Sitting smack dab in the middle of Texas is Colorado Bend State Park, truly a hidden gem. If you enjoy the beauty of the Hill Country, this park is a must.
Ann and I started our day Saturday morning in the early morning light and with a hint of the rain to come later in the day.
The Gorman Falls trail, which started out on a gentle downhill slope quickly turned very steep as we neared the little valley which hid the falls. From a distance we could hear the falls as it invited us to continue our descent.
What we found at the bottom was a small but beautiful falls created by the water from Gorman Springs somewhere up above finding it’s way to the Colorado River, further below. We spent 20 minutes admiring this treasure.
Unfortunately, if you go downhill, sooner or later you have to climb out…and climb we did. We wanted to see the source of the water falling over Gorman Falls so we headed up to Gorman Springs and the trail that took us to the source of the spring itself.
Hidden in a little canyon, deep in the woods was a stunning and primitive area which existed in its own microclimate. While the day was relatively cool, even on the hottest of days, this little Eden would be shaded and probably 10-15 degrees cooler that the surrounding area. The running water was soothing and the vegetation was multiple shade of green in the light that filtered through the dense canopy. I was amazed by the huge ferns growing in their natural terrarium.
The spring emerges from the base of the limestone walls and the water is crystal clear and probably 70 degrees. Swimming is not allowed to protect this special place and the Guadalupe Perch who make it their home. I bet a hundred years ago it was a special place.
As we had only done about a mile and a half at this point, we had to abandon our hidden treasure and get started if we wanted to get in some serious miles. Once again we started climbing back up towards the park entrance where we headed west on the north rim of the Tinaja Trail which is listed as Very Challenging.
Well, looks are deceiving. As we followed the north rim, this beautiful trail overlooks the valley below which hides the spring, creek and falls that we’d just visited. For about a mile, the going was easy and the trail was gentle on our feet.
When we arrived at the Tinaja (bowl), we enjoyed our Camino picnic and some stunning scenery. As we finished up, we were joined by 3 generations of a family from Michigan and we shared notes on what was to come as they had entered from the south. Good news for them, not so much for us as the challenging part was about to begin.
The south rim enjoyed the same vistas but they came at a price as the Very Challenging part had begun. Far more up and down with tricky footing. It seemed like there was more up than down but that may just be me and the down was probably harder anyway. I must give credit to our training regimen and preparation for the Camino. While it was strenuous and we did huff and puff a bit, we both agreed that we enjoyed the challenge.
The Tinaja Trail was a tough 2.8 miles when it intersected the Cedar Chopper Loop which we took for a short distance to reach the Old Gorman Road trail which was about a mile of easy walking. Along this trail, there were 2 areas marked that showed what appeared to be entrances to recently exposed caves.
Earlier we’d agreed to meet Susan at 1:00 unless she heard from us by noon. I managed to get a signal and call to tell her to make it 1:30 as we were about 2 hour away from our rendezvous point.
Because we’d already done the Gorman Falls trail, we decided to take the park road back to our meeting place. Apparently, like every other road or trail, this one too went up hill. Every time we reached the top, there was another hill to climb, probably like the first day from SJPP to Roncesvalles. Around every corner, there was another stretch and another bend in the road. This went on for about a mile and a half.
Now, before you start saying it was only 1.5 miles, my pack started out at 22 lbs. and we had spent the day on far tougher terrain than we will generally see in Spain. All in all we did a little over 10 miles, the last part in the rain. It really was a confidence builder.
If you think I was enthused by Colorado Bend, you would not be mistaken. Inspired may be a better word, this area is incredible. I’m sorry that Leighton, Renee and Rick missed it. L&R came in late Saturday and missed it on Sunday because the skies opened up on us during the early morning. We have though started planning a revisit in the Fall.
We may have recruited a new Pilgrim, Mr. G or Paul Gongora in the adult world. Paul and I met a the school that I volunteer at, he’s a teacher there (shout out to Ben Milam Elem.) By the way Mr. G, everyone in the front office thinks you should go, just saying.
Six weeks out, one more training walk down at the ranch in Bosque County, everyone should be there for that as some of us leave the next week. Achy old bones are holding up, boots are broken in and everyone seems to be smiling. How bad can that be?