain both Fairy Girl and the Bug. I said to myself, "Self, we've got a Texas state parks pass, why not use it to go to Guadalupe River State Park?"

I'd never been there, despite it being only 30 mile away. The kids got their swimsuits while I put some drinks in an ice chest and we were off, just like that. Highway 46 winds through the Texas Hill Country, and I like it. It's a nice road, although it's been so dry the wildflowers were pretty sparse. I was surprised by line of a dozen cars waiting to get in at the park entrance, but it moved steadily and we were parked before 5 p.m.

Folks, Guadalupe River State Park is a pretty place. The main swimming area is at a large bend in the river, and on the opposite shore--the east side, more or less--is a towering limestone cliff sculpted by millennia of erosion. There are cypress trees that grow here and there, and large boulders in the river that have fallen from the cliff. Cliff swallows have nests way up under the stone overhang, and I'm certain bats roost in many of the caves dotting the cliff face. The river itself was cool and refreshing--not cold, since this is the upper Guadalupe and doesn't have dams and artificial lakes to chill it like the lower Guadalupe does. It was also quite shallow, ankle deep for the most part, but with sections waist deep. There were lots of minnows swimming around, along with occasional larger fish. Fairy Girl startled a two-foot long gar that was surprisingly agile considering how little water it had to swim in at that point. Damselflies were all over the place as well. Hundreds of them clustered together in sheltered areas, mating. They were bold things, readily landing on us as long as we'd hold still for a few moments at a time. While there were plenty of people there, it was nowhere near crowded. I can imagine the place is packed on summer weekends with thousands of folks escaping the Texas heat.

After a couple of hours, with the sun setting (the late-afternoon sunlight slanting through the canyon is gorgeous) we packed up and headed home. On the way out of the park, wholly unexpectedly, we came across four Axis deer grazing on the shoulder of the road. They were big and fat and sleek, looking far more healthy and attractive than the few scraggly whitetails we saw on the drive home. Axis aren't native, but many have naturalized after escaping from exotic game ranches that are common throughout Texas. I have a fondness for Axis, and it made me happy to see them. The two pickup trucks behind up probably didn't have a clue.

All in all, a pleasant spur-of-the-moment afternoon excursion. Some day, in the next month or two, I'll have to make a midweek trek out there in the evening to try for some golden hour landscape shots without dozens of families splashing in the river. I suspect we'll be paying regular visits to this place from here on out.

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