Camping at Enchanted Rock

Earlier in March, we went camping! We have been having a Collegiate Bible study at our house on Friday nights, and decided to plan a camping trip with that group. Two other couples decided to go, and so we started planning! Jason and I took inventory of our camping gear, and decided to pick up a larger backpack, two smaller sleeping bags (that would fit in the backpack), a small battery-powered lantern, and a very small one-burner cook stove. Jason had a 3-person tent, two camp chairs, and we both pulled together the other supplies, food, and gear we would need. We decided to camp out at Enchanted Rock which is one of the places where we had done some day-hiking during our 1-year anniversary trip last March.

We found very few campsites available, because the weather is perfect right now--which brings people to the hill-country in swarms! The hill-country is west of where we live, near Austin and San Antonio. It is a really beautiful part of Texas --famous for wildflowers, peach orchards, berry picking, hiking, camping, and many wildlife parks and naturally scenic areas.

Plus, Enchanted Rock is only about 15 miles from Fredericksburg, a lovely historic German town. The hill country is also "hilly"...and rocky, rugged landscaping with lots of beautiful varieties of cacti! Huge boulders, scenic views of the valleys surrounding Enchanted Rock were clearly visible from our campsites (the view was extra great from Arlo, Jennifer, Elvis, and Belle's campsite) and also along the trails we hiked. Of course, the best view is from the top of Enchanted Rock!
We reserved a camping space in the primitive camping area. Fortunately, there was a very clean outhouse close to our campsite--however, the showers and our cars were a two-mile hike away from the tent. We had to carry everything in--which we were all prepared to do.

Jason and I arrived on Friday evening--much later than we had planned--and hiked into our primitive camping area by moonlight. It was a gorgeous night, and we had no trouble seeing the trail. The weather was cool, but not cold, and the moon was full. We did have difficulty finding a campsite, however. When we got to the primitive area, we didn't know where campsites began and where they ended. Our reservations said lot 116 and 117, but at the actual campsite there were no numbers (not even in daylight)... So, we walked around trying to see a spot where we could set up our tent and get to bed... Finally, we discovered a nice little spot under a spiny-limbed tree. The first night we didn't put air in our air mattress, because we didn't want to make noise (it was rather late at night)...so I didn't sleep very good. Setting up camp was fun, though, and so I didn't mind losing a little sleep! The starry skies above us were spectacular!

The next morning, we hiked down for breakfast. We didn't keep our food at the campsite, because there were warnings out about raccoons who were so desperate that they would tear into a tent to get to food. We didn't want to live to tell about that one...so we decided to eat at the picnic area near the car. We got the camp stove out to heat water for oatmeal. It took countless tries to get the flame burning properly. It was very windy, and the stove was brand new. Finally it worked, and we did indeed have oatmeal in Styrofoam cups for breakfast!

On our way back to the campsite, to blow up our air mattress and relax for a little while, we stopped by the outhouse. At that moment, our friends Arlo and Elvis came walking down the path. They had driven up on Saturday morning, because they needed to pick up Belle from the airport the night before. We were so happy to "bump into them" because cellphone reception was really bad in the park, and we were not completely sure what time they were arriving or where we were going to meet them. They showed us where they had set up camp --about 200-300 feet further up the hillside from us, then left to get a few more things from their car (2 miles down, 2 miles up)... After we chatted with Jennifer and Belle for a few minutes, we went back to our tent to work on the air mattress. Then, read some from our devotional book for morning worship time.

Soon, Arlo and Elvis returned with more gear, and we followed them back to their campsite. They were really hot, sweaty, and hungry, so we all sat around their campsite for a while and rested in the shade.

In the afternoon we all went hiking to Enchanted Rock.

On Saturday evening we all were very, very tired from hiking in the sun all day, so we all shared food together --canned chili, vegetarian hot dogs, chips, cookies, and lemonade. After supper, we cleaned up at the showers down near the car, and then hiked back to our campsite. The air mattress was much, much more comfortable to sleep on, but I still didn't sleep really well... ?

On Sunday, we packed up camp and went to Fredericksburg for breakfast at a wonderful German Bakery they have in town. Jason and I had eaten there when we stayed in Fredericksburg during our anniversary trip last year. We enjoyed an assortment of pastries, and even packed some to take home! As soon as we were finished with our pastries, we had to get on the road to head back home. So we said goodbye, and Arlo, Jennifer, Elvis, and Belle headed into the streets to do some shopping and sight seeing. It was a really great camping trip!

I hope you enjoy the photos!