B'Day and Bastrop State Park: 5/5-8/11

Entrance

This trip,  BB, Henri and me loaded up our grandson Grant and made the quick trip from Austin to Bastrop State Park. 


This is another fine example of the many state parks in Texas, and one which shows the fine craftmanship of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).  Bastop SP and adjoining Buescher SP comprises approximately 7,000 acreas within the "Lost Pines" area just East of Austin.  Both parks originated through private land donations and land purchases during the early to mid 1930's. 

Cabin at Bastrop SP

The "Lost Pines" forest is a fascinating ecosystem of Loblolly Pines interspersed with hardwood.  The web sites indicate that this area represents the westernmost extension of Loblolly Pines in the U.S.  By the 1900's this area was providing lumber for construction projects in Austin and San Antonio and by the early 1930's, the pine forest was almost completely gone.  However, during the depression of the 1930's, the CCC was brought in to re-plant seedlings and construct roads, cabins, swimming pools and other structures.  The forest and many of these beautiful structures stand today as a testiment to their skill and vision. 

Piney Hill Camping Loop



Mingo II in Bastrop



For this trip, we camped in the Piney Hill Loop which features about 25 pull-through slots.  The campground was very nice even though many of the camp sites and other facilities at the Park are currently being renovated and are surrounded by orange construction fencing.  Our site was very comfortable and was very near one of the many hiking trail heads. 

Bastrop SP has some of the best hiking trails you could hope to find.  BB, Grant, Henri and hiked a beautiful trail on Saturday.  Grant spent the hike picking up interesting rocks and looking at birds through my big stargazing binoculars.  By the end of the hike, he complained that the rocks were making his pants fall down, so he ditched the extra weight, and convinced BB to lug the binoculars.  BB, Henri and I took another hike on Sunday morning.  By this time, Henri was telling us that he would prefer to stay at the trailer and keep his blanket and bed safe, but he was a trooper and blazed the trail for us. 



BB and Henri



Beautiful country to hike in.  If you could ignore the Texas heat (kinda hard to do), and visualize some mountains in the distance, it didn't take much imagination to make it seem you were hiking some alpine forest in New Mexico or Montana.  Bastrop SP has the best hiking trails we've found so far, and we have yet to even scratch the surface of the many trails available. 

Check the Shirt Pocket!

On Saturday, we were able to go to our granddaughter Lydia's birthday party.  Lots of giggling girls and squeals!  She had a great party and so did we!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY Lydia!  That evening, we celebrated Mother's day with Shelly, Blake, Lydia and Grant by going out to eat in Bastrop, then everyone came back and set around the trailer and enjoyed the evening.  The only thing that would have made it better was if Kelly, Tammy and Devon had been with us.

A belated HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all you Mom's out there!

BB, Henri and I are getting ready to make a working trip next week up to the Chickasaw National Recreation Area.  Hope everyone has a great week!  Till next time.