Gualdalupe River and Abilene, TX. Mile 4686.

Day 28, June 16, to mile 4686.

Yesterday we traveled from Tomball to Spring Branch TX, the location of Guadalupe River State Park.  The drive down Park Road 31 was gorgeous.  It felt like we were in a Scandinavian sauna.  These are alternatives to steam baths--the dry heat boxes with wooden walls and very hot, dry heat.  There is a smell of cedar.  Texas was like this.  104 degree temperatures, very dry, with a faint odor of cypress.  The terrain was fairly flat, with a suggestion on rolling hills and the occasional rising mesa.  Prairie grasses grow sparsely here and there and the rocky, white soil shone through it.

The state park was full, so the ranger re-directed us to a nearby RV park on the Guadalupe River.  We were not happy about this, but didn’t have much choice.

We followed the upper river Guadalupe River, in the Texas Hill country to Bulverde.  The river was lined by pecan and bald cypress trees.  This is a popular destination fro Texans looking to cool off by tubing down the river.  On the way to the RV park, we saw a number of deer. Two species populate the region, the white-tailed deer we are familiar with, and the larger and spotted axis deer, which we saw. 

The entrance of the RV park was littered with RV’s parked next to one another on a treeless lot.  Awful.  However, Jack and Beverly, the friendly park guardians took us to the tent camping area.  This was secluded and located in an area of lush vegetation, adjacent to the river.  We set up camp and I immediately jumped in the river to cool off.  The river was only about 50 feet wide at our campsite, and the water was blue-green and cloudy.  But it was cool and surprisingly deep.  After venturing only a few feet off the stoney bank, I could not touch bottom. 

Esteban in the Guadalupe River, by Jo Ann.

Jo Ann had a little troulbe falling asleep in the tent.  Crickets cricked and frogs croaked all night long..  Hoot owls hooted.  Things went bump in the night.  The usual.  Eventually, we both fell asleep. Sort of.

In the morning, we headed out for Abilene Texas.  This route took us over good secondary roads.   We went through beautiful little towns—Boerne and Fredericksburg.  These towns had wide main streets with buildings that had changed little since the early 1900’s.  There were farmers markets and plenty of local peaches and watermelons for sale.  Everywhere, people were open and friendly.

Click below for an interactive pinmap of our journey.  You can shrink or zoom!  

http://www.pinmaps.net/map/5712/estebanrudman/travel-2012