Enchanted Rock

One of the things we "saved" for our winter visit to Hill Country was a trip to Enchanted Rock State Natural Area. We had heard that it's a pretty special place to spend the day, take in the interesting formations, and (oh yeah) climb. Today was the day to check the place out. John, Sandy and Steve joined us for the hour or so drive north for a short, but not so little, hike.

Here's a good look at the rock from the start of the trail. This enormous pink granite formation covers approximately 620 acres and rises 425 feet above the surrounding terrain on the just over a half-mile long trail. Sounds like a pretty decent hike. Doesn't it?

This is a closeup look of the previous picture, focusing on the top of the rock. Can you spot the "ants" in this picture? Actually, those are hikers. They're just a mere 425 feet above us.

Just after stepping off the trail, we came to a fork. We opted for the Summit Trail to the top. Soon at least one of us would be wishing we'd taken the level Loop Trail around the monadnock.

On the way up, we enjoyed the view of neighboring Turkey Peak. The most notable element of this photo, however, is the 45-degree angle of the "trail" in the foreground.

After the steep but short climb, we treated ourselves to an hour or so at the summit to enjoy the 360-degree views.

From here, we could see miles and miles of Texas. Literally!

Oh yeah, we almost forgot. We still had to go down! Thankfully, everyone made the trek down as easily as the climb up. Back at the trailhead, we decided we had all earned a late lunch at Coopers BBQ in nearby Llano. After an afternoon of climbing, it was a well-deserved treat.

Along the road to Llano, we spotted several signs like this one. Finally, an exasperated Paul joked, "I keep seeing these signs, but I haven't seen anybody yet!"

Yes, here in Hill Country, we are so easily entertained.