Wordless Wednesday: Sage gone wild

The other Colorado River

When most people hear about the Colorado River, they think about this one:

Well, as some of my long-time readers, and most residents of Texas know, there is another one...

Granted, the scenery along our Colorado isn't quite as spectacular as along the one in Arizona. But we were pleasantly surprised, and very impressed, with the quality of the scenery on our trip...

I admit, had I seen photos like these before our excursion, I would not have guessed that they were in Texas, or at least not in central Texas, just 2 hours or so from home. Are we in a good location vis-a-vis rivers, or what?!

Our Colorado is the river flowing through Austin, and on to the coast into Matagorda Bay. We cross it at Columbus on I-10 on the way to Houston. But this time we got intimate with it 'way, 'way upstream.

Specifically, we paddled from the highway 190 bridge near San Saba down to Colorado Bend State Park. We camped along the river for three nights, in really great accommodations (more about this side of the trip in my next post). So we saw a whole other side to this major Texas river.

Of course, when you're paddling, the micro-scenery is just as important as the macro...since you're up close and personal with the river all the time. Here our Colorado has some treasures, too.

a side creek just upstream from the park

Colorado river grasses were, fortunately, not as intimidating as the reeds on the Devil's River

view from the "loo" at our first campsite

Yep, it was a fun trip...

Upcoming posts: camping and camp food details, a super surprise waterfall, and a bonus river. Stay tuned!

Wordless Wednesday: Go! Spurs! Go!

Pleasures of serendipity

We had been planning for months on a big trip in May, a classic paddle: the Buffalo River in Arkansas, the first National River. We were looking forward to its amazing scenery, plus the fun of extended river camping, and had signed up with another dozen or so paddlers for the expedition.

But as our departure date approached and the Buffalo watershed remained in drought conditions, it looked more and more like the river levels up there wouldn't justify such a long driving trip.

So a small sub-group of us decided to stay closer to home, choosing instead a 30-mile section of the Colorado River above its many reservoir lakes, and long before it flows through Austin. (Also way upstream from our previous, and only, experience of this major Texas waterway.)

I'm pleased to report that what began as a disappointment, under circumstances that might have led us to abandon our May plans altogether, turned into a fabulous outing.

I don't see how the scenery in Arkansas could have been much better...

...the wildflowers were amazing all along the drive and the river...

...we found great campsites...

...and, most importantly, we ate very well...

You can look forward to several posts in the coming days detailing the varied scenery, cuisine items, and paddling adventures that we experienced during our week away from homes and workplaces. Complete with photos produced by my wonderful new camera (which I was always careful to have securely fastened).

Stay tuned!

A new toy!

What an experiment! Take picture of new camera with phone, then use new blog app to post.

What a wonderful world we live in!

Wordless Wednesday: out the back of the train

Quick trip

Thanks to Henry alertly finding a great deal on flights to Denver (and an even better deal on a rent car) we were able to make a short trip to the mountains last weekend.

We did get some work done, making arrangements to get a much-needed new roof on our "cabin" this summer. And a quick visit with some of our Denver relatives (see right) was such a treat.

But I might have to say that the best thing about the trip was being able to skip out of town just as San Antonio's unusually pleasant spring temperatures regressed to our mean of 90+.

Yep. We even saw SNOW one morning, quite a backdrop for our deck's aspen trees just starting to leaf out. What a refreshing change-of-pace!

Other highlights of the visit were trips to "our" nearby waterfall with two separate sets of guests...

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The fall is on the north fork of the South Arkansas River, just a ways up the road from the Angel of Shavano Campground. It also occurs not too long before this fork joins the south fork, which is the stream that runs beside our cabin. Down in the valley near Salida the SAR joins the big Arkansas for its long journey to the Mississippi.

Yes, it has a long way to go, but I can't imagine its scenic setting ever surpassing what's at our waterfall...

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Since we've never been to central Colorado at this particular time of year, we weren't sure what to expect, vegetation-wise. So, along with the pretty new aspen leaves, the extravagantly-blooming fruit trees in town were a pleasant surprise.

We saw the beauty on the left when we took a walk along the river in downtown Salida.

Another attraction of this metropolis (5236 in 2010 Census) is its surprisingly diverse array of eateries.

This trip we really splurged and hit our favorite, Amica's, not once but twice. (Well, the aforementioned two sets of guest both wanted to go there, and we had to be good hosts...)

And we also worked in another favorite, the unimposing Thai Mini Cafe, right out on the highway, and Los Girasoles for a shot of Colo-Mex.

We also made a couple of stops at The Ploughboy for their amazing bread and cheese. However, our culinary diversity didn't quite extend to trying their ground yak. Although we've made a note to see about that this summer.

Not too bad, variety-wise, for such a tiny town, eh? Yes, I think we could probably survive there very well in our golden years....

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NOTE: if some of these photos seem of better quality than those I've been showing you lately, it's because they were taken with Henry's real camera. No, I still don't have one and am limping along with my phone. Maybe by our next Colorado trip, this summer?

Wordless Wednesday: refreshingly correct grammar