Fredericksburg Trip - Part 1

     Today is our five-year anniversary.  Wow, how time flies!  It feels like just yesterday I was finishing up classes at A&M, Andy was finishing his first year of coaching/teaching, and we were definitely ready to be married and finished with wedding planning.  Saturday, June 16, 2007 will always be a wonderful memory for us.
     We haven't ever specifically planned an anniversary trip each year; however, we always seem to take our first vacation trip around this time.  This year Andy decided to plan a trip to Fredericksburg for our anniversary.  We had the most amazing and enjoyable time.  Here are some of the high points of the trip...
      The drive was actually quite long, about 5+ hours.  We aren't too big on "junk" food, but when we travel we become convenient store junkies.  For whatever reason, we just can't pass up that candy bar, icee, or bag of chips when we're on the road.  As we travelled halfway across the state of Texas, we stopped at Bastrop State Park.  If any of you remember the huge, devastating wildfire that killed many and left thousands homeless in September 2011, this was the state park that had thousands of acres of beautiful rolling hills burned to nothing but blackness.  My heart and prayers go out to those families who lost everything and are still trying to start over.  There was a lot of new growth on the ground which was beautiful to see; however, there are still hundreds of trees that are charred at their bases.

All of the trees in the burn section still have
brown leaves or no leaves at all.

New growth among the burned trees.

   

      Finally after several hours in the car, we arrived in Fredericksburg, Tx.  We checked into the hotel, changed clothes, and headed to Enchanted Rock.  When most people say they are going to hike Enchanted Rock, they mean that they are simply hiking up the rock and then back down.  Andy and I, being the workout freaks that we are, decided to hike all the way around the rock and then hike up and down it.  According to the Nike run on Andy's iPhone, our hike was approximately 5.68 miles.  We were exhausted but would do it again!!

Entrance to the park

Map of our hike

E-Rock (Blue dot on map)

Stream next to E-Rock (Green dot on map)

Buzzard's Roost (Purple dot on map)

E-Rock exfoliating (Orange dot on map)

Moss Lake (Yellow dot on map)

 

Echo Canyon Trail (Black dot on map)
It was a beast climbing through those rocks!

View from the top of E-Rock! Beautiful!

 

     I have many more pictures to share, but I am taking a break from blogging.  I will try to post Fredericksburg Trip - Part 2 later today.  No promises though!