A visit to the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area outside Fredericksburg Texas

Saturday 5/3/14 we decided to drive to the Enchanted Rock Nature Area about 18 miles outside of Fredericksburg. We had read and been told about it and it sounded like a great thing to check out while in the area.

It seems Enchanted Rock State Natural Area draws tons of visitors to its 500-foot-high dome of pink granite, the second largest formation of its kind in North America. Its estimated age is one billion years. They say that put’s it among the oldest exposed rocks in North America. And at $7 per head to drive in they have a pretty good thing going.

The trail head. But soon after this area there really isn’t a trail to the top. Just go where you want.

Now far be it for me to second guess the fact about it being among the oldest rocks in North America but it just had me itching my head and after a few Google searches I found nothing pointing to the Enchanted Rock area as being anything particularly special as far as age of rock formations go. It’s just another thing like (The best whatever in town) sign you see hanging. Just enjoy it for what it is. And enjoy we did.

See the lizard? It’s a Earless Texas Lizard.

For us and I guess and for people that are from these parts of the country it was special because there just are not that many elevated pieces of land around and there is a pretty good 360 degree view of the surrounding area from up there. And it was just nice to be out in nature and away from the crowds and hordes of people we have been in for the most part of the last many months.

See that lady walking across the way? She was like the mountain ghost as she walked past at a very fast pace telling us about the area and then swept away and up the other side. She was amazing!! We decided not to try and keep up with her LOL!!

 

Part of one of the trails.

 

I wonder when those rocks will tumble down the hill?

It seems the most popular thing to do there is to climb the 6/10ths of a mile Summit Trail which involves a steep 425-foot elevation gain hike to the top of Enchanted Rock. So of course we did that and hiked around the top for a while and then down into the Echo Canyon which lead us back down.

 

Part of one of the trails.

It was a nice walk and had us breathing hard by the time we reached the top. It’s been a while since we have hiked on any hills LOL!! Here are a couple links you might find interesting about the area.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/enchanted-rock

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/enchanted-rock/park_history

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/enchanted-rock/nature

Those slopes are a lot steeper than they look. We walked down into the valley you see. That is Echo Canyon.

This is from the backside of the hill. That’s Moss Lake you see.

A view looking back from just part way up the hill. We stopped to take the picture, NOT catch our breath.

After Enchanted Rock we drove back into town and if you read our last entry know we finished our tour of the WWII museum. ** we put all of photos and info into that update just to keep everything together**

By that time it was mid-afternoon and time to grab some grub. Diane and I both like Rueben sandwiches ad figured we should be able to find a darn good one in a town with such German influence. So after a search on a phone app and reading a few reviews we decided on a place called Auslander Biergarten.

We had lunch here.

It was a nice place to eat and the Rueben was good but if you have followed our blog you might have heard us refer to a place called Big Nose Kate’s Saloon in Tombstone Arizona. And making comment that it had the best Rueben sandwiches we have ever had. Well it still holds true to this day!! Here is a link to Big Nose Kate’s. http://www.bignosekates.info/

After lunch we started walking through town heading back towards the Jeep. The town was hopping!! The sidewalks were full of people. Between the Film Festival and the motorcycle rally the place really filled up since we rolled into town.

During our walk we started talking about a pie place we were told about by a shop worker a few days back after seeing her eating a piece behind her counter.

This Pie Shop is owned and operated by a man and wife. They make the pies fresh every day and the shop closes when they run out of pie. We just HAD to support their efforts.

The place is called Fredericksburg Pie Company and its ran by a husband and wife team that make the pies fresh and from scratch every day. And when they run out of pie, that’s when they close for the day. Now how could we NOT support a place like that while in town!!?? So we bought a couple pieces and took them home for a snack. Here is a link http://www.fredericksburgtexasshopping.com/

From there we headed home, chatted with the neighbors for a bit and watched some basketball and called it a day.

One more day left in Fredericksburg before moving on. I think we will visit the LBJ Ranch and maybe stop at a couple vineyards. We hear this area is among the top 10 places in the United States for wine.